The Igbo Political Class: The Quest To Restore Her True Identity.

I have always said it that the core of the Igbo political class are not fit to represent the region in National politics. Most of them were mostly hungry and struggling before they joined politics. Very few who had something meaningful doing were barely well educated before joining politics.

All these factors impacted heavily on their knowledge of what regional representation is all about. It’s all about what they can get for themselves: the first category see politics as an escape from poverty while the second group think it’s an extension of their business life

Contrasting it with their counterparts from the west and the north, you will notice how hard they fight for their region and are very vocal about it. They can even threaten the federation if their region is not getting it’s due. But not the Igbo political class. They won’t lift a finger so long as their personal pecuniary interest is guaranteed.

That’s why they have all fought the emergence of Peter Obi. Peter Obi has shown his distinct political character from these group of Igbo politicians. They see him as a threat to their continued political relevance in the scheme of things.

This political class has only achieved ignominy for Igbos, as the rest of Nigeria don’t take us serious because of the compromising tendencies of our political representatives. Not that the other regions politicians are less corrupt than the Igbo politicians, but they don’t joke with overall interest of their regions. They can easily rally around one of them in order to achieve something for their region, whereas the Igbo politician will rather lose fighting alone than to step down for a brother in the overall interest of the region.

Indeed, I hope Peter Obi’s presidency will be a reality. Nigeria need not be afraid of Peter Obi. He will be more of a pan Nigeria with the good conscience of an educated and self sufficient business man. He be more like Nnamdi Azikiwe and Michael Okpara who showed statesmanship in their political dealings with the rest of Nigeria.

May Peter Obi happen to Nigeria.

Patrice Akwara, Lawyer and Public Opinion Analyst.