As the buildup to the 2023 hots up and various parts of the country are laying claim to the presidency, Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has averred that the South-East region should be allowed to have the top seat in the country.
This, according to the governor, I because the people of the region have a better understanding of the country.
“I think that the southeasterners have a right to take a shot at the presidency of Nigeria and I dare say that our qualification starts from the fact that we understand and know Nigeria better than the other states of Nigeria,” Ikpeazu said in a chat with State House Correspondents after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock Abuja, on Thursday.
“I dare say, this is my opinion. We go everywhere, we are everywhere, we invest everywhere, we are Pan-Nigerian people,” he said.
This adventurous nature of the Southeasterners, he said even impels them to venture to where others fear to read, including, he jokingly said, the dreaded Sambisa forest, the stronghold of the Boko Haram Islamist fighters in Nigeria’s northeast.
“Today, a lot of people are afraid of Sambisa, but for an Igbo man, Sambisa is a business opportunity,” he added.
Despite this, he believes that Igbos should reach out to other parts of the country in negotiations, rather than wanting to go it alone.
“The question of a Nigerian president of southeast extraction is a national question that required negotiation, discussion, and conversation with all parts of this country and I am least qualified to determine what happens in 2023.
“I also want to spend my time supporting the incumbent president to do his time and do his best while we wait for what will begin to unfold. So, these are my views about the presidency.
“In the first place, anybody who wants to aspire to the highest post of the presidency must have what I regard as Pan-Nigerian mentality. He must be somebody who has an understanding of all the contending interests and influences in this country. He must understand that we are a country of diversity with different persuasions, traditions, cultures, and religions. All of these must be put in a place where you can understand and respect them.
“That individual must also be somebody who is ready to accommodate the youths of this country without necessarily throwing away the experienced ones, he must be able to find a labyrinth of all the interests.
“He must also reflect an extreme women agenda. He must be investor-friendly and an individual who understands the nuances of economics, the relationship between international politics and the economy. The person must be strong enough to face up to the issue on the front burner, which is security.
“He must be able to create jobs, he must be able to not deploy the kinetic device all the time, he must able to also listen and negotiate peace.
“I’m a Christian and my religion believes that if you seek peace you will find it. So, that which you seek is not commonplace. We must be able to dredge up courage to listen to one another and then find a middle course all the time for the interest of our people.
“The political parties need to be sensitive to the feelings of the various contending ground because politics should not be a winners take all thing.
Asked however about his interest in the presidency, Ikpeazu said he is fully occupied with governing Abia, for now.
“We are yet in 2021 and it will be self-serving for me to begin to think about what I will become instead of concentrating on serving my people for the time they elected me.
“Maybe after 2023, I’ll begin to think about what next I’ll do,” said the two-term governor.
