Jonathan Best To Lead Nigeria, Say Igbo Leaders

IGBO Leaders of Thought, led by constitutional lawyer, Prof Ben Nwabueze, has said that President Goodluck Jonathan has all it takes to lead and restructure the country to the path of greatness.

  The Secretary General of the organization and former Director General of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Prof. Elochukwu Amucheazi said a sincere and unbiased assessment of Jonathan’s performance, even in the face of insurgency in the northeast, would score him very high compared to those who were there before him.

  Speaking to The Guardian in Enugu, Amucheazi, explained that the group decided to adopt the president as Igbo candidate because “he is the only one for now that can deepen the country’s democracy and take the country to further heights.”

  He said: “The immediate challenge is, of the two foremost candidates, who among them is likely to help us move forward. Certainly, it is not somebody whose antecedents are groomed in the use of force and violence. In this present age, it is not possible that a non-university graduate will rule us. What can somebody, who has tasted power as military leader and contested elections three times and failed, come to do again? People feel it is vengeance and are not happy about his draconian rule.

  “A critical analysis of past military regimes showed the military really moved us back rather than forward. All the cleavages we have along ethnic and religious lines, stagnation of economy, failure to build Nigeria, to promote national integration, among other negative tendencies, could be traced to the period of 1966 – 1999. I think it is no longer time for the military to come back to politics whether retired or not”.

  According to him, despite the distractions occasioned by the Boko Haram, Jonathan has managed to keep the country together, adding that almost all the sectors of the economy had been impacted positively. He added: “As far as Ndigbo is concerned, we have always stood strong for a united country in democratic principles. We want to be accepted that we belong in this country; we have life which is dear to us. We want to be free to move around, engage in business of choice and worship God the way we think best. These are fundamental interests of Ndigbo.  

  Continuing Amucheazi added: “The decisions of the CONFAB are dear to Ndigbo. We have poured out our feelings at the exercise. It is only Jonathan who set up the conference that will implement it. When the decisions are implemented, a good chunk of our worries will be met. That is the stand of Igbo Leaders of Thought. That is why Ndigbo must support Jonathan to remain in Aso Rock after the 2015 elections.”