Senate President: Before deciding on Uzor Kalu and Godswill Akpabio
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It is like the battle for Senate Presidency is hitting up. Proposals are showing up.
The tradition in the Senate is that the Senate President should be, at the least, on his second term. Furthermore, the position in APC is zoned to SE or SS. So today, only two senators are qualified, viz.
???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? (Akwa Ibom)
???????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????? (Abia)
Arguments are now flowing for and against both candidates. The most vexing to me is the one by Asiyah Aisha Alubankudi. She says
“????’???? ???????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????? ????????????????. ???????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????, ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ???????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????? ???????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????.”
To me, this and many others are the reasons the Igbo feel justified in the way they are causing so much tribal disaffection all over as if they have been aggrieved. If anything, it is the Igbo that has trod on the corns of virtually all tribes in Nigeria – Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Edo, Deltans etc. Yet they cry the most about being marginalized, and some uninformed persons help to further project the lie. For example, what can the Yoruba be said to have done against the Igbo that they must now go on their knees to placate them?
Legs go back to the memory lane:
**After the 1959 General Election in which Awolowo’s AG came second in popular votes after Azikiwe’s NCNC. Awo, the Yoruba Leader approached Zik, the Igbo Leader, asking for a coalition of both parties to form the Central government since none of the contestants could go alone. Awo offered Zik the Prime Ministership while he would be a mare Minister under him. Zik, in the alternative, went to negotiate the coalition with Ahmadu Bello’s NPC and offered North the Prime Ministership while accepting to be a tutelar Governor General. So despite having the second highest popular vote after NCNC, AG was thrown into opposition. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**From 1960 to 1963, the Coalition government of NCNC and NPC moved and succeeded in destroying Awolowo’s AG. It was split right through the centre. Akintola’s NNDP faction formed the Nigeria National Alliance NNA with NPC while the AG remnant was taken over by NCNC to form United People Grand Alliance UPGA They did not stop at that. They jailed Awolowo for a whopping 10 years. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 1966, young Igbo military officers organised a coup during which they killed the topmost Yoruba military and political leaders after pre-warning Zik to escape from the nation. They did not touch any of the two Igbo Premiers. They then installed one of their own, Aguyi-Ironsi as the new Head of State. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 1967, Ojukwu seceded. The problem was attributed to the propaganda of North genocide against the Igbo. On the 2nd of June 1967, when the first shot flew out, it was at Obola Afor – A boundary town between the East and North. The war ragged in the Northern boundary. But on 9th August, the Igbo tried to overrun and colonize Yoruba land. They succeeded in colonising Midwest, but they were stopped dead on their track to Yorubaland at Ore. 42 days after, on 20th September, they had been pushed back into their enclave. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 1974, Zik publicly announced his retirement from politics. He had just turned 70. When the military decided to quit scene four, national parties were formed. NPN, PRP, NPP, and UPN. The only Party with a Southern base was Awolowo’s UPN. Azikiwe saw that with that arrangement, Awo was cruising to an easy win, more so as his Running Mate, Barr Phillip Umeadi, was an Igbo. Zik will not allow this. He threw off his retirement garb and jumped into NPP. With his massive influence, he took over the party from the owner, Ibrahim Waziri, who had no alternative but to register a new Party GNPP. Now, with two Southern Parties Awo’s, chances were drastically reduced. He lost. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 1993. MKO, a Yoruba, ran the presidential election. With an easy cruise to victory against a very weak Ibrahim Toffa, Author Nzeribe, along with junior partners like this same Peter Obi, formed the Association for Better Nigeria ABN, approached the Court in the dead of Night to stop the further announcement of results thereby paving the way for the annulment of a Yoruba President. That apart, the poll result showed that MKO won in every region except in the current Igbo land. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 2013 BAT, with his ACN, rightly calculated that the only way to remove the cantankerous PDP from power was for Yoruba ACN to merge with the Igbo APGA, Hausa ANPP and Fulani CPC. Great national combination of equals. The North groups agreed, but this same Peter Obi refused the Igbo APGA to join. No problem, it was their choice. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
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**In 2015, the five SE States gave APC 198,000. This was a mere 1.6% of the APC winning vote. This result was guaranteed by a campaign of calumny against the Yoruba by this same Peter Obi who made an issue of the return to their respective states, destitute found under bridges in Lagos. Peter Obi told his usually gullible people that Yoruba deported Igbo. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 2019, despite all that PMB did for the Igbo – International Airport, 2nd Niger Bridge, Roads, Yuan Currency etc, the five SE states gave PMB 403,000 votes or 2.7% of his total winning votes. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In 2020, under the pretence of stopping Police brutality, Igbo-led EndSARS Hooligans descended on Lagos.
