Strong indications emerged yesterday evening that the northern political leaders were not impressed by what one of them described as “tokenisms” handed out by President Goodluck Jonathan through the former President, General Olusegun Obasanjo.

One of the leaders who spoke on condition of anonymity said point blank that “the northern leaders will not be hoodwinked by former President Obasanjo’s belated admission that tenure and power rotation, better known as zoning, exists in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and would form the basis of negotiations when President Jonathan’s tenure runs out in 2015.”

Obasanjo had, at the grand finale of the Jonathan/Sambo campaign at the Eagle Square in Abuja at the weekend, affirmed the existence of zoning along the lines of the constitutional provision on federal character.
But northern leaders have said that they were not impressed on account of former President Obasanjo’s credibility problems and believability and the fact that he was usurping the functions of President Jonathan as head of government and leader of the ruling party.

For the avoidance of doubt, the leaders recalled that the negotiation with President Jonathan was premised on three key issues namely: that he serves for one term, agrees to zoning in which case the power will return to the North in 2015 and execute key projects that are important to the nation and the North as a sub-section of the country.

According to one influential leader of the North, the demand was that President Jonathan as head of government and leader of the ruling party should convey this message to Nigerians and not have a surrogate do it on his behalf. “Under the PDP constitution, the President (Jonathan) is both the head of government and leader of the party. Chief Obasanjo is neither head of government nor leader of the ruling party. For the President to have failed to seize this moment in publicly conveying this message to Nigerians at the Eagle Square rally on Saturday and instead conceded the task to Obasanjo raises even more concern for us,” the top northern leader said.

A cross section of G15 members whose views were sampled on the Obasanjo speech said that it was a negation of what President Jonathan had set to achieve. According to them, Obasanjo who is now a “latter day apostle” of zoning carries huge credibility problems of his own to the extent that whatever he says will have to be taken ‘with a pinch of salt.’” The were unanimous on the position that the unwarranted political situation the country has now found itself in, was created single-handedly by Obasanjo.

“For how long will former President Obasanjo continue to delude himself that the nation’s destiny is his to canvass? It is to the former President’s credit that the seeds of confusion and bitterness across the country were planted for the sake of satisfying his own private malicious agenda against the unity of the country. How then can you take the words of such a man seriously,” one of the top leaders queried.
And quoting the Indian sage, Mahatma Gandhi, one of the leaders noted that “nobody is an elder by a mere lock of grey hair; you are only an elder in whom reside truth and justice.” He contended that Obasanjo’s attitude was inconsistent with the virtues of a statesman who should be a role model to his fellow citizens.

He noted that the admission of former President Obasanjo that zoning existed and was still relevant “is a vindication of all those who have struggled on the principle of power rotation as an integral part of unity and stability in the country.”

He said the open acknowledgment by Obasanjo that zoning was sacrosanct has morally strengthened his and others’ position that power rotation was the fairest arrangement in which any section of Nigeria, no matter how small, has an equitable opportunity to occupy the nation’s highest public office.
According to him, the zoning arrangement of the PDP has not harmed anybody in the country more than 12 years that it was put into practice. Instead, he said, “it has strengthened unity, stability and reduced the fear of domination by any section of Nigeria over another.”


http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/features/newsonthehour/2011/mar/28/newsbreak-28-03-2011-001.htm