Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the issue of power rotation is raging among the ruling elite. The subject of zoning has become more pronounced in recent times with both the northern and southern governors engaging themselves.
The problem of power rotation has been with the country from time immemorial. With the return of democracy in 1999, the two dominant political parties (PDP and APC) upheld the principle and zoned their presidential candidates to the south west.
In a bid to ensure justice, equity and fairness, the then ruling party, PDP, inserted the zoning arrangement in its constitution.
The controversial zoning arrangement has been brought to fore by former vice president Atiku Abubakar. Speaking at the 94th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party in Abuja on Thursday, he argued that the zoning of the 2023 presidential ticket has never been the cause of the country’s problem nor will it be the solution.
The PDP has the right to determine its rules on how its party should be governed. The people of Nigeria also have the right to determine who governs them.“Where the president comes from has never been the problem of Nigeria neither will it be the solution. There is no such thing as the president from southern Nigeria or president from northern Nigeria. There is only one president from Nigeria, by Nigeria and for Nigeria,” Mr Abubakar told the NEC members in attendance.
The former vice president may be right. However, majority of Nigerians have since agreed with the idea of power rotation. Another point is that no region has the monopoly of competent hands. Each geopolitical zone is blessed with competent people who can provide leadership for the country. And if zoning is outdated or archaic as other people want us to believe and demand to be discarded, why did the country retain the federal character commission? The commission was established to ensure equal distribution or sharing of appointments among the different geographical zones.
Nobody can contest the facts Nigeria is desperately looking for patriotic leaders who will unite our sharply divided country. To achieve this, the political players should play the game according to the rules. Whoever will emerge as Nigerian president, as stated by Atiku Abubakar, should see himself as president of Nigeria.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua,
Kaduna State
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