I thank God our Governors are standing by at this time. This will give them a stronger bargaining chip in the process.

Its also nice to have a neutral position on zoning while the debate rages.

I don't think it is necessary to present Presidential candidates for the sake of it.

However if someone like Soludo is able to lobby for a VP Position should the next PDP flag bearer come from the North good for him. However I do not think Soludo should run for President. I also hope all other politicians join forces with others to negotiate for strategic positioning instead of producing a Presidential candidate for the sake of it.

Negotiating a guarantee for dredging Onitsha watersways, electing a leader that can guarantee things like State Policing and devolution of powers to State and LGA is of more use to the SouthEast than producing the occupant of Aso Rock.

mikeansy:

I thank God our Governors are standing by at this time. This will give them a stronger bargaining chip in the process.

Its also nice to have a neutral position on zoning while the debate rages.

I don't think it is necessary to present Presidential candidates for the sake of it.

However if someone like Soludo is able to lobby for a VP Position should the next PDP flag bearer come from the North good for him. However I do not think Soludo should run for President. I also hope all other politicians join forces with others to negotiate for strategic positioning instead of producing a Presidential candidate for the sake of it.

Negotiating a guarantee for Onitsha watersways, electing a leader that can guarantee things like State Policing and devolution of powers to State and LGA is of more use to the SouthEast than producing the occupant of Aso Rock.

exactly what i have in mind in present circumstances.

The major challenge of Ndigbo up until now is their inability to speak with one voice and rally round one formidable candidate.

Every time a position is zone to Ndigbo, you'll find 50 or more candidates ready to battle it out.

Also Ndigbo has to present credible candidates with good track records, if you keep throwing up candidates like Orji Uzor Kalu, other zones will have no choice but to look the other way.

OAM4J:

The major challenge of Ndigbo up until now is their inability to speak with one voice and rally round one formidable candidate.

Every time a position is zone to Ndigbo, you'll find 50 or more candidates ready to battle it out.

Also Ndigbo has to present credible candidates with good track records, if you keep throwing up candidates like Orji Uzor Kalu, other zones will have no choice but to look the other way.

The think is people are out for self and their cronies. Igbos dont through out candidates like uzo kalu.he just comes out like many others to help through things off to help him and his elite cronies in the other parts of the country.

chyz:

The think is people are out for self and their cronies. Igbos dont through out candidates like uzo kalu.he just comes out like many others to help through things off to help him and his elite cronies in the other parts of the country.

That happens every where, virtually in all the zones, but what is yet to be seen among the Ndigbo is majority of Ndigbo supporting one candidate as is seen in other regions.

When you have 50 - 70% of Ndigbos behind a candidate, then we can say we have a true Ndigbo candidate.

IbrahimB:

What of Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo or Francis Arthur Nzeribe? My Igbo brethren, what do you think of the suitability or otherwise of these two Gentlemen for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?

Soludo would have been PERFECT if he can speak Hausa and Yoruba. I really insist on that multilingual ability. That is how our most powerful national players made head way. Arthur Nzeribe is a very intelligent man (perhaps the most intelligent Igbo politician I know), but he has a bad reputation in other parts of Nigeria.

There is something about Soludo that is golden and was truncated abruptly by his failure in Anambra state gubernatorial elections. Be that as it may, he still has an opportunity to remake himself by leaving PDP (I really believe that PDP is living on borrowed time) and joining APGA. He has the energy, the intelligence, the youth and the charisma to run a national campaign. I would suggest he takes a crash course on Hausa and Yoruba.

Believe me I know where I'm going with this thinking.

Ndigbo, in my view, have the best presidential materials for Nigeria. We just have to project them forward.

OAM4J:

The major challenge of Ndigbo up until now is their inability to speak with one voice and rally round one formidable candidate.

Every time a position is zone to Ndigbo, you'll find 50 or more candidates ready to battle it out.

Also Ndigbo has to present credible candidates with good track records, if you keep throwing up candidates like Orji Uzor Kalu, other zones will have no choice but to look the other way.

That is why I specifically suggested APGA as the platform. There are too many hot heads in PDP and other parties.
APGA remains the only party that can command Igbo support almost up to about 90%.

