*NORTHERN GOVERNORS FORUM AND THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF ZONING THE 2023 PRESIDENCY TO THE SOUTH*
*By Fola Aiyegbusi*
Following the Enugu summit of the Southern Nigeria governors and the resolutions of the summit, it was only a matter of time for the Northern Nigeria governors forum to meet and react. And as expected, they have met in Kaduna and have also reacted to the resolutions of their Southern counterparts taking them head long on the issue of open grazing and a president of southern origin in 2023. For me, it beggars belief that it took the meeting and the resolutions of the meeting of their counterparts in the south for the Northern governors to see the urgent need for a meeting despite all the calamities that has befallen the North in the past few years. The north, especially the northwest has never had it this bad in terms of banditry and kidnappings. Sending a child to school seems to be like sending the child to a war front. From Kaduna, to Zamfara , Yobe and even Niger, it is the same story. Except it is not reported by the media, there is nothing in their communique that referred to this ugly monster of a problem that is set to worsen the “out of school children” issue in the entire North of Nigeria as parents may not be further enthusiastic about registering their wards in schools, and the urgent actions the northern governors forum want to take in tackling the problem. Again, unlike the southern governors meeting in lagos and the latest one in Enugu, the northern governors meeting in Kaduna had the region’s foremost traditional, political and religious leaders in attendance, which should be a plus for the governors as the attendance clearly shows that they consult with their people before taking decisions, therefore the prevailing calamitous situation of the north and the urgently required solutions should have been on the front burner of the Kaduna meeting. Unless they are implying that these issues are of no serious consequences. Be this as it may, let me go back to the main issue at hand which is the constitutionality of zoning the presidency to the south in 2023. Is it not ironic that the first anti open herds grazing law was promulgated in Benue state, a northern state? Why can’t this open grazing thing be seen, viewed and treated on its economic, social, security and agricultural benefits instead of looking at as anti North? There are southerners living in the North and i have not heard any Southern Governor tell any of his Northern counterpart that a particular law enacted in such state is not acceptable because it affects his people. Simply put, what the Southern Governors have said with the anti open herds grazing law is that, for them and those who elected them into office, coupled with the fact that Agriculture has suffered most because of open grazing in the south and unresolvable herdsmen and farmers crisis, there is an urgent need to put cattle in the ranch. The ranch is not going to be owned by southerners anyway. Governor Nasir El Rufai who hosted the Kaduna meeting seized stray cows within the Abuja metropolis when he was minister of the federal capital territory during the tenure of president Obasanjo. So is this his stand on open grazing not a “hypocritical grandstanding”? I have read over and over again the communique of the northern governors meeting as it relates to the constitutionality of zoning the 2023 presidency to the southern part of Nigeria, and I disagree with the supposedly expected reactions from the south condemning the governors and their position. Yes, they are absolutely right, it is not in the 1999 constitution as amended. I will align my position to that of Atedo Peterside in the newspapers today that the issue is more of expediency rather than the constitution. Governors Ortom of Benue, Darius Ishaku of Taraba and the forum chairperson, Governor Lalong of Plateau state are Christians so must be familiar with 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 12 which says “all things are lawful unto me; but all things are not expedient”. So the unconstitutionality of zoning is not in doubt, as it is with the Nigerian constitution today, there is no zoning. But on the larger current security, social- political situation of Nigeria, the current record- breaking institutionalisation of our ethnic fault lines, and on the basis of mutual respect and cooperation, power should shift to the south in 2023. Maybe our northern governors needed to be reminded that in 1999 when two southerners president Obasanjo and chief olu Falae were the two presidential candidates of their respective parties, it was not because it was written in the constitution. It was because that was the most expedient thing to do at that particular period of time in other to placate the people of the southwest for the annulment of the June 1993 presidential election and the subsequent death of the winner late Chief MKO Abiola in detention. Again in 2007 after the successful completion of two terms by president Obasanjo, when power shifted back to the North through the election of late president Yar Adua, was it decided through the constitution? Absolutely no. Just maybe it is also important to remind ourselves that a germain reason amongst several, that made president Goodluck Jonathan lose the presidential election in 2015 despite his incumbency, was because it was generally viewed across the country that it was most reasonable and expedient that power returns back to the North since late president Yar Adua was not able to complete his term. The constitutionality of the action was not the issue at all. I find it extremely laughable and pitiable too especially for southerners in the pdp, that the party is alleged to claim that it can not find a “southerner with a national appeal” that can win presidential election for it. If this claim is true, I hope it is not, is the party saying even its vice presidential candidate, a southerner, in the 2019 presidential election is not good enough as a presidential candidate? Or none of its governors from the south is good enough? Or southerners can only be party Chairmen in their party? I want to assume that since all things can not be taken in the literary sense, the point our Governors from the North are making in their communique concerning power shift to the south in 2023 is that it can not be served a la carte. Telling southerners to work for it, network for it, build bridges across the regions, assuage any imminent fear and concerns, seek for votes, come talk to us, negotiate and it will be possible. But Nigeria needs a president who is a statesman, who sees himself as a Nigerian first before his ethnic tribe, who is cerebral and has administrative capacity, and sadly enough since our country has now been “reverted back to the pre Lugardian years” by our current political leaders, southern and northern protectorate, let the man or woman who has the above mentioned qualities from the “Southern protectorate step up and be counted”.
*hefzibar2006@yahoo.com*
