President Muhammadu Buhari’s long-
awaited cabinet is now complete. As in
any political endeavour, there are winners
and losers.

Socially, similar to the Yorubas in 2011,
the Igbos appear to be on the losing end
thus far in 2015, particularly with
representation to the upper echelon of
the government. The underlying rationale
is that the positions of the President,
Vice-President, Senate President,
Speaker, Chairman of the ruling party,
and the Secretary to Federal Government
were hailed in the past 16 years as the
main enchilada of the party in power and
thence rotated among the six political
zones of the country.

Of course, there is considerable merit in
Buhari’s argument that trust earned from
the yore is an important criterion for
sensitive positions. There is also no
gainsaying that the president is set to
bequeath to the entire Nigeria a lasting
legacy. Quite frankly, any
person disclaiming the prevailing boon of
the man’s aura is viewing the history
from a blind spot. Yet, the principle of
federal character cannot be wished away
at this stage of national development. It
goes without saying that theory of
Taxation without Representation was well
tested before Nigeria opted for national
independence over British rule.

Politically, there is the need for caution.
Both the All Progressive Congress (APC)
as a party and the president himself are
not impolitic. Every discerning mind is
aware that any attempt to marginalize
any zone in a country of belligerent
ethnic groups is a premature death
sentence for our hard-earned change.

This is even more so when considered
that the 2019 election is likely to feature
two strong presidential candidates from
the North. The veiled implication is that
every breadth and depth of Southern
Nigeria guarantees to be a battleground
for votes, come that year. The gist is
that President Buhari is committed to his
pledge to carry every zone along before
long.

Strategically and economically, the Igbos
stand to gain big time under Buhari’s
government regardless.

First and foremost, no degree of amnesia
can erase from existential memory the
fact that Nigeria ’s problem in the past
16 years was never the lack of political
positions or projects being attracted to
any zone. It was definitely not the lack
of the funds to execute the projects. The
bitter truth is that the funds were
commonly looted with impunity by those
in positions of power.

But if the truth is told in full, which this
report is set to accomplish, nowhere was
the problem of looting project funds
more prevalent than Igboland. The major
reason is simple: While the North and
West have been consistent with strong
opposition activities in the national
politics in recent years, which in turn
help for a measure of checks and
balances for projects in those regions,
the reverse has been the case in the
East.

It is not a new story that South-East and
South-South zones were predominated by
the then ruling party, the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), a party
penchant for conferring immunity to the
activities of its members, however
feigned. To this end, Igbo politicians
were always spoon-feeding the helpless
masses with vain rhetoric on dividends of
democracy. And any attempt by
independent citizens to crosscheck the
projects they claim to attract was seen
as an unclad sin. But that was then. The
now is where the elixir of Muhammadu
Buhari comes in.

For a change, a leader is poised to
demonstrate that there is a day of
reckoning in the earthly Nigeria . For a
change, a cabal whose entire raison
d’être of being politics is to loot project
funds is rattled. For a change, a leader is
determined to recoup the funds looted
from vital projects in Igboland towards
completion. Needless to say, the list
includes the dateless rallying cries, such
as 2nd River Niger Bridge , Dredging of
River Niger, Akanu Ibiam International
Airport , Enugu-Port Harcourt
Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway,
and Owerri Cargo International Airport ,
among others. It is worthy of note,
however, that these projects were
reduced to mere money-spinners for
individual bank accounts while Igbos
manned the positions of Senate
Committee Chairmanships on Works and
Aviation, Ministers of Aviation and
Finance— with the Secretary to the
Federal Government as well as the
adopted son in then president, Goodluck
Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan—all in tow.

Further, given that the shenanigans with
the aforementioned projects are common
knowledge, the Igbo civil society can now
be emboldened by the regnant ‘Fear of
Buhari’ to petition the anti-corruption
agency on many other phantom programs
fully funded but abandoned in different
parts of Igboland. Notable among them
are the constituency projects said to be
attracted by members of the National
Assembly and, of course, other state and
local government projects.
The second major area the Igbos stand
to witness ultimate succour from Buhari
is newer government undertakings.

