A chieftain of the PDP and former national chairman of the Justice Party (JP), Chief Ralph Obioha, spoke to LAWRENCE NJOKU in Enugu on the agitation for the 2015 presidency.WHY is a lot of energy being channeled towards 2015, about three clear years ahead'Presently, there is no seriousness in terms of delivering on good governance by any government, be it state or federal, to really work hard to alleviate the sufferings of the critical mass of this country.If you observe, we are at our best during electioneering period. But any serious government should not apportion more than three months for an election. The French is holding their election this Sunday (today), but you will know that the whole process started not more than three months ago.Americans will do theirs in November but serious campaigning will not start until September. It's the same with Britain. In Britain, on the day of the election, people still go to work. There is no free holiday for an election in Britain.President Jonathan ran an election on the platform that he wanted one term. And the President Jonathan that I know will be more than pleased to terminate his service to Nigeria by 2015 but the people around him will constantly drum it into his ears that he is Godsend, that he will deliver Nigeria and that he is the anticipated transformer. There is no type of name that they will not give to him in order to make him to reconsider what he had promised and put on the table.My honest advice to him is that his rise, and what he's been able to achieve in Nigeria, is providential. For the remaining three years, if he applies himself in the class of leaders in the world who had come and trailed the imprint that has become a part of their nation: leaders like Kennedy, who came out and made a transformation of the United States of America; you take Nehru of India, who was able to deliver after Gandhi delivered independence ' I believe history will be kind to him.Jonathan has a call for leadership that he could plant in Nigeria and make him an eternal name as a statesman. If he starts changing his words or dancing to the drums of electioneering campaign, whatever he gets he should accept it.Won't this discussion of 2015 in 2012 distract the incumbent administration'I agree it will be distractive but you see, there could never be allowed a vacuum. The presidency is not something you do overnight. It is just that if the incumbent is running, it gets more distractive in nature.A lot of work has to be done in order to have Nigerians' confidence in their leadership. I do not think three years to a project as the presidency of this country is too long but whether it will be distractive is a different matter. For example, if governor starts moving about three years to re-election, a lot of state resources will be moved into the project.Do you think President Jonathan is entitled to another term of office'There are two schools of thought on his tenure issue. Some people are saying that he has a constitutional right to run after 2015; some believe he has no right. When you asked me this question at the beginning of the interview, I said it is a moral issue, as he had pledged that he would not seek another tenure.If he goes against his words, it will create a character issue, an integrity question, a moral question, which, I think, is too big a burden for him to carry.ARE we likely going to see Jonathan supporting the agitation for an Igbo presidency'I have said repeatedly that the type of support the Southeast gave to Jonathan; the boisterous support they gave to him, he owes it a duty to say that a lot of people had held the mantle of leadership in Nigeria and the Southeast should not be made any difference.It is his duty because, if anybody tells you that the president will not know who will succeed him, it is not true. He should be able to put the southeastern cause on the front burner and work for it, for somebody from the Southeast to take that leadership and demonstrate for once what they can achieve.It is a very fundamental answer that can be given to the North. Everybody knows the number of years that the North maintained leadership in this country, and it will be a very simple answer to tell them: that the leadership, when you took over, was through a military decree used in running this country. We are talking about southeastern presidency that could adhere to the limitations of democracy, to an independent legislature, and to an independent executive not like a military decree that was used to run the country when some northerners occupied the position.If Jonathan is true to his conscience, he must appreciate that as far as his presidency was concerned, the Southeast never raised any doubt in their direction and this is a natural basis for any man to say, 'yes, these people, who have held this conscience for me, I also need to return that confidence in them.'Within this discussion so far, it appears the Southeast is not in the picture and it is being perceived from its lack of readiness. So, is the Southeast prepared for the task of 2015'I will be one of those in the forefront to say no; that the basis of southeastern presidency should be when we have raised dust in terms of violence to get it. You must also understand the experiences of the Southeast and you must take cognizance of those experiences in terms of how they carry themselves in their aspiration for presidency.I am not part of that school of thought that believes the southeasterners are not prepared for it. On the contrary, I fervently believe that southeasterners have demonstrated enough strong and mature approach to the cause and there should be a plural thinking on it.Everybody agrees that southeasterners are the most republican in Nigeria and are you saying that you must change their DNA for the simple fact that they are going to aspire for the presidency' There are several southeasterners, who are qualified for that position, including Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who just missed being president of the World Bank.There has never been any aspiration to Nigerian presidency whether from the North, South or West that had been a monolithic approach; there had always been multiple candidates that came out. Let us not make excuses with this, on denial of what is due to the Southeast. The experiences of the North today makes it possible that they may narrow their candidates to three or four but it may never be one.And then, we know that when the South-South was aspiring for the presidency, there were many of them. I know of Peter Odili, who ran a credible campaign; former governor Attah was one of them, and Ibori had some ambition to aspire for Nigeria's presidency.I also recognise the point about the restive nature of the Southeast people never to work in concert to pick out the best candidate. The truth is that the excuses of the Igbo not getting together is cheap blackmail because if they can get together to vote for Jonathan, I do not see the presidency project as a difficult task. It's now a perception that they (Igbo) cannot get together. I sincerely believe it is a wrong perception.But I think this can also pass a message to the Southeast: that this perception is taking hold, and that they might want to do an internal assessment of how to address the perception.WHY is the clamour high: that power should return to North by 2015'That is part of the desperation of the people of this country, who believe that other segments are second-class citizens and should continue to play a second fiddle. However, the deposed Emir of Gwandu, (Mustapha) Jokolo, recently in a statement, admitted that it's the turn of the Southeast to produce the president. Nobody can dismiss the former Emir as an unserious person, whether he has been deposed as Emir or not.Other Nigerians are affirming this stand. For instance, a statement by a leader of the South-South recognises the fact that 2015 is a destined date for the Igbo to present the president of this country. If it was not done, you can be sure that from that day, the exposure of Nigeria as a product of fraud and fakery will continue to manifest more vividly.My honest advice to other Nigerians is that they should not toy with that idea of 2015 escaping the Southeast. I have said repeatedly that a president of Nigeria cannot be the president of a region where the person comes from. After the candidates have come out, other Nigerians must make an input on who ultimately shall be the president of all Nigeria. A president that comes from the Southeast does not make it a Southeast affair. He's president of Nigeria and his principle must be to all Nigerians.
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