Izuchukwu Okosi
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Nollywood actor-turned-politician, Kenneth Okonkwo has opined that prevalent disunity will hinder the chances of the Igbos to succeed in Nigeria politics.
Okonkwo best known for his role in the blockbuster 1992 movie, Living In Bondage, has begun a career in partisan politics and is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The actor has called on people of the Southern Eastern Nigeria to join the party in a bid to correct the wrongs of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
“If you ask me, that’s our problem. We’re strong as individuals but not as a group. And until we’re united, our progress in politics will be difficult. We need a leader who understands these things to lead us in unity,” Okonkwo told BBC Igbo.
“It’s one reason I’m into politics. In 2019, why I asked the Igbo people to join APC is that the leader then (President Mohammadu Buhari) had four years left of his tenure. If you bring a candidate, they’ll be leading for eight years.
“What was important for us is that we had a president from the south-east in Nigeria. Since we say we’re being oppressed, we have to strategise on how to get into power to fix our land.
“If we backed a candidate, by four years, we’d be entitled to contest for the presidential seat. A Nigerian president has great powers in Africa today due to the level of development. A party that ruled for 16 years did nothing for us.
Ahead of crucial campaigns to usher in general elections in 2023, the Enugu state born thespian who is also a lawyer strongly recommends that the APC is the party to beat after many years of PDP rule.
“APC ruled for 6 years. If there is any marginalization of the Igbo people, then it should be by the party that ruled for 16 years before APC and did nothing. You can’t upturn 16 years of misrule in six years.”
Okonkwo did not make the cut in the party primaries for the last governorship election in Enugu state.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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