As many Nigerian male politicians were airborne enroute London for what many have described as PDP reconciliation jamboree, the first female Chief Justice  Martha Koome was making another history appointing 45 judges to preside over the swearing in ceremony of the incoming governors that includes seven women.  The increase in the number of women from the three elected in 2017 is a development that is very commendable not just for equity and gender justice but significant for Africa.

The journey of more women getting elected in 2022 has been on for years. In 2010, the constitution established a gender quota that mandated that “not more than two-thirds of the same gender” be elected at any election period. However, there has not been total adherence to this constitutional requirement. Even though women suffer certain discriminations globally, in most African countries, women substantially face extra challenges when it comes to political inclusiveness. There are issues of culture, religion, financial capacity, violence and all forms of discrimination in the political space.

However, the Kenyan constitution has made it possible for more women to be elected and be appointed into positions. It may not be totally Uhuru for the Kenyan women but this year’s election shows a remarkable improvement. On the other hand, the Rwandan parliament holds the global record of having more than 60% of women parliamentarians. Circumstantial as that is given the tragic 1994 genocide, the country seems to be doing very well seeing that it is today a tourism and investment hub in Africa. Their contributions to the governance in the country cannot be over-emphasized.

A Nigeria with a population of about 200 million with at least half of the population women has a very low percentage of women in leadership position  politically. There has never been a female President, Vice President or even governor. The first woman to be sworn in as the governor of Anambra state, Dame Virgy Etiaba only got to the position by default after a former governor Peter Obi was erroneously impeached by the state house of Assembly. The courts later reinstated him.

The political parties in Nigeria have continually created huddles that have kept many women away from elective and appointive positions. The Senate of 109 members has a paltry seven women while the Federal House of Representatives  with 360 members has  just 22 women. Most Houses of Assembly in the 36 states have less than 5% of women while some states have no single woman. What this means is that there is either no women affairs commission or even in places where there are they are headed by men who know next to nothing about issues that affect only women like reproductive health and maternal and child mortality issues.

The recent Kenyan election clearly shows that most African countries are getting the message that no one can clap with one hand. Leadership is supposed to be complimentary between men and women and Nigerian women have proved even in global institutions that they are as competent and ready to contribute to nation-building more than they are being recognized for. Nigeria being the poverty capital of the world cannot be divorced from the fact that the male monopoly of leadership has been an aberration. Ideas rule the world and that means that inclusivity is key and more productive.

The Roundtable Conversation has closely followed the Nigerian electoral processes leading to the 2023 general elections and has at various stages decried the flawed political strategies deployed by political parties during the ward/state congresses , party conventions and primaries that have produced candidates for the various elective positions come 2023.  There is a dearth of women in the political space and the party leadership styles is responsible for this aberration.

Prior to the party primaries, there were five bills sponsored by women in the House of Representatives to enhance female participation in the electoral and governance processes through laws that can mandate an increase in the legislative seats for women and more appointive positions. The men in the National Assembly threw the bills out. This goes in line with the recalcitrant attitude of the country to series of international treaties and agreements that the country had signed in the past to enhance the welfare of the girl-child and women.

The result is that the Nigerian women are reduced to canvassers for votes for men. At the party conventions of the two frontline political parties in the nation, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the women were given token positions that often are not mainstream administrative positions.  Mainly Women leader and her Deputy are left for the women. They are meant to work and mobilize voters for the men.

Some Presidential candidates of most of the political parties were recently invited to the Nigerian Bar Association Conference in Lagos and each of them had time to address the conference on what in their view should be the qualities and strategies the next president ought to possess and adopt. All the candidates marshaled out points and talked about their vision of a new Nigeria but not one of them recognized the aberration that gender inequity has affected development  in Nigeria. None of the candidates is a woman.

A few days ago some of the Presidential candidates, some state governors and other political players were in London on some personal and intra-party reconciliation or strategizing mission, not one single woman was there. So the world gets an impression that Nigeria runs some mono governance structure in a democracy that should be inclusive of every demographic.

