TDYour Excellency,
I write this letter with a heart full of deep respect, nostalgia, and an urgent sense of duty to a man who will forever hold a sacred place in the political history of Nigeria.
As the drums for the 2027 presidential election begin to beat louder, and as various political factions urge you to step back into the arena, I write to plead a different path.
I write to beg you to resist these calls, to protect your hard-earned global legacy, and to preserve the historic, unyielding love you have always received from the people of the South-East.
Sir, politics is a game of shifting shadows, but loyalty is a monument.
When the history of your presidency is written, the story of the South-East’s devotion to you must be carved in gold.
In 2015, when the political landscape shifted violently against you, the South-East did not falter.
They stood by you with an emotional, almost spiritual intensity.
Look at the numbers, Your Excellency; they do not lie.
Enugu gave you 96.48% of its total votes.
Anambra followed closely at 95.96%.
Abia gave you 94.18%.
Ebonyi stood firm at 88.94%.
And despite intense opposition pressure, Imo gave you nearly 80%.
These were not just numbers on a collation sheet; they were statements of pure, undiluted love.
A LEGACY WORTH PROTECTING
- 2015 CONCESSION: You chose peace over power and wrote your name in gold in the hearts of millions.
- SOUTH-EAST LOVE: Unmatched. Unshaken. Unforgettable.
- GLOBAL REPUTATION: A statesman admired across Africa and beyond.
- ELDER STATESMAN STATUS: Earned through sacrifice, humility, and democratic maturity.
The people of the South-East viewed you not just as a politician, but as a brother, a symbol of hope, and a leader who deserved absolute fidelity.
They bore your political burdens, took your losses as their own, and stood as your most shield-like fortress.
For their love and support for you, the South-East suffered and continued to suffer unbearable pains under APC’s Buhari and Tinubu, respectively.
Recently, after daring the poison of vipers, scaling the mountain-high hurdles placed by a BAT-controlled INEC, enduring the heat of a gold-melting electric furnace, and escaping the jaws of a mad lion, a worthy, incorruptible son of the South-East who is well-known to you and whom you can attest to his excellence in character and capacity has successfully secured a spot on the ballot to contest for the office you once occupied.
It has also become obvious that the majority of Nigerians across all regions are passionately rooting for this younger brother and ally of yours.
May it not be said that the great leader who once sacrificed to save the lives of millions of Nigerians is the same person that the evil master strategists used to dash the hope of these same people and ensure their continued dejection.
“Ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.”
— Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
(2015 Concession Speech)
Today, a Federal High Court has cleared the legal path for you to run again.
The temptation to try and reclaim the State House must be strong, and the voices whispering in your ear are numerous.
But I complain bitterly against those pushing you back into this treacherous arena.
Entering the 2027 race will force you into ugly political compromises, mudslinging, and alignments that risk shattering the pristine image you currently enjoy.
By stepping away from the 2027 race, you do not lose.
Instead, you permanently retain the highest crown a former leader can wear: that of Nigeria’s ultimate elder statesman and the champion of African democracy.
Your historic 2015 concession speech—where you famously declared that your ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigerian—elevated you above the dirt of ordinary politics.
Do not let 2027 dilute that sacrifice.
OUR HUMBLE PLEA
- Do not be the spoiler in 2027.
- Be the statesman Nigeria needs.
- Be the father the South-East will forever honour.
- Stand with the future.
- Stand with hope.
- Stand with Peter Obi.
Let the historic 95% and 96% margins from Enugu, Anambra, and Abia remain as they are—a timeless testament to a bond that was never broken.
Protect your legacy, Your Excellency. Stay above the fray, guide the nation from a place of elder wisdom, and let the love the South-East gave you remain pure, eternal, and untouched by the stains of another campaign.
Your Excellency, Nigerians need you on the side of Peter Obi as a demonstration of your genuine compassion for the suffering Nigerians, a recognition of the love of the South-East, and a proof that one good turn deserves another.
Yours respectfully,
Dr. Ben Chukwu (MBBCh, FMCS),
Convener, Professionals for Good Governance and Social Justice (PGGSJ).
