Doyin Okupe, a former spokesperson on Public Affairs to ex-President
Goodluck Jonathan, has hinted that the North may rule Nigeria forever.
Okupe, explained that the inability of states in the South to unite
irrespective of their differences, presents the North the opportunity
to rule Nigeria “for perpetuity.”
He stated this in reaction to the Acting Chairman of Arewa
Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Musa Liman Kwande, that Northerners
would vote for a presidential candidate from the region in 2023.
In a post on his Facebook page, the former Presidential spokesperson
noted that lack of unity among Southern politicians would create a
platform for the North to continue ruling Nigeria.
Okupe wrote: “The Chairman of the Arewa Forum recently declared that
in 2023 the North will vote for a Northern candidate irrespective of
political party considerations. Many southerners are upset at this
audacity and blame it on the failure of southern politicians to form a
political united front.
“Truth and reality is that the south cannot easily be united. The odds
favour the North. NW the highest voting population is virtually
homogeneous. The NE though may differ in tongue and to some extent
culturally, still will always find common ground with the NW based on
religion and language.
“The technical buffer zone the NC is largely disparate essentially
haven little in common.
“The south – SS, SW and SE – are majorly distinct sub-nationalities
with the exception of SS which like NC, are stand-alone tribes or
clusters of nationalities.
“A Yoruba presidency has little or no direct benefit to a Delta
indigene from Warri, or Izon from Yenagoa, or an Ibo man from Umuahia.
So, even if the leadership of the South can spin off a semblance of
political unity, it will be difficult to translate it into votes by
the local electorates.
“In truth it is actually unfair to expect such unity as may be found
among the Northern political elites.
“Nigeria, therefore, as politically constituted and with the adopted
political format is intrinsically inequitable and not sustainable. The
North can in theory, exploit the present situation and rule in
perpetuity, but how long it can hold the nation-state together, will
be the major challenge.”
