The first son of late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Mr. Emeka Ojukwu Jr. has reacted to the controversy trailing his recent defection to All Progressives Congress, APC, saying he was merely following his father’s steps.
Ojukwu, who spoke in Awka insisted that he would never return to the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the state, describing the alleged overtures being made to by Governor Willie Obiano to him to return to APGA as infantile, adding that it smacked of ignorance on the part of the governor about the workings of politics in Nigeria.
According to him, action he took was in the best interest of Igbo, recalling how, shortly after his return from exile in 1982, his father joined the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), rather than the then Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) dominated by the Igbo.
He said: “I can afford to stay back in APGA and wallow in sentimental politics that ‘this is our own’, but in the long run, what becomes of our tomorrow and place in the greater Nigeria project, for which our forefathers laboured, invested their time, talent and even their blood?
“Which is preferable: to be a big fish in a small pond or a big fish in the ocean? Real champions are never afraid of the big league. That could be why late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, asserted that if you cannot reason beyond petty sentiments, you are a liability to mankind. Igbo people are not better off with emotional politics.
“So, while they seek to crucify me for joining APC, they express support and solidarity for the APC leader. Which is worse, to walk the talk or pander to politics of deceit and duplicity? What is the essence of being in a party that would rather support the presidential candidate of another party than choose its own?”
He said the governor was still playing kindergarten politics, wondering why Obiano and other party chieftains should condemn him for identifying with APC, while they struggled to impress President Muhammadu Buhari that they support him for a second term in office.
He observed that having supported Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan in office, Igbo have decided to support President Buhari in the spirit of fairness and political goodwill, so that when a president of Igbo extraction emerges, other ethnic groups would reciprocate.
Ojukwu, who spoke in Awka insisted that he would never return to the ruling All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the state, describing the alleged overtures being made to by Governor Willie Obiano to him to return to APGA as infantile, adding that it smacked of ignorance on the part of the governor about the workings of politics in Nigeria.
According to him, action he took was in the best interest of Igbo, recalling how, shortly after his return from exile in 1982, his father joined the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), rather than the then Nigeria Peoples Party (NPP) dominated by the Igbo.
He said: “I can afford to stay back in APGA and wallow in sentimental politics that ‘this is our own’, but in the long run, what becomes of our tomorrow and place in the greater Nigeria project, for which our forefathers laboured, invested their time, talent and even their blood?
“Which is preferable: to be a big fish in a small pond or a big fish in the ocean? Real champions are never afraid of the big league. That could be why late Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, asserted that if you cannot reason beyond petty sentiments, you are a liability to mankind. Igbo people are not better off with emotional politics.
“So, while they seek to crucify me for joining APC, they express support and solidarity for the APC leader. Which is worse, to walk the talk or pander to politics of deceit and duplicity? What is the essence of being in a party that would rather support the presidential candidate of another party than choose its own?”
He said the governor was still playing kindergarten politics, wondering why Obiano and other party chieftains should condemn him for identifying with APC, while they struggled to impress President Muhammadu Buhari that they support him for a second term in office.
He observed that having supported Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan in office, Igbo have decided to support President Buhari in the spirit of fairness and political goodwill, so that when a president of Igbo extraction emerges, other ethnic groups would reciprocate.
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