2023: Don’t Set Nigeria On Fire, Northern Youths Warn Southern, Northern Govs

Following the altercation of the Northern and Southern governors on the issue of zoning the presidency ahead of the 2023 general elections, Northern Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) has appealed to the governors not to set the country on fire. ­

The group in a statement on Tuesday signed by Isah Abubakar, President and Mock Samuel Kure, Direc­tor-General, Media and Publicity, stated that it has noted with concern the war of words over the zoning of the presidency, warning that the governors should avoid a situation where they unnec­essarily heat up the polity by their positions.

The statement reads in part, “It has become neces­sary for us to call on them to sheathe their swords and al­low peace to reign before they further drag the country into another avoidable crisis. It is common knowledge that most of the leaders sending threat messages won’t be there when things get out of control. They have exit plans for their families. It is the com­mon man that will suffer the brunt of the fight between two elephants.”

“Whether the presidency is in the North or South, it is the same elite from both North and South that will de­rive maximum benefits from the system. The poor man challenges will always dwell with him.

“Therefore, our governors should dissipate their ener­gy on developing their vari­ous states and coming with formula on how they can lift poor Nigerians from the current challenges of poverty, insecurity and total hopeless­ness rather than trying to set them against each other along regional, religious and tribal leanings,” the statement fur­ther added.

The NYCN stated its deter­mination to mobilise its mem­bers to support a leader with realistic and implementable manifesto that is capable of lifting Nigerians from the present quagmire and attend to issues fueling agitations for secession across the country.

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Meanwhile, the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) on Tues­day berated Northern gover­nors and traditional rulers for opposing power rotation.

Recall that on Monday, Northern governors and tra­ditional rulers held a meeting in Kaduna, where they reject­ed power rotation and also kicked against Value Added Tax (VAT) collection by states.

The MBF also said that power must rotate among North, South and Middle Belt.

The MBF, in a statement by its National President, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, said it is unfor­tunate that the Northern gov­ernors are hiding behind the constitution.

The MBF statement reads, “The attention of the Middle Belt Forum (MBF) has been drawn to the statement credit­ed to the Northern Governors’ Forum and traditional rulers on Monday that it was totally opposed to power rotation on account of the fact that the Ni­gerian constitution does not provide for it. Resorting to the constitutional provisions as basis for rejecting power shift, the Northern governors and traditional rulers are simply being clever by half as they are only attempting to hide behind a finger.

“Lest we forget, the reason behind the zoning arrange­ment that emphasised the need for power rotation be­tween the North and South is to avail all zones a sense of belonging in providing lead­ership in the country.

“As the umbrella body of all ethnic nationalities in the Middle Belt region, we are surprised that it is now that the NGF whose members are beneficiaries of power rotation are kicking against power shift to the South. We are shocked that instead of harping on the bloodshed ripping across the country, the governors and traditional rulers of the so-called North are concerned with which of the zones takes over power in 2023.

“It is not only immoral but also dubious on the part of these governors who have proven incapable of combat­ing the activities of criminals in their various states to now insist that power rotation is not in line with our nation’s constitution.

“As the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the MBF resolved in Akwanga, Nasara­wa State, we called for power rotation among three regions of the North, Middle Belt and South. We deplore a situation where the Middle Belt region is completely excluded in the power sharing arrangement.

“We have been consistent in insisting that for equity and justice to hold sway, power ro­tation is irrevocable. We have called and demanded that the 2023 presidency be zoned to the Middle Belt. In the event that such demand is unreal­isable, all ethnic nationalities of the Middle Belt region are resolved to support any pres­idential candidate from the South.

“It’s sad that the Northern Elders’ Forum has turned itself into a forerunner of this treacherous plot against power rotation which has sta­bilised the political situation and given various parts of the country a sense of belonging. We find it strange that the North under whose leader­ship Nigeria has continued to perform woefully should even contemplate the idea of retaining power in 2023.

“Over six years of North­ern leadership has brought Nigerians to a catastrophe that is unprecedented. Not only has the prosperity for a bright tomorrow retarded, in­security, unemployment and other societal vices have left their toll on national life.

“As a Forum, we find it incomprehensible to under­stand the basis upon which the North is clamouring for power retention. By 2023, the North should have forfeit­ed all moral rights to retain power in line with the zon­ing arrangement of political parties. We cannot allow the North which is now throwing decorum into the air and con­tinue to pursue a selfish agen­da that could capsize the ship of the Nigerian state.

“The best the present ad­ministration of President Muhammadu Buhari should do now is to prepare ground for the conduct of transparent polls that would either usher in a presidency to be headed by a Middle Belter or South­erner. Anything short of that is unacceptable to the Middle Belt peoples.”

Northern Govs’ Position Violates The Constitution — Adegboruwa

Again, Ebun-Olu Adegboru­wa (SAN) has said that North­ern States Governors’ Forum’s (NSGF) position on power rota­tion violated section 14 of the 1999 constitution.

Adegboruwa said that the governors may have taken their position as a result of improper legal counsel, thereby overlook­ing certain provisions of the constitution of Nigeria.

The SAN on Channels Tele­vision on Tuesday stated that NGF should have consulted even the constitutions of the political parties before making the categorical statement that zoning is illegal.

“When you examine some sections of the 1999 constitu­tion it is clear especially in Chapter 2, that it could have been envisaged that we would get to this stage in our national life, that some of these provi­sions were made to accommo­date national cohesion, carry everybody along in governance to ensure equity and justice in the distribution of power and offices.

“I will refer to section 14 of the 1999 constitution which talks about the need for balance in the distribution of offices in the composition of govern­ment in such a way that there won’t be a dominance of any ethnic group or tribe. It says that there shouldn’t be domi­nance in terms of sharing of power, stating the need for us to promote national cohesion and unity, with a sense of loyal­ty among all the ethnic groups in the geo-political zones that form Nigeria,” Adegboruwa said.

While faulting the NSGF for citing the wrong section when it says that power rotation is unconstitutional, Adegboru­wa said, “The section that they cited only talks about elections, how a person can be elected as a president of Nigeria. He has to have 25 percent to be able to have majority votes. The constitution says there must be national spread in such a way that a particular ethnic group or tribe is not seen as dominating. If you look at the interpretation of section 14 (3) of the constitution, it envisag­es that there must be a balance in such a way that other zones of the country will not have a sense of marginalisation. I think that is what is meant by rotation or zoning.”

He said power rotation has always been in the Nigerian political system.

“When I did my research, I found out that National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the 70’s when we started our democracy after military rule, in Article 21 of its constitution entrenched that the system of governance shall achieve national cohesion in such a way as to balance power. In 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Article 7, of its constitution specifically stated that it will adhere to the princi­ple of zoning of elective offices between the various regions, and even the All Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) constitution, Article 7, also specifically stated that the party will promote na­tional unity,” he said.­