 In preparations for 2023 elections, the Ohanez-in-Diebel announces that he will present presidential candidate from the south-east and saludo names an 80-man member of a committee for transition. This is Plus Politics, I am Mary Annacombe. The Ohanez-in-Diebel has indicated its readiness to present candidates from the south-east geopolitical zone for the presidential elections come 2023. The leader of the social-cultural organization Professor George Orbeaza noted that it is only fair for power to rotate from the north to the south, and the south-east getting it for the first time in Nigeria's history. He said, the idea of the president of Nigeria from Igbo-Land is the idea whose time has come and that the zone is ready to give competent and nationalistic candidates, and presidential aspirants that are with the capacity to perform. He also stated that the statistics on presidents and creation of states and local government areas, as well as national assembly, have shown that the zones deserve more. While joining us to discuss this is Alex Obunaya, he is the national publicity secretary Ohanez-in-Diebel worldwide, and Emeka Atama, former media advisor to Ohanez-in-Diebel president general. Thank you very much gentlemen for joining the conversation. My pleasure. Thank you, thank you. I'm going to start with you, Mr. Obunaya. It's interesting, there have been so many questions about, you know, the south-east president, the south-east, you know, pushing for any more presidents, even though a lot of people have said, well, the president of Nigeria is the president of Nigeria no matter where he comes from. But then what are those opinions on, you know, the south-east being passed over? We've heard people say that the south-east has been given the short end of the stake, people are angry that the south-east is not given an opportunity. But I always ask, who's stopping the south-east from running for presidency? Thank you for this important question. I would rather say that the issue of zoning as a model of the principle in Nigeria have been there, but it became intensified with the death of Ania Bakhtar. In 1998, when Abusalaam Al-Aqabaqa was there, leaders of Nigeria met together at the NUC event center in Abuja, the discussion was centered on power shift. It was at NUC, it was agreed that power shift would shift to the south after Abusalaam Al-Aqabaqa, and within the paradigm of that power shift, we also have power rotation. So that was why immediately after Abusalaam Al-Aqabaqa, the power shifted to the south, Abusalaam Al-Aqabaqa was coming to the president. And Abusalaam Al-Aqabaqa, you can see, put in a lot of effort to ensure that he went back to the Northern region, and that was when Umar Umusalaam Al-Aqabaqa took over. After Al-Aqabaqa, of course, he came down to Geneta south-south. Then he went back to the north, now he's coming back to the power shift again to the south, reason and experience and historical facts indicate that issue. It is fair that he goes to the southeast. So why, not that any of us are deprived of the power, but we can see we are very patient. We were patient in north and supported the southwest. We supported the north, we supported the south-south, and it is expected that all the zones in Nigeria will give us support this time around. Well, yeah, interestingly, major political parties like the PDP are saying that they're not necessarily going to include the zoning formula this time around, that they're throwing the ticket or they may throw the ticket open so everyone can come to play. But the question I'm going to ask is, what is the southeast doing to canvas that support that they need for them to be able to throw their hats into the ring and get the political parties to ban behind them? Yeah, even as close as yesterday, it's already in the media, social media today. There was a meeting of southern and middle birth leadership forum held yesterday here in Aboja. And at Aboja, it went black, presided over the meeting. In fact, the south, south, southwest, middle birth and south is, we all agreed that the pregnancy should be suited to be zoned to the south. And of course, any party that has not done his presence into the south is of course, you know, it's a rip-wem, as far as the groups are concerned. So every party has a winning strategy. We cannot compel a party not to do or not to do, but we have already made it clear that Aboja has made it clear, the south, southern middle, southern middle birth, we have made it clear that if you don't zone the place to the south, you are your own. And you don't expect the support of all these other, all these ethnic groups. So we have made it clear, we've been going around, convincing all that zone that it is our top. So then any party who chooses, like PDP, if they choose to zone it to zone or not to zone, every party has its own winning strategy or losing strategy. It's either they choose to lose or they choose to win. So but they are advised to choose to win by zoning it to the south to the south. Let me, let me come to Mecca. Politically, what is the spread, the structure, the ground, how much ground has Ndi Bo covered in terms of, you know, because Hanize is saying they're going to have to field our present candidate for the 2023 presidential ticket for whatever party it is, meaning that it means that you have a group of people that you're going to bring forth. Who are those people, who are, I mean, what is the spread? Because for