ZONING OF POLITICAL OFFICES, SOUTHEAST IGBOS IN THE DOG HOUSE!

Icheoku says now that the election-war has been fought and won with the support of the Southeast Igbos, naively led to believe that they mattered; it is time to share the spoils of war and they have once again been told to take a hike or better still to go "Dick Cheney" themselves. 

The loot of war or better still political offices have been distributed and once again, no meaningful office was allocated to the Southeast Igbos and you wonder what other humiliation could be more this - visited by these Nigerians on the Igbos of the Southeast? The marginalization is simply becoming unbearable - not the president, not the vice president, not the senate president, not the speaker and not the party chairman; yet the Igbos are one of the three largest ethnic groupings in Nigeria and they overwhelmingly voted for the party in power, the PDP. Even the Yoruba Southwest which have naturally gone the opposition with their regional party ACN, fared better in the distribution of the PDP largess, as they clinched the speakership; despite having absconded from the PDP completely, the result of the presidential election notwithstanding. Icheoku says the Yoruba Southwest which even preferred the Northern Muslim party, the CPC to the PDP and would have voted for the CPC but for a failed alliance is now being rewarded by the PDP in lieu of the Igbo Southeast?  How does anyone explain the inexplicable that a people who fully, totally and completely voted for the PDP throughout the election is now being shafted while the recalcitrant or borrowing President Jonathan's own words those "rascals' who threw PDP under the bus are being wooed and rewarded with a premier office of the Speaker of House of Representatives?


So, why reward a renegade group while punishing a loyal group; except to maintain and continue t propagate the institutionalized marginalization of the Igbo people in Nigeria; which remains alive till today and in a Nigeria currently being ran by a Southsouth President Goodlucky Jonathan. Icheoku says the sudden tale of 'being mindful of the religious diversity' in Nigeria in the distribution of party offices seems to be an after-thought as the same consideration was said to have died when President Jonathan ran and was elected president despite the fact that it was the turn of Northern Muslims at the presidency. But suddenly, it is now convenient to throw up the dust of religious diversity as a shroud to the real issue of a hatred of a people; and thus use it to deny the Igbos their rightful place at the table of power and prevent them from partaking in the government which they contributed heavily to install. So where is the fairness Nigerians, the Peoples Democratic Party and President 'Goodlucky' Ebelesimi Jonathan?

The same President Jonathan who is now waving the flag of religious fairness as a benchmark for the distribution of party offices did not or choose to ignore same criteria when he personally ran and won the presidency, despite that it was not yet Southsouth Christian's turn at the presidency? The same President Jonathan ignored the same consideration when he constituted his presidential advisory committee with a Christian chairman Theophilus Danjuma as well as a christian vice chairman Benjamin Nwabueze. Also in 1979 second republic, Nigeria had a vice president Alex Ekwueme, Senate President Joseph Wayas and Speaker Edwin Umezoke - all Christians from the then Southeast and the heavens did not fall. So what suddenly changed or became so egregious in 2011 to necessitate that the Igbos rightful position must be sacrificed at the alter of religious diversity? These Nigerians said the Igbos will be compensated with the glorified position of the Secretary to the Federal Government, a none first-charge office without a commanding  authority; a kitchen-staff position of little or no importance who is under the overbearing Chief of Staff who calls all the shots. Icheoku wonders why the PDP did not give that lesser position to the Southwest since their support for the PDP was practically none existent and for President Jonathan, shallow at best. Why would the first always be the last such that a people whose support for the PDP and President Jonathan was deeply rooted and groundswell, should be denied their right of first refusal to a Speakership in preference of the Yoruba opposition specialists? What message is being sent by this - that loyalty should not be rewarded or that treachery pays? 

Icheoku however blames the Igbos of the Southeast for not being politically astute enough; unlike their other counterparts in the Nigeria experiment, who peremptorily force the hands of their political suitors and extract every mileage possible therefrom, before ever throwing in their support for him/her. The Igbos, politically speaking, are like horny prostitutes who bend over as soon as there is any proposition of some sort, no matter how trifle; and without first securing the best possible bargain to protect their interest under any circumstance. Now they are crying blue murder because they have been once again been treated with the same levity all their demands are met in Nigeria and by none other than the same President Jonathan who is supposedly Igbo? This brings to the fore the issue of MASSOB's president Uwazulike who is still being persecuted by the Nigerian authorities despite the fact that every other ethnic militia's leader, including the notorious MEND and the dreaded OPC are all walking free in Nigeria; but Igbo's Uwazulike is still languishing in prison just for speaking out and he never killed anyone or blown away some human-beings in Abuja or some pipelines in the Niger Delta?

