SOUTH EAST GOVERNORS, PLEASE CEASE AND DESIST!

The five South East governors, once again paid their 'suck-up-to-him' visit to the Dracula-Vampire of Aso Rock, President Umaru Yar'Adua! Icheoku condemns and unequivocally too, these visits, as unproductive and unnecessary ass-kissing gimmick which does not do Ndi-Igbo any good. Instead, it reduces, in the eyes of other Nigerians, the prestige of the people of the south-east who would at best, now be seen as a beggarly slavish people? Enough is enough, of these visits! Please save the face of Ndi-Igbo, maintain their honor and dignity, you five "wise-ones"!

According to the story, governors Peter Obi of Anambra State, Abia State's Theodore Orji, Ebonyi State's Martin Elechi, Enugu State's Sullivan Chime and Imo State's Ikedi Ohakim went to Aso Rock to plead with President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua for the upgrade of Enugu local/regional 'airport' to an international standard airport? But as always and in his usual foxy calculating manner, the president 'promised to look into their request'? Icheoku says, it will take Mr. Slow-man the remainder of his expected tenure of 5 years, 11 months, 30 days, 23hours and 59 minutes 59 seconds to finish looking into this request; and may be, in the same manner as the previous presidents/heads of states who had promised in vain to look into it since the end of the civil war in 1970?

These governors represent over 50 million Nigerians who call themselves Igbos; hence in whatever they do, they must factor in the pride of the Igbo nation as it is necessarily impacted. Experience tells us that respect is earned but never conferred since it is not a title; so if the Igbos want the respect of and equitable accommodation by other Nigerians, they must earn the right thereto and positively, too. Also if they want power, they must be prepared and ready to take it willy-nilly as they cannot genuflect their way into power, and it does not matter how many pilgrimages they pay to Aso Rock? Such ill-advised visits have not in any tangible substantive manner, improved the lot of the Igbo nation in the past, not now and there is no guarantee it will in the future? So why make it? The only way for the Igboman's lot to truly improve in Nigeria, is for the Igbos to adroitly steer one of her own into Aso Rock and then, they can do it for themselves and by themselves. The north have four more years following their remaining two, and thereafter, it shall be the turn of the Igbos to ascend the presidency of Nigeria? Icheoku says, this should be an unconditional position of the Igbos, and it does not matter if all the Buharis of the Nigerian armed forces conspires once again, to scuttle it. This Igbo position, should be clearly spelt out and made known to the rest of Nigerians as a non negotiable charter of the Igbos. Then the ways and means of realizing this objective, should be the primary pre-occupation of these governors, but not paying unproductive visits to Aso Rock!

How does the Igbos prepare themselves for the eventual hand over to them of Nigeria's presidential relay-baton in 2016? When the time comes, will they be ready to present and rally around a consensus candidate? Are strategies in place to successfully navigate the shark-infested and treacherous waters of Nigeria politics? The money, the politics, the campaign and logistics are they being garnered and put together? These should be the agenda and occupying responsibilities for these governors but not Aso Rock incessant visits?

Icheoku have written severally on this need and once again, we ask these five governors, when the time comes in 2016, would the Igbos be ready to present a unity candidate for the presidency of Nigeria? This is what every rational person in Igboland including these five governors should be engaging their energy in and nothing more, including going to Aso Rock. This is the time to strategize and position two or more candidates who shall lead the effort for a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction come 2016. Two candidates, objectively selected, groomed to be ready and to be sponsored, with a clear objective of winning the presidency in 2016. All that is needed is a completely motivated Igbo son or daughter with means, reach, connection and the lion-heart to do what is needed in Nigeria?

Our fear, however, is that when 2016 eventually gets here that the Igbos may be caught unprepared; and still engaged in their selfish, self-centered, petty intra-fighting over who their candidate shall be? May be by 2016, the Igbos will still be unable to produce a compromise unity-candidate of ability, means and note; with about 100 of them still jostling for the one position? Such a scenario will thus make the 26 candidates who came out for the PDP party's chairmanship a mere child's play and you ask yourself, when shall the Igbos grow up, politically?

