2023: The race is on!

Our friends, Tamuno, Dike and Hadi, look at how current agitations will impact the next round of national elections. As usual, they agree to disagree; not sit on the fence but ventilate their respective perspectives with uncommon vigour. Tamuno: Happy New Year to you, guys. I hope this will be a better year that will […]

Our friends, Tamuno, Dike and Hadi, look at how current agitations will impact the next round of national elections. As usual, they agree to disagree; not sit on the fence but ventilate their respective perspectives with uncommon vigour.

Tamuno: Happy New Year to you, guys. I hope this will be a better year that will lead us closer to becoming one country where we all stand in true brotherhood.

Dike: It depends on what you mean. Don’t you see that we have all been naive thinking that politics is about development? No, as you can see, the politicians started jostling for the 2023 ticket even before Buhari was declared winner of the last presidential election. It’s all about power for narrow selfish ends. Not development. So, I don’t know where your optimism comes from.

Hadi: The fact that yesterday was rainy and stormy does not mean that there will be no sunshine tomorrow. I think being hopeful is in order, although I’m also worried about how our politicians treat the issue of development with levity.

Dike: Not just development. Equity! If we all don’t feel that we are stakeholders in the country, you can’t have a country. Alienation and marginalisation are the handmaids of separatist agitation.

Tamuno: But there’s a silver lining in the sky. The problem, at times, is that we allow the problems envelope our consciousness to such an extent that we fail to appreciate positive developments. This is not to say that there’s no marginalisation. What I’m saying is that there’s hope for the future.

Dike: How do you mean?

Tamuno: Have you been following the news lately? A coalition of Northern youth groups recently issued a statement in support of the rotation of the presidency to the South in 2023. That’s equity if you ask me.

Hadi: I was going to draw your attention to the fact that in the North, one size does not fit all. There’s a lot of independent thinking going on. That is why at times some of us feel that the characterisation of a whole section of the country as narrow-minded is unfair. We all have our narrow-minded cabals and progressive Turks all over Nigeria.

Dike: I agree. But what is the real substance of the declaration?

Tamuno: I’ll read the position of the Arewa Consultative Youth Movement to you: “The need for us to be introspective and proactive on issues has now warranted us to state clearly without equivocation that we are calling for a return to the South-South presidency. We have a mission to change the mindset of youths and to reawaken them to the spirit of nationalism and dedication to ways that will bring about peace, progress and development in Nigeria.”

Hadi: I read that too. Go on!

Dike: Who is their backer?

Tamuno: Let me continue reading — “The north has occupied leadership position of the country since independence, more than any other region; it is time for South-South youths to produce the president in 2023… Whosoever wants to emerge must have a global inter-disciplinary perspective, must engage in long term empirical planning, have a strong communication skills, must be able to prioritise social justice and well-being over financial growth… Nigerian is a nation standing half in the light of progress and promise and half in darkness of injustice. We lived in a period of grave uncertainty… As things now stand, we have no idea where the nation would be heading to if the North retains power in 2023.”

Dike: Oh, interesting. They said all that?

Tamuno: Yes.

Dike: But why do they want the presidency zoned to the South-south? Why not the Southeast that has never produced a Nigerian executive president?

Hadi: Personally, I would have said let’s give the Southeast a chance but I know that many people have reservations about the separatist tendencies of that part of the country and would rather have someone from the Southwest or South-south.

Dike: That’s the more reason you should bring the Southeast closer, not alienate them.

Hadi: I understand your sentiments but I’m only being candid with you.

Tamuno: The Southeast should support the South-south because the last time President Jonathan was there, the Southeast formed the nucleus of the government.

Dike: When the Southeast produces the president, the South-south will also be taken care of.

Hadi: The way you’re both excluding the Southwest gives me a déjà vu feeling. Have you considered the possibility that your failure to agree among yourselves could actually throw the presidency into the laps of the North again?

Tamuno: How?

Hadi: Let me tell you a story. There was a coveted ripe mango on a tree. One Southerner climbed swiftly; another threw a rope and dragged himself towards the mango while yet another brought a ladder. The Northerner was quietly minding his business, sitting under the tree. All the commotion caused by the southerners dislodged the mango and it fell into the laps of the northerner. You get the point?

Dike: I get your point. But the story hasn’t ended. The southerners came down and cut down the damned mango tree!

Tamuno: I like that conclusion. I think I’ll drink to that.

Hadi:  You guys like bending stories, don’t you? (laughs)

Dike: Yes, just as much as you like telling incomplete stories (laughs)

Tamuno: Happy New Year!