Southeast is losing its chances of producing the next Nigerian president in 2023 because of its tacit support to the secessionist and violent campaign launched by leader of the proscribed Independent People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.
An elder statesman and member of the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, said this in a television interview .
He said the secessionist agitation by the embattled IPOB leader weakens the chances of the Igbo people to produce a credible presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections.
Kanu is in the custody of the Department of States Services (DSS), after being repatriated from Kenya. He is facing treason charges at a Federal High Court in Abuja, for allegedly instigating the killings of hundreds of people, including security personnel and civilians, and burning federal infrastructure.
Yakasai, 96, said the Southeast must convince Nigerians beyond that it is ready to occupy the exalted office in 2023.
“There is this anxiety in Nigeria about the position of the Southeast because it is surprising to many people including people like me. This is Nnamdi Kanu who, ordinarily to me, would not be a good candidate for the governorship of any of the Southeastern states, but is now claiming the attention (and) support of prominent people in the Southeast,” he said.
“The card is on the Southeastern people’s desk. It is up to them to try to reach out. I’m a strong supporter of a president from the South after Buhari and also if he can come from the Southeast I have no problem.
“My quarrel is that this is not something you just stay at home and pray that people will just dash it to you; you have to show interest, you have to be serious, you have to try to convince people that you are really up to the task. This is what in my opinion is missing from the Southeast,” he said.