Since the return of democracy in 1999, the number of female participants in the political scene in both elective and appointive positions seems to be on a downward spiral. This has had very dire implications for the development in the country. Ironically, in every sector where merit is the criteria for selection, women have shown profoundly impactful presence.

In economic issues, former finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was equally hounded by some male politicians while in office is the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and is on the board of many global institutions. Ibukun Awosika was Chairperson of the premium Nigerian bank, First Bank, Arunma Oteh is at the World Bank after being hounded  by some male politicians  as director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In fact, most of the viable banks in Nigeria are headed by women.

In the academia, many women have risen to become Vice Chancellors, Registrars, Senior Research fellows and top rated lecturers. In entertainment, women like the matriarch of the Nigerian entertainment industry,Taiwo Ajai-Lycett is an institution and contributing immensely to nation building through arts of varied hues. The face of Nollywood is obviously seen around the world through veteran actresses contributing at global levels of entertainment.

In sports, the Tobi Amusans have been flying the Nigerian flag as world’s best. The female National team,  the Falcons have recorded more victories than the Super Eagles with very passive recognision. Chioma Ajunwa set a record at the 1996 Olympics. Many of the gold medals being won internationally are by women. In fact the just concluded Commonwealth games in Birmingham saw the bulk of gold medals being won by Nigerian women.

In all sectors, Nigerian women have shown the stuff of their excellence but the patriarchal attitude of the men on the political space has ensured that not many women with political ambition get to play on a level playing field. The Roundtable Conversation has over the years been documenting the hurdles women face in Nigerian politics but sadly, the men seem to enjoy the solo ride merely for their ego aloneand not national development..

Sadly though, the consequences of the monopoly of the political space by the men are more on the women. Bad leadership affects the women the more as the offshoots like insecurity and poverty have great impacts on them. If Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world according to global poverty index with more people falling into the poverty bracket daily, it beggars belief why the political space continues to be monopolized by the men.

The Roundtable Conversation would in the coming weeks begin to interrogate candidates for the next election on their plans for women beyond the usual rhetoric. The Nigerian economy is at a stage where all competent hands must be on deck to alter the socio-economic situation.  It must not continue to be business as usual while we run a stagnated economy.

It beggars belief that smaller nations across Africa like Liberia, Malawi and Tanzania and others all have had female Presidents or Heads of government while the most populous black nation on earth continues to exclude women. If Rwanda can have the historic global highest number of women parliamentarians and Kenya has gone from having three elected governors to seven in 2022, what is really happening with Nigerian male politicians? How can men continually deny women the level playing field in politics by refusing to amend the constitution or even accent to bills seeking to give women more voice in the democracy?

Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people. It is not a solo run by men who in the case of Nigeria has really done a bad solo job and continually reneged on international agreements that could enhance the welfare and political participation of women and by implication development for the country.

The dialogue continues…

As Nigeria moves closer to the 2023 elections, most of the candidates have emerged from the different political parties and are planning their strategies while keeping an eye on their opponents strategies too. The campaign period of any election is the most exhausting for candidates but paradoxically, the most exciting for voters who can either be die-hard supporters or the undecided.

More often than not, the party political ideology, the candidate, campaign slogan and the strategies all build up into making the difference in the performance of candidates at elections.  Winning and losing elections often depend on the ability of a political party and the campaign team to focus on the mandate givers and give them messages that resonate with them.

One of the most remarkable media campaigns in Nigeria’s political history was the HOPE’93 of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that had the late MKO Abiola as its candidate. Before he won the primary election, the Nigerian electorate was seemingly hopeless and in total despair given the series of military coups and counter counters in a post-independent Nigeria.

So, the coming of an MKO Abiola into the political scene in 1993 was seen as a political elixir. So, a HOPE’93 campaign slogan resonated with the people. However, the slogan was not all to it, the personality of a late MKO Abiola played a role. He had a larger-than-life personality, he was a national citizen and he was a philanthropist that had no borders to his magnanimity.

