Call us ethnic jingoists for demanding for a governor of Rivers State from Ogoni in Rivers South East Senatorial Zone come 2015 and yes we agree, we are ethnic jingoists. In our demand to occupy Aso Rock, in the build up to 2007 general elections as a region, the entire Niger Delta were also ethnic jingoists.
We applauded and encouraged all our brothers, then serving governors of Niger Delta states when they declared their intention to occupy the nation’s No l seat (Odili, Duke, Attah, Ibori, and Igbinedion) except Jonathan who never indicated interest at least publicly.
Ethnic jingoism will continue to be part of our nation’s heritage as long as we continue to run a sharing based system. God bless those that thought out the need for ‘federal character’ to be reflected in our constitution.
But for federal character, Nigeria would have been thrown into endless crisis as a result of under representation and marginalisation.
If federal character is expunged from the Nigerian Constitution in this present day Nigeria, it will spell doom.
Looking at some of the recommendations of the just concluded National Conference, that the office of the state governors should be rotated amongst the three senatorial districts of each state while that of the local government chairmen should be rotated within the local government areas but one part that caught my fancy was where it recommended that should a sitting president die or become incapacitated, a bye election should be conducted picking a candidate from the same zone to complete his tenure!
Now tell me where else in the world this can be considered? Our specie of democracy is homegrown Yes, home grown and a very rare specie for that matter!
Were America Nigeria, Barrack Obama while campaigning to be U.S President would have told the black voters that it was the turn of blacks.
It is indeed laughable when we are asked to support our ‘brother’ at the top for second term because it is our turn or because he is our son in-law.
We are not ethnic jingoists then, but in a multi ethnic state like Rivers State, we should throw the governorship ‘open’, say no to zoning, say no to tribalism,- say no to ethnic jingoism!
Speaking from the both sides of our cheeks. No sane person from the South-West zone will contest in the 2015 presidential election. Why? It is simple. They know they have had their turn.
If it were for competence and qualification, it won’t have been the same. We will get to a point where neither tribe nor ethnicity will be a factor in our politics but let’s not pretend about it, we are not there yet. A baby needs to crawl, walk before it starts running.
Rivers South East Senatorial zone remains the only zone yet to produce a governor in Rivers State. With Ogonis as a majority in the senatorial zone, the Deputy Governorship has come to the zone twice. It went to our neighbours – Opobo and Andoni.
The Ogonis’ demand for governor of Rivers State in 2015 goes far beyond ethnic or partisan politics. It is about fairness, justice and equity.
Legborsi Esaen
08032700890
