El-Rufai and Daura; Igbos and 2023

2023 is far, but in politics, it is tomorrow, and tomorrow is far, we are seeing the opinions fly…The fear of other people’s opinion is called allodoxaphobia

The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, a fortnight ago said he had no interest in becoming the president in 2023 and would not support a northern candidate for the presidency. I know when politicians lie we believe them, they expect us to believe them, after all they believe themselves…what’s that thing in sociology about telling the truth with a lie…well I have not accused anyone of lying, neither have I said that what Mallam Rufai said was untrue.

In an interview with the BBC Hausa Service as published by The Cable, he said, the idea of zoning the presidential seat is necessarily not constitutional but is based on the country’s political arrangement, which he believes should be respected. We respect what is not constitutional and want the constitution to be respected, there is this thing called situational truth, it is against the backdrop called a circumstantial bargain. When it suits one…you recall that doctrine of necessity that brought GEJ into power.

El-Rufai said, “The southern part of the country is supposed to produce the president come 2023; I don’t support a northerner to vie for the seat after President Muhammadu Buhari, based on Nigeria’s political arrangement. Emotion, equity and equality, a tripartite complexity depending on which lens you are viewing with.

“That is why I came out and said that after President Buhari has been in office for eight years, no northerner should run for office. Let the southerners also have eight years. “If you look at how I am, I don’t take anyone to work with me for the zone he came from. The eligibility I look at is if who is entrusted to the public will hold it properly.”

Who are the Southerners, I mean does it include Elder Tinubu, aka Tinubu, is it equity, equality, if we look at the fact that Mr. Obasanjo, and Osinbajo translates to sixteen years of presidency, and Mr. Atiku, Yar’adua and Buhari would be some 18 years thereabout and no Igbo has been part of the sharing of the cake, or how about that argument that GEJ was Igbo?

Is it equity, equality at play when the supposed is our turn gives us the best of the worst, or the worst of the best? Okay throwing the cats amongst the pigeons or is it a case of sending the goats to get the lion, is the north-central part of the north that has ruled, has the equity of Muslim Christian sharing formula of president and vice given any sense of real equality or just emotional stability.

He added, “It has been said that I have loved the presidency since I was a minister in the FCT. This is nonsense. I do not want the Nigerian presidency. God gives power, whether you like it or not, if He wants it, He will give it to you, but I have never sought the presidency of Nigeria, no one can say I have ever sought it.”

President Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura, had earlier in an interview said he was against the zoning of the presidency. Now that the god factor has been brought into the conversation, you are sure that this is a Nigerian narrative; we hardly do anything without God, yet we are often wrong, our godless godness is often hypocritical, God is not fair, and He is just!

So, after a few rabbles, the news seems to have disappeared, meanwhile, a group under the auspices of National Political Equity Movement, NPEM responding to Mamman Daura stated that his merit recipe for 2023 Presidential candidate is half-truth and unjustified. In a statement signed by the Convener Sunday Chibuzor Okereke, the group declared that his recipe is a half-truth that doesn’t serve national interest; they insisted on South-East Equity Presidency 2023. The movement also advised candidates outside the South-East geo-political zone of Nigeria to shelve their ambitions.

The movement went on record to state that Nigeria can only talk about merit and competence of presidential candidates after the zoning system is upheld. Those outside the zone should shelve their ambitions for now. The movement notes that every part of the country is boisterous with scores of eminently qualified individuals with competence, character and leadership traits to occupy the highly coveted Aso Rock seat of power. While I totally agree, it is also on record that each zone has not necessarily brought its best in terms of competence, character and leadership trait to the table.

How will the Igbo presidency bring about national interest and political stability, has any presidency brought about national interest and political stability, patriotism, or statehood, with each section holding sway, is it not a case of deepening ethnic fascism, religious parapoism, with each turn by turn arrangement.

The entire nation is in a mess, nowhere is left out, so I am hoping that the presidency whether Igbo or Igala in 2023, will address the $93b loss in foreign investments in the eastern part, tackle the unattractiveness of the region to investors, restructure her tax regimes, improve the quality of infrastructure and low return on investment. For all her noise of being the heart of Nigerian business, the South East does not have a functioning and operational industrial cluster.

While solving her problem, that Igbo presidency will have to find respite to Nigeria’s numerous problems, especially the ones that are being created or it will be an extension of the blame game rather than a case of equity or balance…because the current presidency has not even helped Katsina, or benefited Ogun state in any real special way.

Everyone at one point or the other is a minority, and equity and equality is a delicate road. We have tried catchment area, federal character, and still, we see the unity school cut off mark that makes a mess or real intelligent kids from Yobe, Bauchi or Adamawa states because we ridiculously allocate some insane 9, 7, 18 as required entry score.

Talking Equity and equality, even if you take the time to search the words equity and equality in the dictionary, you might walk away thinking they mean the same thing. Equality has to do with giving everyone the exact same resources, whereas equity involves distributing resources based on the needs of the recipients.

Equity and equality are two strategies we can use in an effort to produce fairness. Equity is giving everyone what he or she needs to be successful. Equality is treating everyone the same. Equality aims to promote fairness, but it can only work if everyone starts from the same place and needs the same help.

There is a common misconception that equity and equality mean the same thing — and that they can be used interchangeably, especially when talking about society and politics. In society, equity, equality generally refers to equal opportunity and the same levels of support for all segments of society. Equity goes a step further and refers to varying levels of support depending upon need to achieve greater fairness of outcomes.

Is the above the case in Nigeria, will the Igbos give us their best 11 or produce a feeder team, is the Igbo presidency in Nigeria’s interest or just a matter of balancing a non-existent balance. Do the Igbos want the Presidency, is sharing the presidency like a piece of candies for kids a recipe for a great Nigeria, would giving the Igbos the presidency be equality and equity and when will we give it to the Ibibios, or efiks or is the Tiv man not also part of Nigeria, we still remain far away from a structure that discusses governance, systems and results, Igbos will save Nigeria ko—Only time will tell.

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