Numerous Nigerians would agree that it is reasonable and rational to let the people of South-eastern Nigeria to produce the country’s next president in 2023.
General Muhammadu Buhari’s second term would have ended by then. It is in the interest of justice, equality, and balance of power that the Igbos be given this opportunity; it will consequently foster Nigeria’s unity by eliminating any sense of ostracism that feeds separatist agitations. This is due to the fact that since the restoration to democracy in 1999, the South East has never produced a Nigerian President. In addition to the ones listed above, there are many more.
But the Igbo people are making certain errors that could lose them the chance to produce the next president in 2023.
Players in the race have not yet begun rallying for support: The next election will be held in 2023. However, in politics, timeliness is the key to success. Those who are interested should have begun organizing support by now, starting in the South East. In order to achieve important agreements, they must begin talking to one another. However, they are still unknown, since they have not stated or made their intentions public up to this point in time.
For what its worth, they’ll need the backing of major Igbo organizations like Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Igbo Youth Assembly, and many more. Initially, a consensus candidate from that area may emerge, or two people may announce their intentions under the two major political parties in Nigeria.
They have not lobbied the APC and PDP for support: This is one of the main errors made by the South Easterners. They are expected to urge the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to allocate presidential tickets to the area. A deterrent was set in 2019, when the APC and PDP both zoned their presidential tickets to the North.
Regardless of the outcome, North will produce the next president. Muhammadu Buhari of Katsina State is now President thanks to the APC’s victory. They would have lobbied the main political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the South East in 2023 if they were serious about delivering a president. It implies that, no matter which party wins the election, someone from that area will be elected.
Prior to 2023, they haven’t begun enlisting the significant support from other important regions: The South East can’t win the election on its own. No matter how many people from that area vote for someone from that region, it won’t enough. In addition, they require the support of other important areas, such as the North West, North East, North Central, South West, and South South. Most importantly, the people of the South East must join together as a unified family and enlist the support of other vital areas in this endeavor. They must persuade the South West and South South to give the South East a chance, since they have all produced Presidents with the South East’s support in the past.
With that, the whole South may urge the North to support the South East since it would decrease feelings of alienation, enhance Nigerian unity, and reduce or stop separatist agitations in that area, among other things. Other areas may be influenced to rally behind the South East and vote for a candidate from that region to win. However, the people of the South East have yet to take these critical measures. If they fail to do so, the search for a President from the South East may collapse because no one will hand it up to them on a silver platter.