Popular human rights activist and presidential aspirant, Omoyele Sowore,finally reacts to calls for zoning the 2023 presidency to a candidate from the Igbo tribe of Nigeria.
Sowore, on TV this morning, said zoning the Presidency down to the South-East region will remain indifferent if the candidate elected on this basis is not the right candidate.
He stressed the presidency instead should narrow down to the geographical area or intellectual area outstanding for competence and great character. Calls have been made in different quarters for Igbo Presidency. Some who backed up the idea had explained that it was advisable a presidential candidate emerges from this part of the country to lay to rest the permanent feeling of cynicism existing amongst the Igbos.
Reacting, Sowore said the decision to zone the presidency to a stagnant region was “undemocratic” adding that some of the people of the region are not interested in who becomes the next President but rather, achieving their own nation.
He said, “An Igbo man becoming the president might not make a difference if he’s not the right leader. Whenever there is an election cycle, the political elites in Nigeria who puts up this decision, which is undemocratic,always throws a bone at the Nigerian masses. And their chant this time around is that they want Igbo to produce president. It’s not a decision that was taken with knowledge and the support of the Nigerian people.
“If you visit Igboland today, they seldom interest in the elections. How do you tell IPOB members that it’s their turn to be president when they are agitating for a referendum and self-determination. Nobody went to the Yorubas to say who they wanted. Nobody went to Nigerians.
“All Nigerians are entitled to good governance and progress. An Igbo man becoming the president will not make a difference if he’s not the right person to lead. We should zone the presidency to the geographical area or intellectual area known as competence and great character. “It’s a very divisive strategy to make people believe that if you bring an Igbo president, suddenly Nigeria will become El-Dorado.”
