2023 Election: Why Politicians Heating Up The Polity Unnecessary?
By Abba Dukawa
AREWA AGENDA – Since the advent of civil rule in 1999, no political party has ever ceded the position of the President and bthat of the National chairman to the same region. The positions rotate between South and North. From 1999 to 2015, southern Nigeria compatriots led the country for 14 years: former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, for two term of four years each (South West); and former President, Goodluck Jonathan, for six years four years of his fresh mandate and two years of that of the remaining late Yar’adua’s term in office (South South).
What the Southern Governors Forum (SGF), forgets is not new for the northerners to vote for southerners for the sake of peace and fairness. What Southern Governors Forum other politicians still forgot is that neither APC nor PDP constitutions is binding upon Nigerians what only binds
is the country’s constitution.
The 1999 constitution has given rights and privileges to every citizen to aspire any position irrespective of state of origin, tribe and religion. Really, Nigerians have the right to aspire for any office; the constitution has guaranteed citizens to participate in the political process.
No part of the country can produce a President without votes of the other zone despite northern Nigeria have the highest number of voters but cannot produce a president without southern vote. Doesn’t it sound funny for the SGF to start talking about power shift while there is still about 913 days to the elections.
Now it is uncalled for anyone either individuals or Forum to start calling for power shift to certain regions, despite that agitators have all risen through the political process not by mere shift of power; knowing that political offices are not given or acquired by force. politics is about persuasion, not seeking shortcuts to power.
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The next general elections may be two years away from now, but the debate about which part of the country should produce the next president is rife. All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidates have begun to heat up the polity. There is neither zoning in the Nigeria constitution nor in that of the APC , so in the PDP; what only exists in the parties is a gentleman’s agreement.
Even though they reaffirmed their commitment to the unity of Nigeria on the pillars of equity, fairness, justice, progress and peaceful coexistence between and amongst its people, the Forum unanimously agrees that the presidency of Nigeria should rotate between Southern and Northern Nigeria and also resolved that the next president should emerge from the Southern Region. If they really re-affirmed unity of Nigeria, every group across the country must stop provocative comments.
Rotation is unconstitutional and therefore any group should stop using it to as a weapon. It’s too early for any group to agitate for 2023 elections. Rather than talk of zoning or rotation, the presidency, politicians and Nigerian should consider voting quality leaders during the elections.
To be fair to Southern Governors Forum (SGF), before the agitations on transfer of power to the South come 2023 elections, the President’s nephew, Mamman Daura started it just one year into PMB’s second term in office in July 2020, he had argued that rather than zoning the ticket, competence should be given priority in the choice of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023. Though the ruling party and the Presidency dissociated themselves from the comment, many stakeholders saw it as a ploy by some that arrogated power to themselves above the country to hang on to authority.
Let Forum, individuals and groups alike across the country remember that we are in a democracy and everyone is free to contest for president in 2023 and allow the electorate to make their choice. For this reason, let all these individuals, forums and their footsoldiers know clearly that neither threats nor intimidation can force the electorates to circumvent to their egos and selfish interest for their political survival.
I am personally not saying a southerner should not be President of Nigeria when the time comes, but the forum and their footsoldiers must not continue heating the polity. For the country to move forward, Nigerians need any qualified persons from any part of the country.
Nigerians have freedom of choice. The forum must understand that politics is about persuasion, not seeking shortcuts to power without working for it. Every Nigerian has the right to contest for the highest office in the land because Nigeria is a democratic nation.
Let all the regional groups in the country understand that the peaceful coexistence of Nigeria is most vital to all; therefore, their resolutions in that regard has further exposed deliberate attempt to impose a contentious system of rotational presidency that turns all democratic norms and accepted indices of national demography on their heads, a rotation system that is clearly aimed at achieving selfish political goals.
Dukawa Write in from Kano [email protected]
Arewa Agenda is a Publication of Young writers/journalist from Northern Nigeria towards Peaceful Coexistence and National Development through positive narratives
