Obi Makes Fresh Case for Zoning, Declares Nigeria Not ‘Obi and Sons’

Insists idea is imperative for national cohesion Says what people want is 100 per cent effort, not 100 per cent result

Former Anambra State Governor and presidential hopeful, Mr. Peter Obi, has reiterated his case for zoning of the nation’s presidency to the south, albeit, in a more intelligible manner, when he said in an exclusive interview with THISDAY that, Nigeria was not a personal heritage of any tribe or zone to want to appropriate her.

Insisting zoning was imperative to achieve national cohesion, the former vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general election, said, the presidency could not be likened to ‘Obi and Sons’, which would have entitled only Obi to it.

Noting that even private business owners often brought people of other ethnicity to join them for same purposes, he contended that what Nigerians really needed from their leaders was 100 per cent effort and not 100 per cent result.

Asked if the southern demand for presidency has not begun to sound like an entitlement given the approach so far, he retorted: “No, no. There is no entitlement in it. This is an unwritten understanding in our constitution, where we said you go and next time it will be me. It is an understanding and there is nothing wrong in it.

“It is done everywhere, even in corporations and businesses, we try to bring in equation. You’ll see some institutions that are owned by people from one tribe going to bring directors from other places just to show that semblance of cohesion even when they can put only themselves. It’s not ‘Obi and Sons’ and therefore only Obi will be there.”

Addressing whether or not the grounds for demanding southern presidency was also fair to the north if the arithmetic of power sharing was objectively analysed, Obi said, “Let me tell you, forget the mathematics and the party issue. Those shouldn’t be the case. The case is when you live in a diverse multi-ethnic society as ours, what makes a difference is your ability to share and accommodate. That is what makes a difference.

“A society that is like ours makes the cohesion work perfectly. They are accommodation, sharing, love and making sure that your decisions are based on justice and fairness. And if you are looking at the justice of this issue of presidency, you will find out the reason why it should go to the south. And in a multinational society, you must think about cohesion.”

Obi, who refused to share the view that the position of the south was akin to threat, said, “We in the presidential race are not the ones issuing those orders. They are coming from the leaders of various ethnic groups. And they are doing it rightly. When people talk about other peoples’ stand but it is what you bring out that you are given back. But it is a communication thing and I believe in dialogue and consultation.”

The presidential hopeful, however, said it was not time yet for a debate on where in the south the ticket should be zoned to, noting that it should first come to the region before discussing which zone in the region.

His words: “For me, the concentration should be who will do the job. I have said that whatever we do will be based on justice. After that, the next thing is who will solve these problems. We are wasting considerable time on what is an issue but not the core issue. The core issue is that all these things are coming, because the promises made in 2015 were not kept.

“When this particular government was coming in, the issues were security, economy, corruption, food and everything. Do you think we will be talking about zoning or no zoning if they had been solved? We may but the language will be different. Let us stay with the issues and why we are where we are.”

Discussing his qualification for the nation’s number one job, the former Anambra State governor, said, “You need to go deeper into my background. When you talked about ‘am I qualified’ I will want you to look at first my educational background. Then, you look at my private sector background.

“I am a trader. I have operated in the corporate world and I have been in public life. Maybe apart from Atiku, nobody in the contest has been through the processes I have been. In terms of education, I have been through the four walls of the best educational institutions in the world.

“I have been a trader so I know what the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are suffering in this country. I still live in Onitsha, where I started my trading, so I still interface with them till today. I have also operated in the corporate world, where I was director and chaired the board of many corporations.

“I have even been the chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). And I have operated in the public life. Nobody has been through this. They are either politicians, who started from lower positions but I have graduated in every sector. So, who is more qualified?

“I can deal with the security issue, governance issue and I can deal with the economy, because I understand what needs to be fixed. I have lived in the western world, at least, I have lived in The United Kingdom for 10 years. I have travelled all over the world, to at least, 30 countries looking and comparing them with Nigeria.”