By Chukwudi Enekwechi
Ahead of the 2023 general elections and in the quest for Nigeria’s next president, the clarion call amongst many Nigerian leaders and groups including the Afenifere leader Pa Ayo Adebanjo, Ohaneze, PANDEF and Middle Belt Forum has been that power should shift to the Southern part of the country. Just recently, another prominent Nigerian and an All Progressives Congress presidential aspirant, Owelle Rochas Okorocha added his voice by going a step further to call for the micro-zoning of the APC presidential ticket to the South East.
The view in many quarters is that since zoning has become a tradition in our political evolution, and the benefits are visible in terms of peace, accommodation and unity obtainable in Nigeria today, it is only desirable for it to be sustained. Now as the country is on the cusp of embarking on another round of national elections, it is imperative that we draw strength from those norms and traditions which have since the inception of the present democratic dispensation welded the disparaging and diverse entities of the country into one and indivisible entity.
In this regard, the unique system of power rotation among the six geo-political zones has been the magic wand adopted by Nigeria’s political leaders to help the country navigate through several decades of leadership struggles and challenges. It is needless to say that these struggles have in the past stunted the rapid growth and development of the country. It can be simply said that the struggle for power has in some cases weighed the country down, but the introduction of power rotation tended to bring stability to the country, and this is not the time to jettison the arrangement.
As a country with diverse nationalities, tribes and religions, it was indeed desirable that we fashioned a governmental system that will be suitable to the country as a whole, and since societies have their unique peculiarities, it behoves every society to fashion out solutions to solve their peculiar problems. As most developing countries are confronted with different challenges, the ability of the leaders to seek for workable solutions to their problems often reduce acrimony and disharmony associated with heterogeneous societies like Nigeria.
Therefore in the search for a compassionate and visionary leader in 2023 most Nigerians have zeroed in on Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who has over the years used his hard-earned wealth to impact the lives of ordinary Nigerians positively. His philanthropy and outreach to ordinary Nigerians is evident in the way he is generally accepted among the poor masses in various parts of Nigeria.
While some of his contemporaries are depending on the elite to throw them up as the APC candidate in the presidential primaries, Owelle Rochas Okorocha has become the favourite of the ordinary people in Nigeria, especially in the North. The masses’s support for his presidential aspiration resonates and echoes in all corners of the country, but for this hope to crystallise into reality, there is need for the APC power brokers to support Rochas in clinching the APC presidential ticket.
Now the question is why the leadership of APC and indeed the Presidency will not align with the feelings of the ordinary people by supporting the aspiration of Owelle Rochas Okorocha to contest and emerge as the next president of Nigeria?
His litany of achievements both in the public and private sectors is enough to win him the unalloyed support of all APC power brokers and by extension win the 2023 presidential election. If they are visionary to throw their weight behind him to emerge as the APC flagbearer for the 2023 presidential election, definitely it will offer the party another opportunity to occupy the coveted seat of power.
As an advocate of free and compulsory education, the philanthropy of Owelle Okorocha knows no bounds as he has in the last twenty five years set up free education schools in Kano, Ibadan, Jos, Bauchi, Enugu, Owerri, Yola, Zaria, Calabar, Ogboko and Sokoto. These schools have been running at his expense over the years for the benefit of the poor masses who cannot afford to attend fees-paying institutions.
As we approach both the APC and PDP presidential primaries it is important that justice and equity will be the guiding principles in choosing the flagbearers of the political platforms on which the next Nigerian president will emerge.
Suffice it to say in the context of power rotation in Nigeria, only the South East geo-political zone has not produced a president, and this is since after the civil war. It will amount to a great injustice and disservice to the country for the ruling APC to fail to lead by example by micro-zoning the presidential ticket to the South East geo-political zone.
This position is justifiable considering the sacrifices people of the zone have made in nation-building, as well as their commitment to the oneness, progress and peace of Nigeria. Their patriotism is so evident in their trillions of naira investments across the whole country, as well their ability to co-habit with other Nigerians and develop their abodes.
A cursory look of the presidential aspirants will clearly show that Owelle Rochas Okorocha has the passion and possess the needed ability to unite the peoples of Nigeria and restore the country to its former glory.
Also, running a diverse country like Nigeria is a daunting task, and will require a compassionate, passionate and determined patriot like Okorocha to galvanise the abundant talents and energies of the people to move the country forward.
