There is no gainsaying that 2019 presidential bid in the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sacrosanct for President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB), though (unknown yet) or any other northern preferred candidate. Who would be the running-mate for vice-president: Igbo or Yoruba?

This question, suffice to say, has left me pondering over the political inequalities in the current system that APC is structured at the national level. It has left a natural or, if not, a permanent political vacuum to sideline one group and favour the rest ad infinitum save they emerge a political revolution, this vacuum will continue to linger in APC at the national level, till God knows when.

Needles to say in black and white, that the real reason or purpose behind Indigenous People of Biafra’s (IPOB) agitation is the exclusion from presidency,having envisaged the distance between the Ndigbo political gerontocrats and the villa. Otherwise, it will be stupid, irrational and nonsensical to be fighting for anything outside the aforementioned reason, without the support of the South-south in the struggle. (Constraints for self-actualisation of Biafra had been the creation of the six geo-political zones). Those who are in the know will tell you this.

Analysing the impossibility of a Nigerian president of Igbo extraction under APC will do their political players at the national level real good and also avail them the sense to go back to the drawing table, with a view to renegotiating their roles, or forever remain political halleluya boys.

For instance, Nigeria’s Constitution, as amended, does not allow Muslim/Muslim ticket or Christian/Christian ticket; neither does it permit ‘same tribe’ ticket also, even though this is not contemplated in the Constitution.

If, for example, a Yoruba Christian emerges as presidential candidate in 2019/2023, from where would he possibly pick his running-mate: from the north or an Igbo Muslim? This, I consider even more reasonable, judging from my earlier analysis.

Until Ndigbo are ready to re-negotiate all this intricacies in APC, honestly, I see no future for their political players emerging as president in APC.

An apprentice gets settled, after serving his master. And, believe you me, if an Igbo man becomes, at least, a vice-president in this country, you will not hear any hullabaloo again on agitation for IPOB or whatever.

It is the contention of this writer that APC and its Igbo players owe themselves a duty for renegotiation of positions and allotments, otherwise Ndigbo has miscalculated their political arithmetic in that party, and the only way out is political revolution, if renegotiation is impossible as it stands.

•Uthman Isa Tochukwu writes from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; e-mail:isauthman50@gmail.com

Update news