example, if you say, let's say, who has a spread, who has a base of sorts, what is the structure behind these candidates that Hanize is trying to push for? We may not know who they are, you might not want to, you know, let the cut out of the bag. But if we were to point with our eyes closed, who would these people be off the top of our head? Thank you very much for this question. The truth is that it would be difficult for one to begin to point exactly who is lying forward on such a person's spread's interest. But suffice it to say that we have the ponderance of evil politicians in all the parties in this country. And that we suppose is that at any time the party decides that they are zoning the presidency to the south east or the evil speaking area, then people certainly will imagine those places. But I know for sure that there are people who have not shown interest because some people don't want to beat the bear before the bear is wrong, but gradually they are doing the subterranean action, subterranean movements, can pass it in different parts of the country. I'm aware of that. But we don't have to defold their secrets because these are close to their tests. I mean for conversation purposes, I'm just saying for example, if we were to say let's point out some people who you think would be potentials, who would be able, I mean because anybody, basically any Nigerian can decide to say I want to run for president. The constitution allows for that. But I'm talking about the kind of person who would be able to have a handshake across the Niger. You know what I mean? Someone who would be able to get the votes of not just those in the southeast, but in the south, south, in the southwest, in the north also. Who are the, you know, can you give us an idea of people who are like that in the southeast? Now it would be interesting to know that basically people are known to be marginalized. In other words, if you go to any part of this country, you must find people from people extraction in those places. So they don't have any problems in terms of connecting with other parts of the country. But if you have to do space feed, there are people who are pedigree and Nigerians know them. By the time they come out, you'll find out that they have what it takes to make this country go on the right path. Interesting. Let's, before I go back to Mr. Bonayat, let's look at the issue of, you know, the call for this southeastern president. Like I said, the south is big. We have the southeast, we have the south, south, and we have the southwest. Recently, Ohaneze was fuming over the fact that former Lagos State governor, Bola Med Tinibu, indicated an interest in running for that same ticket on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, even though he says he's still consulting. Why was Ohaneze so angry about his emergence? Again, when people keep pushing for the south to have a president or produce a president, which part of the south is really serious about supporting the southeast, even though Mr. Bonayat has said that there was a meeting. But was it a gentleman's agreement or is this an agreement of sorts that has been put into writing where someone or group of people can be held accountable? Or is this just one of those gentlemen agreements? Is that to me? Well, it was for Mr. Tama. Oh, I thought you were talking to Mr. Bonayat. Well, anybody can answer. Well, I don't think, I didn't have a question quite well because you called when you were asking. Let me see. The point is that even if you talk about the Constitution, Convention or whatsoever, it's always written in the mind. That's why we just discredit the letters of a Constitution. So what we call an agreement is an agreement. And of course, we call it gentleman's agreement. The point is that oh, since a long time now, such agreements have been binding on all the participants. It was binding on us while we produce a bus and job. It was binding on Nigeria where we produce good marakene. Here at Dua. Also, it was binding on us when we went to the south side. And binding on us all the way to go ahead. Now they're supposed to be binding on us. So Nigerians are good, as a man of heart, are good in keeping an arrangement. But at any rate, when we talk about Afedipere, we talk about Torres, we talk about Midu, we talk about the people, the gentlemen of integrity who are prepared, you know, at the banjo, such is the legal, you know, someone clack. These are men of integrity. When they take a standard position, you will be, you can go to sleep. So as a man of heart, that understanding is very strong and very comfortable with it. I'm sure it will lead us somewhere. So this is the other thing I want to point out. There is this collective conscience that you find in Nigeria. My collective conscience won't let me buy that. At the point, there was something like a tenure allegation. Collective conscience worked against it. It didn't work. At the point, I wanted to transmit this himself. Collective conscience agreed. I can go to the namesake circumstances where people's conscience, collective conscience, weighed against the very But do those consciences back in the day, do those consciences actually equate to anything today? Remember that politics yesterday, the politics of yesterday is not anything to compare to the policy of today. You know, the richer complaint of man is there. It's always the catabalion force that don't allow, that doesn't allow the society to go that