The mythical North and the legend of Jonathan

Such mundane adventures garbed in the cloak of standing for the northern part of the country has now zeroed in on the  old and empty issue of zoning, which has repeatedly been proven to be trite. Unlike in the past, most northerners are  now educated and discerning  and cannot be easily bamboozled or hoodwinked into […]

Such mundane adventures garbed in the cloak of standing for the northern part of the country has now zeroed in on the  old and empty issue of zoning, which has repeatedly been proven to be trite.

Unlike in the past, most northerners are  now educated and discerning  and cannot be easily bamboozled or hoodwinked into believing things that are neither here nor there and have questioned the rationale behind posting such empty platitudes which, in the end, portrays the north as cowardly and as one always relying on handouts to make a head way rather than competing with the rest of the country and the world..

In any case, let us review the opinion of northern leaders on the issue of zoning to decipher what may constitute the aggregate of the opinions on the issue.

Save for the tribe of those goaded by personal interest, there is virtually no northerner that supports the claim that people from the other geopolitical divides in the country should vacate their ambitions in order for a so called candidate of the north to emerge.

The gang up by the other presidential aspirants and saber rattlings on working towards having a consensus candidate are all pointers to the fact that they have admitted that they on their own, cannot withstand President Jonathan and so must resort to some underhand dealings to sail through.

That the north has been against the principle of zoning was evident in the challenges posed by the likes of Barnabas Gemade and Alhaji Abubakar Rimi when the duo stood up to contest against other candidates of the south in the previous elections.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is now pretending to be a gentleman who stands by an agreement nearly broke out to contest against his boss, Obasanjo, in 2003 when his calculations indicated he might be able to swim against the tide and come out tops.

It is obvious that the reason why he did not contest 2003 was not because he wanted to respect any principle of zoning but because his boss tricked him into believing that he would hand over to him in 2007. Anything contrary would have seen Atiku challenging his boss in an open contest, zoning or no zoning.

General Muhammdau Buhari, a northern leader, not so much a pretender, though of the ANPP, has never believed in the so-called principle of power shift and had always stood his ground. He contested in 2003 against Obasanjo jettisoning the previous practice by his party which saw ANPP equally fielding a southerner, Chief Olu Falae in 1999.

It would seem, then, that even before now that the majority of the northerners, including  their opinion molders, which include the governors of ANPP controlled states, have never believed in this principle as they had demonstrated in words and actions.

Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a former President,made it clear from the beginning that the cooperation among the regions in the country should remain for the sake of the unity and progress of the country.

Salient among the points he raised is the fact that the South/South and the northern geopolitical zones have always cooperated to pursue a common political interest for the sake of the country.

Such cooperation existed since the First Republic Nigeria, transcending to the Second Republic when Rivers and Cross Rivers states voted for the NPN.

The 1993 presidential primaries of the NRC which held in Port-Harcourt also saw the likes of Pere Ajunwa cooperating to produce Alhaji Bashir Tofa as the presidential candidate of the party.

This time around, like the former president has reasoned; destiny has bestowed on the south  south the responsibility of leading the affairs of the country and the answer to the call by this gentlemen should be supported by all most especially northerners who have benefitted immensely from the support of the people of the zone in the past.

Tafawa Balewa and Shehu Shagari did not negotiate for anybody to step down for them before they won their elections. In fact the apostle of consensus, Mallam Adamu Ciroma, slugged it out with Alhaji Shehu Shagari, until he was beaten!

The fact that many leaders of the north are behind Jonathan as attested to by their presence during his declaration at the Eagle Square in Abuja also speaks volumes about where the support of the northern leaders lay  concerning their decision on who should run for what political offices in the land.

Northern leaders like Chief Solomon Lar, Alhaji Mukhtari Shagari, Senator Ibrahim Mantu, Chief Gabriel Suswam, Prof. Jerry Gana and a host of others who have at one time or the other explained that the matter is not an envelope policy for the north as is being portrayed but one that was put in place to address certain exigencies at that time which has now cleared.

Chief Solomon Lar, who fought against the military and was in almost all the meetings where key decisions had been taken to form the PDP, had explained to all who cared to listen that the idea of allowing people from the south contest then was not cast in stone, but worked out to give the other parts of Nigeria a sense of belonging since they say they have been denied their fair share in governance.

If there’s any region in the country that could apply the south western principle to demand for their turn in the present dispensation and not be accused on playing the dog in the manger then it should be the South South which has never, in the history of the country been in the saddle. Now, is it too much for the northern leaders to see this and advise their followers accordingly?

Save for those who are desperate about grabbing power as they had done previously through coups and counter-coups, there is no evidence they had shown to prove that their ambition triumphs over that of Jonathan in terms of what the north stands to benefit.

For years, these leaders have been in the saddle while the north has remained in penury, lagging behind in education, health and infrastructural development. Yet, these leaders who had the opportunity to better the lot of their people left the region impoverished, and from the comfort of their Hilltop mansions, watch as cholera, meningitis, measles and malaria ravage their people.

But in the few days that President Jonathan has come on board he has endeared himself through his demonstrated commitment  to the unity of Nigeria and the welbeings of its citizenry. For instance, the monster of petroleum products scarcity which has seemingly defied all solutions has been effortlessly brought under submission, without much ado. Today,there is steady supply of kerosene and fuel at the official rate.

Like the popular hausa adage the signs of a good Friday shows signals on Tuesday.

Dati, a public affairs strategist, wrote from Abuja.