For a late MKO Abiola to have defeated his opponent, the late Bashir Tofa in Kano where Tofa came from was profoundly instructive. An MKO did not need to speak Hausa to the Kano people. He did not need to speak Igbo, Itshekiri, Fulfude, Ibibio or Idoma in other language in the country. His party campaign strategy made it easy for him to reach voters across the nation.

Between 1993 and 2022, a lot has changed in the world and in global politics. In 1993 for instance, the internet had not gained so much currency. The Social media was not as popular as it is today. Politicians relied so much on orthodox print and electronic media for their campaigns but the HOPE’93 slogan was so pervasive even kids could sing most of the campaign songs. The message was as inspiring as it was alluringly energizing. The people bought into it.

The 2023 elections in Nigeria will be like no other in the nation’s political history. Today, the global political situation has changed. The internet is a global phenomenon. There is more awareness and the apathy earlier shown by the youth seems to have faded into the past. The voting demographics are getting more sensitive and aware of the roles of governments in their lives. In all these, information management  is key and both the media and the Spokespersons of political parties must realize there are ethical lines that must not be crossed as we build our democracy.

The Roundtable Conversation feels that our march to the 2023 election can be smoother if all those concerned play by the rules and do those things that can enhance unity and grow our democracy.

We spoke to veteran journalist, Lanre Arogundade,  a Director at International Press Center (IPC). We wanted to find out his views about the media rolesin political reporting and the working relationship  with Spokespersons persons of political parties that can enhance our democracy .

Lanre believes that while politicians come and go with their Spokespersons and aides, the media and the people will always be around. The media on their own has the ethics of their profession clearly spelt out. Spokespersons have the duty of marketing their their candidates but there are rules to the game. They must at all times be ready to provide the media and the people with credible information about their principal and or his activities clearly.

If a Spokesperson wants the media to have qualitative and factual coverage of the activities of their candidates and their political parties they must have to provide credible information to the media either through the orthodox or social media. They owe the media the responsibility to provide information proactively and factually. We have the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage which was adopted by media stakeholders in 2018 and endorsed by all media organizations including private media organizations. The Code has broad principles under which certain obligations are imposed on certain institutions to make the work of the media easier during the electoral process.

The government, the security agencies, INEC as the electoral management body and then of course the Civil society and the political parties all have roles. The political parties are expected to ensure easy access for journalists covering elections and to ensure their safely from any form of attack as they do their jobs. Spokespersons need to understand that there is a media code of conduct that obligates them to facilitate access to the media so that they can cover their events. Spokespersons of political parties need to work with the leadership of political parties and  security agencies with the understanding that journalists are also there to do their jobs and must be protected.

Lanre made reference to 2019 election period when his IPC discovered that there where fake news used by the two leading political parties to persuade voters. They shared fake information especially fake videos which when scrutinized were not what they were presented to be. That was misinformation. They did not stand the test of fact-checking. This shows that the media cannot always be blamed for fake news.  The Spokespersons of political parties must desist from disinformation and misinformation all targeted at deceiving the public.

To Lanre, the  media would not like to be misled and so the media must fact-check thoroughly but being sources of information from candidates and the political parties, Spokespersons must ensure that their information meets basic ethical standards and are factual. They need to understand that there is always the Right of Reply in the media. The media on its own must be guided by the Code which comes in  five sections; equitable access, social responsibility, inclusive coverage, avoidance of hate speech and conflict sensitivity. The Right of Reply is very crucial so that everyone involved in the process will be free to challenge or correct information that they know to be false  against a candidate especially in modern times with online news access and breaking news by the seconds.

Replies to such misinformation must be given a commensurate space as much as that of the original story being refuted with valid facts. These are the basic dos and don’ts the media can put to Spokespersons of political parties so that our democracy can thrive.

The media can also contribute to campaign  information management by setting very high standards of practice; doing deep researches, being well informed about not just candidates but extraneous issues. In the case of broadcast media, it is even more important given the currency of broadcasts.