Besides the revitalization of Coal-to-
Power severally promised by the
president, the political climate is warn to
resuscitate the abandoned gas pipeline
initiative across Igbo hinterland and to
develop the huge gas deposits in the
South-East. Suffice to say that these
power projects received zero attention
despite the fact that Igbos produced
consecutive ministers of Power in the
last regime with that of Petroleum
Resources at a stone throw.

More importantly, the political climate is
clement to explore Buhari’s new equity
mantra with the view to truly demand
creation of additional states and local
governments in Igboland through
Constitutional Amendment. What is more,
the whole hoo-ha on political
appointments becomes pointless once it
dawns on us that the very Constitutional
Amendment was funded to the brim by
successive governments but cobwebbed
in the past eight years at the den of a
senator from the South-East.

Finally, due to intrinsic knack for the
Diaspora, the Igbos are bound to benefit
regardless of the direction of the
different policies and programs. But the
appointment of an austere personality as
the Controller-General of Customs is cast
with good tidings. Forget the selfish few
that thrive on smuggling! A dutiful
implementation of extant policies within
the Customs has reasonable prospect to
reduce the volume of contraband goods
flowing into the country. This move will
spur the much-needed economic
diversification, industrial revolution, and
mass employment. The obvious whisper
is a Christmas in June for the vastly
overlooked Igbo-made products primed to
replace fake goods flooding the
marketplace from Asia.

Now, for all intents and purposes,
consider that Muhammadu Buhari can be
accused of many things in his political
life, including lopsided appointments, but
breaking promises has never been near
the top. Then throw in the fact that
fulfillment of his promises to the Igbos,
including completion of the abandoned
projects, will not only boost employment
opportunities for the teeming masses,
but will also stem the wave of
kidnapping and armed robbery common in
South-East and South-South Nigeria.

Thereafter, reckon that displacing PDP at
the national level plus the presence of
vibrant APC ministers now from Igboland
have the potential to engender the
elusive dynamic opposition activity in the
region. Best of all, combine it with the
common consensus that dynamic
opposition facilitates the checks and
balances central for effective democratic
leadership, by consequence. True.
Confronted with these realities, the Igbo
masses cannot help but embrace the
second coming of Buhari. For instance,
in view of the fact that Nigeria is
currently enmeshed in the throes of
economic woes, what is a better
consolation for the cries of
marginalization, unless heavenly, than
recovering the looted funds and putting
behind us ageless but prime projects,
which would never come to pass without
the presence of a messianic figure? Even
if the looted funds are not recovered,
does it require a regal town crier to
publicize that it is no longer business as
usual for projects attracted to Igboland?
What else epitomizes a silver lining than
the very point where the era of impunity
in Igbo politics is finally seen to be
coming to an end, thanks to the fear and
hope of Buhari?

The questions above adequately answer
themselves. The paradox has exposed
the decadent canopy of PDP and its
proxies in the East. Having succeeded in
the last election with a witless canard
that APC would Islamize Igboland; the
opposition elites must not hide behind
the melodrama of Buhari’s style of
appointments to hoodwink the gullible
masses again. For sure, any quest for
equity is always a welcome idea, but
coming this soon from PDP portrays a
picture similar to Abubakar Shekau of
Boko Haram posing as a keynote-speaker
on Western education.

It is incumbent upon Ndigbo, therefore,
to place the blame exactly where it
belongs. Given that President Buhari has
promised to right the wrong in due
course; let the current debate serve as a
teachable moment for those
grandstanding as our leaders. This
moment demands that we remind them
that, even as political appointment
remains important, enduring service
delivery matters most. It is imperative to
echo with every cadence that, like any
other zone or ethnic group, the Igbo
people of South-East and those of South-
South received their fair share of political
positions since the 4th Republic. This
should have ordinarily translated to mass
development, but that has not been the
case. In fact, the records show that the
South-East in particular boarded dead
last in capital projects despite a
commanding presence of appointees
from the zone. Today, there is nothing
concrete on the ground even for the few
projects that came its ways apart from
cascading tears of marginalization.

