Zoning – the bane of our democracy

By Joseph Edgar…

Two things have brought my mind to this issue; Segun Adeniyi’s book and the on-going health crises of our dear President. The issue of zoning has been with us ever since we got our independence from the British. The idea behind it is the ‘fair and judicious’ rotation of power amongst the contending federating units that make up our country. The plan is to make sure that nobody is cheated in the struggle for the control of the centre and with the inconsistency that pervades our attempt at a true census you may want to begin to see reasons with the proponents of this strategy.

But in reading Segun’s book and the build up to the 2015 elections you will begin to understand the devastating effect of this issue in nation building. The issue of whether Jonathan was qualified or not was hotly debated by the leaders of the then controlling party PDP. All arguments where for and against different zones of the country being their turn or otherwise to produce the leader.

Jonathan being from the South South was said not to be qualified by some northern elements simply because as Vice President, or should I say acting president he was serving out the tenure of Musa Yar’Adua who was a notherer and who unfortunately had passed away in office. So the north felt that they were short changed by this occurrence and so must be compensated. Nobody at this point was looking at Jonathan’s competence or not. Did he do well in his previous capacity, has he shown enough resolve to lead the nation? No, the question was simply from which geopolitical zone did he come from, and if it was their turn or not.

The second thing now is the present situation where our leader has taken ill. The Vice President coming from the South west is now in acting capacity. The drums have started beating again. Should the President not come back or God forbid dies within tenure what happens to the northern mandate. Should the presidency revert back to the north since it is their turn, or should it come back down south? This debate has thrown in the confusion as to if the Vice President would be allowed to serve out this term or if at all be made to sign an irrevocable undertaking that he will not seek a fresh term if he is allowed to continue.

Read also: The Chibok girls saga and the unanswered questions

As earlier mentioned, in all these nobody is looking at capability to rule, policy initiative, or the general good of the people in all these cold calculations. What we have is not zoning in its truest form but a rotation of elites from all over the country zoning the presidency and indeed the whole country in a macabre dance of greed and avarice. Read Segun’s book and you will see the actors in that particular incidence are the same people who have been active in the ruling of the nation ever since independence. They seat claiming to represent their zones but what they really do is represent their personal interest, using the zone as a basis for identification and also a vehicle to achieve whatever their plans are.

It is time we discarded this zone thing. It is not Peking and cannot work. It is a contraption fashioned by the ruling elites as a means of the continuous subjugation of the people’s will in the betterment of their interest.

We should as a people look more at individual capability irrespective of where or which zone it comes from. I personally do not mind a successive parade of northerners as President as long as they would perform and put food on our table.

The sad case of Osinbajo is staring us in the face. The man has shown a strong understanding of the issues that bedevil us in the country and in the little time he has spent within the corridors of power has shown tremendous clarity and a strong resolve to perform with integrity. But will he be allowed to stay there; the answer is a resounding no.

The zoning thing has put paid to that. The south easterners are clamouring, justifiably asking to be given an opportunity, the northerners are crying foul that they must not only serve out their tenure, but also be allowed to go for a second term. Osinbajo’s capability or otherwise is not even being mentioned. To the proponents of zoning, even a goat from their zone is far better to lead as long as he is from their zone than someone else who is better capable, but who is not from the zone whose turn it is to rule.

This brings me down to the concentration of power and resources in the centre. As long as everything comes from the centre and we have a myriad of career politicians we will continue to have this problem. The economy has to be decentralized, released from the apron strings of government so that private wealth can flow from all directions, this would limit the influence of the centre in wealth creation thereby curbing its influence and at that point we would not really care who is at the centre.

In conclusion, zoning is our death and would continue to be our Achilles heels until a new mentality is forged on our people and structures.

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now