2015: The power shift conundrum

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  AfricCon Latest Nigerian Report: 2015: The power shift conundrum
  Africcon Media, Nigeria
  
  From: Africcon Media – Nigeria
  
  One issue that will dominate the discourse for the 2015 gubernatorial election across the states is the agitation for power shift among senatorial districts. NDUBUISI ORJI writes
  
  The discourse of the 2015 governorship election across several states in the country will be defined by the propriety or other wise of power shift across senatorial zones. Already two years to the election, the issue is generating serious concern among political gladiators across the states.
  
  From Anambra to Ebonyi, Delta to Akwa Ibom and Benue to Kogi, the issue remain the same. Politicians and stakeholders from the senatorial zones that have not produced a governor for their respective states believe strongly that it is their turn in the next general election. But their counterparts from the other zones think otherwise.
  
  In Anambra State, the North senatorial district wants the next governorship of the state to come from the area. The argument is that nobody from the zone has been governor since the creation of the state in 1991.
  
  In Ebonyi State the people of Afikpo bloc  which makes up the Ebonyi South senatorial zone wants to produce the next governor of the state, by 2015, the Abakaliki bloc  which is sub divided into Ebonyi North and Central senatorial zones would have governed the state for a total of 16 years. While in Enugu, Abia and Imo, the people of Nsukka zone, Ngwa and Owerri zones respectively want to have a shot at the governorship of their states in 2015.  The agitation is anchored on the view that no person from their zone has been governor in recent times.
  
  However, the case of the Owerri and Nsukka zones appear slightly different, as they have actually produced governors for the state in the botched third republic. Late Senator Evan Enwerem from Owerri and Dr Okwesilieze Nwodo from Nsukka zone were governors of Imo and Enugu states respectively from 1991 to 1993.
  
  Similarly, in Delta ,Akwa Ibom,Benue, Kogi states where the next governor comes from is also  a burning issue. The Anioma nation which makes Delta North are seriously seeking for a shot at the governorship of the state. In Akwa Ibom, the Eket Senatorial zone believes it is their right to produce the next governor of the state especially as Uyo and Ikot Ekpene had produced the slot for eight years apiece.
  
  In Kogi State, the Kogi West senatorial zone, made up of Okunland , and the Central senatorial zone, which comprises the Ebira, the Ogori, and the Bassa are also seeking for the governorship of the state. It was gathered that the Igalla people of Kogi East senatorial zone have been on the driving seat since the creation of the state in 1991.
  
  In Benue State, the Idoma people of Benue South wants a shot at the governorship of the state.They are worried that their Tiv brothers have monopolized the governorship since the creation of the state.
  
  Expectedly, all the zones seeking for power shift to their areas are leaving no stone unturned in their determined bid to achieve their objectives. Part of the strategies includes seeking support of the incumbent governors of the states.
  
  Equity vs. constitutionality
  
  There is no place where it is written in the Nigerian constitution that the governorship of a state should rotate among the component parts of the state. But not a few agree that it is good for power to rotate among the various groups in a state. In fact, to ensure that every segment of the state is carried along, some of the states, especially those in the South east, at their creation drew charters of equity,  a kind of power sharing agreement to guide their politics.  The aim is to ensure equity and fair play amongst the various sections of the states. However, the reality on ground had proved that these charters of equity are observed more in the breach.
  
  It is this quest for equity that forms the fulcrum of the agitation for power shift across the states by seemingly political disadvantaged zones.  While on the other hand, those opposed to it hold the view that it is an infringement of the constitutional rights of  people from the other zones to contest the governorship election.
  
  In the run up to the next governorship election in Anambra State, the main issue is zoning of the governorship. It is also the zoning palaver that has torn the All Progressive Grand Alliance(APGA) to shreds.
  
  While the State governor, Mr Peter Obi is favourably disposed to Anambra North producing his successor, the party’s National Chairman, Mr Victor Umeh  thinks otherwise. Hence both men have been locked in titanic battle.
  
