Suleiman Anyalewechi, Aba
As the countdown to the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly on June 13 begins, pioneer chairman and flag bearer for Ukwa West/ East federal constituency of Abia state at the last polls on the platform of Action Peoples Party, APP, Chief Sylvanus Uzoma Nwaji has noted that the minimum bench mark required to determine if Ndi Igbo are still needed in the contraption Nigeria is for the position of the headship of the Nation’s Legislative body to be ceded to them.
Although not what the Igbos deserve and desire going by the tripod political structure on which the country has been standing, the four times executive chairman of Ukwa West local council posited that to deny a major tribe the chance of producing the senate president at this material time is akin to taking the narrative of the marginalization of Ndi Igbo to an unacceptable height.
Chief Nwaji in a press briefing in Aba last Thursday appealed to the country’s political actors and opinion moulders, irrespective of their political and religious leanings to place the interests and unity of the country above personal considerations, warning that Ndi Igbo cannot continue with a marriage in which they are not wanted and or are maltreated.
“It is unfortunate that a country we all know stand on a tripod will wake up one morning and decide that one of the legs doesn’t matter and that it can stand on two. I’m saying this because if we trace the rotation of power in this country since the advent of the current political dispensation in 1999, you will discover that some people are deliberately pretending that the Igbos don’t exist anymore.
“If Nigerians still believe that the Igbo nation is still part of the country, they should be sensitive enough to respect their aspirations and sensitivities, just as they should not be told that the only thing that can help to calm frayed nerves for now is to concede the position of the senate president to them. we are supposed to have the presidency going by the fact that the Hausa/ Fulani and Yorubas, the other two major nations have all tested the presidency not just once but twice, including also occupying the vice-presidential position. Since elections have come and gone, winners announced for now, until the final outcome is determined by the courts the question of ceding the Senate president to the South East should not be debatable in a country where people are sensitive, “Nwaji noted.
According to him, the Igbos notwithstanding the civil war have shown more commitment to the unity of the country going by their huge investments in all parts of the country.
“There is no way someone will wish the collapse of his House. Igbos by heavily investing outside the South East are not wishing the disintegration of the country. Rather, those orchestrating the marginalization of some sections of the country are the real and dangerous enemies of the country. If there is justice, equity and fairness in the conduct of affairs of the country, there will not be any need for a Nnamdi Kalu. The spate of separatists agitations rocking the country is fuelled by injustice and there is no way the country will survive it for long,”Nwaji further stated.
He faulted the exclusion and marginalization of some sections of the country on accounts of their political choices during elections, describing such mindset as primitive and anti- democracy. “During elections people have their preferences. But once the elections are over you treat every body fairly. To deny people their rights simply because they didn’t vote for you en mass is to say the least primitive.
“Now the All Progressives Congress, APC, lost in Lagos, Oyo and Osun states during the last presidential elections. But the first set of appointments already made by the president is dominated by the South West. But in Igbo land where APC is having two state governors, some senators, House of Representatives and several state Assembly members, some mischievous people are still talking about denying Ndi Igbo their rights on account of not giving APC bulk votes. I think there is a deliberate and calculated plan to continue waging a war against Ndi Igbo. But let us see how it will end,”Nwaji noted.