Yes, we can speak with one voice under APGA.

That Igbo candidate is no other than Pat Utomi.
Nzeribe: Nigerians have not forgiven him and his ABN for the impasse in Nigeria in 1992/3.
Soludo, no way near it.
Anyaoku, Ekwueme-two old to run.
Ngozi Iweala-Good.

Andre Uweh:

That Igbo candidate is no other than Pat Utomi.
Nzeribe: Nigerians have not forgiven him and his ABN for the impasse in Nigeria in 1992/3.
Soludo, no way near it.
Anyaoku, Ekwueme-two old to run.
Ngozi Iweala-Good.

Ngozi Iweala is very good, but is Nigeria ready for her?

Pat Utomi has my support.

mikeansy:

I thank God our Governors are standing by at this time. This will give them a stronger bargaining chip in the process.

Its also nice to have a neutral position on zoning while the debate rages.

I don't think it is necessary to present Presidential candidates for the sake of it.

[b]However if someone like Soludo is able to lobby for a VP Position should the next PDP flag bearer come from the North good for him. [/b]However I do not think Soludo should run for President. I also hope all other politicians join forces with others to negotiate for strategic positioning instead of producing a Presidential candidate for the sake of it.

Negotiating a guarantee for dredging Onitsha watersways, electing a leader that can guarantee things like State Policing and devolution of powers to State and LGA is of more use to the SouthEast than producing the occupant of Aso Rock.

I don't think we should run as vice presidential candidate to anybody. That would defeat the aim of the whole thing. We need to send a powerful message to other Nigerians that we are equal stakeholders in Nigeria and not second fiddlers.
At least that is one area the governors were right. Even if the candidate fails to win, the message will be powerful if he nearly beats the winner, and I know it will be that close if we put our minds to it.

That second fiddle mindset is part of why PDP will never serve our interests in Nigeria. The PDP has an already mapped out national vision designed by Obasanjo which schemes to turn Ndigbo into a minority tribe in Nigeria.

That is why I advise all discerning Igbo politicians to leave the PDP en masse.

Onlytruth:

I don't think we should run as vice presidential candidate to anybody. That would defeat the aim of the whole thing. We need to send a powerful message to other Nigerians that we are equal stakeholders in Nigeria and not second fiddlers.
At least that is one area the governors were right. Even if the candidate fails to win, the message will be powerful if he nearly beats the winner, and I know it will be that close if we put our minds to it.

That second fiddle mindset is part of why PDP will never serve our interests in Nigeria. The PDP has an already mapped out national vision designed by Obasanjo which schemes to turn Ndigbo into a minority tribe in Nigeria.

That is why I advise all discerning Igbo politicians to leave the PDP en masse.

I support the highlighted 100%. A major move like that would really get things moving for us.

Andre Uweh:

That Igbo candidate is no other than Pat Utomi.
Nzeribe: Nigerians have not forgiven him and his ABN for the impasse in Nigeria in 1992/3.
Soludo, no way near it.
Anyaoku, Ekwueme-two old to run.
Ngozi Iweala-Good.

She is more than Good. that woman has balls. better than all the clueless heads we have in government today

I used to listen to her speak as then financed minister, how she used to tutor those dumb-heads politicians.

Onlytruth

Nobody is more Nigerian than anyone else. Chukwuma Soludo just came out on the back of an election defeat in his own State. As good and qualified Presidential candidate as i think he is, I don't think the time is right for him to dabble into Presidential run. If he is lucky to be hand the VP slot in PDP good for him, otherwise he has no business running for President now.

The Governors have also made the right choice to face their state and ignore Presidential politics for strategic reasons. If Chekwas Okorie and Rochas Okorocha and co have enough money to throw around thats up to them. But I will rather not have a Presidential candidate from the SouthEast for the sake of it.

I don't think we need to send a message to anyone that we are Nigerians. Anybody who does not know that is simply delusional and mad.
We are as Nigerian as everyone else and don't have to prove it by fielding candidates in every election. We have produced Nigerian leaders like
Jonny Ironside and Zik to VP like Alex Ekwueme. We have had Senate Presidents, Business Leaders, representatives in National Sports or in any sphere of life you can think of. So I really don't see how fielding a candidate for the sake of it proves anything.

