By Emmanuel Nduka
Elder statesman and National Leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) Chief Edwin Clark, has insisted that political parties and players must ensure that the next Nigerian President come from the South Eastern region of the country in order to avert anarchy.
Clark who took the damning stand while he appeared as guest on Arise Television on Tuesday, criticised the continued marginalisation of members of the region, claiming that southerners are treated as second-class citizens in their own country. He thus warned that if this is not fixed, there may be no Nigeria in 2023.
While accusing the North of monopolizing leadership, Clark lamented the fact that Boko Haram insurgents who took up arms against the country are captured, retrained and reintegrated into the main stream of Nigerian politics.
This, he said, amounts to great injustice. He worried that since after the civil war, the Igbos have not been allowed to rule Nigeria.
“Any Southern Governor, any southern former governor who agrees to be a Vice to a northerner in this election is not a true northerner and God will deal with him. Nobody will take us for a ride, Nigeria belong to all of us, what will the Igbo man tell his son that after the war they cannot become president.
“My idea of zoning the Presidency to the South-East is well-known. No Nigerian will like to live in a country where certain people believe that they have the only right to lead.
“The APC believes the 12 million votes by President Muhammadu Buhari might be eroded if it is zoned to the South. The PDP is also considering zoning to the North. This is unfair.
“Nigeria stood on three legs, and it has never been steady since one of the legs was destroyed during the Civil War. If zoning which will heal the wounds is not done, there will be no Nigeria. Nobody will remain in this country as a second class citizen.
“The North believes their population can be used to oppress other Nigerians. This is not acceptable. The era of that has gone. There are many good Northerners but the Fulani-oriented ones want to dominate everywhere,” Clark queried.
Heritage Times had reported that in a separate interview on Monday, Rivers State Governor and presidential hopeful, Nyesom Wike, also lamented that the South East region has been unfairly sidelined from holding presidential power since Nigeria returned to full democracy in 1999.
Wike who preached that 2023 is the year for Presidency to go to the South East region, recalled that in the last general election, it was unanimously agreed that power be given to the North.
The Governor made this remarks on Monday night while he appeared as guest on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
He said this is responsible for the series of agitation and secession threat by separatist groups in the region. While positing that he supports their calls, he advised that they must come to the negotiation table to formally lay bare their demands before Government.
