A rights group, Campaign for Democracy (CD), has also pitched its tent with governors from the South for their commitment to ensuring power shift to southern Nigeria, come 2023, but quickly charged them to ensure they produce a sellable presidential candidate, with qualities including the courage to make unpopular decisions, crisis management skills, character and integrity, and ability to work with all the six geo-political zones without bias, among others.
The Southern Governor’s Forum (SGF) through its coordinator, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State had insisted that power must be allowed to rotate to the South in 2023, warning that any political party that refused to field a southerner as its presidential candidate would lose the election.
CD aligned with the Southern governors in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Lagos, a copy of which was made available to newsmen by its General Secretary, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, saying that the next president to take over from the incumbent, Muhammadu Buhari, for the sake of equity, justice and fair play, must be a southerner.
The group, in its communique, posited that for the country to remain as one indivisible nation, there was the need for power to leave the North to the South failing which crisis that might likely consume the nation in no distance time was inevitable.
This was just as the rights group warned that for the Fulani/northern blocs to continue their dominance over the rest of other ethnic nationalities, the 1914 amalgamation had to be revisited, adding: “Because for the lion to be the dog’s tail bearer the solution is separation.”
“For the sake of equity, justice and fair play, the Campaign for Democracy, CD has pitched its tent with the southern governors for their commitment to shifting power to southern Nigeria.
“The forum through its coordinator, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu insists that any political party that refused to field a southerner as its presidential candidate would lose the election.
“We align with the southern governors that those opposing power rotation were tinkering with the corporate existence of the country. And that only a party that is determined to lose will field a northern candidate,” CD said.
“If we must remain as one indivisible nation, there is the need for power to leave the North to the South. Failing which crisis that may likely consume the nation in no distance time is inevitable,” it warned.
“The CD also warns the southern governors, that much as we support power shift, they must produce a sellable candidate with the following qualities: Effective communication skills The courage to make unpopular decisions, crisis management skills, character and integrity, wise appointments, an ability to work with all the six geo-political zones without bias, critical thinking and strategic, open-Mindedness & Creativity, responsibility & Dependability and must be reasonably flexible. Otherwise, we will go for merit irrespective of tribe or gender,” it further warned.
The group, while noting that rotational presidency may not be constitutional, but quickly said it was a political arrangement that was healthy and expedient for Nigeria’s corporate existence, sadly recalled that since the inception of the country’s democracy in Nigeria, particularly since 2015, the nation’s unity had been under dire threat and Nigerians had been terribly oppressed, subjugated and insulted as never before, “but soon after the taking over of APC in Nigeria.”
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It said any political party in the country that does not consider power shift as a major political weapon of unity and oneness must be seen as a group of warmongers and party with divisive tendencies.
“Since the inception of democracy in Nigeria, particularly since 2015, our unity has been under dire threat. Nigerian democracy has been jeopardized. We have been having a national crisis since independence, but soon after the taking over of APC in Nigeria, Nigerians have been terribly oppressed, subjugated, insulted, suppressed and seriously pillaged such that has never happened in the history of our nation.
“Though rotational presidency may not be constitutional, it is a political arrangement that is healthy and expedient for our corporate existence. Any political party that does not consider power shift as a major political weapon of unity and oneness must be a group of warmongers and party with divisive tendencies,” CD said.
CD, therefore, commended the southern governors for their boldness to stand up to be counted at this period of national crisis, promising to galvanize all within its power to support the southern governors in their quest to shift power from North to South.
“The serious agitation for self-determination by the South-East and South-West occasioning the arrests, prosecutions and detentions of two major self-determination agitators is a direct consequential effect of one section of the country holding the presidency perpetually since independence,” CD said.