Nigerian film legend Pete Edochie has weighed in on the presidential aspirations of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congree, Bola Tinubu, stating that the one-time governor of Lagos is too old to run for president.
Edochie, who spoke during a BBC Ìgbò programme, also highlighted concerns about the apparent political marginalisation of Ìgbò people.
Replying to a question on Tinubu’s candidacy for the 2023 presidency, Edochia said: “Many people like Tinubu are too old and too weak to run for president. He (Tinubu) has been in power for a long time, until he was made the leader of the APC.
“But he should leave the position for those who are younger and healthier; let’s be honest.”
Edochie also lamented that Nigeria has not had more than one Ìgbò head of state since the attainment of independence in 1960.
“Ìgbò, Hausa, and Yorùbá are the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Only once in the history of Nigeria has it emerged that an Ìgbò person became the head of state in Nigeria,” he said.
“That was (former military head of state) Aguiyi Ironsi during the military government and his headship was short-lived. Since then, the North and the Yorùbá have been sharing power between themselves, apart from Goodluck Jonathan who isn’t even Ìgbò.”
Edochie, who described Ndìgbò as resilient people, said Nigeria needs Ìgbò ingenuity and sound leadership. He also stated that having an Ìgbò as president will end looting and socio-economic woes, added that Ìgbò can deliver strategic leadership that will transform Nigeria.
“Why has power not returned to the Ìgbò people? Is there a plot by the political elites to side line the Southeast? I’ve lived in the north. I speak Hausa. But it’s long overdue for Nigeria to have a leader of Ìgbò extraction.
“The problem in Nigeria is greed. Leadership is dominated by Northerners but, 60 years after independence, we’ve not ended the electricity problem, when coal-based Oji River supplied power to the whole east before the civil war,” he regretted.
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