…North will rule their corner for 1, 000 years not Nigeria – Odumakin

The Yoruba socio-political group Afenifere has reacted to statement credited to the leader of the Northern Elders Forum, Ango Abdulahi.

Recall that Alhaji Ango Abdullahi, Chairman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has addresed speculations arising on the willingness of the North to relinquish power come 2023.

In an interview with the Daily Sun, Abdullahi said Power resides with the North and this was a huge factor for the Presidential Election victory of Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999.

According to Ango, he was one of the people who designed the manifesto and Constitution that governs the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and it was agreed upon, that power should rotate between the North and South. This was the reason why Power came back to the North after Obasanjo’s 8-year-rule, with the election of Yar’adua as President.

Unfortunately, death cut short Yar’adua’s tenure which Jonathan completed.

Ango said PDP ought to have relinquished power back to the North after Jonathan completed Yar’adua’s tenure. Instead, the party backed him up to contest in the 2011 Presidential Election. This action marked the “beginning of the breakdown of the power shift”.

The North felt shortchanged that Obasanjo from the South completed his 8years tenure while they had only 3years to rule with the untimely death of Yaradua.

The NEF Chairman, Abdullahi Ango stated that Goodluck Jonathan worsened the already fragile situation by “challenging that there were no documents to show the agreement of power shift or zoning”

The issue of Power Zoning although agreed upon by the members of the PDP, is not entrenched in the Nigerian constitution. This translates that President could emerge from any part of the country, for as long as it takes, provided he is lawfully elected by the people.

“I think there is nothing wrong at all if the North keeps power for century because democracy is all about numbers and we(North) have it”

North will rule their corner for 1, 000 years not Nigeria – Afenifere tells Ango Abdullahi

Reacting to the address by Ango Abdulahi, the Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, on Sunday berated Ango Abdullahi, Chairman of Northern Elders Forum, NEF, for saying the North will rule Nigeria for long.
Speaking exclusively with DAILY POST, Yinka Odumakin, Spokesperson of Afenifere said North will only rule its “corner” of the country for 1,000 years and not Nigeria in general.

Abdullahi had claimed that the North will hold onto power for the next 100 years.

The NEF Chairman also declared that the Northern region will only support candidates from the North for the 2023 presidency.

However, Odumakin rubbished Abdullahi’s comment.

He insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor must come from the Southern part of the country in 2023.

“Congratulations to Ango Abdullahi for making such remark, if they have the ambition of ruling Nigeria for the next 100 years. But let me state that they will only rule their corner of Nigeria for 1,000 years and not the country as a whole.

“They will take their corner of Nigeria up to Sambisa Forest and govern for a decade, we have no problem with that.

“As for United Nigeria, going beyond what is obtainable now, I think they are joking.”

On the region to produce Nigeria’s next president, Odumakin said: “Based on understanding of what is on ground, the next President of Nigeria should come from the Southern part of the country, but to some of us, ultimately if Nigeria is restructured, it does not matter where the president comes from. In the first republic, Ahmed Bello sent his lieutenant to be Prime Minister of Nigeria while he stayed back to be Premier of Northern Nigeria.

“And this was because we practised federalism but as long as we are locked up under this idea of the president of Nigeria controlling everything, we will continue to be enslaved.

“The North has reduced Nigeria and has used their power to the detriment of others, so after Buhari’s second tenure, power should come back to the Southern part of the country.”

Culled from The Herald & Daily Post