Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama says producing the president would help the South-East geopolitical zone have a better sense of belonging in Nigeria.
The APC chieftain noted that while competence and not place of origin should ideally determine who emerges president, current realities suggested that Igbo people felt left out of the Nigerian project.
Onyeama described Igbo presidency as a symbolic gesture that would help reassure the people of the region.
“In an ideal situation, I think that what you always want is the best person to lead the country. It is like if you are going into a plane, you want the most competent pilot that will get you to your destination. And you don’t ask to know where the pilot comes from or anything like this,” Onyeama told Sunday Sun.
“But, of course, politics is a bit different. There is a lot of symbolism also involved and when you look at the history of the country, you also realise that we still need to do a lot of work to stabilise the polity and to have a sense of inclusion and nationhood in the country.
“So, these things, clearly, mean a lot for people still, where your leaders come from and it is like a litmus test for the common man, of the acceptability or otherwise of groups or their ethnic group, or religious group or whatever. So, we have seen that where presidents and holders of other positions come from, is something that matters greatly.
“I think that we should take into account, those things that matter to the Nigerian people and if those things matter to Nigerians and it is a test for many people of the inclusivity of the Nigerian project, then I think we also have to arrange it in such a way that the people do feel that whatever it is that matters to them is being addressed.
“So, if it is the sense of Igbo that they still feel that more needs to be done to reassure them that they are fully part of the Nigerian project and that is the way they feel at the moment, this moment in time, and that is the best way to show it or that is the good, symbolic way of showing it, then by all means, I think that it is something that the rest of Nigerians should be mindful of. And I think we have seen this before.
“After June 12, there was a sense that a certain part of the country felt somewhat aggrieved and deprived as it were and this was taken into account in moving forward.
“And so, I feel if the same principle is extended to the Southeast, for instance, then we could all say that okay, here we are, this is clear proof and evidence that there is real inclusivity in the Nigerian project.”
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