The journalist must be ahead of the interviewee/Spokespersons so that all false claims are instantly corrected before he or she leaves the station.  Be ready to quote credible sources to refute what you understand to be false claims or mere propaganda because the job of Spokespersons is to market their candidate and some might often step off the cliff to get their jobs done.

The media must realize that a good interview is one backed with a lot of research. For each question you ask, you must be ready to anticipate the answer but still able to ask follow up questions, refute false claims with facts. You must be in positions to dissect the answers and tell the Spokesperson that his or her answer does not correspond with facts. You might in some cases not be able make instant rebuttals but you can do fact-checking and do analysis and refute the false claims timeously.

The Nigerian Media Code of Conduct also empowers the media to halt hate speech or incitements by Spokespersons . Before interviews, the journalist must obtain commitments from the persons appearing for candidates or political parties to play by the rules. They could be reminded that in political discourse, tempers and passion can boil over but discussions must be civil and factual. No hate speech or incitement should  be allowed. There must be evidence based conclusions especially about opponents and no one would be allowed to trade on hearsays or what in local parlance is regarded as beer parlor gossips.

The media must police the Spokespersons by reminding them that if they flout the codes of conduct and resort to using invectives or any form of verbal abuse, the programme could be halted immediately. The media is allowed to do that. The broadcast media must realize that the sword of the Broadcasting Organization of Nigeri (BON) can land on their station and they must  make their guests comply tp the best ethical conducts.

So media houses have ethical and professional responsibilities and no matter how much the media want to give space to politicians, no matter how much they want them to air their own stories, they must also make them understand that there are ethical barricades they cannot cross and if their organization must continue in business, the rules must either be obeyed or the platform denied the party.

The Roundtable Conversation as the name implies believes that nothing in inter-personal, inter-party, inter-religious, inter-ethnic, inter-racial or any other relationship works better than robust and civil conversations. The country belongs to all of us. Politicians and offices are for set periods and we must set templates for good communications to grow our democracy. Let the media and party Spokespersons be agents of unity in diversity.

The dialogue continues…

The greatest single virtue of A legislature is not what it can do but what it can prevent –  J. William Fulbright

Nigeria is the most populous country in sub Saharan Africa. In the past decades especially during the oil boom periods post-independence, the then Head of state, Gen Yakubu Gowon (Rtd.) is recorded to have boasted that money was not the country’s problem but how to spend it. Whether that statement was made out of youthful exuberance or lack of visionary economic planning is yet to be ascertained from him.

Due to the petro-dollars, Nigeria became the big brother in Africa and even beyond to other developing nations. Most African countries especially the South African countries were huge beneficiaries as the country helped a great deal in their fight for independence and the abolition of apartheid. The country was doing relatively well despite the post-independence civil war. Then came the series of coups and counter coups that sacked the civilian government of late Alhaji Shehu Shagari in 1983.

Things began to fall apart in Nigeria with all the coups and counter coups and with the nature of military governments with no checks and balances, the Head of state had enormous powers. The economic fortunes of the country began to impact on the people and even with the return of civilian democracy in 1999, it is still difficult for the country to maximize its potentials and reduce the powers of the presidency.

The result is that today, Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world with more than eighteen million out-of-school children, high unemployment and underemployment rates, high maternal and child mortality rates, poor infrastructural development, one of the five most terrorized countries of the world and other sad indices of poverty and underdevelopment.

The election that is set for 2023 has literarily set the country on the edge as politics of the presidency takes center stage. The political parties moved from debates on the issues of zoning between North and South to that of ethnicity and now to religion as it concerns the  Vice Presidential candidates. Beyond these were also intra-party crisis especially within the two biggest political parties, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Roundtable Conversation feels that the successive civilian governments seem to have failed in returning the country to the path of development because Nigeria’s democracy seems to have weak legislative bodies at both state and federal levels. The executive arm of government at both levels seems very imperial often veiled as executive-legislative harmony or party loyalty even when the political parties have no identifiable political ideological leanings.

The Roundtable believes that the exaggerated emphasis on the presidency removes attention from the legislature that is equally a strong pillar of any democracy. Since 1999, there has been too much power ceded to the presidency and the governors in ways that it has affected the democracy we practice.