OAM4J:

She is more than Good. that woman has balls. better than all the clueless heads we have in government today

I used to listen to her speak as then financed minister, how she used to tutor those dumb-heads politicians.

Ngozi is good because she is intelligent and courageous and have handled leadership positions at the highest levels. She is not some theorist or educationist. She has solved Nigeria's biggest problem once (the debt cancellation was negotiated by her), so, she needs to bring her expertise to solve other problems facing Nigeria.

She is also even a better candidate in a weird way because she is a woman. If she knows how to speak these languages, she can appeal to her fellow women across Nigeria, who by the way make up more than 50% of Nigeria's population.

She really stands a chance, but she has to demonstrate "political abilities" on the Nigerian turf.  Remember she has to campaign nationwide. If she knows how to go about it, she can make a real impact and even win. It all depends on how she plays it.

OAM4J:

She is more than Good. that woman has balls. better than all the clueless heads we have in government today

I used to listen to her speak as then financed minister, how she used to tutor those dumb-heads politicians.

But the simple fact she is a woman, cause problem for her candidacy. Especially with the North and elements in Igbo society. I would definitely support her though. We need an Iron Lady in Nigeria.

However, many Nigerian men would feel threatened. Even among the Igbo!

MaziUche0:

But the simple fact she is a woman, cause problem for her candidacy. Especially with the North and elements in Igbo society. I would definitely support her though. We need an Iron Lady in Nigeria.

However, many Nigerian men would feel threatened. Even among the Igbo!

lol @ Ezeuche.

You need to drop your sexist worldview. You'd be surprised that Nigerians know what is good for them irrespective of sex.

Onlytruth:

lol @ Ezeuche.

You need to drop your sexist worldview. You'd be surprised that Nigerians know what is good for them irrespective of sex.

We have to be honest with ourselves. Nigerians are not as progressive as you think.

A female running for president would make the Northerners go crazy, an Igbo man would be shocked, and a Yoruba man will wonder if she is available. Just joking.

But seriously, we are not that progressive. Just look at how some Nigerian men treat there wives. You think they will support a woman?

mikeansy:

Onlytruth

Nobody is more Nigerian than anyone else. Chukwuma Soludo just came out on the back of an election defeat in his own State. As good and qualified Presidential candidate as i think he is, I don't think the time is right for him to dabble into Presidential run. If he is lucky to be hand the VP slot in PDP good for him, otherwise he has no business running for President now.

The Governors have also made the right choice to face their state and ignore Presidential politics for strategic reasons. If Chekwas Okorie and Rochas Okorocha and co have enough money to throw around thats up to them. But I will rather not have a Presidential candidate from the SouthEast for the sake of it.

I don't think we need to send a message to anyone that we are Nigerians. Anybody who does not know that is simply delusional and mad.
We are as Nigerian as everyone else and don't have to prove it by fielding candidates in every election. We have produced Nigerian leaders like
Jonny Ironside and Zik to VP like Alex Ekwueme. We have had Senate Presidents, Business Leaders, representatives in National Sports or in any sphere of life you can think of. So I really don't see how fielding a candidate for the sake of it proves anything.

Mike

That is where you and I differ.  Take a simple trip down the memory lane in Nigeria and tell me (in all honesty) whether we Ndigbo have gotten what we deserve in Nigeria. You and I know that only Ironsi wielded power at the center and it was for 6 months only. If the Jan 1966 coup did not happen, by now we would have produced many Nigerian presidents. That is a fact. So, we cannot be happy with our state in Nigeria, especially when we can do something about it.
Your membership of PDP is blinding you to a whole lot of possibilities for Ndigbo. Your partys vision is Obasanjos vision, and it is not good for Ndigbo. Obasanjo resolutely rejected calls to allow tribal demographics to be collected in the census forms (something that is common all over the world) because he was afraid that Igbo population would be known.

So, please spare me that thinking that Ndigbo don't need to contest because we do, and thank God we have a ready platform for it called APGA.

If Soludo is not ready (which I may agree), we have others like Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.