bad. At any point, we have bad people and good people. Good people always overweigh the bad number. So that is what we are saying. That conscience is still there. You know, that agreement is still there. And I'm very comfortable with it. But at the time, I felt it began to say it by them saying that it turned on the south east. The middle part began to say it by themselves. The south side began to left by Chivalry clan began to say, what else are we looking for? And the political parties, you can see what is happening in APC. APC has one word or the other, so the chairmanship for the party to the north. That is an indication that they are thinking to one side. The PDP themselves, so the chairmanship to the north. The APC is yet to have its national convention. Let's not forget that's going to happen. No, no, no. I know that if you look at the people coming out, there's no way that Rossa is going to contest it. Rossa will contest the chairmanship for the party. But from that, parents and those who, the key players now for that, you will know where the mind of people are going. So that's what I mean by collecting culture. Eventually, you will come to pass. Okay. Back to you, Emeka. Let's look at the unity of Ndibu here. That's another thing that's on the table. It's mostly a subject of conversation as to how united Ndibus are when it comes to picking a choice candidate, banding behind a candidate. I'm also wondering, have Ndibu learned over the years that being united is most important if you want to make a thing like this a reality, something as big as getting a president from the South East. What is the level of unity? Again, let's look at the situation that states are experiencing in terms of insecurity. I'm talking about the likes of Emo. Now it's happening in Eboni and it's spreading like wildfire. Where is the unity in the South East? Well, the best of my knowledge, Ndibus are very, very united especially when it comes to facing national issues. You remember that in 2018, Ndibu came out resoundly and made a statement when he said that he was backing a particular candidate because of his perceived political program of structure and they went to the hills to prove that point. So I don't have any fears whatsoever. Ndibus have always been united and one good thing about Ndibus is that when they're determined to go out for something about anything, they go for it and go in a united form and they face it with all the astronauts if you like or whatever they have to pursue that one objective. And if you look at it again, you find out that Ndibus have been the igniting spirit of this country. There have been the people that have been keeping this country united at one level because you hardly see anybody from any other part of the country, people that to take off land, buy land, erase structures, companies and all that. But Ndibus, right in Lagos, right in the north, all parts of the north, they are there and they will go there, study themselves, get in contact with the owners of the place, remain there and unite themselves and wherever they are, everybody always have a timing in operation. And these time zones have groups in their original homes. So Ndibus have the channel of communication that they show that there is unity of peoples in all the other things in life. So I don't think there's any outcome of doubt about unity to be ignited. Back to you. Let me add to that. Go ahead. I won't speak here. Let me add to that. Let me make it clear. There's hardly any group of people that are united as you go. There's hardly any group of people that are united. Okay, during the time of MPP, you saw all the people united in MPP. When the appointment contested, you saw all the people united in the appointment. If you went to the contest, you saw all the people united when it was the good Lord Jonathan, you saw all the people united in the good Lord Jonathan. What else are we talking about unity? Even this what we call a seat at home and this you see unity in the seat at home. So there's no group, in any place you find the standing on meeting like my father pointed out with organic unity. So there's no, if a people dies in North Pole or South Pole, any part of the world, you see people united to bring the cops home. So when they talk about unity, though who do not understand the people character? The point is that when we are convinced, when they are able to convince the people where they are going, they are united behind you. So they can show that mechanism, you know, but when you convince them, this is what they are going and why are they so they'll keep behind you. So people are so united and you see that unity, this quest for people from prison or from Igbo land, the great of Nigeria, from South East, you see the quest, we are united in it. I hope you understand. So I just want to don't break the point already made by Brother, we are so united. They also mentioned about violence. Yes. Let me tell you, let me tell you, about three, four days ago I was in my house listening to radio Nigeria. They said 200 people were killed in Zanfar as state, 200 persons. Yes, I listened to radio also, I said, how many of them are killed in Penang city? I think relatively the violence level in South East is not as high as, you know, or that is the point that it is, that is not even decided. Collapse of security architecture, you know, in Nigeria, which a lot of organizations have made it clear that there should be more clear