>>The President is not in Lagos. He is in Abuja
>>The NASS is not in Lagos. They are in Abuja
>>IGP is not in Lagos. he is in Abuja
>>SARS HQ is not in Lagos. It is in Abuja
Why attack Lagos and not Abuja? They went after their Oba. What had an Oba got to do with SARS? They destroyed the properties of Yoruba people in Lagos, especially BATs, but did not touch Igbo. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**Since 2020, the Igbo have now been claiming that Lagos is No-Mans-Land, a euphemism that it is for them the Igbo because they claim that they were responsible for most of the development therein. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**2023, the whole of SE states in which APC controls 2 of 5 states gave BAT 127,000 votes or 1.5% of his votes. Needless to saying even the APC Party, when colluded in rigging the election for their countryman, Peter Obi .???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**In Kalu’s Abia Abia State, in his Senatorial district, which is a third of the state, Kalu scored 31,000, whereas BAT scored a mare 8900 votes in the entire state. This may be averaged at scoring 3,000 from Kalus Senatorial District. So Kanu could not even convince his private supporters to vote for BAT. Even from the picture he showed of his vote, he voted across the line, and his vote must have been voided. ???????????? ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????
**On the other hand, in Akpabio’s Akwa Ibom, BAT scored 160,000 votes. Now tell me what on earth can be the argument that Akpabio, whose people contributed 160,000 to make BAT president, should lose that position to Kalu whose people contributed 9,000. So, national reconciliation is all about placating Igbo? That is sheer nonsense.
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**Of the 14 Senate Presidents we’ve had, 8 have been Igbo. Was that position created for them? We have 300 tribes in Nigeria. “???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ” have had it once – Joseph Wayas, who was even from Cross Rivers, not Akwa-Ibom. No way, the Igbo can’t have it yet again
**In 1953, The Head of Government in the Eastern House of Assembly was a “???????????????????????????? ????????????” Professor Eyo Ita. At that time, Nnamdi Azikiwe was battling to take over the Headship of Western Regional House (not be now dem start). He lost. Because of that loss, Zik returned to the East. The Igbo promptly removed Professor Eyo Ita and replaced him with Azikiwe. So the act of ????????????????????????’???? ???????????????????????? in Ibadan, caused Professor Eyo Ita ‘???? ???????????????????????????? ????????????” to lose out
**In 1979, Sir Darnley Alexander was the Chief Justice of Nigeria. Darnley was first employed in Nigeria by Awolowo when he was Premier of the Western Region. He was, therefore, close to Awolowo. Obasanjo, who disliked Awolowo, was the military head of state. He knew that the General Election of that year may get to Supreme Court and for adjudication. He would not have Awos friend as the CJN. He made Darnley, just 60, to retire. But next in rank to Danley was Justice Udo Udoma. He was very close to Awolowo in the days of Awos AG when together they fought for the creation of COR (Calabar-Ogoja-Rivers) State out of the old Eastern Region. Obasanjo will not have him preside over Awos’s case. Obasanjo, therefore, posted him away from the Supreme Court. So because of Awo from ???????????????????????? ???????????????????????? tribe the “???????????????????????????? ????????????” missed the opportunity of producing a CJN in 1979.
*In 2018, Onnoghen was the CJN of Nigeria. Well, for political reasons, the “???????????????????????????? ????????????” was removed as CJN for corruption by the government of “???????????????????????????? ????????????????????”
*Must ???????????????????????????? ????????????” always lose out for acts related to the Yoruba? Not this time.
*Do you know that Peter Obi an Igbo is out there in Court insisting that the BAT presidency be annulled as he did in 1983 to MKO!. Do you have to feed who is destroying your farm
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You have nothing to lose if you neglect the Igbos in your government as you ignored the Muslim/Christian tickets proposal and won the presidential election. This is pure politics, and no sentiment should be attached. When it comes to 2027, just continue your alliance with the core north for your 2nd term in office. Indeed, the Igbos must learn how to play the peacefully progressive politics of trust, honesty, unity, and love that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and some others have been playing since1990s to date.
However, I ask again: “What did anybody do to Igbo that you now must bribe them?”. It’s their responsibility. They are to take a genuine step to reconcile with other tribes
GOD BLESS OUR GREAT NATION, NIGERIA
