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By TochukwuEzukanma
It is most exhilarating that as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
primariesended, the PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, chose
Peter Obi as hisrunning mate. That choice has been characterized as a
masterstroke by somepolitical pundits because Peter Obi brings so much on
board. He has alreadydistinguished himself as a leader. In addition, his
success in business, demonstratedadministrative prowess and understanding
of the economy compliments andsupplements Atiku’s abilities and skills. He
is an outstanding vicepresidential material. Secondly, the choice of Peter
Obi as the PDP vice presidential candidate ispolitically most advantageous
to the Igbo. It makes possible the elevation of anIgbo to an office no
Igbo has held since 1983, and increases the chances of anIgbo presidency
in 2027. The Igbo cannot let this opportunity slip throughtheir hands. A
number of Igbo politicians have raised objection to Atiku’schoice of Obi
as his running mates. These individuals are entitled to theiropinions.
However, as the Igbo as a people have resolved to support Peter Obi,every
Igbo must support him. Those that refuse to do so must be severely
punished.While I believe in individual freedom of thought andexpression, I
am also conscious that, for the public good, there is sometimes theneed to
rigorously subordinate the individual to the group. It is a consensusthat
strikes the delicate balance between individual freedom of choice,
thoughtand expression, on the one hand, and the public good, on the other
hand. It isimportant to note that consensus is not “speaking with one
voice”. Unlikespeaking with one voice, consensus allows for diversity of
opinions and ideas. Itprovides an overarching ideological/political
stance. It gives a people aunified sense of purpose, thus, nudging
individuals with different political persuasions- liberals and
conservatives, conformists and nonconformists, unionists andseparatists,
etc – towards a common political goal. The common political goalof Ndi
Igbo in the 2019 presidential election is the election of the Atiku/Obi
presidentialticket.
While there are different political perspectives and persuasions among the
Hausa/Fulani,they have a consensus, northern hegemony. The political
conservatism of AhmaduBello, Tafawa Belewa and Shehu Shagari was
conspicuously at variance with thequasi-liberal politics of Aminu Kano,
Abubakar Rimi and Baralabe Musa. However,irrespective of their political
strand and affiliations, their political lodestarremains the same:
northern domination of political power in Nigeria. The Yoruba do not speak
with one voice. Some of the most ardent critics ofthe Obasanjo presidency
were Yoruba. The Gani Fahimiwimi/Beko Ransome-Kutipolitical activism was
not always in conformity with conventional Yorubapolitics. Moshood Abiola
and Olusegun Obasanjo were protégés of the northernpowerbrokers and not
disciples of Obafemi Awolowo. Their broad politicaloutlook contrasted with
Awolowo’s narrow tribal politics, and they did notflinch in denouncing
Awolowo and his politics. However, despite their politicalhues and bents,
they have a consensus, which is, according to SG Ikoku,
“YorubaIrredentism”. On the other hand, the Igbo, for long, had no
consensus. However, with theemergency of Peter Obi as the PDP presidential
candidate, divergent Igbo politicalviews and interests have coalesced into
a consensus: support for Peter Obi. AllIgbo, including the aggrieved
politicians, must support Peter Obi. Any Igbothat, for whatever reason,
undermines the Igbo preferred presidential ticket,Atiku/Obi, must be
severely punished. A major problem of the Igbo is theinability to punish
those, who, in the service of the adversaries or furtheringof personal
ambitions undermined the collective good of the Igbo. At the PDPconvention
at Jos in 1998, the Hausa-speaking Jim Nwobodo undercut the Igbo
consensuspresidential candidate, Alex Ekwueme. Ordinarily, he should have
been strictlypunished. Unfortunately, after the convention, he returned
home, and was not penalized.According to a high ranking Ohaneze member,
during the standoff between PresidentOlusegun Obasanjo and
Senate-President Chuba Okadigbo, Ohaneze sent a delegationto Abuja to
rally Igbo senators in support of Chuba Okadigbo. The delegation
wasinstructed to stay away from Aso Rock. They were mandated to go
straight to theNational Assembly, deliver the Ohaneze directive to the
Igbo senators, andreturn immediately to Enugu. On getting to Abuja, they
could not resist the magnetismof Aso Rock; they went to Aso Rock, and
President Obasanjo sweet-talked themand weakened their resolve to rally
Igbo senators in defense of Chuba Okadigbo.Subsequently, Obasanjo ousted
Okadigbo. Lamentably, the members of thisdelegation that betrayed the
trust reposed on them by Ohaneze, and byextension, Ndi Igbo returned home
and were not punished. It is high time the Igbo instituted stern measures
for punishing errant andrecalcitrant Igbo that, in pandering to selfish
interests, subverted thecollective good of the Igbo. For the 2019
presidential election, every Igbomust subordinate their individual
interests and ambitions to the collectiveIgbo political goal: the
emergence of Peter Obi as the vice president ofNigeria. Any Igbo that
subverts this consensus on support Peter Obi must beseverely punished:
banished from Igbo land. TochukwuEzukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria
0803529 2908