Doyin Okupe makes case for Igbo presidency

Former presidential spokesman, Doyin Okupe has made a case for an Igbo presidency in 2023.

Okupe said in a statement said that it was “self-evident” that the Igbo were being marginalised and politically oppressed.

He said since the Yoruba were given concession to produce the president in 1999, the Igbo should be accorded the same opportunity.

“In the wake of the national crisis following the deaths of Chief MKO Abiola and Gen Sani Abacha, very notable leaders in the country. especially from the north and majorly of military background, came together and decided that to assuage the southwest and ensure national unity and stability, the southwest must be allowed to occupy the position of President in the country.

“And so it happened that the two leading political platforms at that time chose their presidential candidates from the southwest. By so doing, a major national concession was made and inevitably and democratically a Yoruba man, Olusegun Obasanjo became the president of Nigeria.

In all the scheemings and persuasions that went on behind the scenes nationally, the Yoruba did not participate. In fact mainstream Yoruba took a hard line position which was even antithetical to the stabilizing concessionary process that was underway.

“Today Nigeria stands at a similar crossroad.

“The fact of Igbo marginalization and political oppression is self-evident.

“Political parties will in a few weeks, elect their presidential flagbearers. Many arguments for and against Igbo presidency, power rotation and merit and demerits of zoning are rife in our polity.

“In all this, the guiding philosophy ought to be, what is true, what is just and what is equitable. Rather what we have are puerile and self serving propositions and assertions.

“It is the truth that the established convention is that power must rotate between the north and the south. Not between the zones. Hence a President of northern extraction follows that of southern extraction and vice versa.

“Any consideration outside of this is foul and untrue.

“It is just that after President Buhari, power must come to the south. Any argument against this is inimical to the unity and stability of our nation.

“It is equitable that once the above stands and power is conceeded to the south, the next president must come from the southeast. This is because in the south, only the southeast is yet to produce a civilian president.

“Fellow Nigerians, let us come together as a fair and just nation that we are. Let us concession the presidency to the southeast in 2023 and decisively end the Nigerian civil war forever,” he said.