6th December, 2021
Buba Galadima, a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, said he had told the former governor of Anambra Chukwuemeka Ezeife that he will not support the Igbo presidency.
Galadima, in a recent interview with vanguard, said he will only support a man from the South-East who is ready to be President of Nigeria and not President of Igbo.
He said:
The other day, Okwadike, the former governor of Anambra State came to me with a group of people and asked me to support Igbo presidency. When they finished talking, I told him I will not support Igbo Presidency but I will support an Igbo man from the South-East as president of Nigeria.
When told the Ezeife meant President of Nigeria from the South-East, Galadmina said:
“How would I know what he meant? How would I see his heart? What if he meant another thing? I am telling you so you tell your people. And it is very difficult to get out of this country. By the time you get out, we must have lost half of the population of the country. It’s not easy and when you do ‘gragra’ that you want to take the presidency by force, things get worse. Nobody trusts you that way. I will tell you what nobody will tell you.
So, I told Ezeife, no and I told him that all these agitations are counter-productive to an Igbo man becoming president of Nigeria because the thought is, are we voting for an Igbo man to dismember Nigeria with Biafra, or are we voting for an Igbo man to keep Nigeria one?
This is a big issue. We are not voting an Igbo man to be president of Biafra but to be the president of Nigeria. But how can that be with these violent agitations? The northerners will not take it, Yoruba people will not take it, because it’s like they are conquered in war.
When Obasanjo was supported, it was because he is perceived to have a large heart and could accommodate everybody. When Abiola was voted for, it was also for the same reason. His philanthropic gestures cut across tribes and religion. Why can’t the Igbo learn a small lesson? I am giving you a tip that you cannot buy in the market. When I finished with Ezeife and his group, I have not heard of somebody promoting the Igbo presidency which means Ezeife had heard my warning and he must have told others. This is not by using force. The people will remain in power. Even if Nigeria will be dismembered, the people there will be the legitimate authority in Abuja.
Galadmina also accused Ezeife and others calling for the Igbo Presidency of promoting IPOB at the same time.
He said: “And they are promoting IPOB at the same time.”
When told that Ezeife was not promoting IPOB, Galadima said:
“How about those who went to Abuja to meet Buhari to release Nnamdi Kanu? I was arrested and put underground during Obasanjo’s regime. Why didn’t the North raise hell and cry marginalization?
“I have given you tips on how to be the president of Nigeria. The man who wants to be the President of Nigeria must have a large heart so that he can accommodate all of us and Nigerians must look at the man’s pedigree: when he was MD or minister, how many other tribes were in his employ?.”