level of security architecture in the federal system. But there is a bubagu, but there is a bubagu that was put together by the South East. No, what I'm talking about, generally in Nigeria, there is a collapse of security architecture in Nigeria, I said, whoa, that's why I can hear 200 persons are killed. If you listen to this now, say Nigeria, if you have said Nigeria, 200 persons are killed. They'll be scared of the kind of people we are, and it's like that every day we are, of course, the collapse of the security architecture. So when we talk about in any federal system, go to India, go to Canada, you know, so America, there's always more clear level of security architecture, not even federal or state or local. You come to a university, they find their own security within the university. So it's a more clear level of security architecture. But when you- But Mr. President was being interviewed recently, and the issue of state policing came up, and he's said, you know, a big no to the idea of state policing. But what you're insinuating here is the fact that we need state policing, we need to be able to dismember that power at the center and make it a regional thing. But the president is saying no. So how do we deal with the insecurity if you're saying that there is some form of breakdown, you know, in security apparatus around the country? That question for me? Yes. It's a lot of weak power. It's a lot of weak power. And of course, I have advocated something that Nigeria should have to go to training to understand the remaining of federalism. You know, we are not present about the present federalism. This is in the three systems of government. So for example, we mentioned that they are not able to rule out the government. The point is that some governors are not here convinced, and because of the structure, governor structure, some of this is making it difficult. But the moment it becomes the philosophical framework of the government, that this is not supposed to be. But the fact that everybody will join in making sure that we have such multi-level security architecture, how they are saying. So the point is that you have it's telling you here, there and there, because the federal government has not yet convinced on the way to go. On the other hand, they have full understanding of what you mean by federalism. The only federalism, only in Nigeria you find this kind of alongside the federalism or what they call you the three federalism. You don't have to pride the federalism. There's no point of the one that you find federalism like this. So it's a moral of a weak point to take the right position for the right to achieve the right result. Okay. But before you answer, I just want to toss something from him to you. So you just add it to that. He's saying that the governors in the southeast, I yet to agree thoroughly to rolling out a bubuagu. It takes me back to the issue of unity and unity of purples in dealing with issues head on for every other person to take the southeast seriously. So go ahead. Yeah, I was going to talk about that issue of security because then if you remember in 2019, the election was that was 2019 years. The election was postponed for some weeks because of insecurity in some parts of the country. But that did not stop the election to after all because the final result that came out indicated that even that part of the country where there was insurgency and a lot of unrest provided probably one of the highest votes for the incumbent president. So anybody ascribing insecurity, the southeast as one of the motives for not allowing the presidency to come to the southeast is probably looking to something else. They've not been honest themselves and not being historical in analysis of the security situation in the country. Like my brother put it, the security and security in the country, everybody knows has collapsed. And all you are doing is to find ways of preventing, of avoiding some of these things. And to allow the stability here, you find out that even the group that is said to be responsible for the insecurity in the southeast, say clearly, very, very clearly that they are not responsible for it. There are some people, some bad elements, some people are engineering what is happening. Who do you think the people are? Those who you think are engineering this? Who do you think they are? Do you think they're in the government? Do you think that they're politicians? And what exactly do you think the end game is if you think it's being engineered by people or outsiders? The possibility is there that some people who don't want the presidency to come to the southeast are engineering. It's important because if you make the place uncomfortable, it gives the impression that those people are not serious about what they are doing for and therefore should not be allowed to produce what they want to produce. So I'm not ascribing to any particular person or area. But all I know is that it's not impossible that some people are behind what is happening for political reasons. And it's a matter of fact. So what indeed we're doing, especially the leaders of thought, because of course I know I understand how it works within the southeast and who they respect. But what are you doing as Ohanezi, as you know, leaders of these groups of people to make them understand, especially if this is the theory that you're going with, that there are people who are engineering this and it's not going to be in the best