Democracy thrives on the viability of checks and balances and the Nigerian people must realize that although the presidency is very important, more attention must be paid to the other two arms, the judiciary and the legislature and because only the executive and legislature stand for elections, a lot of attention is needed if Nigeria must make progress. It is delusional to assume that the executive alone can bring the development the country needs.

The Roundtable Conversation had a chat with Chido Nwakamma, a journalist and Communications Strategist. Asked why Nigerians seem too focused on the Presidency  to the detriment of other arms of government like the legislature which in turn has affected the value of the democracy being practiced, Nwakamma believes that there is no smoke without fire and that Nigeria seems to practice an imperial kind of presidency. With that comes enormous powers that affect every aspect of leadership including political party leadership. Somehow the state governors too seem to replicate the same system at the state levels. He believes there must be a legislative awakening to make our democracy functional by making laws to reduce the powers of the presidency.

He equally believes that the fact that the media is fixated on Abuja the political capital and Lagos the Commercial capital, attention does not cascade down to the states and local governments and there are not many state and local media to zoom the searchlight on the activities of the local politicians who go to the local legislative houses and even the federal legislature.  These omissions to him tend to remove attention from those levels of leadership  and leave the people rightly focusing on the seat with the most powers.

Besides the skewed media attention on the political and commercial capitals, Nwakamma believes that the middle class in Nigeria has been playing the ostrich and have been docile or shown too much political apathy that the political class are not held to account.  He believes that at the local levels, the people tend to be more involved in political activities unlike the city middle class that seem very insular to political engagements.

He believes it is the duty of the Nigerian middle class, pauperized as they are to set the barricades and hold leaders accountable because most of them are their peers or classmates. A better and more committed engagement by the middle class in Nigeria would help restructure the governance system. The legislative arm must be made to work and fulfill its duties to the people and by so doing get a better country where the dividends of democracy is about the people and not individuals.

The Nigerian middle class must take a cue from those of other nations with viable democracies. Being politically aware and engaging the process must not be left to the ‘professional’ politicians. Their engagement would revitalize the legislative arms at all levels and reinvigorate the democracy we practice. It is delusional for the Nigerian middle class to feel that just having the basics of life and sending their children abroad to study solves the leadership problems in the country. They must roll up their sleeves and get to work. There must be continued advocacy and education he said.

The purpose of government is the welfare of the people and if the present structure is not catering to that, then it is time to make changes and that has to be on the shoulders of the legislative arm of government. It is time to focus on those going to that level of leadership from the ward, state to the National Assembly. Interest must be on the quality and pedigree of those going there in ways that at least they understand the roles of the legislature in a democracy.

The Roundtable Conversation equally had a conversation with Ugbeva Eromosele , an Enginneer and  public affairs analyst who has worked in both private and public sectors of the Nigerian economy and a keen observer of the Nigerian political space. He believes that Nigeria is a developing democracy and the huge emphasis on the presidency is not totally misplaced.  To him, it is important that the head of any institution or government comes to the job with a sense of mission and as such must be armed with clear leadership qualities. In the Nigerian circumstance, he believes that a good President  has the capacity to lead the country into building  a strong system which will in turn impact on all structures of government.

The head matters a lot. When a President for instance has the discipline, the moral strength and experience needed for his position, he would begin to redirect the focus of government agencies and ministries and he will instinctively be able to make changes in the psyche of everyone including the legislature  in a way that without being authoritarian, change begins to happen.

A competent  president and his vice through their team selection might begin to bring changes if they make merit and competence their watchword. Their actions would cascade down the other arms of government.  An independent judiciary and the competent law enforcement agencies are also very important because they would keep everyone in check. The authority of the federal government would be more impactful  if we depart from the present system where states are just allowed to operate mini fiefdoms where governors behave like they own their state resources.

The Roundtable Conversation is of the view that Nigerian democracy cannot birth development if the system does not change. Democracy as a system of government has its tenets and can only produce good results when the tenets are adhered to. The country cannot do the same thing all the time and expect a different result.

