For a non-Igbo it is perhaps difficult to understand the deep-seated, almost visceral, general dislike Igbo people seem to have for presidential candidate and former military strongman General Muhammadu Buhari. Actually there is a long list of grievances Igbo can point to about Buhari, and you have to go back in history to know them.

The problem with Nigeria, Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu once said, is that the mediocre people are ruling the intelligent people. The Igbo emerged from the 1967/1970 civil war to meet a federal government strategy to marginalize and emasculate their leadership. .

The Igbo have a justifiable dread of Nigerian military officers who were natives of Northern Nigeria and who participated in the civil war. These officers and their rank-and-file soldiers had carried out mass rapes and sexual enslavement across Igboland during the civil war and at the war's end; many of these soldiers had looted vehicles and other property as they overran Biafra. Then, finally, the Igbo, the Igbo business and political leaders, lost all their cash holdings as the Finance Ministry of Chief Obafemi Awolowo awarded them the grand sum of 20 Nigerian pounds per man for any amount of money owned in Nigerian banks prior to the war. It was akin to what Swiss banks did to Jewish survivors of the World War 2 Holocaust. Talk about Gowon's Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation!

When the military government, led by Muhammadu Buhari took office, he visited all the states in Nigeria so to say, introducing himself to his subjects. He went to the 17 states, including Rivers and Cross River, that shared borders with the two Igbo states, Imo and Anambra. The message could not be louder, he had a thing against the Igbo. Imo (today's Imo and Abia) chiefs then decided they would not come to welcome him, but were pressed to change their minds by the military governor, then Col. Ike Nwachukwu. One of Buhari's first policy decisions as approved by the Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC), which had only one Igbo representative, in those days usually a mid-level naval officer, was to summarily move the site of the proposed petrochemical plant to Onne, where it now sits, and which was the originally proposed location, and which made more sense economically and logistically. I said the Igbo were lucky not to have that great environmental pollutant of an industry at their backyard.

When the Buhari government in 1984 issued a decree banning Africa's first private university, Imo Technical University, the measure outraged a lot of people in Igboland. Many people in the East believed Buhari wanted to crush the attempt by Igbo to escape the trap of quotas placed on qualified Igbo seeking admissions to federal government-run Nigerian universities. Despite information that most members of the AFRC favoured the continuation of the university which had just a few months earlier received the backing of the Supreme Court, Buhari signed a decree literally behind the backs of the other members of the ruling Council. Buhari cited copycat universities as the reason for his action. Imo chiefs sent a plea through Military Governor Ike Nwachukwu for Buhari to ban the others and leave Imo Tech alone. This was a university backed by a consortium of American universities, including Rice University, Houston; Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta; Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; Worcester Polytechnic; and Illinois Institute of Technology. The national newspapers in their editorials condemned the move to ban the university. Insinuating that the university was being sponsored by the CIA, Buhari's decree stated that no foreign institution or persons can sponsor or contribute to any university in Nigeria. Tell that to Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his American University of Nigeria, Yola.

The Igbo have very powerful reasons to dislike and mistrust Buhari. But I say it here that although Buhari may have had some deep-seated animus for Igbo, he is not the same man he was as a hot-headed, inflexible 40-year-old in 1984. During his short political career, he has had to endure the backstabbing, the double-cross, the insults, betrayal from his fellow Northern politicians. He has learnt to be cautious in his dealings with his fellow Northern leaders. He knows many of them don't like him.

I remind the Igbo that the politicians of Northern Nigeria have always aligned with the Igbo. The Northern People's Congress and the National Council of Nigerian Citizens aligned to form the two civilian governments of 1960 to1966. The Northerners did not break the alliance. The civilian government came to a bloody end because of the action of five junior army officers, four of them Igbo and one of them Yoruba. But no Igbo politician had any inkling of the coup that these misguided young men carried out that was not only a disaster for the Igbo who were basically already in control of the country, but led to perhaps a million dead Igbo by the time the ensuing civil war was over.

The young generation of mediocre leaders, the kind of people with little intellectual ability, empowered financially since the civil war by Nigerian military dictators, insisted on supporting Dr. Jonathan, and chose not to see that if Igbo gave their full support to the Hausa-Fulani to complete the remaining four years of what would have been Yar'Adua's and the North's eight years, in the next presidential election (2015), the Hausa-Fulani would support an Igbo presidential candidate. And the Hausa-Fulani have never broken their words to the Igbo.