Yes, we must contest, and now is the time!

Onlytruth:

Mike

That is where you and I differ.  Take a simple trip down the memory lane in Nigeria and tell me (in all honesty) whether we Ndigbo have gotten what we deserve in Nigeria. You and I know that only Ironsi wielded power at the center and it was for 6 months only. If the Jan 1966 coup did not happen, by now we would have produced many Nigerian presidents. That is a fact. So, we cannot be happy with our state in Nigeria, especially when we can do something about it.
Your membership of PDP is blinding you to a whole lot of possibilities for Ndigbo. Your partys vision is Obasanjos vision, and it is not good for Ndigbo. Obasanjo resolutely rejected calls to allow tribal demographics to be collected in the census forms (something that is common all over the world) because he was afraid that Igbo population would be known.

So, please spare me that thinking that Ndigbo don't need to contest because we do, and thank God we have a ready platform for it called APGA.

If Soludo is not ready (which I may agree), we have others like Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.

Yes, we must contest, and now is the time!

When is the next census?

MaziUche0:

We have to be honest with ourselves. Nigerians are not as progressive as you think.

A female running for president would make the Northerners go crazy, an Igbo man would be shocked, and a Yoruba man will wonder if she is available. Just joking.

But seriously, we are not that progressive. Just look at how some Nigerian men treat there wives. You think they will support a woman?

Believe me, I don't want to go into the sexist thing. All I know is that women held powerful political positions in Nigeria even in the 50s and 60s. We beat even western countries in that.
So don't mistake our domestic lifestyle with our national politics.
In a free and fair elections, let everyone come out and make his/her case, and let the voters decide.

I tell you that if Ngozi for instance can speak all three major languages, she can get support from all parts of Nigeria.
She will need the money to run, and that is where we come in. By "we" I mean Igbo youths and organizations, we can even raise $ 1 billion if necessary.

This is a serious thing.

Onlytruth:

I tell you that if Ngozi for instance can[b] speak all three major languages[/b], she can get support from all parts of Nigeria.
She will need the money to run, and that is where we come in. By "we" I mean Igbo youths and organizations, we can even raise $ 1 billion if necessary.

This is a serious thing.

Now that is a super woman!

I know she has the credentials. And she is an Iron lady who doesn't care who the person is. But is Nigeria ready for her? She can be sort of a firebrand as well. Northern leaders would feel threatened!

chyz:

When is the next census?

I don't know. The last census was rigged as usual, and frankly without a tamper proof national ID card, it would be nearly impossible to conduct a credible census in Nigeria, thanks to the Obasanjos of Nigeria.

But we can beat all those tricks by picking a powerful candidate and voting massively for him/her next year.

MaziUche0:

Now that is a super woman!

I know she has the credentials. And she is an Iron lady who doesn't care who the person is. But is Nigeria ready for her? She can be sort of a firebrand as well. Northern leaders would feel threatened!

She does not need to worry about northern leaders. She only needs to build a grassroot political movement using local activists and women groups. Majority of northerners are poor. She needs to show them how she can change their lot and give them hope for a better future. Those talakawas would dump the so called northern leaders at the polls.
Everybody wants a better future. It is the duty of a politician to demonstrate ability to provide that better future, and I believe this woman can do it.

None of this can happen unless someone gets control of the military and send them to their barracks. I fear the Nigerian military more than anything else which is slanted to the North. A leader that is too progressive will end up being ousted.

MaziUche0:

None of this can happen unless someone gets control of the military and send them to their barracks. I fear the Nigerian military more than anything else which is slanted to the North. A leader that is too progressive will end up being ousted.

In fact, for making this observation, I now think that Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is arguably the leading candidate for me, at least for now. She has the necessary international connections to keep Nigeria's military in check. I don't need to say more.
She has more connections than almost all contestants in the south east and south south except Jonathan.
So don't worry yourself about the military.

I don't know if she can speak fluent Hausa and Yoruba though. She can take a crash course on that, but next year is almost here.

mikeansy:

I thank God our Governors are standing by at this time. This will give them a stronger bargaining chip in the process.

Its also nice to have a neutral position on zoning while the debate rages.

