The North asks Peter Obi to go for one term

Intels filtering in from very highly impeccable sources indicate that Nigeria’s main opposition leader, H.E. Peter Obi is being asked to go for only one term by the several key stakeholders from across Northern Nigeria to gain the bloc support of the region in 2027. If this intels is anything to go by, we affirm that it’s a welcoming development.

Recall that during a Space Session hosted by the budding online news platform @ParallelFacts on X (formerly Twitter), Friday, March 29, 2024, Obi had thrown his weight behind the novel idea of rotating Nigeria’s Presidency among the six geo-political zones for a single term of five (5) years.

It must also be recalled that last month, Ojema Ojotu, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) representing Apa/Agatu federal constituency of Benue State in the House of Representatives – @HouseNGR, proposed a bill to include power rotation in Nigeria’s 1999 constitution, for all elections. 

Similarly, last month, Senator representing Benue South Senatorial District and Senate Minority Leader, Comrade Abba Moro, proposed The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2024 on rotation of power among the six geo-political zones, senatorial zones and federal constituencies for presidential, gubernatorial and senatorial elections respectively.

A high ranking APC Senator from the South East who pleaded anonymity also confirmed the existence of this novel bill on the floors of the Green and Red Chambers, suggesting that if passed and signed into law, it will largely bring about equity, fairness, Justice, justice, unity, peace, political stability, and progress within Nigeria’s body-politic.

It must be reiterated that the novel idea of rotating Nigeria’s Presidency among the six geo-political zones is better late than never, to entrench equity, fairness, justice, unity, peace, political stability, and progress within Nigeria’s political firmament.

Moreso, it must be recalled that no less a person but Nigeria’s former Vice President, Chief Alex Ekwueme, was the first to propose this novel idea during the 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference empaneled by the Sanni Abacha military regime, and chaired by the late Justice Adolphus Karibi-Whyte.

While the Abacha junta implemented the proposal of dividing the Nigerian State into today’s six geo-political zones, which made it into the 1999 Constitution, thus, bringing about the creation of a South South region, it failed to implement the power sharing formula among the six regions.

The thinking of Chief Alex Ekwueme at the time of his proposal before the 1994/1995 Constitutional Conference was that for National Unity, the Presidency should rotate across the newly adopted six geo-political zones.

When it is the turn of the South East, all Nigeria’s mainstream political parties must zone their tickets to the region, thus, presenting their best politicians from the region, across party lines.

When it is the turn of the North East, all Nigeria’s mainstream political parties must zone their tickets to the region, thus, presenting their best politicians from the region, across party lines.

Also, when it is the turn of the South South, all Nigeria’s mainstream political parties must zone their tickets to the region, thus, presenting their best politicians from the region, across party lines.

When it is the turn of the North Central, all Nigeria’s mainstream political parties must zone their tickets to the region, thus, presenting their best politicians from the region, across party lines.

When it is the turn of the South West, all Nigeria’s mainstream political parties must zone their tickets to the region, thus, presenting their best politicians from the region, across party lines.

And when it is the turn of the South West, all Nigeria’s mainstream political parties must zone their tickets to the region, thus, presenting their best politicians from the region, across party lines.

As an ardent student of contemporary Comparative Public Policy and Politics, I must affirm that if the present Nigerian political elites come to a Political Compromise as this, it will go a long way in healing the Nigerian State and Nigerians in general.

After all, the two-terms of four years each in the 1999 Constitution is not cast on rocks. It was only an import from the United States of America by the likes of Chief Kingsley Ozumba Mbadiwe, et al. in 1979. It is not compulsory for Nigeria 🇳🇬 to be administered politically like the United States of America.

In the final analysis, let me aver that the present two-terms of four years each hasn’t worked in Nigeria. It has only made most elected politicians lazy, lackadaisical, distracted and fighting for a second term even from their first year in office, instead of focusing on delivering the dividends of good governance to the Nigerian people.

By Ike God