By James Orji
Presidential hopeful and former vice president Atiku Abubakar has fired another salvo at proponents of power shift to the south, days after he claimed that the North has not had its own fair share of the presidency. In his latest outburst against those clamouring for the presidency to return to the south, after the end of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure next year, Atiku said there is no provision for zoning political offices in Nigeria’s constitution.
The two major political parties in the couhty, the PDP and APC have not yet decided on where to zone the highest office in the land, despite serious agitation from the South that power must shift from the north.
Recall that the Chairman, Technical Committee for the actualization of Atiku Abubakar presidential ambition, Chief Raymond Dokpesi had penultimate week, said the north should be allowed to rule the country for another four years before power would return to the south.
“The south had the presidency from 1999-2007 and again from 2009-2015. The tenure of the North is not yet expired, once it is expired, the south will produce the President, the southeast in particular. All those clamoring for the Presidency to come to the south in 2023 are not asking for it because of the south, they are asking it for their particular interest and the zone they come from,” Dokpesi said.
Speaking at a meeting organised by his supporters, Atiku, a member of the PDP and a front line presidential aspirant, said his decision to run is based on the current challenges facing the country. The PDP chieftain who has contested for the president more than any other aspirant in the race said only God can stop him.
On the question that the youths should be allowed to run the affairs of the country this time, he said age would not determine the performance of a leader.
According to him, “leadership is endowed by God. You can have a young man come and do better than an old man,” he said.
“So, it is an endowed attribute from God, therefore, we should try to look for such a person who has been endowed by God, who has those attributes and then give him leadership.
“I have never seen; this country has so many challenges at the same time. So, sometimes, when I am on my bed, I begin to wonder whether to go for it (contest) or not because the challenges are just too many. In my life, I have never seen Nigeria in such a bad situation”.
He said the country is currently divided and needs a unifier to bring all contesting groups together. He added that the economic situation in the country is so bad that a leader that can turn the situation around is what the county required at this times.
He said “As far as the unity of this country is concerned, we are more divided. Even when we fought the civil war, we were never as divided as this. We never have a breakdown of law and order like this because when we fought the civil war, it was confined to a particular location, in every other place, there was peace.
“We never had this kind of poverty where even the farmer cannot go to farm the food to eat, not to talk of commercial farming. So, I have never seen this country so bad, and it is going to be a daunting task for anybody to come and turn things around”.
On zoning Atiku said “fundamentally, the constitution says all of us can run. The constitution has not barred any one of us. There is no zoning in the constitution; there is none”.