I don't think it is necessary to present Presidential candidates for the sake of it.

However if someone like Soludo is able to lobby for a VP Position should the next PDP flag bearer come from the North good for him. However I do not think Soludo should run for President. I also hope all other politicians join forces with others to negotiate for strategic positioning instead of producing a Presidential candidate for the sake of it.

Negotiating a guarantee for dredging Onitsha watersways, electing a leader that can guarantee things like State Policing and devolution of powers to State and LGA is of more use to the SouthEast than producing the occupant of Aso Rock.

Quite correct Negotiating and lobbying are one way to achieve political relevance. But doing the job well by yourself is the best. Igbo should at worst brought forward one candidate to create some form of a competition which will make Jonathan come before us wit better negotiations.The plan by the SE governors to give all our votes to Jonathan makes us look cheap. Thats why he feels comfortable using us as his pawns, replacing igbos in key positions with northerners in other to appease them since they present more of a challenge to him.

Onlytruth:

I don't know. The last census was rigged as usual, and frankly without a tamper proof national ID card, it would be nearly impossible to conduct a credible census in Nigeria, thanks to the Obasanjos of Nigeria.

But we can beat all those tricks by picking a powerful candidate and voting massively for him/her next year.

I truly believe that the Igbo are the single largest ethnic group in nigeria i have many reason to support that but let me give one. When ojukwu ran for president he had the second largest amount of votes. This is in a country where Ojukwu is hated by majority of the company for "starting" the civil war. There is no way he could have got that many votes if he was not from a tribe that is majority. And on top of that the election was rigged in his opponents favor. imagine if that would have not happened. That im sure is the reason why OBJ didnt allow tribe to be included in the census.

Onlytruth:

She does not need to worry about northern leaders. She only needs to build a grassroot political movement using local activists and women groups. Majority of northerners are poor. She needs to show them how she can change their lot and give them hope for a better future. Those talakawas would dump the so called northern leaders at the polls.
Everybody wants a better future. It is the duty of a politician to demonstrate ability to provide that better future, and I believe this woman can do it.

The facts have to be stated that nigerians as a whole mentally arent ready for a female president. this is a country that bases choices off of emotions for gods sake.

So I think we should go for it next year. At least we would secure our political ideology in Nigeria. We need to market that ideology to the rest of Nigeria. We did it before under NCNC and even NPP (NPP won Kano state in 1979). We can repeat it.
PDP plans for Ndigbo is evil.

chyz:

I truly believe that the Igbo are the single largest ethnic group in nigeria i have many reason to support that but let me give one. When ojukwu ran for president he had the second largest amount of votes. This is in a country where Ojukwu is hated by majority of the company for "starting" the civil war. There is no way he could have got that many votes if he was not from a tribe that is majority. And on top of that the election was rigged in his opponents favor. imagine if that would have not happened. That im sure is the reason why OBJ didnt allow tribe to be included in the census.


The facts have to be stated that nigerians as a whole mentally arent ready for a female president. this is a country that bases choices off of emotions for gods sake.

You are 100% correct on the bolded quote.

Frankly, I think Nigeria is ready for a female president. They just don't know it yet. A very smart, politically savvy, charismatic and courageous woman will shock people. There are lines she can use and use it effectively.

chyz:


The facts have to be stated that nigerians as a whole mentally arent ready for a female president. this is a country that bases choices off of emotions for gods sake.

Nigeria is ready for female President, only that Nigeria will not just support any woman cus of 'women sympathy'. Any woman that must lead must earn the honour and respect of the people

and IMO, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has earned it.

Onlytruth:

You are 100% correct on the bolded quote.

Frankly, I think Nigeria is ready for a female president. They just don't know it yet. A very smart, politically savvy, charismatic and courageous woman will shock people. There are lines she can use and use it effectively.

I agree. I think alot of african countries are in need of one. However, i think african countries are in need of a female president that carries core african values and afrocentric. We do not need women like those in the united states who are solely bent on being higher than men and vengeance against them. No feminist like Hilary Clinton. African women are the best in the world if kept away from from evil ways of western women ideology.

some folks just need to grow up.