2007: Kalu and South-east Presidency
11.18.2004Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State took many by suprise recently when in the course of his nation-wide tour formally announced his intention to contest the 2007 Presidential election. Though 2007 is less than three years away, the general perception, however, is that Kalu's move may have underscored the zone's seriousness to produce the next President, writes Ndubuisi Ugah
To keen watchers of political events in the country, two events dominated national discourse recently.
First, leaders of the South-south geo-political zone gathered in Calabar, the Cross River State capital to brainstorm on the way forward for the zone.
The leaders, who met under the aegis of the Second General Assembly of the South-south Consultaive Assembly (SSCA) after the maiden edition held earlier in the year in Abuja, rose from its one-day meeting, reaffirming among other issues that it is the turn of the zone to produce the next president in 2007.
Beside maintaining that it was its turn to produce the next president, the leaders also called for the enthronement of a true federal structure based on 50 per cent derivation.
The leaders also faulted the decision of the International Court of Justice to cede Bakassi area to Cameroon without plebiscite to determine the wishes of the people, while stating that it was time the zone, which according to them, has been producing the resources of the nation controls its resources.
While this was on, Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State, in a bid to realise the dream of the South-east towards the 2007 presidential project reportedly formally consulted Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former military leaders, Generals Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida as well as Abdulsalami Abubakar.
THISDAY gathered that Kalu, who was in Yola, Adamawa State to pay Sallah homage to Atiku also took advantage of the visit to formally acquaint Atiku of his intention to contest the 2007 presidential elections.
Apparently latching on the possible success his visit to Atiku may have on his ambition, Kalu in the same vein journeyed on to Minna, the capital of Niger State to pay similar homage to Babangida.
The visit, which had Governor Abdulkadir Kure of Niger State if not for anything is part of a nationwide consultation he has earmarked to formally inform stakeholders on his political ambition come in 2007.
As it is, feelers from the South-east indicate that aside from Kalu's recent visits to the former leaders, the zone itself appears to be under fierce opposition from other zones despite the fact that it has reiterated that the next President of the country would be of Igbo extraction.
This, however, formed the basis of the meeting of the South-east Caucus, which met in Umuahia, Abia State last September, and decided to set up an ad-hoc committee to screen and nominate credible candidates that are qualified to carry the Igbo banner in 2007.
Present at that meeting were Dr. Alex Ekwueme, Ambassador Arthur Mbanefo, Chief Anyim Pius Anyim, Chief Rochas Okorocha and three South-east Governors including Governor Orji Uzor Kalu, (Abia), Dr. Sam Egwu (Ebonyi) and Chief Achike Udenwa (Imo) among other dignitaries.
After extensive deliberations, the caucus resolved to elect Senator Arthur Nzeribe as the chairman of the committee.
However, shortly after Nzeribe's election, the Secretary General of the pan -Igbo Socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Col. Joe Achuzia (rtd), while on a visit to Governor Kalu in Umuahia, was said to have kicked against the ad-hoc committee including the nomination of Nzeribe apparently for obvious reasons.
According to him, "the Arthur Nzeribe committee was not set up by Ohanaeze. Arthur Nzeribe is a politian and their group might feel that the issue of the Igbo presidency is a political problem. Consequently, they set up their own committee. Their committee is not Ohanaeze committee and as such, they have every right to do whatever they like".
Achuzia reasoned that "if their goal is the same as ours, all we hope is that all the result which will be achieved by it will benefit Ohaneze. But that doesn't mean that we are giving a tacit approved to whatever they are doing. When Ohanaeze is ready, it would set up its committee and it is within the Ohanaeze committee that Ohanaeze will be answerable to".
To those who know Achuzia, the civil war veteran, he is believed to be doing well as the scribe of the body as many Ndigbo credit him as the leading light among the current Ohanaeze executive. This perhaps explains why when he speaks, Nigerians, especially Ndigbo are bound to listen to him.
But despite the avalanche of criticisms that have trailed Nzeribe's committee, observers contend that in as much as the committee has been constituted to pursue the 2007 Presidency project, it behoves on Ndigbo to rally round the committee to further boost the committee's effort towards achieving its agenda and the desired objectives, which is to produce a credible candidate from the zone ahead of the 2007 elections.
Against the backdrop of Kalu's antecedents in the quest for an Igbo President, stakeholders have argued that now that he (Kalu) has indicated interest to vie for the coveted post, it was imperative that Ohanaeze as the mouth-piece of Ndigbo should gear up the necessary support for any candidate wishing to contest for the position from the zone provided such a candidate will end up in Ohanaeze favour.
It is instructive to note that just as the South-east is agitating for the Presidency, their counterparts in the South-south and North are equally not taking the bid to actualise the same dream for granted.
There is a consensus that the S/south agitation has its merits. Observers believe that they are entitled to seek the plum position because they, like their Igbo neighbours, appear to have bore a greater percentage of the neglected and marginalisation in the Niger Delta.
Though a lot of controversies have dogged the 2007 Igbo Presidency project, there are strong indications that, Ndigbo would prefer that credible candidates are sourced at the end of the day even if it demands having eminent personalities and bodies working to arrive at the same project.
Suprisingly, however, is the fact that prominent Nigerians such as former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BOT) Chairman, Chief Tony Annenih including the former Special Duties Minister, Alhaji Wada Nas have consistently canvassed for shift to the South-east.
As it stands now, Ndigbo have consistently maintained that this is the time for it to reach out to other zones and make contact with people who would play a pivotal role in deciding where the pendulum swings in 2007.
It is against this background that Ndigbo feels that compromise and concessions need to be made if the Igbo Presidency project must become a reality.
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