Columns: Anyim, The Game Changer

By Robert Obioha, Columnist

As we enter the New Year, it is not in doubt that the politics of 2023 will take the centre stage and assume a life of its own. No matter the stage of our democracy and how our politicians have fared, especially since 2015 when this so-called change regime of the All Progressives Congress (APC) took over from Dr. Goodluck Jonathan administration following the defeat of the Peoples Democracy Party (PDP) in the general election of that year, Nigerians still love democracy and politics. They have also come to believe that multiparty democratic culture has come to stay in the country in spite of its imperfections. What our democracy needs so urgently is for men of goodwill, I mean men who are patriotic and selfless, to mount the saddle and deliver the much-needed democracy dividends to Nigerians. Our democracy is in need of men and women who will be servant-leaders, politicians fired by nationalistic feelings, leaders willing to inspire other Nigerians to work for the progress and development of the country. We need politicians who will see Nigerians as one united entity and govern the people with the fear of God and treat all Nigerians fairly and equitably. We need leaders who will dispense justice to all without fear or favour. We also need leaders who will be for all Nigerians in all circumstances and at all times. We don’t need strong men as politicians, what we need so much now are strong democratic institutions that will ensure the sustenance and survival of our nascent democracy. Nigeria needs a strong and fearless Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), an unbiased and fearless judiciary which can dispense justice without looking left and right. We also need a strong military and other patriotic security institutions that can protect and secure our democracy as obtainable in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) and other advanced democracies. We need an INEC that will ensure that our elections are free, fair and transparent, whether the central government likes it or not. We don’t need a presidential assurance before our elections can be free and fair. If our elections are free and fair, all Nigerians can be assured that they stand a better and an equal chance in any electoral contest. As we approach the 2023 election season, it is cheering that some notable Nigerians are showing interest to vie for the plum job in the country. While some Nigerians have declared their intention to contest the 2023 presidential election, others are working underground and still consulting in the usual Nigerian style of politicking and seeking for godfathers who would anoint them for the plum job. The supporters of some politicians have started soliciting support for them as they prepare to vie for the presidential election in 2023. Next to crude oil, the biggest business and perhaps industry we have in Nigeria is politics. After politics, the next will be football, which is still at rudimentary stage. Unfortunately, our football potential has not been fully harnessed. Our football is still underdeveloped. Although Nigerians love democracy, our democracy is not yet fully developed or advanced. Our politics is still afflicted with ethnic, religious and clannish considerations. It is still propelled by money and tainted by many electoral infractions despite abundant laws to check them. 100% Natural Herbs to Finally End Premature Ejaculation, Weak Erection and Small Manhood. Click Here Now . It is because of these aberrations and our ethnic composition or diversity and the need to ensure unity and give every section a sense of belonging that some of our patriotic politicians in the PDP decided in 1999 when this political dispensation was birthed that the presidency should rotate between the North and South. They also did that to placate the South West region over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 election believed to have been won by their kinsman, the late Chief MKO Abiola. That agreement which does not have force of law or what some people regard as legal backing has been in operation from 1999 till date. It is that gentleman’s agreement that has kept this entity called Nigeria one. From 1999 till date, Olusegun Obasanjo, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Goodluck Jonathan and Muhammadu Buhari have taken turns at the presidency with varying number of years due to circumstances beyond our control. There is no point boring you with such details already known. With less than two years to the end of Buhari’s second term in office, it is expected that the presidency will shift to the South in 2023 and especially the South East region for obvious reasons which will be explicated here soon. In the South, while the South West and the South South have occupied the presidency through Obasanjo and Jonathan, the South East has not. It is because of this power lacuna and the need to ensure political inclusion, equity and justice that the people of the South East are calling on other Nigerians to allow the South East to occupy the plum post come 2023. Whether this request will be granted to the zone either by kneeling down or served a larcata as was done to the South West in 1999, the most important thing is to ensure that this sad chapter of Nigerian politics of exclusion is brought to a closure by allowing the South East region produce the president in 2023. Doing so will finally bring to an end the unfortunate Nigeria/Biafra civil war of 1967-1970. It is indeed the wish of most Ndigbo and some other Nigerians to see that Nigeria produces a president of Igbo extraction in their lifetime. It is my earnest wish too. And the soonest they can allow this dream come true is 2023. It is our fervent prayers that all Nigerians will allow. is happen in our generation. Interestingly, some politicians from the South East region have expressed their desire and willingness to contest for the 2023 presidential election. Apart from Sam Ohuabunwa, a renowned pharmacist and industrialist and a few others who have shown interest for the plum job, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim entry into the ring for the 2023 presidential contest promises to be a game changer. Already consulting widely and having warm handshakes across the ethnic lines and religious boundaries, Anyim has what it takes to be at the nation’s driving seat of power. His towering credentials as an accomplished lawyer and parliamentarian are eloquent enough to recommend him for the big job having served the nation meritoriously as a Senator, Senate President and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF). With his wealth of experience and accomplishments, Nigeria will fare well if Anyim is given the chance to serve the country come 2023. An Anyim presidency will surely take the country to an enviable height among comity of nations.