ANAMBRA PDP SICK – MUO AROH

Anambra PDP
Well, Anambra PDP is a sick child and as you know, in medical science, it is only a well trained pediatrician that can handle a sick baby. I think what we need in Anambra State is a combination of a skilled pediatrician and the same time to cut where needs to be cut and to be gentle where there is need to be gentle.

Having said that, I think what is playing out in Anambra PDP is laughable. Because a whole lot of people who have been compromised before now, refused to take the appropriate decisions.

These people who are causing problems are all joiners. Who because of questionable resources at their disposal have now decided to throw their weight around. I think the time has come for the National Working Committee of the party to take a hard look at Anambra State and save us the embarrassment that is caused by these guys; by sacking them from the party. They have a right to go and form their own party. Must they be in PDP?

Anambra PDP and 2011 election
Of course the crisis will affect the party in next year's election. But will it continue to affect it forever? If the price we are going to pay is to lose to the next year's election so as to get PDP properly grounded and effectively administered, so be it. As far I am concerned, enough is enough. The mess that is going on there, the impunity that is going there must be stopped.

The PDP zoning controversy
There is zoning in PDP. Whether anybody likes it or not, there is zoning. But zoning does not mean that Jonathan will not contest. My only worry is that when people say there is no zoning, it makes me look at people who ordinarily I hold in high esteem, I begin to question their sense of wisdom. Because why must you tell verifiable lies to score a cheap political point. Of course there is zoning, and there is rotation.

On the basis of zoning and rotation, Jonathan is qualified to run. He is from a zone and his zoned would be deemed to have taken its turn. There is nothing dogmatic about this thing. It is not a North and South issue. We must understand that this zoning was based on a six geo-political zone arrangement. That Obasanjo became greedy and decided to take two terms does not mean that the original agreement was for two terms. The original agreement was for a single term.

Even the consensus group which brought out Atiku; I don't think they brought out Atiku because he is from the North. They did not bring out Atiku because he is the best from the North; they brought Atiku because if you look at the North, the zone that has not produced a Head of State since Tafawa Balewa is the North-East zone. Why didn't go to the North-West or North-Central?

The only reason why people got angry with Jonathan was for him to have joined Obasanjo to say there is no zoning. He knows there is zoning. But having found himself in that office, it is preposterous for anybody to ask him not to run. That does not mean that people should support him willy-nilly. But for the fact that he is there, and his own zone has not produced a Head of State, nobody will ask him not to run. But that does not in effect mean that other people will not air their views or will not agitate for their zones. Politics is all about agitations. We are talking about Nigeria. We are talking about interest. We are talking about what is going to happen.

Like the Igbos talking about the 2015 project. It is still a very serious agitation with our people. And if they don't start the agitation and start making some proper plans, and start making proper strategy we will not get there.

So if somebody tells you there is no zoning, tell him or her it is a lie. There was zoning and there is zoning. What is going on now is zoning. A question of timetable or the time lag is a matter of semantics. After all, the man who has caused that problem is the person still causing trouble by going about saying there is no zoning.

Igbo Presidency in 2015
The Igbos in Nigeria are not apologists. And we are no longer going to do things just to say we can do it. We have come a long way in this country. We should now be planning on concrete programmes to get the presidency. Not just running for running sake.

That is why it does not matter to me who wins the 2011 presidential election.

Anybody can win it. But the fact still remains that if we believe that it is our turn in 2015. We start planning from now. An Atiku or Jonathan presidency cannot stop an Igboman from running in 2015….

And winning it?
If you plan well, you win. If you have faith in yourself, you win. But the issue is do we have the can do spirit? Do we have the ability?

Today, INEC is planning to do a proper registration of voters. As far as I know, the most populous tribe in this country is the Igbo nation. Go to any state, after the indigenous population of that state, the next most populous people are the Igbos. So, if we plan very well, 2015 will be our year.

It is all a matter of strategy. It is not a matter of whom we support in 2011. Although it will count because you scratch my back, I scratch your back. We need our people to go out now and sensitize the entire Igbo nation, to go out and register, wherever they are. They don't need to rush back to Anambra, Imo etc. they should register in Sokoto, Kano, Adamawa, wherever.