THE POLITICAL MORALITY OF 2023 ELECTION PART 2.
Today is the 2nd stanza of my special focus on the political correctness of the 2023 Presidential election in Nigeria. I tried to focus on the chances of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s chances of winning the APC ticket in the face of mounting avalanche of multi-party opposition that may be lined up against him. The truth of the matter remains that it will amount to injustice against the Southeast geopolitical zone for the North or Southwest to produce the next president in 2023. It will be a POLITICAL IMMORALITY to deny the zone of this position.
The basic logic proving that the South East is next in line to produce the President of Nigeria in 2023 is predicated on the zoning within rotation principle which has been the convention since the return of Nigeria to democracy in 1999. Note that the principle has two parts: the first part is the rotation between North and South Nigeria. We saw it with Obasanjo/Falae, with Yar’Adua/Atiku/ Buhari, with Goodluck Jonathan vs Buhari in which Buhari won based on that same sentiment that power ought to shift North in 2015. Then in 2019 when it was Buhari and Atiku – all northerners in the 2 two main political parties, APC and PDP.
Power having stayed in the North for two straight terms of 8 years, by the same rotation principle, the power ought to move South in 2023.
The second part of the principle is zoning within the rotation. It simply means that power rotates also between the part of the country to produce the President of Nigeria. And since South-South and South West have both produced Nigerian President in this dispensation in the persons of Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan, the principle in question leaves the South East as the only logical zone to produce the South Nigerian President.
In its wisdom and patriotic zeal, the PDP has allowed power to rotate between North and South and made it both a manifesto and a constitutional matter. What this means is that going by the party constitution, which outlays where its presidential candidate must come from between North and South Nigeria, the subsisting principle of rotation leaves PDP with no political party with an option. Those encouraging the political parties to violate this Convention such as Tinubu are unfairly bent on obliterating the interest of the southeast to produce the President of the Country based on zoning in rotation principle.
In fact, based on this principle of zoning within the rotation, both the North and the South aspirants cannot vie for the presidential ticket in the parties’ primaries or convention at the same time. One divide – either North or South – is barred since the express acclamation of one is an express exclusion of the other. In the case of 2023, northern aspirants cannot vie if they really love Nigeria in terms of equity and justice.
In the avalanche of well-qualified persons for Nigerian President of Igbo/South East extraction, I can easily single out 4, namely: Peter Obi, who has maintained visibility and is known to have integrity and strong on the economy. Though he is still reluctant to declare for President and seems to be still hiding in the shadows of Atiku. In the same PDP, I can also easily see Anyim Pius Anyim. He has played at the apex levels in both the Legislature and the Executive as Senate President and SGF. He is also a consummate politician and well-educated. I hope he doesn’t have a hard time explaining to Ndigbo what he did for them with such positions. The man I see in APC is Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, a solid political trojan and thoroughbred, consummate politician, knowledgeable, and a team player. He has been governor and now a minister. Though some say he is too quiet and could be a weak President. I think Nigeria needs such a bridge builder now to reconnect North and South and inspire confidence in Nigeria and engender unity.
Nigerians may also look to the corporate world and there, Igbos qualified to govern Nigeria creditably and acquit themselves with distinction are also an avalanche. Top on the list should be Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa, the President of the Pharmaceutical Association of Nigeria. He may not be a politician but he is sufficiently political. I do not see the political lightning rod that rooted out former president Obasanjo to become Nigeria’s president in 1999 happening twice in our generation. It’s very rare for people to drop off from the sky or some obscure woodworks and handed power at any level of governance. Although power comes from God, one must have the interest to want to lead his State or country. I am also aware that the tide of choosing the Southeast as the zone to present the candidate for president in the 2023 elections is swimming against the Southeast going by the blemish Nnamdi Kanu and his Biafra protagonists have brought to the Southeast zone. Secondly, it’s an open secret in Nigeria that my IBO kinsmen and women have an absolute trust deficit with other zones because of the Biafra factor. However, the former president was elected president on the backdrop of the upsurge in a barrage of militancy in the Niger Delta region. Jonathan became president and nothing untoward shook Nigeria’s foundation because of the incessant threats from the Niger Delta militants. In the same light and under any circumstances, I suggest that all the political parties need to nominate persons of the Southeast extraction as Presidential candidates to ensure equity and justice in our polity and by extension, peace in the country. With the literal failure of our oft-touted security architecture culminating in the massive attack on the Imo State police and prisons infrastructure, some of my mischievous friends are pointing their 10 fingers at the government’s fifth columnists who are feverish about finding reasons to deny the zone of their perceived right to produce the next president in 2023. Or how else did the former IG of Police, Mohammed Adamu jumped to unrestrained conclusions that the dastardly attack was perpetrated by the IPOB? Such an audacious criminal act didn’t take hours to plan. It didn’t get executed in few hours. I come from Imo State and pretty well understand the limited topography of Owerri. Fact is, as usual with our intelligence-bankrupt security agencies, they were caught with their loose pants during the planning stage of attacks. The main spots of the attacks are touching distance to the government house, the official residence of the Governor, Hope Uzodinma, the DSS Headquarters, the army Headquarters in Obinze is less than 10 minutes from spots of attacks. With the security cobweb around the Police HQ and the Prisons facilities, the operations must last for hours to execute.
I Am compelled to say the above considering the swift response of the clueless former IG of police. Interestingly before we wrongfully conclude that the IPOB or ESN, may have been involved in the attack, let us ask ourselves some important questions.
* Is it possible that the attack may have been set up to prepare enough grounds to attack IPOB and ESN, by extension the southeasterners.
* If indeed the attack lasted as long as it’s being suggested, was the commissioner of police/governor not contacted within the period?
And if they were contacted, what were their reactions even calling for help from the Army at Obinze, which is about 10 minutes drive to the government house could have reduced the damage done. Does it mean that all the security men on duty left their phones at home while coming to work that night?
* How and where did the IG of police, generate all the evidence to conclude that it was the ESN and the IPOB that carried out the attack? If our intelligence gathering and response team failed to act within the long hours that the attack lasted, how comes that within few hours after the attack their investigations have already produced a conclusive report.