2023 Presidency
In this opinion on the scheming ahead 2023 presidential contest made available to OpenLife Nigeria, Oladipo Oluwole, a retired civil servant, cautions the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the All Progressives Congress, APC to thread the pathway of objectivity in all the political calculations
Political parties are the most appropriate vehicles for recruiting and choosing party candidates for both elected and unelected political offices.
Hence, both the Northern and Southern Governors Forums should have utilized their various internal political party organs to canvass for power shift.
If the Southern governors had mustered the strength and courage with which they were canvassing for a Southern president, on the issues of Restructuring, Electronic voting system, Constitutional reviews, etc, all along, we would have made some improvements by now!
Shifting power to the South or North would have been an easy task if we were in one-party system.
But, in a multi-party system, like ours, with individual party internal democracy, political mechanism, policy and rule, there will be a need for synergy, collective decision making, agreement and general consensus among the political parties, and not Governors Forums.
In view of APC promise of power shift in 2023, and eight years of a Northerner, president Buhari tenure, it would, therefore, not be just and fair to the APC party members and followers in the South if APC chose its 2023 presidential candidate from the North!
If, however, APC fulfilled its promise, it would be fair and just to micro-zone the post to the South West.
Although all the three southern regions have equal rights to it, the SW contributed to APC and the emergence of President Buhari more than the two other regions of southeast and South-South!
On the part of PDP, however, it would be morally unjust and unfair to the PDP party members and followers in the North if the Party chooses or zones its presidential candidate to the South. The reason being that two Southerners- Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan-ruled for 14 years (eight years and six years, respectively, under PDP government (1999-2015).
While a Northerner, President Yar’Adua from the North West, ruled for just two years before he died.
If we, however, subdued the tenures of the two major political parties- APC and PDP since 1999 till 2023, to a whole within Nigeria political entity and governance, it will, therefore, be incumbent and just for power to automatically shift to the South, since a Northerner, president Buhari, would have ruled for eight years in 2023.
There should, however, be discussions, agreement and consensus from all the political parties to choose their best presidential candidates from the East which has not produced Nigeria president since 1999.
The move by the APC Governor Akeredolu to use the Southern Governors Forum, instead of his Political Party, APC, to canvass and agitate for Southern president, was not only to prevent some so called Northern APC Cabal, and the party national leadership, from reneging on the party promise to shift power to the South in 2023, but was equally a political manouver to force the PDP to choose or zone its 2023 presidential candidate to the South which will be unjust to the Northern PDP members, party faithful and followers, thereby leading to the great advantage of APC.
Secondly, PDP has no capacity and capability to match APC in the South, in terms of human resources – presidential candidates material-wise, and as the ruling party.
Hence, paving the way for APC to win 2023 presidential elections, and therefore on the move to fulfilling the assertion of ruling Nigeria for more than 60 years, as postulated by an APC Chieftain, Alhaji Sheriff.
However, if the unsuspecting Southern PDP members and their Governors finally play to the ethnic sentiment, it may cause Northern members to leave the PDP, which may eventually lead to a dominant one-party APC in our political system, at the end!
History always has a way of repeating itself. Hence, will Southern PDP members and their Governors, therefore, allow history to repeat itself, either negatively or positively, judging by the 2013/2014 implosion in the party, as a result of Northern PDP members perceived injustice in president Goodluck Jonathan insistence on contesting again, after completing the two terms of President Yar’Adua?
The future will surely tell!
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