New Nigeria Peoples Party’s presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwakwanso, has said that the best thing for Igbos is to wait for another eight years before aspiring for presidency.
According to him, they need the time to plan and strategise, which, he says, can be achieved if the Labour Party’s candidate, Peter Obi, works with him as the running mate.
Here is Kwakwanso’s thesis, as contained in an interview published in ”The Punch”:
“The best for the South-East is for them to come and partner, maybe after eight years, after our term, they will say, ‘This man is the best for the country because he has stopped the security challenges of the country’. Nigerians will say ‘these are the people’, and eight years is just like two years. Eight years will come but if you are not prepared for it, it will come and meet you worse than eight years ago. They (South-East) have to be strategic
“We are still flexible on the issue of running mate up till 15th of this month (July). We are waiting to get the right person. I’m so happy that there are many Nigerians. We have many options in the NNPP in the South to choose a good vice-presidential candidate; one of them is the Labour Party man (Peter Obi). Left to me, if it will solve the problem of the South-East and minimise the challenges of the region to the barest level, that’s why the NNPP wants to take its vice-president (from there).
“Under normal circumstances, anytime we are sworn in, because the problem is political, he (vice-president) will call the people and sit with them. At least, someone is there. If he likes, he can talk to them in Igbo (language) and see how it can be resolved. I am from the northern part of Nigeria and of course, everyone can tell that the solution to the happenings in my region is at our fingertips. It is just about talking to the people. As I said, no one is talking to them (people of the South-East). The Nigerian security agencies are above all the bandits, terrorists we have seen. It is just a matter of doing the right thing. We have the answer at our fingertips. If we add the political will, our young men and women who are in uniform will go and do their job.”
