Nollywood veteran actor Pete Edochie has said one of the All Progressives Congress aspirants, Bola Tinubu, is too old and too weak to run for president in 2023.
Tinubu, a former Lagos governor and national leader of the APC, has repeatedly presented himself as the bona fide candidate for the presidency.
Dismissing his age and health issues, he noted that being the president is not a job that requires physical fitness like bricklaying and grave digging.
Speaking during an interview with BBC Igbo, on Friday, Edochie noted that Tinubu has been in power for a long time until he was made the leader of the APC, adding that young ones should be given the chance to lead the country.
“Many people like Tinubu are too old and too weak to run for president. He (Tinubu) has been in power for a long time until he was made the leader of the APC.
“But he should leave the position for those who are younger and healthier. Let’s be honest,” Edochie said in response to a question on Mr Tinubu’s candidacy for the 2023 presidential election.
Questioning why no one from the eastern part of the country has made it to the number position one in the country since 1960, the thespian highlighted his concerns about the political marginalisation of the Igbos.
“Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba are the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Only once in the history of Nigeria has it emerged that an Igbo person became the head of state in Nigeria.
“That was (former military head of state) Aguiyi Ironsi during the military government, and his headship was short-lived. Since then, the North and the Yoruba have been sharing power between themselves; apart from Goodluck Jonathan, who isn’t even Igbo,” he lamented.
He continued, “Why has power not returned to the Igbo people? Is there a plot by the political elites to sideline the South-East? I’ve lived in the North. I speak Hausa. But it’s long overdue for Nigeria to have a leader of Igbo extraction.
“The problem in Nigeria is greed. Leadership is dominated by northerners, but, 60 years after independence, we’ve not ended the electricity problem, when coal-based Oji River supplied power to the whole east before the civil war.”
Ezinwanne Onwuka, senior staff reporter and columnist with WAP is a Nigerian-based writer and content developer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Her interests include reading, writing, researching and graphic designing.
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