NAIJA NEWS
The build-up to the 2023 elections is eerily reminiscent of that of the 2015 elections. The south-east overwhelmingly sided with a candidate, treating his ambition as a south-east ambition. Using south-east here is somewhat obfuscating. Perhaps the more apt expression is Igbos or the Igbo, as the commitment to the Jonathan re-election project transcended the regional bounds of the south-east, travelling to the farthest reaches of the Nigerian expanse in the comfort of the hearts and souls of the average Igbo citizen— politically conscious or sheepish, religious or irreligious, educated or uneducated, young, old, rich, poor— it permeated every class!
And those who summoned the courage to tow a different political path, were maligned, even politically ostracized. Some went as far as diminishing their cultural identity, questioning the authenticity of their roots. It was one of the rankest contradictions of the famed republicanism of the Igbo.
It should be noted that there was nothing especially wrong with the electoral decision. It was well within the free political choice of the people. But the near-unanimous, open— even vociferous— choice of a candidate was a obvious political risk, one whose quotient multiplied given the people in question— a people with a dark history of marginalization and exclusion, one needing to build bridges across the Niger in order to deepen trust for its long-overdue elevation in mainstream national politics. And so, when the Jonathan project failed, the repercussions reverberated far and wide. It didn’t take too long for the signals to begin to appear; the president hinted at it, even graphically captured it in his infamous 95% quip. The south-east was headed for national political wilderness.
There was another opportunity in 2019, and the south-east chose a similar path. It stuck with the PDP. If it wasn’t already clear, it became…
