APC, 2023 Presidential Election And The Future Of Ndigbo In Nigeria -By Gozie Irogboli

Since the end of the civil war in 1970, there have been telltale stories of marginalization of the Igbo of Southeast Nigeria; something that has made the Igbo troop out of their territory to other regions where there are more federal presence in search of better opportunities thereby making them ubiquitous and vulnerable in a Nigerian state that operates indigene and non-indigene dichotomy.

Regime after regime has followed this obnoxious pattern of punitive retribution against Ndigbo in varying degrees in the federal appointments, in the location of government infrastructure and the allocation of state resources.

But by far no regime in country has marginalized Ndi-Igbo more than the current All Progressives Congress (APC) regime that deliberately formulated and implemented revanchist policies against the Igbo. In the APC regime, the Igbo have been made to bear the brunt of official highhandedness and maladministration. The APC government took the marginalization of Ndigbo to egregious level with the importation of terrorism into Igbo land, which hitherto was regarded as the most peaceful region of the country, so much so that you cannot visit Igbo land now without fear because of the nefarious activities of unknown-gun men. However, there is no space in this piece to catalogue the atrocious things done by the APC regime against Ndigbo.

Thus, as the windup to the 2023 presidential election campaign beckons, some concerned Igbo intelligentsia have began to do a realistic assessment of the position of Ndigbo in the unfolding political scenario. And their position unequivocally is that a vote for the continuation of the APC regime is a vote for the perpetuation of the obnoxious policy of Igbo marginalization given the antecedent of the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his declaration to continue with the policies of the present regime that is generally seen to be undesirable but which he has appraised to good.

Again, the open hostility against Ndigbo by Tinubu’s men and his apparent tacit approval of it, are something concerned Igbo leaders of thought have not lost sight of. Since the dramatic entrée of Peter Obi into the presidential race, Tinubu and his cohorts in Lagos have subjected Ndigbo in Lagos to all forms of harassment, intimidation and extortion. And this is taken to be a clear signal that Ndigbo are in for a raw deal should Tinubu wins the presidential election.

Besides, Tinubu has not hidden his disdain for Ndigbo. In his false sense entitlement, Tinubu believes he can do without the Igbo. When Tinubu held sway as the governor of Lagos State many Igbo traders lost their stalls in Lagos without compensation. Tinubu renamed Eleke Crescent a very popular street in Victoria Island, named after Mr. Paul Onwu Eleke an Igbo educationist and politician in the colonial era, Walter Carrington Crescent in honor of the former US ambassador to Nigeria without renaming another street in honor of Mr. Eleke. Tinubu’s horde of area-boys has no respect for Ndigbo; they behave as if Ndigbo owe their lives and existence to them. They believe Ndigbo should be grateful to them for being in Lagos which Tinubu claimed, he built. There is unwholesome harassment and exploitation of Ndigbo by Tinubu’s men. Tinubu’s wife and his daughter have molested and threatened Ndigbo in Lagos forcing them to close their shops at will to attend rallies and make contribution towards Tinubu campaign against their wish. Everything done by Ndigbo in Lagos is erroneously interpreted to be against Tinubu. On many occasion the thugs loyal to Tinubu have been mobilized to harass the Igbo during election period. Evidently, Tinubu’s preferment of the Area-boys to which he professes to be one of them and whom he had never cautioned or tried to rein in directly or indirectly despite their untoward behavior would portend grave danger for the Igbo if Tinubu wins the forthcoming election.

In contrast, some of his acolytes in the Southeast have argued albeit feebly that he appointed Igbo people into his cabinet when he was governor of Lagos State. But that again is a puerile argument.

Igbo population in Lagos is over 40% of the Lagos population and that means it is no big deal if Igbo man is elected the governor or deputy governor of Lagos. It is only that Ndigbo seem to be apolitical and lethargic in their political engagements. And looking at it critically, the so-called appointments were not made to represent Igbo interest and the appointees were not nominated by any known Igbo group. And a look at the so-called appointees will show that they may bear Igbo names but they had no Igbo contents in them. Why should Ndigbo be grateful for the appointment of one who is given the inglorious job of clearing Lagos drainages and who takes every occasion to denigrate and gloat at the misfortune of the same people that he is supposed to represent? It seems the so-called appointments were made to amuse their principal who has never cautioned them for the insults they heap on the people they are supposed to represent. In truth bearing a name associated with a group does not make you a member of that group if you do not have the consciousness to identify or belong to the said group. So the appointment of political mercenaries or reprobates that bear Igbo names into his cabinet would not be interpreted to mean that he did Ndigbo a favor. The said appointments may be an affront on Igbo people if you ask me.

But beyond all that is the fact that Tinubu presidency would retard the political participation and progress in Igbo land. It is clear that if Tinubu wins, that he would want to go eight years after which the power will go up North for another eight years and that means for any Igbo man to think of coming close to Aso rock, the seat of power, it must be another sixteen years. Again, his choice of a fellow Muslim as his running mate is a proof of his winner-takes-all mentality and disdain for inclusive government. This is seen by Ndigbo as the reenactment of the alleged North-Southwest alliance entered after the fratricidal war to share power to the exclusion of the Igbo.

But an Atiku Abubakar or Peter Obi presidency would be different. It is believed that Atiku or Obi presidency will bring about a resurgence of creativity and productivity among Ndi-Igbo who thrive on merit and who always advocate for a level-playing ground. Atiku and Obi are both accomplished business men with broad world views and liberal political philosophies. And Ndigbo who crave for equal opportunity for all would like to pitch their tents with either of the two rather than cast their votes for Tinubu and deliberately accept the position of hewers of wood and drawers of water; for, Tinubu presidency will mean more torture and harassment for Ndigbo. Moreover, Tinubu will not invest anything in Igbo land if he is elected because of the pervading and unreasonable fear among his people that developing Igbo land would reduce the status of Lagos. So, it is naïve for anyone who knows Tinubu antecedents to think that he will favor Ndigbo if he is elected president.

Atiku, on the other hand, has always demonstrated his willingness to work with Ndigbo. Earlier before the party primaries, he had declared that he would step down from contesting and support whoever emerges as the PDP presidential flag bearer if the party micro zones its presidential slot to the Southeast. This is the third time that he is contesting for the office of the president of Nigeria and on all occasions, he has picked an Igbo man as his running. He has also declared assuredly that his presidency is a stepping stone to Igbo presidency. Much as that statement might sound political, it is reassuring.

Indeed, to Ndigbo this is seen as the defining moment. This would not be about party affiliation but about the survival and the well-being of the Igbo race. Ndigbo have been advised to shelve their differences, apply their nous and native intelligence in this instance and vote for their long term interest. Undoubtedly, the coming of Peter Obi has raised the political consciousness of the average Igbo man, making many shirk off the inhibiting toga of political apathy. As it stands now, it is only the political nitwits and renegades in Igbo land that may vote for Tinubu’s APC. And only a miracle or rigging will make Tinubu get 25% vote in any of the Southeast States.

Gozie Irogboli,
An economist, a consultant and a novelist
(goziei@yahoo.com)