2023: Why presidency won’t go to S-East, S-West— Ameh Ebute
Former Senate President, Ameh Ebute in this interview, talks about the All Progressives Congress, APC, zoning its 2023 presidential ticket to the South-South and why South-East and South-West may not produce a president even when zoned to the South.Former Senate President, Ameh Ebute in this interview, talks about the All Progressives Congress, APC, zoning its 2023 presidential ticket to the South-South and why South-East and South-West may not produce a president even when zoned to the South.
<div>Emir Sanusi recently said that Nigeria is living on extra time. Do you agree with that?
</div><div>That is his personal opinion but you don’t mind such talks. Unless God decides to end Nigeria, we will continue to be part of the world. I don’t think God would take us out of the world. Maybe, they are talking of disunity or something like that. This Nigeria will continue to survive despite our shortcomings. Nigeria will not collapse but we are currently having challenges which I know we will overcome.
Political parties are having internal wrangling among themselves. Some people are not sure of what is happening. Some say Buhari is not ready to go and one is not sure what to believe…That is his personal opinion but you don’t mind such talks. Unless God decides to end Nigeria, we will continue to be part of the world. I don’t think God would take us out of the world. Maybe, they are talking of disunity or something like that. This Nigeria will continue to survive despite our shortcomings. Nigeria will not collapse but we are currently having challenges which I know we will overcome.
Political parties are having internal wrangling among themselves. Some people are not sure of what is happening. Some say Buhari is not ready to go and one is not sure what to believe…
Don’t mind what people are saying or thinking. From the Biafran war, they have continued to talk about disunity but we have been able to survive up till today. So disunity in a country as Nigeria will continue to rear its ugly head. I don’t think it is a serious issue now. The serious issue is to see how we can get the next president. The political parties can nip in the bud the crisis that we have so that we can have a peaceful transition of government next year. And we should also pray that God should be able to give us the president that will take us forward. I don’t want to be pessimistic about the existence of Nigeria. I want to be optimistic.
But the way the politicians carry themselves and the things they do…Don’t mind what people are saying or thinking. From the Biafran war, they have continued to talk about disunity but we have been able to survive up till today. So disunity in a country as Nigeria will continue to rear its ugly head. I don’t think it is a serious issue now. The serious issue is to see how we can get the next president. The political parties can nip in the bud the crisis that we have so that we can have a peaceful transition of government next year. And we should also pray that God should be able to give us the president that will take us forward. I don’t want to be pessimistic about the existence of Nigeria. I want to be optimistic.
But the way the politicians carry themselves and the things they do…
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It is because of the special nature of politicians, who only bother about themselves and not for the masses. That is why you have extreme greed. And extreme greed brings individualism and lack of care for the masses. So, you see the winners taking it all and the ministers and government appointees patronizing only their families. That is why you see extreme struggle to get into position. That shouldn’t be the way things are done.
<strong style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;”>APC said the mood of the nation will determine its presidential candidate and have not been able to zone the position…It is because of the special nature of politicians, who only bother about themselves and not for the masses. That is why you have extreme greed. And extreme greed brings individualism and lack of care for the masses. So, you see the winners taking it all and the ministers and government appointees patronizing only their families. That is why you see extreme struggle to get into position. That shouldn’t be the way things are done.
APC said the mood of the nation will determine its presidential candidate and have not been able to zone the position…
<div>It’s the same thing with the PDP. You see, the political parties are watching one another. But I want to tell you from the inner circle that the presidency will be zoned to the South in APC. But which South, I don’t know. If you ask me which part of the South, I cannot say exactly where. But I know that since democracy returned, the Western Zone has had it. The South West has had it through Obasanjo who was in office for eight years. And after him, there is Osinbajo who is the Vice President. I think that should be enough. So, when you talk of the South, you are talking of the South-East or the South-South. But I think the plan is to have the South-South that has been there for six years come back to complete that tenure so that the presidency will come back to the North. That is why the APC is planning to zone the presidency to the South-South.
So the South-East is not in reckoning at all?
The South-East, the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is another matter to think about. I don’t know why the majority of the leaders of the South East cannot call the IPOB to order. The fear of other parts of the country is that if you have someone from the East as President and he is overwhelmed, he is likely to support the secessionist movement. So they don’t have confidence in an Igbo man as president now, maybe in the next dispensation. The problem is that the activities of the IPOB have held the entire South-East to ransom. They don’t allow anything to work in the South-East.
A the time Obasanjo became President, there was agitation for Oodua Republic. They went to Ibadan and declared the Oodua Republic and sang their anthem. And when Buhari assumed office, Boko Haram was wreaking damage in the North, it didn’t stop him. And when Jonathan emerged, there was this Niger-Delta militancy. Why is it that when it comes to the South-East, they are saying IPOB?
The modus operandi of the IPOB members is completely different. There is sit-at-home order on Mondays, the no activity order and the confrontation with the armed forces. It is the same with Boko Haram and other insurgents but when we discussed among ourselves, the fear of them is the problem.
Buhari was once appointed by Boko Haram as a negotiator and nobody used it against him..
I am not aware of it. When? Before he became president? I am not aware that he was appointed as a negotiator between Boko Haram and the nation. The IPOB is different because I have always spoken to my Igbo friends and I ask, ‘why do you allow these boys to continue?’ The issue of Oodua has died down, Boko Haram, though an armed conflict will be defeated eventually, just like any other insurrection. The IPOB are very adamant. It depends on the country.It’s the same thing with the PDP. You see, the political parties are watching one another. But I want to tell you from the inner circle that the presidency will be zoned to the South in APC. But which South, I don’t know. If you ask me which part of the South, I cannot say exactly where. But I know that since democracy returned, the Western Zone has had it. The South West has had it through Obasanjo who was in office for eight years. And after him, there is Osinbajo who is the Vice President. I think that should be enough. So, when you talk of the South, you are talking of the South-East or the South-South. But I think the plan is to have the South-South that has been there for six years come back to complete that tenure so that the presidency will come back to the North. That is why the APC is planning to zone the presidency to the South-South.
So the South-East is not in reckoning at all?
The South-East, the activities of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is another matter to think about. I don’t know why the majority of the leaders of the South East cannot call the IPOB to order. The fear of other parts of the country is that if you have someone from the East as President and he is overwhelmed, he is likely to support the secessionist movement. So they don’t have confidence in an Igbo man as president now, maybe in the next dispensation. The problem is that the activities of the IPOB have held the entire South-East to ransom. They don’t allow anything to work in the South-East.
A the time Obasanjo became President, there was agitation for Oodua Republic. They went to Ibadan and declared the Oodua Republic and sang their anthem. And when Buhari assumed office, Boko Haram was wreaking damage in the North, it didn’t stop him. And when Jonathan emerged, there was this Niger-Delta militancy. Why is it that when it comes to the South-East, they are saying IPOB?
The modus operandi of the IPOB members is completely different. There is sit-at-home order on Mondays, the no activity order and the confrontation with the armed forces. It is the same with Boko Haram and other insurgents but when we discussed among ourselves, the fear of them is the problem.
Buhari was once appointed by Boko Haram as a negotiator and nobody used it against him..
I am not aware of it. When? Before he became president? I am not aware that he was appointed as a negotiator between Boko Haram and the nation. The IPOB is different because I have always spoken to my Igbo friends and I ask, ‘why do you allow these boys to continue?’ The issue of Oodua has died down, Boko Haram, though an armed conflict will be defeated eventually, just like any other insurrection. The IPOB are very adamant. It depends on the country.
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