Victor Wilberforce
How can there be a Southern Governor’s Forum when there is no Southern Agenda? How can there be a Southern Agenda when there is no South? In truth, what exists in the South are East for Igbo, West for Yoruba and South for Southern minorities such as Ibibio, Ijaw, Bini etc and the many Ibo’ tribes of the Niger Delta .
Every time one hears of the SGF, it has always been to shore up the chances of the South West for the Presidency of Nigeria.
In 2003, under Obasanjo, a meeting of 9 Eastern Governors scheduled was scuttled by Security personnels acting on orders from above. Governor Duke of Cross River said of that meeting “when ever we come together, they fear us”. Not long after, Governor Tinubu convened the first meeting of Southern Governors that was held in Port – Harcourt. Its sole aim was to ensure the return of President Olusegun Obasanjo to power. Once it was achieved, the SGF went comatose.
Today, we are hearing of Southern Governors Forum again from the SW and immediately, I know that the ambition of the SW to succeed President Buhari is in jeopardy.
In 1964 general elections, Akintola faction of the AG went into alliance with the NPC called NNP while the Awolowo faction of the AG went into alliance with the NCNC called UPGA. Awo was in Calabar prison and protected by the NCNC. In that election Akintola faction roundly trounced the Awo faction for the NNP to win amid accusations of fraud. That political alliance did not stop the Awo and the SW from going into a civil war alliance to decimate their Southern brothers. In fact, the defeat of the Eastern region was the brainchild of Awo.
In 2015, under President Jonathan, again without any provocation, the SW led by Tinubu and Obasanjo decided to remove the Presidency from the South and took it to the North in exchange for a SW VP. President Jonathan an Ijo from Eastern Nigeria was tagged Igbo. All that time, the SW did not remember SGF.
The moment Professor Eyo Ita was shoved out of being Premier of the Eastern region, he quickly formed a political party and allied it to the NPC. The political party formed by Melford Okilo was equally allied to the NPC.
The case of Isaac Adaka Boro is very interesting. Despite scholarships from the Eastern region, the former Student Union leader of the UNN acting under influence of unnamed Northerners, declared Secession from the FG because an Igbo was Head of State and another Igbo was his regional Governor. The moment Ironsi was killed, he made a volte – face and supported unity of Nigeria. In fact he died under suspicious circumstances while fighting for Nigeria unity. In all the above examples, no one thought of Southern solidarity.
If the present SGF were fair, they would not just ask for a shift to the South but insist on a shift to the SE .Since that is the only geopolitical zone in the South that has not tasted the Presidency since 1999. The SW would have notoriously planted itself in the Presidency for a total of 16 years by 2023 and are eager to go again.
What the SE Can do.
In the face of a treacherous 17 Southern states lined against a stubborn North, I advise the SE politicians across party affiliations to offer all their political muscle to the North. Let the 5 governors, 15 SE senators, all the House of Rep members, all the 95 local government Chairmen , have a meeting in which they would agree to ally themselves to the North for the VP position.
The SE must position itself again as the beautiful bride of Nigeria politics. An alliance with the North is a sure bet to produce great political largesse. A continued alliance with the South groups would produce only regret.
I wish to congratulate governor Rochas Okoracha for boldly coming out for the Presidency, that is what it should be. However, there must be in house discussions and agreements with the North.
The SE should support the North in keeping the Presidency for as long as it can, and it should position itself to benefit the Presidency whenever and if ever it comes to the South
This is the time for the SE to forget its traditional Southern loyalties. Buhari allied with Ume – Ezeoke against Obasanjo in 2003 and failed. Buhari picked Chuba Okadigbo as VP candidate in 2007 against Obasanjo and again failed – all these time because the SE was loyal to a Southern Agenda. But the same Obasanjo led a coalition using Buhari as mascot and Osinbanjo as VP to seize power from the Eastern region under President Jonathan.
There is no South. What we have are SS, SE, and SW. All man for himself. The Eastern Governors may have calculated all this which led to their absenting themselves in the last meeting of SGF held at Enugu. But the secret is in attending the meetings only to keep working at your Northern agenda Ala FFK and SW.
In taking this decision, I am conscious of the fact that in truth, the Igbos are not just a Southern ethnic group, they are also a Northern ethnic group and must begin to spread their loyalties to the North in order to gain traction.
There are indigenous Northern Igbos in Benue and Kogi ; Igbos are also the largest non – indigenous population in the North and yet there is no Igbo senator, governor or deputy Governor of Igbo extraction in the North. The Yoruba with less population have more Northern political presence to boast about. Remember Senators Smart Adeyemi and Dino Melaye to name a few.
The Zik Connection
That is how Zik managed it in 1959, in 1964 and in 1979. He beat the treacherous South to their game by forming enduring political alliance with his Northern brothers.
A word is enough for the wise
