“The presidency is not the birthright of any individual, group or section” – Amechi

A First Republic minister, Chief Mbazulike Amechi, has said that every ethnic group deserves an equal chance at the presidency, as no group has a monopoly of the highest office in the land.

The elder statesman said this while reacting to the clamour for Igbo presidency in 2023.

Amechi, the first Minister of Aviation, noted that getting the presidency required strategic thinking and mobilisation of people, saying that no one would get up and simply present it to any group as a “birthday or wedding gift”.

The 90-year-old explained that for the Igbo to produce the president, “they have to reorganise themselves; they have to strategise; they have to plan; they have to work for it”.

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Asked in an interview published by Sunday Sun whether Igbos should produce the president in 2023 or accept Senate Presidency or Deputy Senate Presidency now, Amechi said:

I won’t vote for anything. But I must say that the presidency is not the birthright of any individual, group or section. The presidency is not given as an award. The presidency of this country is not as some people today see it as a birthday present or wedding present. To win the presidency of a country, you have to galvanize the people; you have to strategize, you have to plan, work for it. You have to earn it. Nobody will just get up and say, you people should take the presidency. No, unless it is a military situation where people shoot their way to power by force. But in a democracy, there are constitutional provisions, which must be followed. Even under party arrangement where the office is zoned, some of these parties don’t usually keep to the arrangement. They keep it only when it suits some individuals. So, if the Igbo want to produce the president, they have to reorganize themselves; they have to strategize; they have to plan; they have to work for it; you have to win people. How many Nigerians believe that the civil war against Biafra has ended? They are still continuing the war. What they are saying is that the Igbo are conquered and must remain conquered. They do not want anything or anybody that will stop them from controlling the wealth of this country because it is located in the Southeast and South-south. The feeling is that if the Igbo man becomes the president, they do not know what will happen. Unfortunately, the South-south people don’t seem to be complaining. When they express grievances they will just pump money into them and they will just keep quiet. This is the situation in Nigeria today.