President Muhammadu Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura has stirred up controversy with his recent statement on power rotation in the country.
Daura, in an interview granted to the BBC Hausa, advocated for a competent president in 2023 rather than the usual zoning one.
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His statement or opinion has since sparked mixed reactions across the country with the socio-cultural groups such as Ndigbo and Afenifere condemning it.
It is unarguable to say, since the return of democracy, the country has witnessed power rotation between the North and the South. Although the unwritten political arrangement is not constitutional, it has been able to douse tension and to give other geopolitical ethnic groups the opportunity to rule the country.
In my piece entitled “APC and the question of power rotation” I have answered several vexed questions regarding the call by some APC big wigs on the need to jettison the power rotation and adopt competency as the prerequisite for the office of Mr President.
One of such answer is that, no region has the monopoly of best or capable hands to steer the leadership of the country.
I have also explained how the rejection of this simple gentleman agreement cost the PDP power in 2015.
In my conclusion, I implored the leadership of the ruling party to take a cue from the sad or rather unfortunate experience of the former ruling party and resolve its zoning arrangement.
While Mamman Daura might have expressed his personal views as guaranteed by the constitution, being an elder statesman and person close to the seat of power, baring his mind on zoning issues has come at a wrong time.
His statement has started heating up the polity with the presidency disassociating itself from it. Until the 1999 amended constitution, the late military head of state, Sani Abacha, came up with the idea of rotational presidency to address the perceived fear of power domination from particular region.
He ensured that the good idea was inserted in the 1997 constitution. Sadly, the Abdulsalami military regime threw the baby away with the bath water. He removed the clause and confounded the already heightened agitation.
However, with the return of democracy in 1999, the Peoples Democracy party (PDP) adopted the zoning arrangement to build unity and national cohesion.
The breach of the agreement by the former President Ebele Jonathan, led to the defeat of the party in the 2015 general election.
The Nigeria defective federalism has become an apron string to socio-economy development of the country. There has been an intense agitation or call for fiscal federalism and power rotation in the country. Nigeria is a multi ethnic nation with over 360 tribes.
Thanks to the principle of federal character, which is being practised sometimes in breach for taking care of the nation’s diverse ethic composition. If the country could retain and use federal character in sharing of jobs and political appointments such as: ministers and ambassadors, the rotation of presidency should not be exceptional.
Our ruling elite who are the beneficiaries of this magnitude should not deny its existence. It is high time both in words and actions our elite adopted what would promote peace, unity and national development.
Ibrahim Mustapha Pambegua, Kaduna state [email protected]
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