The Igbo must come to terms with the situation. Not only would voting massively for Buhari help build an alliance with the Hausa-Fulani for the future, Buhari's victory would also help the Igbo economically, and a good economy is their lifeblood. Here is why. Industry has practically vanished in Nigeria and millions of educated Igbo are languishing, unable to find gainful employment. The incompetence and greed of the people in Jonathan's government have meant that the disposable incomes of many Nigerians have fallen, and the effect is now worsened by the decline in the value of the naira in the foreign exchange market. .

The Igbo have to do a trade-off here. They can continue living under the maladministration of Goodluck Jonathan or they can return to the table to re-negotiate with their previous allies of the Hausa-Fulani and elect a man who can and has shown that he can root out corruption and heal the giant of Africa under a civilian system with its checks and balances. In the same vein, I urge Muhammadu Buhari, in the company of some of his fellow Northern political leaders, to sit down in a conversation with authentic Igbo leaders, sooth the hurts inflicted on the Igbo over the years, and begin a new chapter of what previously was a fruitful relationship between two of the biggest tribes in Nigeria.

Lie from pit of hell,....

Craze no hard to form,na the trekking be wahala
loose translation:Easier said than done

Unknown people endorsing buhari, someone shld help me google who dhe hell d guy is?

if Igbo gave their full support to the Hausa-Fulani to complete the remaining four years of what would have been Yar'Adua's and the North's eight years, in the next presidential election (2015), the Hausa-Fulani would support an Igbo presidential candidate. And the Hausa-Fulani have never broken their words to the Igbo.

Touching. But we are not going into any stinking alliance with the vengeful flaTTheads. Alliance against who? The west our allies for decades?

Not in a million years. The Igbo can support Jonathan, they deserve him. The rest of Nigeria is voting Buhari for President and that's that.

[size=18pt] "The New York Times, one of the greatest and most
influential institutions in the world, has described
President Jonathan as a lousy president. Christiane
Amanpour described Jonathan as a failed head of
state. The Economists magazine described the
Jonathan government as a failed regime. General
Theophilus Danjuma says Jonathan is rewarding
crime and encouraging more people to go into it.
Senator McCain says Jonathan’s government is
practically not existing and therefore America
should just help Nigeria. Hilary Clinton says
Jonathan is running a government that is
supervising the siphoning of Nigeria’s resources.
This is the verdict of the world and there is no hope
again for President Jonathan and PDP in 2015".
Share share share to all Nigerians... Lets pray well
for d betterment of our dear country.. [/size]

Remember Alex ekwueme He was imprisoned while his boss shagari was under house arrest because he is a fulani while alex was a bloody Igbo.l rather stick with jonathan

QuotaSystem:
Touching. But we are not going into any stinking alliance with the vengeful flaTTheads. Alliance against who? The west our allies for decades?

Not in a million years. The Igbo can support Jonathan, they deserve him. The rest of Nigeria is voting Buhari for President and that's that.

Yoruba slave pretending to be a northerner.

I really don't expect to see any constructive discussion here. All this focus on the past and little thought for the future...

#change
#GMB
#APC

MayorofLagos:
if Igbo gave their full support to the Hausa-Fulani to complete the remaining four years of what would have been Yar'Adua's and the North's eight years, in the next presidential election (2015), the Hausa-Fulani would support an Igbo presidential candidate. And the Hausa-Fulani have never broken their words to the Igbo.

That is what the igbos have always failed to realize. They have no Presidential ambition in PDP...funny enough the only Igbo politician close to being President in the years to come is in APC.

ozoigbondu:
Remember Alex ekwueme He was imprisoned while his boss shagari was under house arrest because he is a fulani while alex was a bloody Igbo.l rather stick with jonathan

lemme burst ur bubbles, do u knw







."Some lower ranking officers, including Captain M Bala Shagari, the former President’s son were also retired.In time to come his junior brother, Musa, would also be thrown out of the AirForce Secondary School in Jos" from THE PALACE COUP OF AUGUST 27, 1985
PART I
By Nowa Omoigui, MD, MPH, FACC


http://www.waado.org/nigerdelta/nigeria_facts/MilitaryRule/Omoigui/PalaceCoup-1985.htm

ozoigbondu:
Remember Alex ekwueme He was imprisoned while his boss shagari was under house arrest because he is a fulani while alex was a bloody Igbo.l rather stick with jonathan

GMB can never love igbos. In 2011 he never stepped into any igbo state to campaign. When he was PDTF chairman he did little or nothing in Igboland.
Today GMB is now a born again...taaaaaa they should tell that to my pooh

Never again shall he see Aso Rock

the old, senile, war monger? no way, we are better off with the your young, dynamic doctor. steady and stable transformation

Chigold101:
GMB can never love igbos. In 2011 he never stepped into any igbo state to campaign. When he was PDTF chairman he did little or nothing in Igboland.
Today GMB is now a born again...taaaaaa they should tell that to my pooh

Never again shall he see Aso Rock

no party structure then...
Ibos gave a brighter chance but am sorry with this calculations they won't have presidency till 2027...

