The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo has urged youths in the South East region to eschew ethnic chauvinism as the 2023 general elections draw nearer.
It said that the South-East constituency has sufficient political awareness to assess the presidential candidates as they visit the region to market their manifestoes and canvass for votes.
The Igbo apex body gave the advice in a statement issued on Friday through its spokesman, Dr Alex Ogbonnia, which was titled: “Ohanaeze charges Igbo youths to eschew ethnic chauvinism”.
Ohanaeze’s admonition came as a reaction to a statement issued by Igbo youths under the auspices of the Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), Ogbonnia said.
The group had in a statement published by some dailies, “warned groups and individuals promoting the presidential ambition of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu to stay clear of the zone”.
The group described as “unfortunate how certain persons from Igbo land would allow themselves to be used to promote the ambition of a man who is outdated in all ramifications in the scheme of things to be voted as a Nigerian president come 2023.”
But reacting, Ohanaeze said though it acknowledges the inalienable rights of individuals and groups to express their views on national issues, it, however, advised that such rights should not infringe on the rights of other Nigerian citizens.
The statement read in part, “Clarification is made that each of the presidential candidates has every right to campaign and canvass for votes in all parts of the country. In other words, since the presidential candidates of the South East or Igbo extraction enjoy untrammelled access and mass followership in other geopolitical zones of the country, it is political self-immolation and indeed highly unreflective for COSEYL to embark on a misstep that may diminish the Igbo patina for inter-ethnic friendliness.
“Emphasis is further drawn that the statement by the COSEYL is at variance with the Igbo character of liberality, hospitality, frontier spirit and accommodation of diverse interests. The South-East constituency has sufficient political awareness or enlightenment to assess the presidential candidates as they visit the South East to market their manifestoes and canvass for votes.
“As we celebrate the International Youth Day with the theme – generational solidarity; it is necessary that as leaders of tomorrow, instead of an archaic and implacable adherence to prosaic ethnic indulgences, it is much better to develop inter-ethnic solidarity with an encompassing national ideology into which the productive energies of the youths from diverse parts of the country will coalesce. This is the ideal.
“For further clarifications, it is a subversion of the democratic process and indeed a potent source of national crises for candidates to perceive threats or hostility from groups within the country. While we share in the passion and grievances of the Igbo youth, maturity is still needed in our political activism to eschew ultra-ethnic chauvinism.”
Another faction of the group, in a separate statement, warned against what it described as campaign of calumny, inciting violence, and provocative threats from groups, youths and supporters of other presidential candidates against the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential candidate, Tinubu.
The group in a statement by its Secretary-General, Okechukwu Isiguzoro on Friday maintained that there is no campaign restriction against any presidential candidate and other political office aspirants.
“Ndigbo has an unrestricted culture of accommodation and warm receptions for neighbouring states and visitors from far and wide, as travellers, we welcome our visitors with open arms and politics will never change our ways of reasoning and reflections,” Isiguzoro stated.
The group further stated, “Ndigbo appeals to the southeast youths and supporters of presidential candidates to eschew violence and shun attempts to take laws into their own hands by issuing empty threats or using health issues as an instrument of blackmail in the presidential campaigns against anyone.
“We speaking in the background of threats of commotion and violence issued against Sen. Bola Tinubu, we are aware of the fact that Igbo youths have been shortchanged by the way Federal Government has empowered youths from other zones excluding the southeast youths, and it’s an open secret that southeast has been at the receiving end of Federal Government’s policies and programs since 2015, and we appeal for a truce and allow peace to reign.
“2023 campaigns should be issues-based, not on blackmail and trivial matters. Ndigbo is open to receiving all Presidential candidates for 2023, we will receive all of them unrestricted, and interface with them and take decisions before the elections, we will weigh all options in the eyes of being sidelined for seven years by the Federal Government, presidential candidates should not be parochial with any zone or ignore any region during their campaigns.”
