TheCable

On Monday, the 17 southern state governors rose up from their meeting and demanded that the 2023 presidency should be zoned to the south. My thoughts on this? I think the southern governors scored an own goal with this and my reasons are not far fetched. This statement is already alienating most northern voters who have been consistently pushing for a president of the southern extraction in 2023.

To be sure, some governors in the north have been consistently calling for power to shift to the south. Borno state governor, Babagana Zulum, has been a strong advocate for power rotation. However, the governor in a TV interview on Wednesday was also miffed by the decision of the southern governors. Also Katsina state governor, Aminu Masari, Governor Nasir El- Rufai and Governor Abdullahi Ganduje have never hidden their desire for power to shift to the south in 2023.

Trust our politicians to always major in the minor. Personally, I think the southern governors went overboard with this demand. Politics is a game of numbers and lobby. Thus resolutions are just a cheap attempt at populism by the southern governors.

Come to think of it, should we be debating in 2023 the ethnicity, religion and region of the president. I thought we should be discussing the competence and capacity of the candidate. The question we should be asking is does the candidate have the capability and competence to break the cycle of banditry and insurgency? Can the candidate bring out a blueprint on how to reduce the over 80 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty? What’re the candidates’ blueprint on how to solve the perennial power crisis? These are the real issues.

However, some have argued that with our peculiarities we need to rotate the presidency between the north and south to give everyone a sense of belonging. Valid point. But the question is how has the rotational presidency benefited the common man?

Okay, let’s put it this way, so what happens when maybe the two major political parties, All Progressive Congress ( APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) present a southern candidate and a third party or one of the major parties break the agreement and presents a northern candidate and he wins. What happens? Will the election be annulled or declared illegal?

Let’s even assume the presidency is zoned to the south; personally I think it should be zoned to the south-east for equity and fairness. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo from the south-west ruled for eight years, Goodluck Jonathan from the south-south ruled for six years, so it’s only natural and fair that the president, in 2023, should come from the south-east.

The truth is no region on its own can produce the president. Even President Muhammadu Buhari who had consistently garnered 12 million votes from the north couldn’t win the 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2011 elections till in 2015 when he got some substantial votes from the south.

Politicians on both side of the divide need each other to win the 2023 presidency. Blackmail and subtle threats will not work.

Consequently, the south-east should put its house in order and speak with one voice. If the presidency should be rotated to the south, then the south-east should have it.

Jonathan Nda-Isaiah, political director at LEADERSHIP Newspapers, can be reached via 08061573299, 08054518774.