2023: South West Presidency Agitators Worse Than Northern ‘Born To Rule’ Advocates

South West presidential aspirants with other leaders

 “The new nation called Nigeria should be an estate from our great-grand father Uthman Dan Fodio. We must ruthlessly prevent a change of power. We must use the minorities of the North as willing tools, and the South as conquered territories and never allow them to have control of their future” This remark was allegedly made by former premier of Northern Region, late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Sardauna of Sokoto on October 12, 1960, and published in a magazine called PARROT. Many Northerners dispute this quote, but many Southerners think it was the accurate reflection of the mind of one of the founding fathers of Nigeria.

Former governor of Old Oyo State and former Attorney General and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, Chief Bola Ige believed it hook line and sinker. He dedicated his life to fighting against it. His Tribune Column was his platform to say it the way he saw it. And he was not alone in fighting perceived northern power dominance. Many South West intelligentsia was singing the same song, including those who want to be president in 2023.

In an article titled, “The Role of Chief Bola Ige in the Destabilization of Nigeria,” by Abubakar Siddique Mohammed, Ph.D., published on DAWODU.COM, Dedicated to Nigeria’s History, Socio-Economic and Political Issues, the author quoted what Chief Bola Ige wrote about Northern Dominance: “Since 1960, has our bane not been that the ‘Tutsis’ of Nigeria (who are minority of minorities - in population, in education, in management skills, in the economy) have held Nigeria at the jugular, scheming political maneuvers that make them hold on to power at all costs and in all circumstances? The result, of course, is that all ‘non Tutsis’ of Nigeria are not ready to trust their future to such minority who have never exhibited true Nigeria nationalism…The young people do not trust the authorities, and the way they see Nigeria is vastly different from how the ‘Tutsis’ of Nigeria want Nigeria to be.”

Those who followed Chief Ige in his widely read column in Tribune will recall how his gloves are usually off anytime he wrote about Northern political dominance. He was so angry about this that he repeated wrote several columns calling the Fulani the ‘Tutsis of Nigeria’ and warning that what happened to Tutsis of Rwanda could happen to them, thereby invoking the Rwanda Genocide of 1994.

In my thinking he wrote in frustration over the failure of the North to yield power to the South. Ige must be rolling in his grave knowing that what he accused the North of perpetrating since 1960, some of his kinsmen want to replicate in Southern Nigeria, because of their present advantageous position in the All Progressives Congress (APC) the political party that is most likely to produce the next president of the country in 2023 especially if the election is not free and fair. The South West has been in presidency for 16 years by 2023, since 1999 return to democracy. And they still want more without regard to the South East that is yet to spend a day in Aso Rock.

And in one of the worst displays of insatiable greed for power presidential aspirants on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South West last week resolved that the zone must produce the next president. The aspirants, who met with leaders of the party at the Lagos House, Marina, were the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; former Lagos State governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi. Also at the meeting, apart from the aspirants, were the former governor of Lagos State and Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Femi Gbajabiamila; Chief Niyi Adebayo, Governors Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State and Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State. Others were former

Osun State Governor and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and the APC National Secretary, Otunba Iyiola Omisore.

Speaking after the closed-door meeting that lasted over two hours, the pioneer Interim National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, said the South West was united and resolved to produce the next president of the country in 2023.

Their resolution was not in sync with Afenifere and certainly not based on justice, fairness and equity, the ideals on whose ground the whole of Southern Nigeria clamored for power shift to the region. What they are insisting on is against common sense, natural justice and principle of federal character.

These South West presidency agitators should examine their conscience if they still have one. And if they do, it is probably dead. And their hypocrisy knows no bound. In their quest for the presidency to return to Southern Nigeria, they were vocal that the presidency must go south in 2023 for “justice, fairness and equity.” In that campaign governor of Ondo State Rotimi Akeredolu, was their mouthpiece or was it that of Southern Governors? Nigerians now know better!

However, it appears justice, fairness and equity mean different thing when the power seems to be going south in APC as vociferously agitated by South Governors. At this time the South West hypocrites remind whoever cares to listen that “power is not given, but taken.” And they are not ashamed of themselves as they revel in the orgy of their hypocrisy the other day in Lagos. If “Power is not given, but taken,” why didn’t the South West presidency agitators take it from the North? Why do they cry blue murder when it appears that the North was tinkering with the idea of retaining power at the center? If they are not careful their quest will come to grief. I do not say it lightly. I claim no prophetic mantle, but I am guided by the words of American Astronaut Edgar Mitchell the cofounder of The Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) an American non-profit parapsychological research institute. Mitchell, the sixth man to walk on the Moon, whose research encompasses paranormal phenomena, meditation, consciousness, alternative healing practices, consciousness-based healthcare, spirituality, human potential, psychic abilities, psychokinesis and survival of consciousness after bodily death was asked whether man can see the future. His answer was emphatic. Yes. “Man can see the future because the future is actually the series of events happening today.”

Let the South West presidency agitators be guided. Some of them claim to be pastors but their actions show that they fear no God but President Muhammadu Buhari. They are lost in their lust for power. The same power that they accused the North of appropriating at the exclusion of others.

It is also instructive and for the records that the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organization, Afenifere is not with these greedy agitators. The leader of Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo has made the position of the Yoruba clear. That is to the effect that the next president of Nigeria should come from the South East for ‘justice, fairness and equity.’ In reality how many of these South West presidential agitators listen to Pa Adebanjo.

The Afenifere leader is highly regarded and respected, however his position reminds this author about one of the advisers of former leader of Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin who used to regale the maximum leader of USSR that the Pope of the Worldwide Catholic Church was powerful. Joseph Stalin famously asked the adviser, dismissively, “How many divisions does the Pope have?” Another translation put it thus, “How many troops does the Pope command.” That is the position of Afenifere for all it is worth.

But we cannot fail to remind these Yoruba offspring who are not ready to listen to their socio-cultural leader and the organization that he represents, that they are worse than those they used to condemn for saying that ruling Nigeria was their birthright. Perhaps the 'born to rule' do not know any better, but the South West presidency agitators clearly know what they are doing. They think that they could shortchange South East All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains and nothing will happen. But in the same breath they are threatening that if power is not coming to the South something will happen.

With the presidency agitators’ hearts filled with greed and covetousness (for which God will deny them the position) if the North decides to keep the power beyond 2023 which will be justifiable because of the greed and lust for power by South West presidential agitators, heaven will not fall. And if heaven falls there will be enough men to hold it.

If Southern Nigeria failed to produce the next president blame it not on Northern Nigeria, but greedy South West presidential aspirants. They are about to do irreparable damage to Southern unity which was revived after the Asaba Declaration. The consequences will be dire and reverberate for years to come.