By Don Peter Okoro
The Simon Okeke’s interview was first published here last week. A former chairman of the Police Service Commission, we conclude the final part with his controversial statement on Igbo presidency:
On the question of President of Igbo extraction, he offered: “I sincerely believe that there is a genuine demand for a President of Igbo extraction. Anyone who says anything otherwise is not facing reality. If we check the six Geo-political zones, the South East is the only.zone that has not been supported to produce the President and anybody who says it is not the height of marginalization is not facing reality.
“And I don’t buy the idea that all we need is restructuring and not Igbo Presidency. We need Restructuring as much as we need Igbo Presidency. What is good is good and what is bad is bad. Even in the South West, the Leader of Afenifere has been very consistent in advocating for Igbo Presidency”.
If the Westerns could advocate for that, anybody from the South East that is saying anything to the contrary will have his DNA investigated.”
On the general notion that power is not given, but fought for and bearing in mind that, so far no notable Igbo person has come out to signify his interest, whereas, the Hausas and Yorubas are as already busy aligning and strategizing, he posited: ” We have to accept the fact that the people in Government today from the South East who are expected to show interest at the level of governance we are talking about, that is the Presidency, cannot be compared with what we had in the past. They are below par. What we have now are Lilliputians either in Governance or aspiring to be in Governance. They are Lilliputs. We don’t have that calibre of strong characters, people that when they stand up to speak, they speak with authority and conviction, we don’t have such people again.
“The age of the Nnamdi Azikiwes and the Ojukwus is gone The Golden age of diehard, strong, Igbo vibrant characters that will speak and whose voice will be heard and respected is no more. Having said this, every age has it’s own Warriors, but the Warriors of this age are not as strong as the Warriors of the past. We hope that the age that is coming will produce more vibrant advocates and practical representation of Igbo interest. People we can regard as Fighters.”.
Commenting on the vexed issue of the Igbos not being in agreement over which Candidate to present as an Igbo Consensus Candidate, he debunked such insinuation, saying:
“There is no time a consensus Candidate will ever emerge from a particular Geo-political Zone. This issue of Igbo not being together is a fallacy and that fallacy is being drummed loud and clear particularly by those in control of the Media and they are using it to tell the whole world that we are not together. I don’t think any Group can be as together as the Igbos. The Sit At Home Order is pointer to our togetherness. The Sit At Home Order was very effective, yet the person issuing the order is in detention. That shows how cooperative and united we can be if we are to pursue a common goal.
Discussion about this post