By Gideon Njoku
Anambra State Governor, Professor Charles Soludo, has told the Igbo that they will be inconsequential in the 2023 Presidential election. He said their votes will not count in who becomes the President.
According to him, aside from the Igbo having the least number of voters in Nigeria, the emergence of Peter Obi, who he called a spoiler, almost, is making things difficult for the Igbo.
He, also noted that in the 2023 Presidential election the Igbo is the only Zone where it will be a four-way race.
In a stinging response to his attackers over what not a few people saw as his deliberate demarketing of Obi, Soludo in an article, titled Peter Obi Is Going Nowhere- History Beckons And I Will Not Be Silent, said that Obi knows he would not win, and is playing games with the Igbo.
But Professor Fabian Osuji, former Minister of Education during the President Olusegun Obasanjo Government, and a former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in a post, said he is ashamed of Soludo’s unwarranted attack on Obi. He asked the Igbo to rise up in condemnation and ask Soludo to retract his tirade against Obi.
Soludo: “Let’s be clear: Peter Obi knows that he can’t and won’t win. He knows the game he is playing, and we know too; and he knows that we know.”
The Governor wrote off every other Political Party and their Presidential candidates, including the candidate of his own Party, APGA, and declared that only two political parties – APC and PDP, and two people, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar are in the race.
Said Soludo: “The game he (Obi) is playing is the main reason he didn’t return to APGA. The brutal truth (and some will say, God forbid) is that there are two persons/parties seriously contesting for president: the rest is exciting drama!”
In his thinking, Obi will not be among the first two, and would probably not be among the first three. The only thing, he noted, Obi is doing is to make the pathway of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, easy, while chipping away from the votes of Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
He said that in Tinubu’s shoes, he would give Obi money for his campaign because Obi is pushing him to an easy victory.
Soludo: “I already told him my opinion. Indeed, there is no credible pathway for him near the first two positions, and if care is not taken, he won’t even near the third position. Analysts tell him you don’t need “structure” to win. Fantasy!”
As example of what it could be in 2023, Soludo mocked the performance of the LP in Ekiti and Osun States in their recently concluded Governorship elections.
Soludo: “Of course, LP won Governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun on social media and via phantom polls, while getting barely 2,000 votes on ground. Creating a credible third force for Presidential election in Nigeria requires a totally different strategy and extreme hard work.
On what to expect from Mr Obi in 2023, Soludo submitted:
“Of course, Peter Obi will get some votes, and may probably win in Anambra state— as “home boy”. But Anambra is not Nigeria. If he likes, I can even campaign for him but that won’t change much. From internal State by State polling available to me, he was on course to get 25% in 5 states as at August this year. The latest polling shows that it is down to four states, and declining. Not even in Lagos state (supposed headquarters of urban youths) where Labour Party could not find candidates to contest for House of Reps or Senate.”
Explaining how the LP Governorship candidate is hurting Atiku, Soludo said:
“The polls also show that he is taking votes away mostly from PDP. Indeed, if I were Asiwaju Tinubu, I would even give Peter Obi money as someone heading one of the departments of his campaign because Obi is making Tinubu’s pathway to victory much easier by indirectly pulling down PDP. It is what it is!”
Soludo, also, noted that the Obi phenomenon would place the Igbo in a disadvantaged position in years to come.
He said: “The current fleeting frenzy, if not checked, will cost Ndigbo dearly for years. The South East has the lowest number of votes of any region, but it is also the only region where the presidential race might be a 4-way race (it is a two-way race in the other 5 regions) thereby ensuring that our votes won’t count in the making of the next president of Nigeria.
“Afterwards, we would start complaining that we don’t get “what we deserve” or cry of marginalization. During the 2019 presidential election, the five South East States were united for PDP but contributed merely 1.6 million votes to PDP which was about the votes that Kano state gave to Buhari.
“The emotions might run to heavens but politics-power is about cold calculations, organization and building alliances for power. In a democracy, it is a game of numbers. So far, I don’t see any of these— and 2023 might again be a wasted opportunity for Ndigbo! What is our Plan B when Peter Obi loses in February 2023?
“Some people prefer that we should play the Ostrich while Peter Obi toys with the collective destiny of over 60 million Igbos. Yes, you pray that he wins, but what if he fails, as he is certain to? The Bible says that my people perish for lack of knowledge. As the saying goes, only those who Plan can control the future. Ndigbo, wake up and smell the coffee!”
But Professor Osuji shocked at the extent Soludo went in his inexplicable attack against Obi, expressed shock and revealed how Soludo was helped to become Obasanjo’s Economic Adviser, and later, the Central Bank Governor.
He said that Soludo shocking demarketing of Obi must have consequences.
“I am thoroughly embarrassed about the level of hostility being exhibited by our brother and friend Prof Charles Soludo towards Peter Obi.
“He cannot claim to be self made. People like us participated in making him.
“I was Pro- Chancellor and Chairman of Council at the University of Nigeria when his papers came for approval for Professorship. I could have found reason to withhold, or deny assent .But we put him out and praised his work.
“That made President Obasanjo appoint him Economic Adviser without hesitation.
“Three years later, three of us- Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala ,Oby Ezekwesili and myself – were attending a Conference in Brussels when President Obasanjo called Ngozi Okonjo Iweala who was Finance Minister to ask for the nomination of Governor of Central Bank.
“We gave a unanimous vote for Prof Charles Soludo – Ministers of Finance, Education and Due Process.
“As Ndigbo we were proud to support our brother. He was not the sole candidate. Obasanjo gave him the position. Everyone rejoiced. That was the power of Umunna (brotherhood)
“Years later, I cannot imagine the same person who benefitted resoundingly from the support of Umunna being the one to pull down his own brother who is enjoying overwhelming support elsewhere.
“I am truly ashamed of him.
“Ndigbo should not allow him to get away with this. He should be made to withdraw all his damaging statements against Obi.
“There is still time for him to reverse himself in this matter. Ndigbo must not allow him to get away with this.”
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