This article could have been titled, THE LIARS, THE POLITICIAN AND THE PRESIDENT, and it will be just as appropriate. But, I think it is better to focus on the man who will suffer the consequences of his action.

I wish that historical Lord Lugard and the King or Queen of England who granted him the powers to rule and ruin our lives are alive today to behold the explosions being set off by the time bomb they planted in this part of Africa in 1914. History does not tell us its alternatives. In other words, we don’t know what would have happened if amalgamation had not occurred. But, we are now beginning to see the beginning of the end of the “geographical expression” (apologies to the late Chief Awolowo) they formed and named Nigeria by the satraps’ concubine.

The great entertainer who made this remark about his fellow Americans never heard of a country called Nigeria – because it did not exist then. If a Nigerian comedian wants to use the same line today it will probably be “A Nigerian fool is born every second and some of them invest in the Nigerian Stock Exchange.”

Just as I was getting prepared for a stiff opposition to the idea an Igbo President in 2023, part support came from an unexpected source. Until I read that statement in the VANGUARD newspapers nobody could have convinced me that Governor El-Rufai would not be one of the strongest stumbling blocks to what some people have already started telling me was an exercise in futility. Everywhere I have gone and opened my mouth to advocate for an Igbo President, people have given me two reasons it is a pipe dream. Even when they acknowledge that my previous venture into political advocacy was a success against all known odds, they are also very quick to point out that Lagos is not Nigeria. What worked in Lagos cannot be presumed to be a good template for pan-Nigeria advocacy. Let me quickly admit that there is some validity in the criticism. And, the fact stated scares me as we move forward. But, where courage is required for the success of an enterprise, I take solace in the words of the late American actor John Wayne, who, in one of his many cowboy films, said: “Courage is being scared to death but going forward anyway.” This crusade calls for a great deal of conviction and tenacity.

Perhaps in the midst of the multitudes of issues dividing this nation, especially religion, politics, ethnicity, regionalism, economic inequality etc, it might appear audacious to bring another contentious issue up for debate — particularly, when it is at the moment not a popular view across Nigeria.