We have all seen the recent political events in the United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was virtually forced to resign as the head of the Conservative Party following the mass resignation of the some Tory MPs. The power in any democracy belongs to the people and no single individual or group of individuals can be so powerful that they disrupt the system.

The Nigerian people must equally realize that they have to engage the political system and must be involved in the political process by being active participants. While the presidency is an important position in any country, the legislature at all levels is equally very important and must get equal attention. Citizens must be willing to challenge the candidates. Important as the Presidency is, it is one individual. There must be legislative adjustments to cede some exective powers to the Vice president  and deputy governorsfor balance and optimum performance of the party in power.

The dialogue continues…

“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way -Franklin D. Roosevelt

The political space can be more exciting than some sports because while most sports are played within certain times, politics is timeless. The intrigues, the horse-trading, the lobbying, the planning, the betrayals the back-stabbings and camaraderie are endless. Did they not say that in politics there are no permanent friends or enemies but only permanent interests? It can be intriguing staying on the sidelines watching real politics being played out.

The Nigerian democracy in the last twenty three years has been a potpourri and the players like the peacock very often display their decorated plumage. A Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (RTD.) who midwifed Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999 celebrates his 80th birthday this month and is alive to push further his peace efforts in Nigeria and across Africa. By next year, the June 12 democracy day honouring the election of late MKO Abiola would be 30 years.

The hope is that before then, Nigeria would have elected its next President and other candidates for both legislative and executive positions.  Hopefully, Nigerians would have made the right choices given how far we have come. The incoming President has a lot to worry about in a country that has been fragmented by the hype about regions and religion.

The two biggest political parties, the All progressive Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) like other smaller political parties have chosen their Presidential and Vice- Presidential Candidates  in line with the directives of the electoral umpire, the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC).

Even though a lot of intrigues and permutations went on before the choice of candidates, it was interesting to watch the politics around both parties played around Zoning, Regions and Religion. It was interesting to see the doublespeak, the contradictions and the paradoxes playing out in the field. But again, it was interesting to see the protection of interests, the unity in diversity, the ostrich-playing around the issues of religion and region.

The PDP claimed they were throwing the contest open to all zones but it was interesting seeing a governor Tambuwal of Sokoto step down for an Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.  He did not just step down and leave him in the lurch, he directed his delegates to cast their votes for Atiku. A governor Nyesom Wike was not amused by the action of a Tambuwal as he lost to Atiku.  When most people  expected a Wike to be chosen as Atiku’s running mate, a governor Ifeanyi Okowa  of Delta state, a former Senator and one of the organizers in PDP clinched the vice Presidential slot in what the PDP feels would amount to killing two birds with one stone.

The feeling is that an Ifeanyi Okowa is from the South South that has five PDP states, he is by some lineage links an Igboman as his name implies as against a Wike who at every breath distances himself from any link with the South East. So he fits in to supposedly ‘calm’ Ndigbo who have been sulking after losing out on all fronts. The game gets more intriguing and interesting.

The APC primaries presented more drama. The rumours about consensus candidate or an anointed of  President Buhari all came crashing down as the Northern governors reached a strategically viable option of zoning the presidency to the South. Former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu clinched the ticket with a landslide victory over even Vice President  Yemi Osibanjo (SAN).

In a beautiful display of regional solidarity, former governor Ibikunle Amosun,  Ekiti state governor Kayode Fayemi, Senator Boroffice, former Speaker of House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole,  all stepped down for the APC leader, Senator Tinubu. Others including former governor Godswill  Akpabio of Akwa Ibom state, Jigawa state governor,  Muhammad Badaru and the only female aspirant in the race, Uju Ohanenye all  stepped down for him too.

Then came the battle for the Vice presidential candidate and because the APC candidate is a Muslim, the analysis and counter analysis has been going on about the import of a Muslim-Muslim ticket in a 2022 Nigeria that is a far cry from the 1993 Muslim –Muslim ticket of a late MKO Abiola and Babagana Kingibe. The question then is, what has religion and region done to the psyche of the average Nigerian? Does the political climate solve or exacerbate ethnic and religious tensions?

