A former coordinator of the Arewa Political Forum of Nigeria, Alhasan Farouk has decried the level of division and animosity that is palpable in the country, adding that Nigeria is more divided than ever.
The chieftain of Bauchi APC, who said this on Wednesday, expressed concerns about the division in the wake of what many sees as schemes by the All Progressive Congress (APC) ahead of 2023 to ensure the North retains power against zoning the presidency to the South.
“Unless drastic interventions are taken, next year’s general elections may prove the final straw for Nigeria’s 62-year experiment as a highly combustible union of disparate ethnic groups each with an unyielding aspiration to determine its destiny and a shared suspicion of a nursed domination agenda.
“With the recent spate of insecurity, banditry, herders-farmers violence, IPOB agitations, and separatist group agitations in the South-West, it is apparent that the nation has never been more divided.
The fallout of the recent violence in Sokoto following the killing of Deborah Samuel, where several Igbo traders and other southerners were harassed as young residents demanded the release of those who perpetrated the killing of the young student is a clear instance of the delicate religious and ethnic balancing act that needs to be upheld in Nigeria.
“With a fractious polity where ethnic and religious strife has seen sectional violence coming to the fore in the North Central, South-East, South-West, the South is eager to stake a claim to the presidency to soothe frayed nerves across the country. Nigeria’s fragile unity is indeed at stake.”
“The dramatic but dangerous tussle is best observed in the APC. Formed in 2014 as an alliance between the north and south to oust the PDP which had held power for 16 years, President Buhari emerged as its flagbearer as the representative of the north and with a promise to surrender power to the south in a high-stake power-sharing formula designed to promote inclusion and a sense of belonging, an antidote to the inflammable marriage between the ethnic groups,” he warned.
Confirming the position of the ruling party on zoning, APC’s National Publicity Secretary, Mr, Felix Morka, said: “There is no such decision made by the National Working Committee.”
So far, 23 presidential aspirants will lock horns in the primary election, 19 are from the South, while four are from the North.
Among the Southern aspirants, eight are from the South-East which has the least number of delegates; seven are from the South-West, and the South-South has four.
In the North, North-West has two, while North-East and North-Central have one each.
The APC aspirants from South-West are Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Senator Ajayi Borrofice, Mr Dimeji Bankole, Dr Tunde Bakare, Dr Kayode Fayemi and Senator Ibikunle Amosun.
Those from the South-East are Chief Emeka Nwajiuba, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, Senator Rochas Okorocha, Engr Dave Umahi, Senator Ken Nnamani, and Mr Nicholas Nwagbo, Mr Ikeobasi Mokelu and Mrs Uju Ohanenye.
The contenders from the South-South are Mr Rotimi Amaechi, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Ben Ayade, and Mr Tein Jack-Rich.
The aspirants from the North are Alhaji Yahaya Bello (North-Central), Senate President Ahmad Lawan (North-East), Mohammed Badaru (North-West) and Ahmed Yerima (North-West).
