Nigerians trooped out on March 28, 2015 to vote out a party considered to be non-performing, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for very obvious reasons of massive corruption and looting of the nation’s treasury, insecurity, underdevelopment among several others.
Millions of citizens with strong determination, went ahead to vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC) with the key slogan being change. Nigerians wanted equity, fairness and justice. Nigerians voted for change so that they can have a country to call their own, where no man is oppressed, where though tribes and tongues may differ, but in brotherhood, we stand.
Second month down the road of victory Nigerians are still looking up for the promised change with great enthusiasm. They want to see things done differently, they want a sharp departure from the past, better ways of managing their affairs. They want a death kneel done to nepotism which is another form of corruption. They want to be Nigerians irrespective of where they reside, they want employment for those without jobs. Nigerians are really resilient people expecting nothing short from the best from the APC government.
Sadly though, the party, in the past few weeks has been embroiled in a crisis that has to do with sharing of political positions for all the geo-political zones of the country. The leadership of the party, in their wisdom, decided to zone the offices of the number three and four citizens of the country to the North Central and North East respectively. No one knows the rationale for this zoning. The party did not consider the South for any of the key positions as though the change Nigerians voted for was for the northernization of the country.
There are lamentations that the Senate Presidency would have been zoned to South East, South- South or South West in the current dispensation, their choice of the South East or South- South would have been germane but for the inability of the people of the region to form majority members in the House of Assembly due to their massive votes for the Peoples Democratic Party [PDP], which as it stands are now in the minority.
In Nigeria of change today that people voted, the north has the President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Chief Justice of the Federal Republic. There is no sharing of power among the zones, let alone federating units (states). Sadly, even the chairmanship of the party that was zoned to south-south, being occupied currently by a son of Edo, Chief John Odigie Oyegun, his decisions and leadership are not only being flagrantly disobeyed, the same northerners are calling for his removal so that they can also grab it. This is unacceptable.
Today, people say the South West got the position of the Vice-president. Everyone knows what is obtained in the office or position of the vice president of any country. John Nance “Cactus Jack” Garner (1868-1967) was vice president of the United States from 1933-1941, but he never thought much of the vice presidency. On June 19, 1934, Garner was quoted as saying that a vice president “is only a spare tire on the automobile of government.” Another news report quoted Garner as calling the vice presidency a “fifth-wheel job—the spare tire on the national auto.” This is the lot of the people of Southern Nigeria as that is the only key position allotted to the entire sub-region that amalgamated with the North to form Nigeria in 1914.
Also, the position of the Speaker was earlier allotted to the South-West but had to be moved to North-East following a strong lobby by leaders from the zone who argued that such arrangement was necessary to compensate them for the massive support for the party during the election. What about Edo State with two Rep members eminently qualified to be speaker of House of Reps? They were not considered by the North which want to grab every single position,
The new APC leaders also zoned the office of the Chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT) to Adamawa State, where the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is set to clinch the position that was hitherto held by the former governor of Osun State and former national chairman of the party, Bisi Akande.
The current power grab has never happened in the history of Nigeria except during the military regimes that were also dominated by northerners. This development is already sending a bad signal. Ordinarily where a political office holder comes from does not really matter. What counts is the performance, but where there is a deliberate attempt to have all persons from one zone in the country taking up everything is dangerous for the nation.
The vote for APC was for a change from bad government to a better government, not northernization of federal government. If this victory is not properly managed, it would spell doom, not only for the party but for the nation as the South-South and South-East would not fold its arms and watch one zone grab all political positions in the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari who is the National Leader of the party has a duty take urgent steps to begin to address these clear imbalances to assuage the South of Nigeria as he settles down to serve Nigerians the promised change.
· Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Edo State.