In all these, the South East region feels a sense of déjà vu as they seem to be outsiders in the two political parties. The Roundtable Conversation wanted to find out why the region known for its strength as one of the tripods of the Nigerian state has seemingly lost out for the top positions in the two biggest political parties in the land. Does this align with the cries of marginalization by the Igbos or are they victims of their own political naivety?

We sought the views of Obiora Okonkwo (Ph.D) an academic, entrepreneur and politician who has been in the field and tested the waters. We wanted to find out from him whether the Igbo politicians have really paid their dues in Nigerian politics or are they just crying wolf and waiting for political manna to fall from heaven? Have the Igbos galvanized enough support and worked hard enough? To him, the fate of Ndigbo in national politics is traceable to grave mistakes the people made in the past.

In the past, when the Igbos chose  flawed leadership selection processes that neglected capacity, competence, merit and rather went for what in quote is called loyalty that was redefined to mean stupidity absolute  in the area of  of who should never say no to you or who you can control and manipulate in the political field. That  unfortunately became the criteria for those who have the capacity  to install leaders and the political class started seeing a class of politicians who see politics as a means of livelihood instead of a platform for service for the people and a race. In the course of doing that, they went for just anybody and today, the chicken seems to have come home to roost and so in the national political field, the boys have not grown to men.

In the days of icons like late Alex Ekwueme or Chuba Okadigbo, their names effortlessly came up when issues of zoning anything to the South came up politically. They were from the South East and achieved greatness before their foray into politics so their rise in the national  political consciousness was easy because they had the sagacity and the gravitas to drive national politics and represent the zone while still being good national players. They had the clout and presence but today we have people in the pitch but they have not proven to be good players and so there is no team work like we see in the other zones.

The point has been made and it is time for the South East to re-strategize and plan how to reintegrate themselves into national consciousness. It takes hard work to recalibrate and re-evaluate strategies. To Okonkwo, the South East must learn to sit back and use their position to negotiate more deftly to get the zone to fight for the future. The South East must begin to stamp their political value through strong participation, team work and serious negotiations with others. Globally, politics is not about emotions and sentiments, it is serious work that needs planning and tactically foolproof strategies.

The Roundtable Conversation also spoke to Sam Omatseye, a veteran journalist and public affairs analyst about his evaluation of the cry of political marginalization by the South East. He maintains that politics is about engagement. He feels that some of the political players in the South East have not tried enough to engage other regions. Politics at the national level is about serious handshakes across regions.  Somebody like Ogbonnaya Onu who was prominent in the APC, what did he do to bring the people of the region into the party? No region can wait to be served without working hard enough. All the political leadrrs from the region ought to do better at integrating the region to the center rather than lamenting. National political participation that yields positive results is not a tea party. Participants must work very hard to own their space at the dining table. Politics is not about sentiments or whipping up emotions. Politics is played with grit and tact and every zone must learn the ropes and be ready to make sacrifices and play by the rules. The leaders did not do enough work in bringing in the people and so no one uses power as reward if you have not worked to earn it.

Watching the activities at the primaries of the APC and PDP, it was obvious that the best strategists won the game especially in the North versus South political games. It was interesting to watch the grandmasters play their politics and the efforts being rewarded. Political success is not a hundred meter dash, it is a marathon and success at the end is determines by those who can stay the course without tiring out or falling off the tracks.

The Roundtable believes that the South East must learn to play as a team as is evident in other regions instead of the present individual expedient politics of egoistic individuals who forget that they need to plant trees they might not sit under its shades. Political actions for centuries mark out persons and those who achieve greatness and immortalize themselves are those whose sense of service goes beyond self to the larger community and nation.

Political inclusiveness is never achieved my whining or lamenting. People work hard in the political space and get their dues at the right time. Now that the die is cast, the Roundtable Conversation only hopes lessons have been learnt and amends would be made. Change is the only permanent thing in life they say. We wait and watch.

The dialogue continues…