By; PAMELA EBOH, Awka
A first Republic Aviation Minister, Mbazulike Amechi has revealed that former governor of old Anambra State, Jim Nwobodo and some others truncated late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe’s chances of becoming NIgeria’s president of Igbo extraction in 1979.
Amechi who made the revelation in an interview, said that Igbo lost a bright chance of producing a president.
He recalled that northern emirs as well as the army were eady and willing to back Zik before he dropped the ambition.
According to him, Nwobodo convinced Zik to dump National Party of Nigeria (NPN) for Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) having lost nomination to late Christian Onoh and Zik on that stance, changed his mind from running for presidency.
The interview read in part, “Suddenly, Zik changed mind, he changed mind and made announcement that a plan for his birthday in November 1978 in Enugu is cancelled and it was that day he was to be presented to the nation.
“First of all, let me take you back to history. Ndigbo lost a bright chance of producing the president of Nigeria in 1979. Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe called me in April 1978 and told me as his field man in his time to go back to Nigeria and tell them that he wanted to come back to politics.
“I went to Lagos, I contacted Shehu Shagari and asked him how do we work together to get this done? Shagari summoned two other people from the North; Shetima Ali Monguno and Sunday Awoniyi from Kwara State. Then I went with Azubuike Okafor and Dennis Osadebe.
“We were holding meetings in Lagos at the residence of Shehu Shagari and I was reporting to Zik until we eventually agreed on a platform – National Party of Nigeria (NPN); that Zik will be the presidential candidate, while Shagari will be his running mate.
“So, I came back and reported to Zik and he said ‘that’s good, you know it is the emirs in the North who determines; are you sure they will not knock it off ? So, I went back to Lagos and told Shagari this is the fear of the old man. He said of course we were in consultation with the emirs.
“Then the following week, the Sultan of Sokoto sent the Emir of Zaria to Zik at Nsukka that the entire emirs in the North are in support of what the politicians are planning. Again, Zik said ‘what about the soldiers? The soldiers may take up the government again if I run.’ I asked him: ‘Owelle, if they kill you now, did they kill you early?
“I went back to Lagos and told Shagari that this is what Zik is saying about the army. Shagari asked: ‘Does that man really want to be president? Okay, I will get in touch with the army, come back in the evening, we will have dinner.’
“That evening, I went back to his house in Victoria Island and Theophilus Danjuma came. Danjuma was the Chief of Army Staff then. So, the three of us had dinner and Shagari told Danjuma about the fear Zik expressed. Danjuma said ‘no, no, no, but this is the real man we want, this the type of person that we want that will bind this country together.
“I can’t go to Nsukka because if I go back to Nsukka the press will catch me. Alright, go back and tell Zik that I am going to Calabar on Saturday to Army Sports and I will make a speech at the Army Sports and in this speech I will send a message to him.’ On that day, Danjuma went to Calabar and made a speech.”
‘I am reassuring the nation that the army is ready to hand over finally to civilian government and return to barracks but they must warn that the person they will handover to must be an elder-binding person in this country, will not be a person who will come and cause trouble again, must be a true father of the nation.’
The only Zikist added, ”Zik made Jim Nwobodo governor and unmade himself president.”
