S’West ‘ll support Igbo presidency in 2015 –Kalu

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Former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu has said that he believes the Yoruba nation is better positioned now more than ever before to back the emergence of an Igbo as President of Nigeria in 2015. In a press statement signed by his Special Assistant, Mr Emeka Obasi, the former governor, who is fresh from consultations with eminent Nigerians across the south, declared that the Yoruba by nature abhor injustice.

He said having realised that the South-east had suffered pathetic neglect for so long, some strong individuals from that region(South-west) could lead the campaign for change. According to Kalu, “Give it to the South-west. They always raise personalities against injustice.It did not just start with Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi.Mrs. Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was ready to confront colonialism with bare hands. Prof.Wole Soyinka risked his life and went to jail not really because his friend Christopher Okigbo died in Biafra, he had a soft spot for the Igbo who suffered so much persecution.

The road to 2015 will throw up more such men and women.” He maintained that the perceived cat and mouse game between the two largest groups in the south did not mean they could not come together for more than political convenience, arguing that both understood themselves beyond power sharing. “There is so much between us. During the war, you found some Igbo living in Lagos.Chief Philip Asiodu even served in the Federal Government in spite of the loss of his brother Sidney to the bullets of Nigerian troops. Tony Igwe was busy playing soccer and Obisia Nwankpa sweated out in the gym. At the same time, Prof. Vincent Ike’s wife a Yoruba was part of the Biafran war efforts.

Even the daughter of Lagos Oba Adeyinka Oyekan was married to a Biafran naval officer, Ohiaeri-Duru.To cap it all, one of the gallant Yoruba officers who saw the war, Lt.General Alani Akinrinade had since condemned it as unnecessary. That is why the Yoruba stand out,”said the ex-governor.” Furthermore, Kalu expressed optimism that the long sought after handshake across the Niger would be witnessed in the 2015 Presidential elections since the Yoruba may not have eyes on Aso Villa following Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s unprecedented goodluck.

“Let me point out that the South-west will prove their love for the South-east in 2015.That is the best way to bury all the accumulated suspicion between both groups. For me, I know the Yoruba could stand up and be counted. The war years showed it. There was this Yoruba soldier who applied the brakes of his army truck to save the life of an Igbo pedestrian near Orlu at the end of the war in January 1970.An accompanying officer was so furious that he took control of the vehicle, drove for about 10 kilometres and forced the driver out into the dark.

Time was 1.00a.m.’Ejoo oo,ejoo oo’[please,please] the soldier pleaded. All to no avail. Fortunately, the drop zone was in Isu right in front of the house of the first Igbo Dental-Surgeon who had worked in Ibadan before the crisis.And he took the soldier in.The lesson is that there are more Yoruba out there who cannot kill Igbo dreams in 2015,”Kalu summed up.

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Mimiko blasts Tinubu over S’West integration, accuses Agagu of non performance

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From TUNDE RAHEEM, Akure

Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko at the weekend lambasted the leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Senator Ahmed Tinubu, advising him on the need to apply decorum anytime he is in public outings. According to him, those whose track records are in the public domain must tread cautiously. Mimiko who spoke at Okitipupa in the South senatorial district of Ondo State during the rally of the Labour Party held for his second term re-election bid stated that the people of Ondo State would not be part of a phony and deceitful integration as being preached by the leadership of the ACN in the South West.

The governor who described his achievements in the last three and a half years in office as placing the state on the path of sustainable development equally took a swipe at his predecessor in office, Dr. Olusegun Agagu. He accused Agagu of surreptitiously trying to draw back the hands of progress in the state by attempting to foist his stooge on the people. He stated that Agagu was a non-performer and challenged him to point to any major project that he did in any part of the state as proof of his much orchestrated performance.

Dr. Mimiko who described the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola as a better administrator who had shown ‘flash of brilliance in governance’ than Tinubu noted that Tinubu’s eight years in office could not match his three and a half years as governor of Ondo State. To him, the ruckus about capturing Ondo State, which he said was being better managed than any of the ACN controlled states, was a dream that would fall flat on its face. His words: “In Ondo State, the ACN is not on ground and they will meet their political waterloo here. Please, ask them what are they doing in Osun that we have not done better? In any of their states, Ondo State is better managed than them. I salute Babatunde Fashola, whatever anybody may say; he has shown a flash of brilliance in governance. But the eight years before Fashola, what did they do in Lagos? “They used eight years to build just one millennium school; we in Ondo State, in just three and a half years, have built world class mega schools all over the state.

“They talked about integration, if they want to integrate the South West, is it going to be in one person’s pockets? If that is integration, then Ondo State will never be a part of such a phony and deceitful integration. “But if it is the integration for the development of our people; to give world class education to our people; to give world class hospitals; integration to develop our public transportation; to bring development like we are doing in Ondo State for the generality of the people; oh yes, we are for it.

“But if it is integration of the pockets of one person, we will not be part of it and we are aware that the Yoruba across Ondo State and in the South West know the type of integration that they want. And it is definitely not the type of integration being preached by the leadership of the ACN.” Governor Mimiko who disclosed that he was seeking re-election based on his performance while in office described his contenders to the plum office as district officers, ill-prepared and minions of godfathers out to milk the state.

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