Of consensus and zoning

When the All Progressive Congress (APC) pegged its presidential nomination form at N100 million, we all thought it was a ploy to scheme some persons out of the race. So I thought at that price maybe we will see like five persons buying the form.

But to my greatest surprise, with the rate at which people are declaring for the presidency and buying the forms, you will think it costs N1 million. Even people that can’t even win an election in their family have declared to be President of Nigeria. In the APC and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), we have over 30 presidential hopefuls. According to the national leader of the APC, Bola Tinubu, and a presidential hopeful, the more the merrier.

Also during the week, a consensus form surfaced on the social media; it’s like the APC is planning to play the same game they played during the national convention. About five candidates bought the chairmanship form and were campaigning all over the country only for President Muhammadu Buhari to, some days before the election, insist on the candidature of Abdullahi Adamu — hence all the other candidates were made to withdraw and agree to a consensus agreement.

If the APC intends to play the consensus game in the presidential primaries, I think they need to start preparing their obituary from now.

It’s not fair to allow aspirants to criss-cross the country wooing delegates and spending millions of naira. We know in Nigeria once you meet delegates you must drop something. This is how we roll in the country and how we are wired. Speak the best grammar and have the best manifesto to change the fortunes of the party and country, if you don’t “shake body “ after meeting with the delegates, you are strictly on your own.

Indeed, it is sinful to allow aspirants to go through that trauma only for the party hierarchy to come days before the election and force people to a consensus agreement.

I think the heavyweights in the APC will not agree to any forced consensus agreement. I don’t think a Bola Tinubu will agree to any consensus agreement, after all, he said the presidency is a lifelong ambition. Every aspirant should be allowed to test his popularity in the primary election, and let the election be seen as free, fair, and credible. That is the only way to save the party from implosion after the primaries.

Again the aspirants should stop this deceit of their supporters and shadowy groups buying forms for them. You will see people who can’t afford three square meals a day contributing to buying forms for an aspirant. You know our politicians are copycats. When an aspirant starts a trend, the rest will just jump on the bandwagon.

The issue of zoning is yet to be resolved. The comments by the national chairman of APC that the party is yet to decide on the zoning formula for the presidency have increased the political temperature of the country.

I don’t like the way southern groups are threatening fire and brimstone that power must shift to the south in 2023. This will surely alienate most northern voters and power brokers.

To be sure, several northern governors have said severally that power should shift to the south in 2023. I am sure some of them will be having a rethink after the militant posture of their southern colleagues. If there is an elite consensus that power will shift to the south in 2023, it will happen. In 2015, northern politicians across party divides wanted power to shift to the region and it happened. Yet it didn’t stop Goodluck Jonathan, a southerner, from contesting the 2015 election. Threatening that the country will break up if a northerner wins in 2023 is foolhardy.