2011: Ex-Minister Cautions Northerners Over Zoning

Germany’s Mroslav Klose (left) blocking off Argentina’s Demichelis on their quarter final clash in Cape Town, S’Africa, yesterday. Germany routed Argentina 4-0 to book their semi final sot in the 2010 World Cup.

Former Minister of Culture and Tourism, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas has called on Northern elders to reflect the political history of Nigeria and reposition their mind-set towards the 2011 general elections, especially the presidency.

Alabo Graham-Douglas in an interview with The Tide On Sunday in Port Harcourt said the time has come when the people of the North should give the South_South the chance to produce an elected president since the people had supported them to rule the country for 38 out of the 50 years of Nigeria’s Independence.

The former Minister, who recounted the past leaderships under the North, pointed out that the gang up against President Goodluck Jonathan’s ticket to contest the 2011 Presidential election was an attempt to demean his influence and authority, a development, he said  would be resisted by the South-South geo-political zone.

His words; “for the 50 years of the country’s Independence, the North has been in leadership for 35 years and nothing to the South-South states.

The gang up to stop Jonathan as President by northern elders is made to demean his influence and authority and it is a calculated effort at marginalizing the South-South region that producers 90 per cent of the nation’s wealth. That will not augour well for the country as one entity”.

He stressed that it is the inalienable right of the South-South to ensure that Jonathan runs for the 2011 presidential election “to have a sense of belonging”.He stressed that it is the inalienable right of the South-South to ensure that Jonathan runs for the 2011 presidential election tohaveasenseofbelonging.

According to him, the unity of the country “cannot be trusted if the South-South is denied the opportunity to produce the President this time around”.

Although Jonathan, according to him, is yet to declare his intention, “all hands must be on deck to ensure we preserve the unity and progress of Nigeria with love and harmony”, printing out that the North has enjoyed the leadership of the country for a long time and should give others the chance.

He expressed the view that for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure a credible, free and fair election, the present voters’ register be cancelled.

Alabo Graham-Douglas noted that as one of the founding fathers of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP), he could not recall when an agreement was reached on zoning system as claimed by the North.

Shedie Okpara