I must appreciate Governor Wike and his G-5 governors for their tenacity and daring to stand up for what is right. It is not even enough for the G-5 governors to insist on Ayu’s resignation; it should be an insistence that Atiku himself, being a northerner cannot stand for election to replace another northerner. Na so dem just see us finish? Can you imagine Atiku telling us that because Buhari is in APC, then it should not affect the chances of PDP producing another northern president! What an infantilely puerile argument!!; is that how stupid these people think we have all become? So, is he telling us Obasanjo could have handed over to another Yoruba or Ibo person or that Jonathan could have handed to another Southerner and it will be fine with the North; what shameless effrontery and daylight robbery is that?

It amazes me how the south is so gullible to think the north will actually organise a free and fair election, then hand over power if the winner is from the south? Has that ever happened? When has a northern president or Head of State ever handed power to a southern successor? Transition of power has always been from a southern leader to a northern leader i.e., Obasanjo to Shagari, Obasanjo to Yardua, Jonathan to Buhari. The Sultan will not even allow it, not to talk of now that they “have a dog in the fight” and are the referee at the same time. For them, “kaka ki eku ma je sese, afi she awada danu ni” MEANING “if I can’t have it, nobody will have it so let us scatter it.”

Do people even realise the resistance from the highest level of the northern power block against handing over to Abiola? People just think it was IBB that was power drunk and wanted to cling on to power? Forces much stronger than IBB were at play at that time and those powers are still there. They have an uncanny fear of losing power. They also have a deep fear of Ibo-Yoruba coalescence; the reason the current ‘rivalry’ between “Obidients” and “Batified” is a game for them. They do not want any of these two tribes to lead Nigeria; neither do they want a coalition of the two.

If all attempts to replace one Fulani with another Fulani fails through the ballot, they are ready to have their military boys roll out the tanks and take over with the barrels of the gun. The populace and the international community will call it “Military Takeover” but it is essentially an elongation of Fulani rule. Most southerners do not understand the desperation of the people they are dealing with.

Unfortunately, they have succeeded, yet again, in dividing the south along ethnic and religious lines. You would think that lessons have been learnt but no. They are playing us against each other, and to reference Fela, that is “their regular trade mark.” It would be a total disgrace to the entire south if they allow Fulani to get away with this deception. My fear is that we are once again heading to the path of Azikiwe and Awolowo in the first republic.

Those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it. We were told one of the two refused to step down for the other, which enabled the Fulani to capitalise on their disunity. Each had personal ambition to lead and none wanted to subordinate to the other. The Ibo and the Yoruba narrate it such that each vindicates his own tribe. Some of us were not old enough to know which version to believe but at least we are witness to this current one. That is why we are writing about it now so posterity will know exactly what happened. This should have been a time for the two tribes to unite against their common adversary. It should be a time when they present a common and unified front. Our people say when two brothers fight to death, it is the stranger that will inherit their father’s property. Let the Ibo and the Yoruba kill themselves over a non-existent 2023 presidency. The Fulani is waiting in the wings to inherit your ancestral lands when you are all ‘dead’.

Political leadership of the country or the lack of it poses an existential threat to them. They know what they have done (i.e. killings and destruction of lives and properties in various southern and Middle Belt communities). They fear a repercussion. I tell you, as soon as Buhari leaves and a southerner takes over, there could be a backlash on all the criminals hibernating and committing atrocities in southern forests. Throughout Buhari’s tenor, they have used the military to cover their flanks, reason why T.Y. Danjuma said “they collude.” Yoruba will say: “apani ki fe ki ida koja lori oun” which means that a killer does not want a sword to be swung around his head. They fear a reprisal and are scared of the shadow of their past deeds. It is the reason one of their patrons, Gumi can publicly advise them not to vote for a president who will prosecute them. They know what they have done, and that only one of their own, Atiku, will protect them after Buhari.

One fact the southern electorate know but pretend will not play out is the interest of the electoral umpire. The last time I checked, he is an Arewa man. Do southerners believe in their hearts that this man will be an unbiased umpire in this tournament, given the huge price at stakes?
To be continued tomorrow.
Omonua, an officer of the Canadian Armed Forces, lives in Ontario, Canada.