Why Igbo people will vote for Atiku/Obi in 2019

Posted by Felix Okoli on Saturday October 20, 2018 at 21:39:31:

One thing about Igbo people when it comes to politics is that they are more likely to vote as a group for a Presidential candidate that is Igbo or Igbo friendly when the time for elections comes. Likewise, when they feel that a candidate is anti-Igbo or not friendly to them, they are less likely to vote for that candidate. Again, when they feel that a candidate is lukewarm or doesn't really have anything to offer them, then, they are also likely to boycott the election.

There has been a lot of talk about Igbo unity or disunity and what I've come to know is that Igbo disunity is actually a myth as they are more united than their enemies claim they are.

Since 1999, Igbo people have been voting for the PDP and I guess one of the reasons was that it was one of the few top political parties which had an Igbo man as one of its founding fathers and I'm talking about Alex Ekwueme. He was the first elected Vice President of Nigeria and probably the only Vice President Igbo people have ever had. In 2019, 40 years after, Igbos have another shot at the the Vice President and they feel that no one is better qualified than Peter Obi - the former governor of Anambra state. Atiku's choice of Peter Obi as his running mate in the 2019 Presidential election is what I could call a wise decision.

Although, there is a growing grassroots political party in Igbo land called the All Progressives Grand Alliance a.k.a. APGA, when it comes to Presidential elections, history has shown that PDP has carried the bulk of Igbo votes compared to other parties. I guess it's because they believe that the PDP is friendly to them and has a better chance of producing an Igbo President compared to other parties.

The ruling All Progressive Congress APC had made little gains in Igbo land although it has managed to win over some top Igbo politicians, majority of Igbo people still feel more comfortable voting for the PDP or APGA based on election results so far and that shows that they are more likely to vote for them than the relatively new APC which did not offer Igbos any post in the top 3 most important jobs in Nigeria - President, Vice President or Senate President.

Although the APC and President Buhari has been assuring Igbos that they stand a better chance of becoming president, Igbos seem to prefer sticking with the party they already know as they are not used to switching parties easily.

One thing about Igbo people is that they are hard to convince once they've already made up their mind about something and they tend to work together as a group when issues of politics and economics are concerned.

Igbo people have already had 4 years of Buhari/APC and from their public outbursts, especially on social media, they are not at all pleased with the performance so far and would more liklely vote for Atiku/Obi than they would vote any other person.

In Igboland, Peter Obi was an excellent governor and did well for the economy and secuity of Anambra state. It's not just the fact that the state became the least indebted state in Nigeria, there has also been a lot of projects especially good road network and improved security which has changed the face of the state. He is regarded as a credible person and not one who would go to Abuja to steal money or be lazy. They feel he'll do more for Nigeria and Igboland. The trust Igbo people have on Peter Obi is great. Even if they don't trust Atiku that much, for the sake of Obi, they would give Atiku a chance.

If not for anything, the fact that one of PDP's Presidential running mates is an Igbo man is enough to galvanize the bulk of Igbo votes in favour of the PDP. I just have to say that it would take a miracle for Igbos to vote any other candidate.