Clearly, the nature of the Igbo problem is
difficult to explain. But there is no better
way forward at this historic moment than
a paradigm shift in perception to vitalize
the full sphere of the widely acclaimed
Igbo ingenuity. The time is now to admit
that the distrust in the polity is deeply
rooted in the past, where each ethnic
group and generation patently shares
blame. The time is now to eschew
selfishness and find common grounds
where ideas could converge for practical
solutions instead of amplifying the
echoes of a lifelong pattern of tribal
rivalries. Now is the time to recognize
that curbing institutionalized corruption is
a win-win for all. The posterity beckons
on us to turn the page to the future and
take an unbiased look at the open buffet
of opportunities presented by the current
change movement.

By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, Texas.

source: www.leadership.ng/news/467269/beyond-buharis-cabinet-lies-a-silver-lining-for-the-igbos

Nice write up

Brytawon:
President Muhammadu Buhari’s long-
awaited cabinet is now complete. As in
any political endeavour, there are winners
and losers.

Socially, similar to the Yorubas in 2011,
the Igbos appear to be on the losing end
thus far in 2015, particularly with
representation to the upper echelon of
the government. The underlying rationale
is that the positions of the President,
Vice-President, Senate President,
Speaker, Chairman of the ruling party,
and the Secretary to Federal Government
were hailed in the past 16 years as the
main enchilada of the party in power and
thence rotated among the six political
zones of the country.

Of course, there is considerable merit in
Buhari’s argument that trust earned from
the yore is an important criterion for
sensitive positions. There is also no
gainsaying that the president is set to
bequeath to the entire Nigeria a lasting
legacy. Quite frankly, any
person disclaiming the prevailing boon of
the man’s aura is viewing the history
from a blind spot. Yet, the principle of
federal character cannot be wished away
at this stage of national development. It
goes without saying that theory of
Taxation without Representation was well
tested before Nigeria opted for national
independence over British rule.

Politically, there is the need for caution.
Both the All Progressive Congress (APC)
as a party and the president himself are
not impolitic. Every discerning mind is
aware that any attempt to marginalize
any zone in a country of belligerent
ethnic groups is a premature death
sentence for our hard-earned change.

This is even more so when considered
that the 2019 election is likely to feature
two strong presidential candidates from
the North. The veiled implication is that
every breadth and depth of Southern
Nigeria guarantees to be a battleground
for votes, come that year. The gist is
that President Buhari is committed to his
pledge to carry every zone along before
long.

Strategically and economically, the Igbos
stand to gain big time under Buhari’s
government regardless.

First and foremost, no degree of amnesia
can erase from existential memory the
fact that Nigeria ’s problem in the past
16 years was never the lack of political
positions or projects being attracted to
any zone. It was definitely not the lack
of the funds to execute the projects. The
bitter truth is that the funds were
commonly looted with impunity by those
in positions of power.

But if the truth is told in full, which this
report is set to accomplish, nowhere was
the problem of looting project funds
more prevalent than Igboland. The major
reason is simple: While the North and
West have been consistent with strong
opposition activities in the national
politics in recent years, which in turn
help for a measure of checks and
balances for projects in those regions,
the reverse has been the case in the
East.

It is not a new story that South-East and
South-South zones were predominated by
the then ruling party, the People’s
Democratic Party (PDP), a party
penchant for conferring immunity to the
activities of its members, however
feigned. To this end, Igbo politicians
were always spoon-feeding the helpless
masses with vain rhetoric on dividends of
democracy. And any attempt by
independent citizens to crosscheck the
projects they claim to attract was seen
as an unclad sin. But that was then. The
now is where the elixir of Muhammadu
Buhari comes in.

