Pete Edochie, a veteran Nollywood actor, has reacted to former Lagos state governor Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambitions ahead of the general election in 2023. During a BBC gb show, Edochie stated Tinubu was too elderly to be Nigeria’s next president, raising concerns about the Igbo people’s political marginalization.
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.”
The veteran actor, while lamenting why Aguiyi Ironsi was the only Ìgbò head of state since independence in 1960, said: “Ìgbò, Hausa, and Yorùbá are the major ethnic groups in Nigeria. Only once in the history of Nigeria has it emerged that an Ìgbò 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 Yorùbá have been sharing power between themselves, apart from Goodluck Jonathan who isn’t even Ìgbò.”
he actor stressed that Nigeria needs an Igbo leader who will end looting and socio-economic woes and transform the country. He said: “Why has power not returned to the Ìgbò people? Is there a plot by the political elites to sideline the Southeast? I’ve lived in the north. I speak Hausa. But it’s long overdue for Nigeria to have a leader of Ìgbò extraction.
