A coalition of pan-Igbo sociopolitical pressure organisations, the South East Revival Group (SERG) has described the “soaked sliced bread” statement made by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, as taking deep seated hatred for the Igbos too far.
Tinubu had during a recent APC presidential campaign in Enugu, urged the people of the South East to “work hard, sweat for this party until they deliver victory for him. But nobody will give you any credit, you are working hard, you’re sweating now. We want you to sweat well now for this party until you deliver victory. Until Bola Tinubu becomes the president of Nigeria, we will not give you but a soaked sliced bread.”
But noting that the statement is beyond mere insult as some would be made to believe, SERG in a statement signed by its President and National Coordinator, Chief Willy Ezugwu said: “The insinuation that Igbos will languish in longer marginalisation unless Tinubu becomes president is an acknowledgement that he APC deliberately schemed the South East geopolitical zone since 2015.
“Tinubu’s comments represent refreshed version of President Muhammadu Buhari’s comment that he would not treat the South East equally with the Northern region that voted for him. These comments by the APC presidential candidate is an expression of the party’s disdain for the South East.
“You will recall that several sources have revealed that in the build-up to the APC presidential primary election, Bola Tinubu as an aspirant boycotted South East delegates of his party, saying that campaigning in the South East was a waste of time.
“True to his words, he never wasted his time reaching out to his party’s delegates in the region, yet they voted massively for him either by hook or by crook. It is taking his disregard for the South East too far. “When his anointed governor, Babajide Raji Fashola deported Igbos from Lagos State and dumped them at the Onitsha Bridge Head in the middle of the night, where was Bola Tinubu?
“When his ally and the Oba of Lagos threatened Igbos to drown in the lagoon if they voted against his preferred candidate, where was Tinubu’s voice as a democrat?”
SERG maintained that Tinubu’s presidency will be a disaster as he has continued to exhibit the distinguishing characteristics of not only a civilian dictator but also a religious bigot masquerading as a liberal Muslim, saying: “His choice of a Muslim running is a deliberate expression his real self as having no regard for Christians and now he blew the final whistle that signaled the climax of his hatred for the South East.”
The group added: “We also monitored a report indicating that the Tinubu’s hatred for the South East also robbed off on the traditional institution as some highly embarrassed Enugu traditional rulers led by the State Chairman of the Traditional Rulers’ Council, Igwe Lawrence Agubuzo, were snubbed, disrespected and insulted by the APC presidential candidate after waiting for several hours for his arrival. Can Tinubu openly snub an Oba in the South West or an Emir in the North?”
Meanwhile, SERG described the endorsement of Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, by former President Olusegun Obasanjo as a welcome development, saying the ex-leader and other elder statesmen, who have expressed support for Obi, cannot be wrong in their unanimous calls.
The group said that with peace eluding Nigeria, not just because of agitations in most parts of the country but also in view of the increasing insecurity and poverty, rotation of the residency remains the panacea for attaining national unity and transformational development.
“From the words of our elders, rotational presidency is the most viable option for nation building and in the quest to evolve a country where all citizens have equal rights to positions of authority, rather than the skewed political leadership practiced in the country since the post-civil war politics in Nigeria.
“Secondly, the South East has produced the best candidate among the contenders who is is unarguably the most prepared for tackling the current security and economic challenges bedeviling the Nigeria.
To crown it all, Mr. Peter Obi has picked one of the most qualified young men from the North, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, as his running mate. “It was surprising that in the build up to the primary elections, the South East was tactically excluded from the race by selfish politicians in both the PDP and the APC as their presidential tickets went to the highest bidders, rather than to the most competent to lead Nigeria.
“But, by divine providence and in the wisdom of the Nigerian people, a third force was birthed and Mr. Peter Obi and Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed became the anointed joint-ticket for the task of rebuilding our country, which has been troubled by ethnicity and religion in recent times.”
“It has been argued that the North East, and the South East have not produced a President of Nigeria since the return to democracy in 1999, but in the interest of justice, it would be unthinkable for a northerner to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari who himself is of northern extraction come May 29, 2023.
Therefore, the Obi-Datti presidential ticket is an opportunity to unite Nigeria, promote justice and equity for national integration development,” SERG said.