For a change, a leader is poised to
demonstrate that there is a day of
reckoning in the earthly Nigeria . For a
change, a cabal whose entire raison
d’être of being politics is to loot project
funds is rattled. For a change, a leader is
determined to recoup the funds looted
from vital projects in Igboland towards
completion. Needless to say, the list
includes the dateless rallying cries, such
as 2nd River Niger Bridge , Dredging of
River Niger, Akanu Ibiam International
Airport , Enugu-Port Harcourt
Expressway, Enugu-Onitsha Expressway,
and Owerri Cargo International Airport ,
among others. It is worthy of note,
however, that these projects were
reduced to mere money-spinners for
individual bank accounts while Igbos
manned the positions of Senate
Committee Chairmanships on Works and
Aviation, Ministers of Aviation and
Finance— with the Secretary to the
Federal Government as well as the
adopted son in then president, Goodluck
Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan—all in tow.

Further, given that the shenanigans with
the aforementioned projects are common
knowledge, the Igbo civil society can now
be emboldened by the regnant ‘Fear of
Buhari’ to petition the anti-corruption
agency on many other phantom programs
fully funded but abandoned in different
parts of Igboland. Notable among them
are the constituency projects said to be
attracted by members of the National
Assembly and, of course, other state and
local government projects.
The second major area the Igbos stand
to witness ultimate succour from Buhari
is newer government undertakings.

Besides the revitalization of Coal-to-
Power severally promised by the
president, the political climate is warn to
resuscitate the abandoned gas pipeline
initiative across Igbo hinterland and to
develop the huge gas deposits in the
South-East. Suffice to say that these
power projects received zero attention
despite the fact that Igbos produced
consecutive ministers of Power in the
last regime with that of Petroleum
Resources at a stone throw.

More importantly, the political climate is
clement to explore Buhari’s new equity
mantra with the view to truly demand
creation of additional states and local
governments in Igboland through
Constitutional Amendment. What is more,
the whole hoo-ha on political
appointments becomes pointless once it
dawns on us that the very Constitutional
Amendment was funded to the brim by
successive governments but cobwebbed
in the past eight years at the den of a
senator from the South-East.

Finally, due to intrinsic knack for the
Diaspora, the Igbos are bound to benefit
regardless of the direction of the
different policies and programs. But the
appointment of an austere personality as
the Controller-General of Customs is cast
with good tidings. Forget the selfish few
that thrive on smuggling! A dutiful
implementation of extant policies within
the Customs has reasonable prospect to
reduce the volume of contraband goods
flowing into the country. This move will
spur the much-needed economic
diversification, industrial revolution, and
mass employment. The obvious whisper
is a Christmas in June for the vastly
overlooked Igbo-made products primed to
replace fake goods flooding the
marketplace from Asia.

Now, for all intents and purposes,
consider that Muhammadu Buhari can be
accused of many things in his political
life, including lopsided appointments, but
breaking promises has never been near
the top. Then throw in the fact that
fulfillment of his promises to the Igbos,
including completion of the abandoned
projects, will not only boost employment
opportunities for the teeming masses,
but will also stem the wave of
kidnapping and armed robbery common in
South-East and South-South Nigeria.

Thereafter, reckon that displacing PDP at
the national level plus the presence of
vibrant APC ministers now from Igboland
have the potential to engender the
elusive dynamic opposition activity in the
region. Best of all, combine it with the
common consensus that dynamic
opposition facilitates the checks and
balances central for effective democratic
leadership, by consequence. True.
Confronted with these realities, the Igbo
masses cannot help but embrace the
second coming of Buhari. For instance,
in view of the fact that Nigeria is
currently enmeshed in the throes of
economic woes, what is a better
consolation for the cries of
marginalization, unless heavenly, than
recovering the looted funds and putting
behind us ageless but prime projects,
which would never come to pass without
the presence of a messianic figure? Even
if the looted funds are not recovered,
does it require a regal town crier to
publicize that it is no longer business as
usual for projects attracted to Igboland?
What else epitomizes a silver lining than
the very point where the era of impunity
in Igbo politics is finally seen to be
coming to an end, thanks to the fear and
hope of Buhari?

