By Correspondent in Lokoja.
The Director-General, North Central Coalition for Leadership (NCCL), Williams Oluwatoyin,has called on the leaders of thought from the north-central zone to form a common front devoid of party, tribal and religious affiliations to wrestle power to the zone.
Oluwatoyin,who made the call in a statement he shared with Journalists on Thursday in Lokoja, stressed the imperative of the presidency of Nigeria zoned to the North Central, in the interest of equity, fairness and justice.
He expressed concern that the north central zone,noted for its stabilisation roles between the north and south, had never tasted power since the democratic experiment in Nigeria.
He noted that the zone had remained the only of its kind in the country that had not produced either the president or vice president since 1960 when Nigeria became independent.
Oluwatoyin also drew the attention of political stakeholders in the country to the fact that the the zone, in spite its highly intelligent and hardworking citizens, had not been given opportunity to rule the country under a democratic setting, the quantum leap of her citizens under the military regimes not withstanding.
“The question that has bothered us as a region is whether we do not possess the needed qualification to lead the country, considering our investment and perseverance with the other region.
” Despite being greatly marginalized, we have kept our cool and have continued to hold true to the idea of a one indivisible entity.
“When will equity, fairness and Justice speak for our region? We can’t wait further, 2023 is our best time and we must put our all to actualize this lofty dream.
He stressed that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria never allotted the seat of the president of the nation to any particular region, therefore, any qualified citizen, as clearly defined “by the provision of this binding document, to contest for this highly esteemed position.”
“We totally reject the continued relegation of our best heads across party lines to the role of party chairmanship as it has being over the decade. The position of the Chairman of any party is truly desirable, but after many years of organizing party affairs, we realize that we deserve better and that better is the presidency.
Going memory lane to further butress his point,Oluwatoyin recounted the leadership marginalisation of the zone since independence.
According to him, in the first Republic between 1960-1966, the nation produced Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Head of state from South-East and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Prime Minister from North-East.
He added,”The Second Republic ,1979 – 1983 produced President Shehu Shagari and Vice President Alex Ekwueme NorthWest and South East, while the Abortive Third Republic was won by M.K.O Abiola South West and Babagana Kingibe from NorthEast.
“After several military regimes, the democratic process once again kicked-off in May 1999 which had Olusegun Obasanjo as President from South West while his vice, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, hails from North-East.
“The North West again produced Musa Yaradua with his vice, Goodluck Jonathan from South- South and after the death of YarAdua, Jonathan stepped in to complete the tenure, contested and won,making him to rule for six years with his vice, Arch. Namadi Sambo from the North-West.
”The North West again has produced the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice,Professor Yemi Osinbajo, from the South-West.
“The North-West , however, has produced three presidents in a total of 11 years so far, while North-East had Prime Minister, Vice President, North West, South South and SouthWest has produced Vice Presidents,leaving the North-Central as an orphan in the political equation of the country.
“We say No! to political marginalisation which has brought nothing but backwardness and stagnation. We say No! to being viewed as the region unworthy of the presidential seat,” he stated.
The Director-General vowed to use available resources at the disposal of the group, to ensure the zone produces the next president of the country.
