Igwe Spencer Ugwuoke, a former Biafran soldier and traditional ruler in Enugu State, says Igbo presidency in 2023 might not be achievable.
He said this was so because “Ndigbo lack unity of purpose”.
Igwe Ugwuoke, who is the traditional ruler of Obimo autonomous community in Nsukka LGA, disclosed this on Wednesday.
He said that to achieve the aim of capturing the 2023 presidency, Ndigbo must desist from talking from both sides of the mouth and get a recognisable leader.
“This country has many miracles that occur at their own time; but I must tell you that there is no indication that an Igbo man will emerge president of Nigeria in 2023. This is because the Igbo have refused to forge a common font politically unlike what we have in other major ethnic groups in Nigeria; even the minority tribes are more united than the Igbo.
“Though, the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief Nniah Nwodo, has improved the status of the Igbo in terms of achieving common ambition, there are still a lot to be done. Even among us, there are still some of us sabotaging Nwodo’s efforts.
“We have to go back to Ohanaeze Ndigbo and make it the authentic mouthpiece of the Igbo because, as it stands now, the organisation is deficient in equitable representations of the different traditional institutions in South East, which is why it is difficult to speak with one voice.
“You always hear of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Lagos, Abuja, Jos, South Africa and what have you. This is wrong and it is the origin of the discordant tunes affecting our political fortunes in Nigeria.
“Where have you seen the Oba of Benin and Sultan of Sokoto being countered by their subjects? It only happens in South East.
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“When you are looking for something, you should not create enemies. You cannot be opposing Buhari’s administration and expect him to back you up for the presidency in 2023.
“Let’s create a platform to promote the pains of the South-East as a geopolitical zone that has not produced a president. Let’s get leaders of thought, traditional rulers and chairmen of the state council of chiefs to meet their counterparts in other geopolitical zones for support.
“Let our politicians put their interest in a common pot for the interest of the zone and not be originators of discordant tunes. “Igbo Presidency is realisable but there has to be a long term plan geared towards achieving it. It is not possible in 2023,” Igwe Ugwuoke stated.