The questions above adequately answer
themselves. The paradox has exposed
the decadent canopy of PDP and its
proxies in the East. Having succeeded in
the last election with a witless canard
that APC would Islamize Igboland; the
opposition elites must not hide behind
the melodrama of Buhari’s style of
appointments to hoodwink the gullible
masses again. For sure, any quest for
equity is always a welcome idea, but
coming this soon from PDP portrays a
picture similar to Abubakar Shekau of
Boko Haram posing as a keynote-speaker
on Western education.

It is incumbent upon Ndigbo, therefore,
to place the blame exactly where it
belongs. Given that President Buhari has
promised to right the wrong in due
course; let the current debate serve as a
teachable moment for those
grandstanding as our leaders. This
moment demands that we remind them
that, even as political appointment
remains important, enduring service
delivery matters most. It is imperative to
echo with every cadence that, like any
other zone or ethnic group, the Igbo
people of South-East and those of South-
South received their fair share of political
positions since the 4th Republic. This
should have ordinarily translated to mass
development, but that has not been the
case. In fact, the records show that the
South-East in particular boarded dead
last in capital projects despite a
commanding presence of appointees
from the zone. Today, there is nothing
concrete on the ground even for the few
projects that came its ways apart from
cascading tears of marginalization.

Clearly, the nature of the Igbo problem is
difficult to explain. But there is no better
way forward at this historic moment than
a paradigm shift in perception to vitalize
the full sphere of the widely acclaimed
Igbo ingenuity. The time is now to admit
that the distrust in the polity is deeply
rooted in the past, where each ethnic
group and generation patently shares
blame. The time is now to eschew
selfishness and find common grounds
where ideas could converge for practical
solutions instead of amplifying the
echoes of a lifelong pattern of tribal
rivalries. Now is the time to recognize
that curbing institutionalized corruption is
a win-win for all. The posterity beckons
on us to turn the page to the future and
take an unbiased look at the open buffet
of opportunities presented by the current
change movement.

By SKC Ogbonnia
Houston, Texas.

source: www.leadership.ng/news/467269/beyond-buharis-cabinet-lies-a-silver-lining-for-the-igbos

I laugh at posts like these. Honestly the truth is that if not for Jonathan the Akanu Ibiam Airport will NEVER have come into existence. I was born in the 70's and heard all sought of stories how the Igbo's needed an International Airport. It was because Jonathan became president the anormaly was rectified. The ruling class had more than 40 years to do anything in the south east but failed. Now to the Niger bridge, the people from that zone had cried blood for government assistance since the bridge was blown up in the 60's. If not for Jonathan, the foundation of the bridge would still not have commenced. The current Niger bridge stands at one point on metals. I read one Zuby accussing the Jonathan lead government of inflating the cost of the bridge. If you value human life you will not be in a hurry to castigate people who dared to fix problems that would have led to disaster. The truth is that Jonathan dared and paid the price.

These guys must really think Igbos have short memories and are fools.

After having denied Southeasterners any dividends since the Mumu mounted the saddle. From bringing the Boko guys into an unfit Ekwulobia prison, to halting the construction of second Niger bridge, to denying the southeast opportunities in his appointments of DGs of principal departments, to ensuring the SE has no principal officer in the House of reps e.t.c.

Now that he has done the worst that he could possibly do to the SE, his minions now have the effrontery to start campaigning for Mumu-hammadu to be chosen by Igbos, come 2019.
Are they rattled and taken unawares by PDP's choice of a northern candidate in 2019, thus upsetting APC's calculations of Buhari slugging it out with a southern candidate in 2019?

Well if Nigeria remains unbroken, Igbos will make a wise choice in 2019. Igbos will team up with the SS, Ondo and Ekiti to be the biggest southern block. So Buhari can keep marginalising the Igbos as he sees fit, but the day of reckoning approaches.

this yoruba monkey think Igbos can't smell his odour from a 100 miles. hahahahahah!