The puerile politics of the Igbos must stop, in order for them to realistically get somewhere meaningful in Nigeria? Icheoku says, it is about time the Igbos learn how to play the real politics, the Nigerian style? If the Yoruba could accept one of her most despicable sons, Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo, as Nigerian president of Yoruba extraction and did not oppose his presidency, then why won't the Igbos learn from that? Also that in a fight with hoodlums, you do not send your most timid child to the village square but you send the fiercest, bravest and most daring; who understands the name of the game and who would not be easily cowed or intimidated by other hoodlums? This is the biggest single problem militating against 2016 and the Igbo's quest for the presidency of Nigeria? Who shall they send? Icheoku have answered this million dollar question in the past and hereby reiterates, that Igbos should send either Orji-Uzor Kalu or Ken Nnamani or Andy Uba or Dora Akunyili? Any of this son or daughter of the soil, is exactly what doctor-politics ordered as they are battle-tested and will deliver on cue for the Igbo nation!

Going to Aso Rock by these five governors does not and will not cut it; and it does not matter the aegis or subterfuge founding such visit. Olusegun Obasanjo was made a chief by some Igbos, and with drums and fun-fare, welcomed in Igboland during his campaigns. He won all Igbo states and what did Igbos get in return, but the shutting down of Igbo-owned and operated businesses including Ibeto cement, Slok airlines, Hallmark Bank and Savannah Bank - a bank owned by Jim Nwobodo who led Olusegun Obasanjo's campaign in Igboland? Obasanjo was in power for eight long agonizing years and not a single project did he execute in the entire Igboland; including the left-for-dead River Niger Bridge? Needless to say that many visits were also paid to his Aso Rock over the persisting neglect of the Igbo nation? It is therefore delusional to think that President Umaru Yar'Adua is any different; as his lopsided hegemony-driven appointments have so far proved? His latest refusal to renew Chukwuma Soludo's appointment as the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, despite the stellar performance he put up re-organising Nigerian financial institutions, should be a pointer at his mean-nature and adds impetus to our assertion that these visits are not meritorious. Icheoku says, so, why not leave the sick man alone?

The Igbos are a tenacious people and have survived several despotic governments in Nigeria and will also survive the present one. The Igbos, through their governors, should therefore stop condescending to anyone including the mallam at Aso Rock; all they need do is simply to get ready for their turn in 2016. Then, they can redress all the imbalance and neglect which their geographical area have suffered these past four decades since Nigeria's independence. Like Jesus Christ said in Matthew 6:33, seek ye the kingdom of God and the rest shall be added unto you; Icheoku calls on the Igbos to first secure the presidency and then you can divided the oil-money however you deem fit! That is the only thing you really need to do as it will be a means to an end of so many things. You simply have to take it, and uncompromisingly, too! But first you must manifest to all other stake-holders of Nigeria that you are very serious and prepared to take what is rightfully yours come 2016; that no man can stop you and it does not matter how hefty the price that may be paid? Like the Boy-scout's motto, BE PREPARED; Icheoku asks, are the Igbos prepared for 2016? The five governors of the south east should answer this question in the affirmative and let the Igbos know what plans of action are in place to get the Igbos ready for the task ahead. These governors should start now to articulate who among Igbo notables shall best represent the Igbo interest at Aso Rock? Then constitute a committee for their audition and final selection; and commence work immediately for the dream's actualization; call it for what it is, "THE IGBO PROJECT 2016"!

Once the presidency is secured, then they can transform the entire South East to an Abuja of the South East; and re-develop the eastern headquarters of Enugu City into a mega city just like Lagos? Then if they want to build international airports in every state capital in the south east, just like the Hausa-Fulani did in the north, please be our guest? If they also want to appoint all the key ministers from the south east, oh well and dandy; just reference the Dracula-Vampire of Aso Rock as your precedent for doing so? If they want to produce dollar-billionaires from the south east, simply, hand-out import licences and oil-blocks to Igbomen and women; after-all North's Aliyu Dangote became a billionaire through his government approved monopolies, importing consumer goods into Nigeria? Icheoku is not aware of anything which he manufactures or produces in Nigeria, except some cement which he re-bags? Also Femi Otedola represents the South West in the club of dollar-billionaires, so nothing is wrong if a South East person is equally inducted into such an elite exclusive club of Nigerian dollar-billionaires, in order to complete the tripod, federal character of Nigeria?

