Dr. Ojong Okongor, a political scientist, is the National Coordinator of ‘Nigeria Mandate 2015’, a group championing the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. In this interview with CORRESPONDENT Bassey Inyang in Calabar, Okongor who’s ‘Mandate 2003’ anchored the second term election campaign of former Cross River State governor, Donald Duke, speaks on why Jonathan and the South should occupy Aso Rock beyond 2019.
Excerpts:
The clamour in some quarters is that President Jonathan should not contest in 2015 as he would then be staying beyond the two terms of four years prescribed for holders of the offices of governor and president. What is your view?
There is statistics from 1960 to present day about the number of years spent by each of our elected Presidents or Prime Minister.
The data shows how people from various geo-political zones have governed the country. Jonathan has not even started his own tenure. He is still under the umbrella of late Musa Yar’Adua. His tenure will start in 2015 and we expect him to govern till 2023. (Olusegun) Obasnajo did second term. For now, he is still acting and has not been allowed to govern fully because it is not his actual term.
I don’t think it is all about number of years. Right now he is still completing their joint ticket with Yar’ Adua and has to complete it to start his own term from 2015. It is all about completing his tenure in office and then picking his own Vice-President. By this, it means he is only completing the North’s term.
For instance, when late Gen. Abacha died, as a military ruler, the soldiers sat down and brought another man from the North to complete the term of the North. Why did they not take Gen. Diya, who was his second in command?
But in a democratic setting, the second in command must take charge and that is what the National Assembly did by confirming Jonathan so that there won’t be a vacuum. So, at that time Jonathan took the oath of office as acting President to be able to render service to the nation since the Yar’Adua was ill. Then he was acting. Some politicians till today still call him acting President.
So what do you say about the rotation principle that PDP has adopted since 1999?
How come that out of 14 head of state and presidents we have had, the North, only, has produced nine with over 33 years in office and the South 5 with about 20 years in office out of our 53 years of Nigeria’s independence?
So, the South is still lagging behind in terms of number of years that they have been there and the people need to equal their brothers in the North if indeed power is to be rotated between the north and the south.
For instance, Nnamdi Azikiwe, a ceremonial President (South-East) 1960-1963; Tafawa Belewa Prime Minster (North West 1960-1966; Aguiyi Ironsi, Head of State (South-East) Jan. 1966-1966; Gowon (North-Central) 1966-1875; Murtala Mohammed (North-East) 1875-1876; Gen. Obasanjo (South-West) 1976-1979; Shehu Shagari (North-West) 1979-1983; Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (North-West) 1983-1985; Gen. IBB (North-Central) 1985-1993; Chief Ernest Shonekan (South-West) 1995-1993; Gen. Abacha (North East) 1993-1998; Gen. A. Abubakar (North Central) 1998-1999; Chief Obasanjo (South-West) 1999-2007; Alhaji Yar’Adua (North West) 2007-2011 and Jonathan (South-South) 2011- 2015.
What is your point?
I think the presidency is being rotated among the six geo-political zones of the country. And that’s how we are governed.
Therefore, if you want to count how many years the Presidency has remained in the North, then it will remain in the South as many years as possible for them to meet up with their counterparts in north. And we may not even complete it because it has to be rotational. So, what are we talking about?
If you’re arguing that Jonathan is completing Yar’Adua’s term, why didn’t Jonathan step aside and allow a northerner to complete Yar’Adua’s tenure and then later contest to start the Southern presidency?
There is nothing as stepping aside in democracy. IBB (Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida) stepped aside because he was suffering from indecision on who won the June 12, 1993 election. He was a failed General. However, after completing the Yar’Adua’s first term, the party told him to continue because the spirit of Yar’Adua was still with them. Besides, he even contested against a northerner, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who lost out.
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