- Says ‘North, South-South have historically had strong alliances’ …Politics Is About Breaking BarriersÂ
From Ameachi Prosper (The New Diplomat’s Delta State Correspondent)
As permutations towards 2023 general elections gather momentum, the Deputy Senate President (DSP), Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has stressed the importance of sustaining the historically old political alliance that had existed since independence between the South-south geo-political zone and Northern geo-political region of the country.
Senator Omo-Agege who represents Delta Central Senatorial District at the Upper Legislative Chambers, while fielding questions from journalists on Friday, noted that the strategic alliance between South-South zone and the North gave birth to the creation of the defunct Mid-Western region, and has attracted democratic dividends to the geo-political zone.
According to the Deputy Senate President, it was this strategic political alliance that further made it possible for the Niger Delta region to produce Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan as the first Nigeria President of South-South extraction.
Recall also that it was this historically strong political alliance that similarly produced Dr Jonathan as Vice President to Yar’Adua and later as President under the new democratic dispensation.
DSP Omo-Agege, who is the leader of the South-South Caucus of the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) recalled how the former Finance Minister and ace politician in the first Republic, late Festus Okotie-Eboh was very instrumental to the creation of Mid-Western region under the administration of Prime-Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.
He said recalled that it was ” in the spirit of cooperation and the alliance of NPC and NCNC, that Balewa gave the final okay” for the creation of Mid-West region in 1963.
Going down memory lane further, Omo-Agege who doubles as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, narrated how that historical political alliance established during the First Republic has been strengthened over the years since independence.
He added: “In the second Republic…NPN which won the former Cross River State that consisted of the present Akwa Ibom and Cross River states. There was also the former Rivers State which consisted the present Rivers and Bayelsa states. In 1982, the Shagari NPN administration established the Delta Steel Complex in the South-South.
“During this Fourth Republic and consistent with the historical antecedents, the South-South had been controlled by the national ruling party until 2015 when the All Progressives Congress(APC) won the presidency. And over this period, the 13 per cent Derivation principle was implemented as enshrined in the constitution, the NDDC and the Amnesty Program were established. We also had the Vice President and ultimately the President.”
He said: “With 2023 fast approaching, the South-South politicians and the people will have another opportunity to determine whether to remain in opposition or to return to our traditional political dispositions. It is my hope that the APC as a party, will see the opportunity that lies ahead in doing business with the South-South and will do everything possible to take advantage of the emerging opportunity.”
DSP Omo-Agege, who also chairs the Senate Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution, while throwing more light on the subject matter, dismissed some talks in some quarters that politicians from the South South geo-political zone region usually compromise the interests of the region when it comes to political horse-trading.
According to the Deputy Senate President, politics is about lobbying, negotiations, horse-trading, adding that there is a limit to what a single individual can do as he/she will always need the buy-in of others from across regions.
In his words: “I do not agree with your profiling of South-South politicians. First, the North is not the enemy of the South-South as your question seems to suggest. Secondly, in politics there are limits to what an individual politician can do without concerting with others.”
“Therefore, compromise which is simply to adapt ones own position to make it acceptable to others in order to reach an agreement is necessary and inevitable. In fact, politics is all about compromise. It is the only way to get things done for your people and move forward.
“This applies to all politicians. For South-South politicians, the need to make concessions and compromises is even greater because we are minorities. Some of these concessions are easy to make but others may require sacrifices. But it is wrong and inappropriate to say that politicians from South-South pander to the north.
“Thirdly, the North and the South-South regions have co-operated to the mutual benefit of both regions. And because of the co-operation and compromises we have had, the North and the South-South have historically had strong alliances. At the heart of the North – South-South alliance is our common interest and commitment to justice and the unity of our country which have enabled us work together for the good of our people and the country at large.”
On viability of sustaining such alliance ahead of 2023 general elections, DSP Omo-Agege stressed that, “the truth is that the South-South has always allied with the national ruling party at each point in time; a tendency you really cannot fault if you must be Pan-Nigerian.”
He explained further thus: “In the First Republic, majority of the people in what is today South-South were in the NCNC, the dominant party in the Eastern region which went into alliance with the NPC, the overwhelmingly dominant party in Northern Region, to form the national government.
“If you recall, the first most prominent South-South politician at Independence, the late Festus Okotie-Eboh was the National Treasurer of NCNC and the NPC/NCNC alliance made it possible for Okotie-Eboh to become Finance Minister in the Tafawa Balewa Federal Government.”
