In this interview, Mr. John Patrick Egesi, President/
Chairman, Nigerian Institute of Shipping and political analyst
explains why Igbo’s would always vote in gratitude to those
who have been fair to them. Egesi spoke against the
backdrop of the statement by Oba Rilwan Akiolu that the
Igbo in Lagos should vote the APC candidate ahead of the
April 11 gubernatorial poll in the state.
Controversy has continued to
trail the outcome of the March 28
election. What is your view on
threat by the Oba of Lagos that
Igbo should have voted for the
must vote for APC in the April 11
election or face the
consequences?
Ever since General Buhari won the election, all sorts of
people in all sorts of places have been busy telling the Igbo
that they should have voted for the winning team, that they
voted emotionally which is another way of saying that
ultimate wisdom lies in voting for the winner. The latest was
that of Oba of Lagos giving the Igbo a marching order to vote
for APC or else. Now this piece is not about who the Igbo
should vote for or not but to tell the world who the Igbo are.
The Igbo are almost all Christians and their valuation of any
situation emanates from their Christian values – which
include among other things sacrifices and faithfulness to
‘friends’. That is why the Igbo, in all their dealings with other
nationalities keep faith to fairness.
As far as the Igbo are concerned voting for Jonathan is being
fair to the man who has shown them genuine brotherliness
and support for the Ijaws and South – South people who are
producing an executive president for the first time and from
whose territory most of Nigerian sustaining wealth comes
from.
They reckon that four years is not forever after all. Even
when they know that they will suffer unexplainable
persecution from their compatriots because of their
inclination to fairness, they still went ahead and did what
they perceived to be just. Even though they are well known
to work hard for money but money usually takes a far
second when it clashes with the dictates of conscience. They
are probably the only group of Nigerians that you can
predict with great accuracy whom they will vote for in an
election.
Don’t you think their voting pattern has further exposed
them as an endangered specie?
Igbo do not vote out of fear of being marginalized by a
predominant race or tribe wherever they reside. They vote
in gratitude to those who have been fair to them. When the
Igbo complained that Jonathan did not do much for them, it
is not in comparison with former heads of state (who did
absolutely nothing and left them to starve) but in
comparison with what he did in the North and other
southern parts of Nigeria.
If Governor Fashola has been fair to Igbo in Lagos, without
discriminating against them, over-taxing them, milking them
of their hard-earned money, setting up all types of agencies
to ensure that they do not do their business in peace, the
APC have nothing to fear. Igbo have a way of saying thank
you to those who have been fair to them. In my book, Voting
with Conscience, what the Igbo do is far superior to
strategizing to join the winning team.
But the South-East voted massively for the PDP at the
general elections even when they were not very pleased with
the party’s performance?
When the Igbo voted massively for President Jonathan, it is
because he kept faith with them. Has Fashola been fair to
them in the past eight years?
My humble opinion is that he dealt ruthlessly with them.
Igbo should not be afraid of anyone but the Eternal who has
been faithful to them in their struggle against injustice.
Voting is about choosing a candidate who, given his past
record, is likely to be fair and sympathetic to your cause and
who has kept faith with you in the past four years. The Igbo
should join other well-meaning Nigerians – Yoruba, Hausa,
Efik, Fulani, Ibibio, Ijaw, Gwaris etc – in voting for those who
will make Lagos truly metropolitan and not a tribal enclave.
Igbo should not behave like other races because we are not
other races – we are the NDIGBO and we keep faith with
those who have demonstrated spirit of justice, equity and
fairness and not those who treat them like aliens in their
own country.
Nigerian is not only about presidency. Decamping to the APC
by some morally-weak politicians shows that they are in
politics for their stomach and not for what they believe in.
The only way the APC must be kept on their toes at the
federal level is to ensure that they are not totally in control
at the states’ level otherwise they will develop the sort of
impunity that total control brings. I will advise Nigerians to
vote for parties that will keep the APC in check all over the
Country

Source:
www.vanguardngr.com/2015/05/why-igbo-never-vote-out-of-fear-2/

Tell them


I am happy we proved to the Nigerdeltans that Igbos are not their enemies but compatriots to the very end


Ojukwu will be smiling in his grave



I hope myopic people like Ijawcitizen have now realised their mistake in antagonizing their ancestral friends



That God people like barcanista now understand that Nigerdeltans are being cheated


God bless Ojukwu

God bless GEJ

God bless Asari

God bless Ann Kio Briggs

God bless Lower Niger Republic and all ethnic groups that make up the republic

If there is a time that I have witnessed what real brotherly love is, that time is now. The person above me has said a lot. May God Forever Bless Ndigbos and the entire lower Niger

GMB my HERO!
AMEACHI my ROLE MODEL!!

Despite the maltreatment been melted on the IGBOS they can't be intimidated.

What is wrong with Nigerians can't you see it that no matter what they are fearless, hard working, lovely, accommodating, beautiful etc.

You can't stop them, it the fact.

You know. ....

barcanista:
If there is a time that I have witnessed what real brotherly love is, that time is now. The person above me has said a lot. May God Forever Bless Ndigbos and the entire lower Niger

Mr Bigot keep your blessings to yourself and your brother who is going to Otuoke soon. It's now that you are looking for something that you are claiming to support the Igbos

The last thing you want to do is to threaten an Igbo man. The auto-riot mechanism in us activates instantly. We don't know what fear is, we are natural adventurers.

What kind of man wakes up in the morning and travel to war torn Libya to "hustle"? You won't understand.