Ex-presidential aide Okupe says attitude of southerners may give north room to rule Nigeria forever

The North will likely rule Nigeria forever if Southerners continue to live in disunity, so says Doyin Okupe, former spokesperson on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan.

Okupe who was reacting to the Acting Chairman of Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Alhaji Musa Liman Kwande, who noted days ago that Northerners would vote for a presidential candidate from the region in 2023, said Kwande’s comments may just come to pass if states in the South fail to unite irrespective of their differences.

The politician who revealed this in a post on his Facebook page said the reality is that the South cannot easily be united and the odds favour the North because the North West which has the highest voting population is virtually homogeneous.

He also added that the North East though may differ in tongue and to some extent culturally, still will always find common ground with the North West based on religion and language.

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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,” he added.

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