Public Commentator and Political Analyst, Comrade Razaq Olokoba has said the wisdom behind the power shift agreement is to strengthen the unity of the country, warning that anybody thinking contrarily to that could be accused of being a democracy murderer.
In a media interview in Lagos weekend, Olokoba, who is the National Presdident, Campaign for Dignity in Governance (CDG), asserted that, not only coup can murder democracy, insisting that any conducts that are inimical to the tenet of democracy could also be described as murdering it:
Can we have your comment on the rationale behind the power shift initiative in Nigeria?
Yes, thank you very much. However, this is not the first time we would be lending our voice to the wisdom behind the Power shift. We have contributed on it severally and we have reiterated the need for it and for the umpteen times we are saying it is the best political option for our country at the moment.
How do you mean sir?
It is on record that, in the past, we have pointed out several reasons there must be power shift. One of the reasons we have cited was the need for the country to continue to promote the unity of the people of Nigeria. We know that Nigeria is a nation of different identities. And to that extent, there is the need to recognize those differences. And the best way to recognise those differences is to run a system that will give everybody a sense of belonging in terms of how our resources are distributed and in terms of how powers are shared.
And presiding over Nigeria is another fundamental ways of giving the people a sense of belonging and that is why people who designed rotation as a good political system did so. That was what is behind it, and it is important to know that in every relationship, people have what they contribute towards the success of the relationship. That is the case even between the husband and his wife. People may not know but those involved would know that all members in relationship would know that everybody contributes. So, in Nigeria, even without expressing it, every ethnic group, every region has what it is contributing to the relationship. And it is glaring that leaders in the country are also aware of that fact. Yes, they know.
And that is why, where some people are saying something contrary, the elders should educate them. For instance, there is a region that has become the pocket for Nigeria in terms of tapping into its resources to run our economy. There are regions that their regions, which resources if invested correctly can also run our economy. There are regions that the economy of the nation is in their hands. There are also some regions by their own cultural nature has remained the only region that stands out as home to every Nigerian. There is a region like that. And there is a region, which strength is number. Its own strength is numerical.
What can we derive with this analysis?
The lesson is that, if you put all these together, it should be a good thing for Nigeria and not a barrier or burden to us. And that is reason our brothers in the north should realise that in the modern world, the numerical strength is no longer use to oppress other ethnic groups. And what are we saying, there is no region in Nigeria that is not above 25 million in population. And that is more than half of countries in Europe. There are countries in Europe that are not more than 10 million or 15 million in population. So, if you have a region with just 25 million in Nigeria, that would be the lest region in the country today.
If we have our brothers in the north, who have the highest number of people today, they must use that strength to promote unity. They must use that strength to distribute power for the unity and survival of the country as a united nation. We can count several nations in the world today that used their numerical strength to perpetuate themselves in power in the past. But nobody does that again today. And that is why it is important to educate ourselves with this reality that if the power goes to the north, it is not as if they understand governance more than the rest of the regions. But it is just that every region should create that impression that, I am part of his country. That is the essence. And that is why it would be a political miscalculation for anybody preaching that power should remain permanently in the north.
And in most cases where crisis arises, that is the way some people murder democracy. These are types of indices that bring about the death of democracy in some climes. It is not only when we have coup that democracy can be murdered. Democracy can be murdered when you breach agreement. When you don’t recognise the need for other regions to have a sense of belonging to occupy position of power, you have murdered democracy.
From this analysis, we should be realistic to understand that every region has its own capacity to have an edge over other regions. If the North’s strength is numerical, others’ can be economy, while others’ can be resources and others’ can be their receptive nature in the country. So, it is all these edges that we have brought together that is Nigeria today. So, it is the most appropriate political move to adhere strictly to the power shift. There is wisdom in it.
Talking of the south now…
(Cuts in…),Talking of the south now, the South-West is the most qualified region today not in terms of credentials, but in terms of how power has been managed since Buhari came on board. The alliance that we had between 1960 and 1966 between the north and the south-east, it almost led the country into extinction because it led to a civil war. Nobody should be blamed for that. We were just learning from the political process of that time. So we cannot hold the north, the east or anybody responsible for that. It is just part of nature. America and other countries have also gone to war. It became lessons in their life. They don’t do things that could lead them into civil wars again.
So, the south-south and the north also had their alliance during the Jonathan period. There was no problem about that. So, when the south-west and the north had their alliance, they have learnt from the mistakes of the past alliances and the alliance has been perfected. It would be proper to nurture such an alliance and not rupture it. It would be politically fool hardy to allow such an alliance to rupture. And the best way to nurture it is to allow it to be nurtured by the south-west from 2023.
Are you confident that the aspirants from the south-west can nurture the alliance successfully?
Yes, we are so lucky that the array of contestants emerging from the southern region generally is quality materials we should be proud of. These are the people that have been tested one way or the other and found to have done well. We have among them former governors, former commissioners that are still holding higher positions in this administration in Nigeria and they are doing well in the duties the country has assigned them to handle. And they have not failed us. We are so lucky.
I know the intention of the party in power must have been to be in power for so long. And if that is the truth, they should learn from the mistake of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). This type of scenario led to the crisis of the PDP that time. There is more wisdom; there is more profit in allowing power to come to the south-west in 2023. There is almost no profit in allowing power to remain in the north. Agreed, north is a formidable part of Nigeria but cannot make up Nigeria. And we all know that every region has its contributions to Nigeria.
So, these contributions would continue as long as I see that, I am part of Nigeria, that I am treated as equal stake holder in Nigeria. The moment power remains in the north, it would give an interpretation that, other regions would see themselves as participating in the country from the point of weakness. And what we should continue to do in Nigeria is to continue strengthening each other and not to weaken each other. And that is what is called nation building. Let us sound the note of warning again to our northern brothers and the APC as a political party that there is no wisdom in the power remaining in the north after 2023.
What advice do you therefore have for all the aspirants?
Well for contestants both in the north and the south, there is a period people would express painful sacrifice. This is the period the true Nigerian nature should come out of every contestant. What do I mean by that? This is the time people should know that, my ambition is not more important than the interest of the country. That Nigeria is bigger than my ambition. That my ambition is intended to come and serve the people. And if my ambition to become the president of Nigeria would jeopardise a lot of things in Nigeria, I am ready to sacrifice that ambition. This is what everybody must have at the back of his mind. And it is expected that contestants from the north should be the one campaigning for power shift from the north to the south. And for the contestants from the south, this is the time to also demonstrate in their utterances that this is a joint oath for all of them to abide with. And that, there should be no southern agenda.
Any manifesto, campaign or utterances that would indicate regional agenda should be jettisoned. What I mean is that phrases like this is our time, it is our turn and it’s our period should be carefully used. So that the interpretations of that should not create fear and mutual suspicion in the mind of our northern brothers. So that they would not say, if that is what power shift is all about, I would not be part of it. If it is southern agenda you are bringing on board, I won’t be part of it. We should be seen as leaders emerging from the south. Not that a southerner is emerging to come and rule Nigeria. It should be a kind of a leader to serve Nigeria emerging from a part of Nigeria. It should be Nigeria’s agenda all through. Not that