But first you must get into Aso Rock and the road-map thereto, should be where your energies are directed at the present time and not dissipated in paying non-meritorious homage to Umaru Yar'Adua? Do you know how many presidents/heads of state that promised but failed upgrading Enugu "airstrip" into an international airport, starting with Shehu Shagari's 1979 administration? Icheoku says, the politics of not upgrading Enugu airstrip is as ingrained in the body-gnome of the leaders in Nigeria as the aversion for the Igboman in Nigeria? Moreso, if Enugu 'airstrip' is upgraded, most of the other airports in Nigeria will become redundant since Igbos constitutes more than 65 percent of world travellers in Nigeria? So why would they be the harbinger of the demise of their airports when they can simply keep them running by not upgrading the one at Enugu; thus compelling the Igbos to continue patronizing their airports, through forced stop-overs? Do you know how many administrations in Nigeria that had promised but failed to build a second bridge over the River Niger, starting with 1975 Muritala Mohammed's regime? Did these five governors forget also that Yakubu Gowon's 1970 promised three Rs of reconciliation, rehabilitation and reconstruction were not implemented; but frustrated intentionally, to further victimize the Igbos, after the civil war? It has been just one string of empty promises, made one after the other, merely to placate the Igbo-child who is throwing sudden-fits and tantrums over their neglect in Nigeria? Icheoku says, if the governors want any of the matters that necessitated their visit to Aso Rock resolved, they must do it themselves by getting an Igboman/woman into Aso Rock; and such occupant can then prioritize accordingly. Hopefully, when the time for this redress comes, Nigerians will remember that the Igbos have been neglected for so long and were not the one who started the crass nepotism, tribalism and regionalism currently pervading Nigeria?

Icheoku says, genuflecting to Abuja each time will not fix what is broken, hence you must cease and desist from making such pitiful visits. Regrettably too, when you make such visit, courtesy demands that you tell the sick-man of Aso Rock what he wants to hear; which in turn forces you to lie. such as when you falsely praised Umaru Yar'Adua for doing such a heck of a good job? Icheoku says, if what Umaru Yar'Adua is "not-doing" is considered by you as doing a good job, then something is definitely awry with your perception? It is either your appreciation of the word "good" has diminished drastically or you were afraid to tell the king the truth in front of his face? So why box yourself in such a catch 22 situation, where you must implicate yourself, either way! Icheoku says, Mr. Slow-man has not done anything to warrant any praise and not by you, the South East governors?

Please, please, governors, enough of these visits! They are not worthy of your time and since they are not productive? Imagine your knee-jerk imput on the Niger Delta genocide that “we remain prayerful that everything will be resolved in the interest of the country”? This is not a sufficient reaction because those Niger Delta people are also Nigerians, being unecessarily slaughtered just because of their own oil? A real manly-man would have called on President Umaru Yar'Adua to end his adventure in the Niger Delta forthwith, period! Also you failed or could not secure a renewal of Soludo's contract at the central bank of Nigeria? And on the Niger Bridge, instead of inquiring what is holding up the project, you were busy talking about dredging; which shows that possibly you did not go to Abuja on the people's business but to secure your second term in office, come 2011? It is pitiful that such visits are taking place in the Igboman's name and behalf? Never again! Not in their name! Not on their behalf shall you ever embark on such a visit to Aso Rock! To the five south-east governors who went to see President Umaru Yar'Adua, you have been forsworn and forbidden never to visit Aso Rock on behalf of Ndi-Igbo again; but implored to work assidiously to put 'Onye-Igbo' in Aso Rock, as president of Nigeria in 2016! That is the 'Ebe ana eje 2016'!

FYI: It will be recalled that the South East Governors on July 31, 2008 paid a similar visit to Aso Rock to urge the President's understanding on the need to create one additional state in the south east? As always, President Yar’Adua expressed his qualified support that the issue was purely constitutional? This event has since been over-taken by other Arewa-based agenda, which the president is rather pursuing with whatever remains of his fast-fading life?