Why are northern elders this overly concerned with who emerges PDP presidential candidate?

Now he has upped the ante.

Because the Buhari government cannot, according to him, protect Fulani herdsmen, (as if anybody, or even, travellers on trains are) they are at liberty to carry AK 47 about”. – ‘What Voodoo Economy Is This?’ – 14 February, 2021.

Last week on this column, I insinuated that zoning the APC presidential candidacy to the South could very well be a ploy, indeed, a ruse. I based that assumption on two grounds: one, that given everything that President Buhari has done for the North during his now 7 – year old administration, he cannot, reasonably, be expected to undo them by so soon handing over power to a Southerner who, even if he were an Arewa hireling, would not be able, to allow the North continue to enjoy all those undue advantages, all products of injustice. The second is that President Buhari’s choice, no his insistence, on Senator Abdullai Adamu, a man who had not in any way famously distinguished himself, wether as governor of Nasarawa state, or nationally in his many years in government, as APC National chairman, could only have been the result of his unreflecting support for a nation wide establishment of grazing routes, a suggestion rejected by some core Northern governors, but which the President simply adores..

Also, what in all decency should have suggested the name of ex- President Jonathan to anybody in APC if some people were not up to some plot to disorganise long suffering APC members in the South in order to have an easy fall guy when the North votes for the PDP presidential candidate, in a rehash of the 2015 experience when Northern PDP governors deceptively worked for President Buhari’s victory thus confirming the impression that for a Northerner, party affiliation means nothing, only power does.

Festus Eriye answered this question concerning President Jonathan when in his article: ‘2023: The Curious Case of Goodluck Jonathan’, published in The Nation of Wednesday, 26 April, 2022 he wrote as follows::”In the run-up to the 2015 polls, the then opposition identified the economy, corruption and insecurity as Jonathan, and the PDP government’s weakest points. They made these the focus of campaign attacks to great effect. Seven years after, these problems have metastasized. If he wasn’t good enough to deal with them back them, resulting in voters rejecting him, what makes him the solution now that these challenges have become monsters? Beyond playing statesman, there’s no evidence the former president took a refresher course at any School of Competence since losing power”.

Of course, as we have seen, these people are not bothered about finding a solution as we would have since been rid of insecurity in Nigeria.

But surprise awaits those thinking like that as those on the negative side of government action in this administration should know exactly how to vote, come the next presidential election.

Apparently, those pushing the project are too consumed by their love of raw power to think through all the ramifications.

President Jonathan, indeed, must have chuckled to himself when Ralph Okorie, speaking on behalf of a non – descript Citizens Network for Peace and Development in Nigeria, which is out canvassing his candidacy, claimed the other day, that “allowing candidates without a clear cut vision to get into the Presidential Villa in 2023, would not only be suicidal but would be like aiding and supporting incompetence over competence”. Did President Jonathan, as president, once showed that he had a clear-cut policy for Nigeria?

That his name came up at all only confirms the selfishness of the Northern oligarchy which believes it can tolerate power shift for no more than four years, if at all it must.

Going to beg President Jonathan to throw in his cap only confirms the fact that the North will not be averse to working for the PDP candidate in 2023 as long as he is a Northerner, since all that matters to them is having power back soonest, discounting the fact that the North has ruled Nigeria far longer than the South since independence.

It is equally interesting, as explained above, that the same factor which recommended Senator Abdullahi Adamu for the APC Chairmanship, is the same reason which underpinned Governor Bala Mohammed’s emergence from Babangida’s inspired elders – love of the Fulsni simpli cita. That Senator Saraki’s name featured at all, is for me, another ploy, as only a full- blooded Fulani can fit the bill.

Why do I say so?

As I wrote last week, give it to the Fulani for the they have in their intelligentsia. Consisting, in the days of yore, as the likes of Ahmed Talib, Yahaya Gusau, Liman Ciroma, Ali Akilu, Adamu Ciroma, Adamu Fika, Hamza Zayyad, Muhammad Bello, Mamman Daura, Mahmud Tukur, Ahmed Joda, MT Usman etc, they are, to this day, “a select group of people with a certain ancestry, intrinsic quality, high intellect, special skills or experience”, as well as being undiluted Northern patriots. Mostly ascetic, self – effacing and, forever working stealthily, their sole concern is power – its acquisition, retention, and its usage for the North.

Anything else matters not.

There is no way, therefore, these9 very smart people would have agreed that it is judicious, even reasonable, to now allow power to move away from the North, especially after the very North- centric Buhari administration. For them, what this time requires is power consolidation.

And what do I mean by the Buhsri administration being North – centric?

Not even during the First Republic of the Sadauna, Sir Ahmadu Bello, and Prime Minister, Sir Ahmadu Bello, was the North in such total control of Nigeria as is now the case all within 7 short years of President Buhari’s administration. As you read this, the North not only controls the 3 arms of government – Executive, Legislative and Judicial, it controls all arms – bearing agencies, all Intelligence services, military and civilian – inclusive of both Immigration and Prisons. Same goes for nearly all the major revenue generating, and disbursing agencies of government, as well as most regulatory agencies, whether in Health, Education, Aviation, Data, Communications, Pension, Sovereign Wealth, to name but a few.

Add to that the fact that the conditions which predisposed the North to let power move to the South in 1999 simply no longer exist today. So there is no overarching reason for, especially the APC, to have so meekly zoned the presidency to the South, or the North to ‘abandon’ power, if there isn’t something some people know but which we dont know here in the South. I sincerely doubt the next President will come from the South.

This is where, I believe, ex- President Ibrahim Babangida’s intervention became inescapable. Past master in political trickery, I verily believe that General Babangida is working for the North, not just for a party. And his involvement is the climax, not the beginning of a plot which started as soon as President Buhari was sworn in for his second term.

Or when, in Nigeria’s political history, has Northern elders been this involved in who emerged the presidential candidate of any party? None, of course, but as I see things, the need to maintain the status quo, post Buhari, has become the urgency of now for the Northern oligarchy. This is more so as no ELECTED President of Southern extraction can allow all this injustice to continue.

Efforts had been on for about 3 years to recruit Southern politicians who would play ball. Readers old enough would recall how military President Babangida used to promise just about anybody the presidency during his time. This time around, it is believed that some were even shown security reports, confirming them as the president’s choice of a successor. Apparently, failure of the effort in the Southwest must have led the Buni- led interim committee of the APC to the Southeast and the Southsouth where they hit gold, succeeding in prising away two state governors from the PDP. One of them would, even shamelessly, claim that a fellow state governor, of the same PDP, scared him out of the party rather than confess he fell prey to a sweet scam.

Today, he is a contestant.

Jokers!

General Babangida has, however, over reached himself and denunciations have since come aplenty; all because, apparently, not everybody was in on the scheme. They will soon be pacified, anyway, and President Babangida will continue with his seeming last hurray apace.

Long may he live.

There is equally already in place, the excuse to profer for the APC defeat when, or if, it finally happens. In a classical case of blaming the victim, Nigerians would be told that even though the North genuinely supported APC in zoning its candidacy to the South, too many exuberant Southern politicians, who all wanted to be President messed up the party’s chances.

I shall honestly love to be proved wrong in all these but as far as I can see, the party will be exceedingly lucky to have President Buhari hand over to the APC candidate on 29 May, 2023.