The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has perfected plans to clinch the APC presidential ticket for the 2023 presidency.
And
he is quite serious about his ambition. Recently, there was a report that the
two-term governor of Rivers State is eyeing the presidency and in reaction to
the report, Amaechi reacted: “I am still the Minister for Transportation. Only
God can tell who will be the President of Nigeria in 2023.
This
statement is complex and does not rule him out of the presidential bid in 2023.
We have it on good authority that, if the Project and Program Delivery is a
yardstick to determine who gets what in the peculiar structure of Nigerian
politics, Amaechi will no doubt have his name written in the list. City People
has it on good authority that Rotimi Amaechi will run as a presidential
candidate in 2023, all things being equal.
The
presidential ambition of the Minister of Transportation received a huge boost
last week when the news of his traditional title in Daura, Buhari’s home town
in Katsina was announced.
The
Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouq Umar, will confer the traditional title of
“Dan Amanar Daura” on the Minister, at his palace, on February 5, 2012. The
term “Dan Amanar Daura”, means "The
trusted one of Daura". This is coming after the former Governorship candidate
in Rivers State, Engineer Tonye Princewill said the Minister has the needed
qualities to be Nigeria’s next president.
Tonye
had in an interview said that given his achievements as a former Speaker in the
Rivers State House of Assembly, a two-term governor and now federal minister
for more than six years, AMAECHI stands tall in the comity of politicians in
the country to take Nigeria to a glorious height in 2023.
The
inclusion of the Transport minister into the picture as two big shots from the
southwest region have pitched tents against one another, has further
complicated the projection and predictions of political pundits and modern
religious prophets who never saw it coming.
Recall
that Amaechi had in an interview in November dissociated himself from campaign
posters and groups that may suggest that he has an interest in the forthcoming
presidential elections, he had said that his primary objectives hover around
transportation and he intends to deliver his task to the best of his ability.
However,
consultations and permutations that have begun in the past one week in Aso
Villa show that the minister may have accomplished his target in the transport
sector and he’s set to give the well-deserving presidency a good shot.
Beyond
the teeming support and backings that Amaechi enjoys in the south, it will
interest spectators to find out that he has the support base of northern youths
to his credit. The people of the north acknowledge the fact that Rotimi Amaechi
factors their interest and need in mind in all the projects that he executed as
a transport minister. This is why Young persons from the Northern part of
Nigeria under the auspices of Arewa Youth for Amaechi 2023 have said for the
country to attain the development it desires all citizens must get involved in
the process of leadership recruitment.
The
group said it has identified the current Minister of Transportation, Hon.
Rotimi Amaechi as possessing the right credentials to lead the country on the
path of desired development and National unity. In fairness to the minister, he
has not left anyone in doubt that indeed he is a lover of development. The
transformation in the railway sector of transportation has delighted all across
the country and beyond. Besides, Amaechi remains a bridge builder that will
serve as a unifying factor of the country especially at a time when there are
many agitations in different parts of the country.
Throughout
his political career, the ‘Lion of Ubima’, born in Rivers State and raised in
the bustling state capital Port Harcourt, has always appeared in public wearing
his trademark ornately embroidered cap.
December
2020 however, Rotimi appeared on Channels Television wearing something else
altogether. He rocked a plain red cap and a white shirt embroidered with the
recurring motif of a lion head.
A
non-Nigerian viewer will only believe that the whimsical choice of clothing
might have escaped notice. To those in the know, this was a bombshell on par
with what he was about to say. Alongside the spectacle of an ethnic Ikwerre
rocking the Igbo ethnic group’s famous apparel and red cap, it was no longer a
subtle hint – it was now a statement delivered: “I want to be Nigeria’s first
‘Igbo’ President.”
To
get the grip on why Amaechi’s ethnicity hopping is an important political
statement it is important to understand that ethnicity and geographical origin
are central to Nigeria’s electoral political positions. The unwritten principle
of “zoning” has since the fourth republic become almost the only conventional
agreement that all the six zones have dully considered in the choice of the
presidency.
This
means that the next president, which of course is expected to be from the
south, should come from the southeast, which is overwhelmingly populated by the
Igbo ethnic group. It so happens that Rotimi Amaechi’s hometown of Diobu falls
just within the arbitrary boundaries that define the “South-South.”
From
the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to Nigerian Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Nigerian Inland
Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), Nigerian
Institute of Transport Technology (NITT) and Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN),
Amaechi has shown capacity, innovation and leadership in a way that leaves no
one in doubt about his competence in any way.
His
political journey is dated back to when he was in the University from his home
state. University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) in Rivers State was where Chibuike
Rotimi Amaechi laid the foundation of his political life, participating
actively in the student union politics, especially in the National Union of
Rivers State Students (NURSS), of which he was President, and the National
Association of Nigerian Students (NANS).
After
graduation, he cut his teeth in politics as Secretary of the now-defunct
National Republican Convention (NRC) in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers
State from 1992 to 1994. He was Special Assistant to Dr Peter Odili, the then
Deputy Governor of Rivers State, and also a member of the Board of West Africa
Glass Industry as well as Risonpalm Nigeria Limited. He was Secretary of the
Caretaker Committee of the Rivers State Chapter of the disbanded Democratic
Party of Nigeria (DPN) in 1996 during the transition programme of the General
Sani Abacha junta.
In
1999, Amaechi contested and won a seat to become a member of the Rivers State
House of Assembly to represent his constituency. He was subsequently elected
Speaker of the House of Assembly as well as Chairman of Nigeria’s Conference of
Speakers of State Assemblies. He was re-elected into the State House of
Assembly in May 2003 and was equally re-elected Speaker. A Master’s Degree holder;
Amaechi’s assumption of office as Governor based on a Supreme Court judgement
after PDP dumped him despite his convincingly winning the party’s gubernatorial
ticket, remains a mystery to many political watchers in the country. He spent
eight years as Governor of Rivers State. He was the Chairman of the Nigeria
Governors’ Forum (NGF). His unprecedented feats in the transformation of Rivers
State have won him many international and local awards as well as the respect
of the great world and Nigerian leaders. He currently serves as the Honourable
Minister of Transportation under the Presidency of Mohammadu Buhari.
While
we prepare for the February 26, convention, it is clear that the battle has
been translated from a two man wrestling ground, but a royal rumble of
political giants, 3 big candidates from the south will fight to the last drop
to succeed President Buhari
-Joseph
Seun Emmanuel
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