MayorofLagos:
if Igbo gave their full support to the Hausa-Fulani to complete the remaining four years of what would have been Yar'Adua's and the North's eight years, in the next presidential election (2015), the Hausa-Fulani would support an Igbo presidential candidate. And the Hausa-Fulani have never broken their words to the Igbo.

To hell with you and Igbo /fulani Alliance. List the benefits of that evil Alliance to Ndigbo?
From Azikiwe to Ekwueme era, it was all tears, sorrow and disappointment.
Was it not a Fulani man by name Mohammadu Buhari who jailed an Igbo man called Alex Ekwueme 110 years despite being declared corrupt free by court of law.
Let's try a new thing.

.

adaweezy:

no party structure then...
Ibos gave a brighter chance but am sorry with this calculations they won't have presidency till 2027...

did he contest then as indipendent candidate? Lolzz

APC didnt consider Igbos for chiarman position neither did they think we can be VP, how then do u think Igbos will trust APC at all.

Our brother who is among the foundation members of APC, when last did you hear his name (Ogbonnaya Onu)?

No hope for Igbos in todays APC

[color=#000099][/color]

MayorofLagos:
if Igbo gave their full support to the Hausa-Fulani to complete the remaining four years of what would have been Yar'Adua's and the North's eight years, in the next presidential election (2015), the Hausa-Fulani would support an Igbo presidential candidate. And the Hausa-Fulani have never broken their words to the Igbo.

What is wrong with you MayorofAjegunle? Why are you concerned with Ndigbo like this? Don't let their activities shorten your life. I am sure you have kids that will miss you in Ogbomosho. Igbos don't give a damn about who supports them or not. Get that through your thick skull. What the Igbos want are credible leaders and parties that can present credible candidates for election so we can have a competitive system where mediocrity, God fatherism and quota system are expunged from our way of life.

Think about your tribe that seem to have handed their future to a criminal and Hausa/Fulani war criminals.

I HAVE SAID IT MANY TIMES OVER. IGBOS BLINDLY VOTING FOR JUST 1 PARTY IS A VERY VERY VERY SUICIDAL MOVE. YOU DON'T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN 1 BASKET. EVEN THIS SAME HAUSA AND YORUBAS HAVE ALMOST EQUAL NUMBERS IN BOTH PARTY SO IF ANY PARTY WINS, THEY STILL WIN. ONLY THE IGBOS ARE NOT STRATEGIC BUT SENTIMENTAL BUT I AM VERY ENCOURAGED BY THE FEW INTELLECTUALLY CONSCIOUS IGBOS THAT ARE FREE THINKERS AND I DOFF MY HATS TO THEM.

@OP

Why not Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Edo, Kanuri, Ijo, Tiv, Idoma, Igala, Urhobo, Itsekiri, Nupe, etc? Why must it be Igbo? It appears some goons in Nigeria are inherently infatuated with Ndigbo.

ozoigbondu:
Remember Alex ekwueme He was imprisoned while his boss shagari was under house arrest because he is a fulani while alex was a bloody Igbo.l rather stick with jonathan

^^^This is just half the story regarding Ekwueme, Buhari, the 1983 coup, NPN, and the power-play of the time between the various ethno-religious based competing interests of the time!

To cut a long story short: Ndigbo in general, and Ekwueme in particular were mugged by Buhari and his band of coupists......and students of Nigerian political history all know why!

And who told the fool I want to be better off?

Hausas will be better of with Jonathan!

-Nobezone

MayorofLagos:
For a non-Igbo it is perhaps difficult to understand the deep-seated, almost visceral, general dislike Igbo people seem to have for presidential candidate and former military strongman General Muhammadu Buhari. Actually there is a long list of grievances Igbo can point to about Buhari, and you have to go back in history to know them.



The Igbo have a justifiable dread of Nigerian military officers who were natives of Northern Nigeria and who participated in the civil war.

Really?! But they're not scared of evil ones like Gen.Babangida whom the Late Ojukwu himself endorsed as President in the last elections?

The truth is your people are bigots and tribalists. Most of them.