  Former Senate President, Senator Adolphus Wabara is one of the proponents of power shift in the state. Wabara, who hails from Abia State believes that it is the turn of his Ngwa people to produce the next governor of the state.
  
  Recently, the former Senate President convened a meeting to sensitize his people on the need for power shift and mobilize support for the idea.
  
  Making a strong case for his senatorial zone to produce the next governor of Abia, Wabara said “We are the ones that gave Abia State the right to be known as oil producing state.”
  
  To jolt his people to action he added “ Everywhere in Nigeria people are talking about 2015, yet we are sitting down here, not doing anything. In politics, one plus one can be zero”.
  
  “Now it is our turn, the game changed then, but it can no longer change now because it is our turn. Give the Governorship to Abia South come 2015, there is no way anybody can change the game, Theodore Orji knows this.”
  
  Just like Wabara, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Ebonyi State, Chief Henry Chima Ude, holds the view that power  should shift to  Ebonyi South in 2015. The PDP leader told Daily Sun in a recent interview that power shift in the state is not something anyone can say is an impossibility.
  
  “We are brothers. And when you have taken your turn, it will be the turn of your other brother. And when your other brother takes his turn, it will come back to you again. That is the way it should be, if the state must be stable and peaceful. It is not an issue of conflict”, he noted.
  
  Ude said the issue of whether or not power would shift in the state in the next political dispensation should not be discussed at all.  According to him, Ebonyi people are their brothers’ keeper and believe that what is good for the goose is equally good for the gander.  “So, whoever is telling you that there would be no power shift, or that the governorship will never go Ebonyi South, those are the words of the enemy”, he added.
  
  However, the Akwa Ibom state governor, Godswill Akpabio recently poured cold water on the agitation for power shift in the state. The governor, who many in the state believed was in support of power shift stated that he was not a product of zoning. The implication is that whoever would succeeds him is likely not going to be a product of zoning.
  
  In his words “If you ask me, I will tell you that I am not a product of zoning. I am a product of the people. In 2007, 58 people from Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene senatorial districts, all contested the primaries, and after the people had spent five days on the streets, they finally voted who they wanted, and said let’s God’s will be done. For 2015, zoning is in the hands of God.”
  
  Apparently in reaction to Akpabio’s stance on power shift, the speaker of the Akwa Ibom state House of Assembly, Bassey Essien reportedly stated that “It is very clear and there is no ambiguity that it is the turn of Eket Senatorial District to produce the next governor. Any right thinking Akwa Ibom politician will take this advice.
  
  He said the people of the zone are determined more than ever to work for the actualization of their dream to produce a governor for Akwa Ibom in 2015.
  
  A public affairs analyst, Mr George Diogu dismisses the clamour for power shift as myopic. He told Daily Sun that those championing it are not doing it for altruistic reasons. According to him, the people should be interested in having the right crop of leaders, instead of clamouring for somebody from their kith and kin to be governor, especially as the Nigerian constitution allows all eligible citizens to contest any office of their choice.
  
  Said He “It is a negative thing because we no longer think about the best for ourselves rather equity whether positive or negative. What is so special about power sharing? Our problem is not power shifting, but who the caps fits let him wear it.”
  
  “The two Bushes ruled America, father and son and nobody even talked about power shift. That is where people have respect for their nation, not as clan or as a group,” Diogu added.
  
  In spite of the opposition to power shift, the Asagba of Asaba, Obi Chike Edozien believes that power rotation in the country is a possibility. The Asagba is at the forefront in the agitation by the Anioma people of Delta North to produce the next governor of Delta State in 2015.
  
  During a recent visit to key politicians from the state at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), the monarch said “Power rotation is possible. That it is not spelt out in the constitution does not mean that it cannot work. It is only people who do not want progress and equity that will insist that rotation is impossible.”
  
  As cogent as the argument of the agitations for power shift seem, it may just be mere wishful thinking. Equity and inclusion no doubt is necessary for harmony amongst the various parts of the state. But then, the constitutional rights of the compatriots from other zones to contest the election can equally not be wished away.