The BSO equally warned the Nwodo-led Ohanaeze Ndigbo to tread the path of caution in order not to derail the emergence of a Nigerian President of Igbo extraction in 2023 after the second tenure of President Muhammau Buhari.
According to Enugu BSO, experience in the Nigerian political trajectory was that no one ethnic nationality could become president of Nigeria without the support of the other ethnic groups and therefore for Ndigbo to become president in 2023, they need the support of others.
The group was reacting to the press conference addressed by President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief John Nnia Nwodo last Thursday at the Ohanaeze Secretariat in Enugu, where threw his weight behind pro-Biafra agitators, just as he accused Buhari of marginalizing Ndigbo.
In a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Chibueze Eze, on Sunday, BSO wondered why Nwodo should be inciting Ndigbo against President Buhari, whereas the President sent him a congratulatory message, expressing his readiness to work with the new Ohanaeze leadership.
Eze said while they agree with the President General in age long marginalization of Ndigbo, it was their considered view that Chief Nwodo unexpectedly did not learn from the great Zik of Africa’s thesis that ‘no condition is permanent’ and therefore “resorted to grandstanding, placed prejudice over patriotism and played holier than thou attitude.”
Nwodo, the BSO spokesman said, “acted like a Rabbit covered in a hole over the years and when it is time to dig open the hole, the Rabbit started shouting, without seeing the light at the end of the dark tunnel.”
The statement read: “It is with rapt attention that Buhari Support Organisation (BSO) Enugu State Chapter, listened to the press conference of the new Ohaneze Ndigbo President General, our dear elder brother, orator and show man, Chief John Nnia Nwodo last Thursday, 19 January, 2017. We wanted to gloss it over, until we saw the lavish advert publication of his personal statement being decorated as that of Ohaneze Ndigbo, when in actual fact Ohaneze Ndigbo is a non-partisan socio-cultural Organisation.
“And most importantly, the statement is neither the resolution of Ohaneze Ndigbo National Executive Committee nor that of Imeobi, as provided in Ohaneze Ndigbo’s Constitution.
“BSO is aware that for Ndigbo to take such far reaching decisions, as proclaimed, Imeobi the inner caucus of Ohaneze Ndigbo had to be summoned; this was not the case.
“If Imeobi is to be summoned tomorrow, we are sure majority of Ndigbo will differ with Chief Nwodo, on the position of IPOB, as was demonstrated in the 1996 and 2014 Constitutional Conferences, where some states like Enugu and Ebonyi States voted against region.
“BSO is in league with majority of Ndigbo and Nigerians in general who despite the existing fault lines, have high hopes of Nigeria’s resurgimento to prosperity and greatness, where justice, equality and fairness will triumph.
“We also foresee the emergence of president of Igbo extraction in Nigeria after President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight year tenure and hence caution for tact and less inflammatory statements, especially from non-partisan Ohaneze Ndigbo”, Eze said.
He stated they had thought that Chief Nwodo, an intellectual, would not repeat the costly mistake of his predecessors who defiantly and deliberately refused to support or even grant a meeting which President Muhammadu Buhari requested for on 7 November, 2014 with Ohanaeze, in a letter where Buhari requested for a consultative meeting to determine and discuss how to meet the expectations of Ndigbo in a new Nigeria.
Eze noted that if Nwodo had carefully gone through that letter, maybe the sound of his drums of war could have been more mature, diplomatic and better couched to harvest the hand of fellowship extended by Mr President, in the congratulatory message, expressing his readiness to work with the new Ohaneze leadership.
He wondered why Nwodo should be beating the drums of war, descend into the parochial arena and unduly incite the good people of Igboland when this golden opportunity to engage Mr President meaningfully offered itself.
“We cannot forget that Chief Nwodo is an elder statesman who enjoyed the ministerial perquisites of Hausa leadership under the second republic President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and the emergency rule of General Abdusalam Abubakar, where a state or local governments can be created on the dining table?
“Or where was Chief Nwodo when we had our brother His Excellency Anyim Pius Anyim, as Secretary to Government of the Federation, our dear sister, Dr Mrs Ngozi Ökonjo-Iweala as Minister of Finance and Coordinator of our Economy, our two dear Professors – Barth Nnaji and Chinedu Nebo as Ministers of Power and yet our roads decayed and Enugu Coal remain abandoned? He querried.
On the issue of federal roads, Eze reminded Chief Nwodo that when South-East traditional rulers recently visited President Buhari, he extolled the virtues of Ndigbo and hinted how he had mobilized contractors for federal roads in South East, which previous regimes deliberately dithered on.
He said Ndigbo should be mindful that their roads were abandoned, in spite of their overwhelming and consistent vote for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where their brothers and sisters got plum jobs, including SGF, Finance Minister, Deputy Senate President, Deputy Speaker and chairmen of Works Committees in the Senate and House of Representatives.
He recalled that “Enugu Coal, which Buhari has concluded plans to revamp and utilise to generate electricity, suffered the same fate with our roads in the hands of regimes, which we so loved and which so loved Ndigbo, where at a stretch of five years, two of our illustrious sons, professors for that matter, were ministers of power, yet Enugu Coal remains idle.”
Eze said Nwodo should have embarked on introspection first, call on the Ndigbo to invest more in Igboland and not repatriation.
He wondered if the Ohanaeze leader was not aware that not only Abakiliki and Aba roads were included in items the $29.9 billion loan package, but nationwide projects like the electricity transmission, super line and Social Investment Programmes.
Citing the words of the elders that if you praise the brave, he does more, Eze said Buhari administration deserved to be applauded for mobilizing for infrastructure and the progress made so from the construction of South-East federal roads and the approval of additional N14.4 billion by the Federal Executive Council to put the construction of the Second Niger Bridge on top gear.
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