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Delta State Governor, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa, the vice presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), may have jolted many with his punch line, “I am an Igbo man.”
Facing the nation live, Okowa, a man known for his taciturnity, went point-blank to declare his ‘Igboness,’ wide-eyed and unapologetically.
It took ARISE TV’s chatty youthful presenters to break the news. Quite symbolic for those perceptive enough to read between the lines.
In the unmistakable exclusive interview, Okowa wanted to be exact, deliberate and quotable. No ambivalence; no ambiguity. He owned it up, clear and clean!
Two strands are in Okowa’s revelation. One, it is a soothing balm for those who have been singing, even to the decibel of coarse rhetorics, that the name “Ifeanyi” is Igbo by tag and identity, no matter the location, a vivid vindication of the shrill cry of ‘Delta Ibos,’ caught in the web of an identity crisis, for understanding.
They clamour for integration among hesitant Southeast Igbos, while craving sovereign survival as distinct settlers of independent Anioma world, a complex scenario dramatised by Kenyan folklorist, Gerald Angira, in his post colonial treatise, titled, ‘A Child of no World.’
Two, Okowa’s telling epiphany will turn heads here and there. For the ones who had profiled the 4th elected governor of Delta an Igbo man, his disclosure has given them closure for their somewhat tribal or xenophobic suspicion.
Now, they can pine in malevolent Euraka. It is their point so free!
Far from varied sentiments, there is nobler tone to Okowa’s truth. The redeeming rhythm hypes beautifies the urgency and necessity of one Nigeria, tolerance for peace, inclusiveness for progress and forgiveness for healing under the hubris of a divided and rudderless era.
Call Okowa uncomplimentary names under free speech, the man who spoke on television did not just coo softly by nature, like the twittering Turtle Dove, he spoke like the vice president Nigeria needs in a bleeding land of near hopelessness.
He was humble in body language, pacifying in eloquence and remorseful in imperfections.
He answered the disapproval of Chief E. K. Clark and some Southern and Middle Belt leaders against his choice for the position, not with wanton selfish insolence, but appealing respectful accommodation to elders’ rage. That is not the trait of a traitor.
Prodigal sons do not genuflect or curry the understanding of their fathers. Okowa, a mortal man, has his faults, yet he is anything but rebellious.
Fair enough, Delta North traditional rulers and Ohanaeze Ndigbo have reportedly come up with pro-Okowa statements supporting his position amid circumstances.
How plausible could one governor stand against the power of a party to make its ticket an open option? With the dogmatic climate of the North, where monolithic religion and ethnicity had radicalised a people to unquestionable bandwagon in voting, can a Southern ticket holder win the presidency 2023? With the disunity and divisive voices among the three geo-political zones in the South, how far can a home grown candidate go?
How come the Southeast, touted as preferred destination for Nigeria’s next leadership, made abysmal outing in the primary elections of the two dominant political parties? Who and what pushed Igbo delegates from the Southeast to give zero votes to their brothers at the last presidential primaries?
Soon or late, the day is coming when a Southern president would emerge. Okowa is not an obstacle, but precursor. In key quarters, the earnest expectation is that he wins along with Atiku Abubakar, come 2023.
Atiku/Okowa presidency could be the elixir for future President of southern extraction.
Atiku is from Northeast, with no history of presidential seat since Nigeria’s independence,
whether under civilian or military rule.
Okowa shares affinity with marginalised Southeast and also aligned with southern Nigeria brooding to rule again.
The time appears not in its apogee today with current realities, but full moon would birth inexorably tomorrow in the South.Just time. The delay is certainly not Okowa’s duplicity.
Okowa, this Igbo man, has good results in school and service. He would assist to rescue Nigeria.
Chiazor, a media aide to Okowa, wrote from Asaba.
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