Conversely, Icheoku asks, should the Igbos even be heard or seen to be complaining that they did not get any meaningful bargain for their support of the PDP and President Jonathan, when one of their own, President Goodluck Ebelesimi Azikwe Jonathan, is the president? Afterall they accepted that farcical premise during the last presidential election and threw in their all in the Jonathan for president's quest; and at the earliest opportunity and without first ever totally considering the implications or prudently weighing their options completely. What a petulant attitude that beguiled this race into supporting President Jonathan in the last presidential election without first reading the handwriting on the wall that a Jonathan's presidency will automatically spell doom for whatever agenda they might have, either now or in 2015. Did Icheoku hear somebody say that the Igbos just got shafted again and have been shortchanged by the Igbo-haters of Nigeria Plc, who used and dumped the Igbos again as always; as they denied the Igbos a seat at the table of power? Icheoku says if the Igbos could be treated with such levity and so heartlessly dealt with this time in the distribution of political offices, despite their enormous contribution to making the party in power as well as President Jonathan succeed, who knows what fate awaits them in 2015, when they supposedly should produce the next Nigerian president? Except that then, Mr Fix-It Tony Anenih will once again arrogantly decree that there is no vacancy at Aso Rock as the Southsouth still have four more years of their eight year term to serve out!

Icheoku is persuaded by some school of thought which said that the Igbos of the Southeast mortgaged whatever claim, right or interest they might have had to the 2015 presidency of Nigeria when they naively accepted that President Jonathan is one of their own and wholly supported his run for the presidency in 2011. Continuing they said, it will therefore be crass idiocy and impetuous argument for the same Igbos of Southeast to later turn around to covet or desire "another turn at the presidency" in 2015 or any other office of importance now in 2011 when they have, through the proxy of their own President Jonathan, taken their turn at the highest office in the land - the presidency? What more can they ask for - they have the presidency and they have it now? You're right!

Finally, Icheoku maintains that the Igbos of the Southeast deserves as of right, either the Speaker of the House or the Senate presidency as no other region in Nigeria contributed more to the success of President Jonathan and the PDP as they did. Moreso this will ensure the real diversity in the distribution of power among the Nigeria political tripod that will be inclusive of all the major tribes as well as the minority that now occupies the presidency. The Igbos of Southeast was the first major group to first openly adopt and pledge their total unalloyed support to President Jonathan's presidential candidacy. This was even when such an idea was not popular in Nigeria and when the loyalty of the president's own Southsouth people was still very much in doubt with some of their governors not sure of what to do with President Jonathan's planned run - it being against the odds of coming from the minority and since it was not yet their turn to produce the president? So to now just kick the Igbos to the curbside after the job was done and during the time of harvest is the utmost inglorious ingratitude ever conjured up by the cancerous brains of these PDP high-ups in Nigeria. This gross injustice done to the Igbos will further cement the notion that the Igbos have no rightful place in Nigeria and that they are simply tolerated as just the baboons that do the work while the rest of Nigerians are the monkeys that chop harvest? If Igbos have no right in Nigeria and not good enough to seat at the table of power, why not let them go their way as an unwanted people; otherwise redress the situation and let the Igbos become equal partners in the Nigeria project. 

Icheoku says such blatant poking of finger in the eyes of a people is not only bad but is very provoking, insulting and demeaning to the entire Igbo race. It is about time Nigeria called a time-out on their mistreatment of the Igbo nation in the interest of peace and national unity. Icheoku urges Igbo people to, in the event their demand for a meaningful position in the incoming government is not met by President Jonathan and the PDP, defect en-bloc to the APGA and let Nigeria devolve to the 1979 regional political parties affiliations/arrangements. Like the Yoruba Southwest which have gone wholly to their regional party the ACN, Igbo Southeast should adopt APGA as their own regional party and luckily enough the APGA now has two states in Southeast Igboland of Imo and Anambra State  and will likely grow to five barring a redressing of this apparent injustice by the PDP. The Hausa/Fulani Sharia party CPC will continue to operate as it is and as the name implies; while the PDP can then be left alone for the rest of those minorities currently running it? That is the only meaningful message that would be more quickly and easily understood by these unfair-minded Nigerians whose sense of judgment and fairness is imbecilic. They should be told bold-faced that they cannot continuously take Igbos for granted in Nigeria scheme of things and not be challenged and that Igbo support/votes is of no less value when compared to any other group in Nigeria. It is just complete lunacy the treatment Southeast Igbos get in Nigeria and in the hand of supposed fellow Nigerians and country men and women. It is ridiculous! Icheoku asks, all these circumstances considered, is there anyone still out there in Southeast Igboland who still maintains that President 'Goodlucky' Ebelesimi Azikwe Jonathan is Igbo; moreso when he cannot or could not or would not or simply refused to protect an Igbo interest at the center? Please give Icheoku a break with this President Jonathan's 'Igbo-ness, which idiocy of claim can only be equated with the Irish now claiming President Barack Obama!'