interest of the people. How do you educate them to understand that whatever they're doing? Because I don't think that it's just the outsiders that are perpetrating these violence. They're using insiders also to continue to perpetrate these violence. So how do you engage those people to see the evil that is being done to the land? Let me answer it. Before the election in Anambra State, before the election that produced Dr. Professor Soludo in Anambra State, there were chemists, there were some violence here and there. Remember, at the point, the election was even threatened, at the point people say there wouldn't be a lecture. But what did the leaders of thought in Igbo Land do? We had meetings, convinced people the need for a lecture to hold in Anambra. Just about four years ago, when they take on the North of Obyano, some group of people said there wouldn't be a lecture in Anambra. It took home apprehension and in order to go to Anambra State House of Assembly, talk to people of Anambra State House of, in Anambra State House of, and leaders of thought in Anambra and even tried the election here and there was minimal or no violence. The same thing happened to Dr. Professor Soludo when he was in mind. You remember that at the point, it was one of the freest elections in Nigeria. People were scared. In fact, the state, mobile police and soldiers from all over the state, when they came, they were surprised about the unity, about the civility, about the way it is. And so on. And every moment when the election became credible. So what we are trying to say is that people will always, when they see what they want, serve their best interests. You can see the key in it. So I can, I've said earlier that there's violence everywhere because of the collapsed security architecture. But when it comes to interest now, they will all come together. I know that it is the best interest of our people to be, to avoid violence and whatever. So that's the position. Okay. Finally, I'm coming back to you, Mr. Tamat, with the last word here. Going forward, how do we get the Southeast back to the peaceful state that it was in? Going forward, whatever, before 2023 or after 2023, what needs to be done? I don't think the South is in turmoil. There's no problem with the South is at all. Because if you think about the level of insurgency, the level of violence, the killings every day. Even yesterday, two days ago it was reported, such as something in Plateau, something in Nigeria. You're not in Plateau. The people of Plateau will deal with the situation in Plateau. I'm saying the Southeast is experiencing some kind of violence that has not necessarily been associated with it before now. So what needs to be done to return it to its pride of place where it was peaceful and businesses were going on without all of these skirmishes? This is what I'm saying. It's very easy to compare to Benway and the North, but the North will deal with the North's problem. Yeah, that's what I was trying to explain that there's no level of violence in the South is that this one round enough to suggest any kind of apprehension. But be that as it may, the governors are not sleeping. I know that the mixing and the logistics required for the statement of Central is already in operation in some of the states. And even outside in the state, for instance, we have an outfit that the government put up at its inside of security and it's working. But as that is working, I still believe that that's fine tuning everything that's expected to do in bringing the general Central environment outfit into being. So I believe very much that before the politics of 2023, in that moment, absolute peace will be returned to the South East. Okay. I want to add quickly because we have to go. There's no way can isolate South East from the criminality and violence in Nigeria is all possible. It has a spillover effect. So what is happening in all parts of Nigeria, there's no way can isolate South East from it. So there is all this is already in the is, you know, like a criminal enterprise and not no place can be isolated from it. So it's a spillover effect, you know, from all this is a spillover to all parts of Nigeria. So no person can be exempted from the crime wave and violence in Nigeria now. So the purpose is for the army to police and all to wake up to their responsibility. We as civilians cannot say it is the problem of the state. When you talk about needs for a state is to make sure that the monopoly of violence rest in government. The way the monopoly of violence is not when the violence no longer within the monopoly of the government is a collapse on the system. So the best way for police army and the military to come up on board and make sure that they control the system the way it's supposed to be. It's only responsibility of a supplier like me and my brother to begin to talk about how to control how to avoid violence. So the Well, I want to say a very, very big thank you to you gentlemen. Alex Bonilla is National Publicity Secretary of Ohane's Indeed Worldwide and Meka Tama is a former media advisor to the Ohane's Indeed World President General. Thank you so much for being part of the conversation. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you. Thank you so much. All right. Up next, we will be taking a look at the AT-Man committee set up by Chukomach House Soludo as he gets ready for the transition into the next administration. Stay with us. We'll be right back.