2023: Why Presidency Should be Zoned to The South, Political Analysts Give Important Reasons
- Presidential zoning has become the most trending issue in the country and have continued to generate reactions in the political space
- Prominent lawyer, Liborous Oshoma in a chat with Legit.ng affirmed that for the purpose of fairness, equity and balance, it is normal for the presidency to be zoned to the south in 2023
- Oshoma noted that power should not just be zoned not just to the south but the southeast, adding that it will give the people in the region, a sense of belonging
The race for who succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari gets tougher by the day and have continued to generate heated debate in the polity.
In recent times, southern leaders have called for a power shift to their region. This has resulted in mixed reactions from political analysts in the country.
While the north sees the agitations from the south as forceful and challenging, the southern leaders believe it is their turn to take over the helm of affairs at the centre level, the exalted position; the Nigerian presidency.
Source: Facebook
A politician and a community development enthusiast, Niyi Soyebo and a prominent lawyer, Liborous Oshoma shared their thoughts with Legit.ng on the issue of zoning and power rotation in Nigeria, ahead of the 2023 general elections.
PAY ATTENTION: Subscribe to Digital Talk newsletter to receive must-know business stories and succeed BIG!
According to Soyebo, “the presidency should be zoned to the south and it is not negotiable.”
In his own reaction, the human rights activist and lawyer, Liborous Oshoma, said if the presidency is zoned to the southeast region of the country, it will create a form of balance, fairness and equity.
He said:
“First and foremost, zoning had not helped Nigeria rather it encourages mediocrity. Because another reason is that we really don’t bring our best from the zone. And so those that argued against it have their reasons.
“The fact that Yoruba man is a president has not helped the Yorubas. Also, the same way Jonathan presidency did not stop the killings in Daura or Kastina but it gave a sense of belonging to the people from these area that at least one of theirs made it and at such they can aspire to get to that position.
“Flowing from that analogy, we all now agree that for equity, fairness and balance, it is proper, it is normal for the presidency to be zoned to the south but the southeast. Because the same way Obama’s presidency did not help only the black in America but it gave them a sense of belonging, it means that we also can aspire.
“So, I completely agree and believe that for fairness and equity, we should also zone the presidency to the southeast, to give them a sense of belonging in the project Nigeria. And thereafter we could now say everybody has had a bite of the sharing, so let us then begin to look for how we can restructure the entity called Nigeria or those that will come after it will be the one to restructure Nigeria."
Oshoma, who is keen on having a restructured Nigeria to aid the unity, growth and development of the people, insists that a bridge builder can restructure the country. He noted that a competent candidate should be one that is willing to see every Nigerian irrespective of religion or tribe as one.
His words:
“The fact that we are talking about zoning does not mean that we shouldn’t have the candidate. Let us have the candidate, let us interrogate them, and let us also ask those questions; what they can do to better Nigeria and what their plans are.
“The fact that we are saying zoning does not mean anybody can just come and then the person automatically, once you are from the southeast, automatically becomes the president. The person must be a bridge builder, not the kind of nepotistic arrangement we have now. The candidate must be someone who to a large extent must be mobile and less aggressive; having a sense of tolerance. So when we now see the candidate we can then begin to ask them questions.
“And then, we want a candidate who is able to see Nigeria irrespective of religion, form or tribe as one. Then it will become easy, because really our problem those things that unite us are more than those that separate us. Our problems really are also not lack of laws but the power to implement the few ones, the existing laws that we have.
“So, once we have the candidate, we should be able to look at restructuring Nigeria; where each region should be able to a large extent tap into the resources, pay taxes to the centre and use those resources to develop their region and then the centre should be able to help the weaker ones. Once you do that, there will be mutual subscription and the idea that oh! This man is going to the centre to eat what belongs to all of us. We also must eat from there, by that time we would have decentralized the power and we would rather cling to our region than this non-workable centre.”
When asked if the southeast leaders are working towards putting an end to rising insecurity in the region, Oshoma said:
“I can tell you that the insecurity in the southeast is not insolvable. The insecurity in the southeast region is as a result of government interference and government neglect. A situation where the people see the governor as an opposition. And then in a democratic environment, the people believe they are not given the opportunity to determine or choose who will govern them.
"To them, a governor was imposed on them. This is the beginning of the crisis. And then the role the government has played so far, the government that is willing to negotiate with bandits who will shoot down a helicopter and are quick to label agitators as terrorists. It means that they are not paying close attention to what is happening to the people in the region and are not concerned with the challenges confronting that region.
“When the government decides to use carrot and stick for Boko Haram people and then the people who are offended, calling for a fair deal in the entity called Nigeria, you say you don’t owe them the same carrot and stick approach, to that extent, I think government has not really been fair with the challenges of insecurity in that region.
“You find out that even the governors who claim to be very popular among their people, suddenly have discovered that they were all imposed on the people. You see them now, none of them is able to challenge or speak out against insecurity in their domain they would rather criticize it, until they step out of those areas.
“So, it shows also that our brand of democracy needs to be reworked upon and truly make it people oriented.”
Proffering a solution, he urged the government and the people to be fair in all ramifications.
He said:
“It is for us all to be first and foremost be fair to ourselves. Not when it favours you, it is good but when it doesn’t favour you, then it is bad.
“You will find out that the people in government today, when they were in opposition, they campaigned seriously against the structure that we are faced with today. But when they had the opportunity, they also maintained the status quo.
“So, what we all should do is to be fair and truthful to ourselves, that is the only way we can actually achieve restructuring."
2023: Northern Youth Group vows to mobilise 20 million votes for Osinbajo
Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that a northern youth group, Osinbajo Awareness Campaign (OAC), has launched an awareness campaign to galvanise support for Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
Read also
Kogi East now voiceless in Nigeria’s state of affairs, House of Reps aspirants Okai laments
The group has unveiled a platform to mobilise 20 million youths across the 19 northern states and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in solidarity with the vice president.
Speaking at the launch of its Kano secretariat and campaign vehicles on Sunday, October 17, the national coordinator of the group, Mubarak Haruna declared that Nigeria needs a highly patriotic and genuinely detribalised leader like Osinbajo who can drive the country to greater heights.
It Is Undemocratic: 60 Northern groups kick against zoning 2023 presidency
In a related development, following the call by southern governors that the 2023 presidency be zoned to the south, a coalition of over 60 Northern groups has blasted the governors.
According to the groups, it is undemocratic to zone the presidency.
In fact, the CNG warned that any political party which takes any step to block the window for the possible emergence of a northern presidential candidate will be rejected.
Source: Legit.ng
