A former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa has stated that the quest and hunger for rotation of the position of the presidency between North and South regions has remained the country’s political mistake as it would perpetually keep the country divided.
According to him, rather than having political cohesion through practice, it has always caused tension, bringing mistrust and threat of restructuring or secession among Nigerians.
In a statement he personally signed and made available to Africa Daily News, New York yesterday, the former governor pointed out that it is high time that politicians pipe down on such political issues and concentrate mainly on the issue of good governance to move the country forward.
The Sokoto-born politician further warned Nigerians to henceforth be wary of making any comments bordering on the issue of zoning or rotation of the position of President to any part of the country.
His words: ‘For a long time now, such agitation is getting increasingly strident to the extent that they are causing politicians and social commentators to add their voices to the issue and in many respects misplacing priorities as regards to what crucially affects our dear country.
“To my knowledge, first as a Nigerian politician with considerable political and governmental experiences, I did not know when and how anybody in the country has arrived at zoning the position of the President to any zone, whether to the South or to North.
‘I have no faintest idea that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or even the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) has made any proclamation to the effect that the position of President is zoned to a particular section of the country.
‘In recent time, such a sensitive issue along with other similar issues are either being canvassed or deliberately touted thereby causing a lot of political tension and widening the gap of our common unity of the country.
‘It was high time that our politicians pipe down on such political issues and concentrate mainly on the issue of good governance so that our country would eventually breath some peace and tranquility.’ Bafarawa stated.
He however urged politicians across tribal and regional divides to come together for the common good of the country, saying; ‘We should do everything possible at our disposal to contribute our quota towards peace and security of the country.’
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
