ON ROTATIONAL PRESIDENCY-Wole Olaoye

[Anthony Akinola]

On rotational presidency By Wole Olaoye |  Mar 2, 2020 5:02 AM TwitterFacebookWhatsAppTelegram “The general political consensus in Nigeria is that the presidency should rotate between the North and the South. It is not written but everyone understands it. In some of the parties, like the PDP, it is even written down in their constitution but it was breached in 2015. I think that every politician of honour should understand and abide by that consensus except there is an extenuating circumstance compelling it to be set aside….” That was Governor Nasir el Rufai commenting on the raging issue of political succession in Nigeria. He spoke in the midst of heightened jostling for relevance by many politicians who want to succeed Buhari as president. If convention is followed, Nigeria’s next president will come from the southern parts. A break with that tradition is guaranteed to stoke the fire of separation. But there are elements in the North who want power kept in the region. At whatever cost, they insist that Buhari should be succeeded by another northern politician. Perhaps the most vocal of the lot is PDP’s Buba Galadima. “Honestly, I don’t believe in primordial sentiments being expressed by some groups and individuals over the issue”, said Galadima. “For me, I believe that Nigeria deserves the best, and that we should not be  talking about north or south  when we are discussing 2023. I   don’t believe in zoning.  I want the best for Nigeria, and therefore it doesn’t matter where such person comes from. Since United States got independence over 200 years ago, only four Presidents have come from the Southern part of country, and yet you don’t hear Americans talking about this or making an issue out of it. “Buhari is a Northerner and also a Muslim like me but I don’t support him because  his government has impoverished the North. Poverty, insurgency, and hunger are ravaging the North .In fact the North has not benefitted anything from his government since 2015. The general belief in the North is that  Buhari’s government is a government of the South-West. I don’t believe in the idea that the President must come from my zone, what we should always advocate for is  for us to have a competent  person that can deliver. For me, the President can come from any part of the country but he must be competent, and somebody that can deliver. “On this issue of 2023, I will like Nigerians to prepare their minds for a shock as Buhari will disappoint a lot of people. People like Bola Tinubu, and Bode George that are talking about or being rumoured to have  presidential ambition will be shocked. Buhari will shock, and disappoint  many Nigerians. He will never hand over to Tinubu, and neither is Bode George going anywhere. I don’t even think Bode George is serious about 2023. I think he is just making all the noise because of his determination to oppose Tinubu . Buhari will install a puppet. He will hand over to someone he can manipulate. I advise Tinubu, Bode George and others  jostling for 2023 to stop wasting their time.” One minute around the Atlantis - The Palm - Dubai Copy video url Play / Pause Mute / Unmute Report a problem Language Mox Player ADVERTISEMENT It is disingenuous to declare, as Galadima has done, that Buhari’s government is a government of the Southwest. Nothing can be farther from the truth. It seems Galadima is preparing the grounds for selling the candidature of his preferred northern aspirant even in the face of expectations that power will shift to the south. On the surface, Galadima’s preachment of competence and merit over geographical zone sounds altruistic. But who is to adjudge competence? In a country where power has been unwisely centralised in the federal government, anyone who wants the country to remain united will support power rotation as Governor el Rufai has done. With the level of our political development, it will be impossible to convince Nigerians from the southern parts that only the North can provide presidents. Indeed there are many who would argue that empirically verifiable evidence indicates the contrary. If President Buhari is succeeded by another northerner, that may be the last straw to break the back of our fragile unity. It is self-serving to argue, as Galadima has done, that voters in the US don’t care where their president comes from. America is not Nigeria where all powers are concentrated in the president. Perhaps one of the things still holding Nigeria together is the prospect that power will go round. North today, South tomorrow. If North is succeeded by North, it is not prophetic to say that something will give. It is that simple. By the way, I don’t think El Rufai would mind emerging president of Nigeria. But he knows that such a development will rend the country apart. It is curious that all those who have been attacking him have glossed over the patriotic fervour that made him an advocate for fairness. I do not imagine for a moment that some of our ‘perennial candidates’ can be dissuaded from contesting, region or no region. But those who are committed to keeping the country together know that the spirit of unity is gored if one northerner is succeeded by another one as president. As has been noted by some commentators, the fact that the north has been in power for longer periods than the south, has not translated into prosperity for the masses of Arewa people. No thanks to power technicians like Buba Galadima.

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