South-East not ready for presidency in 2019, says Ohanaeze chieftain

A former Deputy Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, Chief Enechi Onyia (SAN), has said the South-East zone of the country is not ready for the presidency in 2019.
Onyia told the News Agency of Nigeria in Enugu on Friday that the call for the zone to take a shot at the presidency in 2019 was “misplaced and in bad taste”.
He said that proponents of the idea were emissaries of disunity in the zone.
According to him: “The South-East is not ready as the people have yet to organise the zone into a unified entity capable of speaking with one voice just like other regions.
Onyia said: “What is bothering me is the gullible ones who are either praising or criticising those calling for a Nigerian president of South-East extraction.
“What will we gain from a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction if we are not organised ourselves?
“In fact, such a person will make us poorer without proper organisation. Why do we shout Igbo presidency as if that is the final thing? It is unfair and we have overgrown that propaganda.”
Onyia said that though any Nigeria was free to speak out on an issue of national importance, they should stop using Igbos to fight against one another.
He said that the bane of democracy in the country had been the purported zoning arrangement by some political parties, adding that such bred mediocrity.
He said: “We should rather talk about the best candidate leading us and I am sure an Igboman can be the best.”
He called on the people of the region to have a proper organisation to meet the exigencies of the moment.
Onyia said it was sad that the apex socio-cultural organisation of the people had failed to organise itself with a properly recognised leadership.
He said that the organisation had failed to galvanise the people into one single unit over the years due to leadership tussle.
Onyia said: “The issue of Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo gets to culture, education and self realisation. So, for us producing the president of Nigeria is a small issue.
“Let us first know our problem. Know where we are going and find our way to reach that place.”
NAN.