By Ughammadu Vincent
As the critical issue and discussion of zoning of the 2023 presidency in Nigeria and governorship seat in Enugu state heightened ahead of the next general elections, two politicians in Nigeria have stood out in double standing and double speaking.
They are the duo of ex-vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who is also a 2023 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant and ex-deputy Senate President and senator representing Enugu West Senatorial zone, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who is also a 2023 governorship aspirant in Enugu state.
Atiku who can be best described as a perpetual presidential contestant and specialist in political harlotry has contested presidential seat on different political platforms since 2007 till date. Don’t tell me that President Buhari contested severally or repeatedly before winning, Buhari was consistent on opposition platforms unlike Atiku. That is by the way.
It would be recalled that ahead of the 2011 PDP presidential primary which Atiku contested against the then President Goodluck Jonathan and lost after emerging as the consensus candidate of the North in the contest to retain or sustain zoning in the party, Atiku warned that if the leadership of the party and that of the country jettison the already existing zoning arrangement, it would amount to making violence change inevitable.
Speaking at National Stakeholders’ Conference, 2010 at the Thisday Dome, Abuja on December 14, 2010, the former Vice President who noted that he was not praying that the political situation of the party and that of the country should get to the level of applying violent means to address the nation’s problems, also stressed that if the PDP fails to embrace reforms, it stands the risk of making itself irrelevant.
Similarly his ally and former Senate President, Iyorchia Ayu called on Nigerians especially those from the South to put behind them those eras in the 1960s which produced coups and counter coups in the country, just as northerners became Heads of State during the periods.
According to Ayu, “North is not set out to dominate anybody. I want you to ignore the Nigerian history of 60’s that produced coups and counter coups with its leaders as northerners. It was not conspiratorial on the part of the Northern political leaders, it was accidental.
“When we had opportunity we, not only brought out President Obasanjo who was in prison for treason, but the north made him President even when his immediate community rejected him. It was the highest show of solidarity by the North. The least our brothers from the south can do is to demonstrate and reciprocate the goodwill.”
Ayu who admitted that the task ahead of them was ensuring that the Consensus Candidate for the north, Atiku Abubakar got the party’s ticket as well as became the President of the country come 2011 said, “we are trying to tell you that we have difficult task ahead of us. If you are not present here today, the consensus effort would have been a failure. But with your presence here today, Atiku ceases to be the Northern Consensus Candidate but the Consensus Candidate of Nigeria.”
The Conference which had as its theme, “Building Consensus for National Unity”, was convened by the Northern Political Leaders Forum, NPLF, the Igbo Political Forum, the Yoruba Redemption group and the South South Unity Forum.
Speaking further, Atiku said, “Our coming here is not about Atiku, it is about the peace, the unity and stability of Nigeria as exemplified by all the speakers who spoke to this audience today. Today is about building consensus for national unity. We have some elder statesmen on consensus building. It is about the rule of law, due process and standing for what is right.
“I am an instrument for realizing these value. I promise that by the grace of almighty God, we shall bring this country back to the part of honour. Before I end this short address let me send a message to our great party the PDP: if the PDP does not reform, it stands the risk of making itself irrelevant. Let me again send another message to the leadership of PDP that those who make peaceful change impossible, make violent change inevitable.” ( Vanguard Newspaper, December 15, 2010 with the headline: Zoning: Don’t Push Us To The Wall, Violence Is Inevitable)
After losing the presidential primary to President Jonathan in 2011, Atiku defected to All Progressives Congress (APC ) in 2015, contested the party’s presidential ticket and lost it to Muhammadu Buhari.
In a desperate bid again, Atiku rejoined PDP again ahead of the 2019 presidential election, contested its presidential primary and won it. He lost the presidential election to Buhari in 2019.
As 2023 presidential election draws near, Atiku has already declared intention to contest again on PDP platform. This time and shockingly, Atiku, is singing a different song on zoning of the presidency. Atiku who was before now an apostle and advocate of zoning is now strongly against zoning of presidency in 2023.
In a news story published in Punch Newspaper of February 12, 2022 with the screaming headline: “There Is No zoning In Nigeria Constitution, Say Atiku,”Atiku faulted the call for PDP to zone its presidential ticket to a particular region of the country, adding that the constitution of Nigeria does not recognize it. He spoke when members of a group, Let’s Fix Nigeria with Atiku paid him solidarity visit at his Abuja residence.
What a sudden volteface, doublespeak political somersault by a leader of Atiku’s age and status. Is Atiku saying that there is no conventional zoning principles in the PDP? If yes, that is lie from the pit of hell.
Such blatant lie is too demeaning and cheapening of Atiku’s personality, no matter what his political interest is ahead of 2023 general elections. If Atiku cannot be trusted by and with his words, I wonder how he could be trusted with the country’s highest political office.
Atiku’s doublespeak on zoning ahead of the 2023 elections is not different from that of Senator Ekweremadu, who is now opposed to the conventional zoning of governorship seat in Enugu state, hoping to use it to actualize his inordinate governorship ambition in the state, which all odds are against him and his senatorial zone, Enugu West.
Ekweremadu, who has benefited and partook in all the political movements, discussions and agreements that have sustained zoning of governorship seat among the three Senatorial zones in the state since 1999 has recently and suddenly become critical and opposed to it because of his 2023 governorship ambition that negates it.
This is the same Ekweremadu, who as Chairman of PDP 2015 Post- Election Review Committee stated during the submission of their Report to the national leadership of the party in Abuja that PDP lost the Presidency in 2015, due to its non-adherence to the zoning principles of the party, hence his committee has recommended that in accordance with the popular views expressed in the submissions to the Committee, the presidency should be zoned to the North in 2019 as it would also assuage any ill-feelings over any perceived breach of the party’s zoning principle. (Vanguard Newspaper October 1, 2015)
The only thing that has changed for Ekweremadu between 2015 and now that made him to be opposed to zoning is that he has lost his position as Deputy Senate President and desperately wants to be Governor of Enugu state come 2023 in clear breach of the conventional zoning of the governorship seat in the state which favours Enugu East Senatorial zone.
It is true that politics is a game of interest, but such interest should be embedded in some modicum of integrity, steadfastness, fairness and sincerity.
It is time for characters like Atiku and Ekweremadu, who have sustained most of their life in public and political offices to walk their talk and live by their words. They should know that they have no dominance or monopoly of political offices in the country, considering that they are not the best of what the country can offer in political leadership.
Instead of standing against zoning that has entrenched peace, equity and balance, they should be highly supportive of it because majority of the people are in support of it for sense of belonging and peaceful co-existence.
Ughammadu, a lawyer and PDP member writes from Wuse 2, Abuja
