Why power must shift to south in 2023, by Zulum

Borno State Governor, Babagana Zulum, has called for a power shift to southern Nigeria in 2023, explaining that power to the south will enhance the country’s political security.

He stated this yesterday while delivering a lecture on ‘Security and Economic Growth: Leadership in Challenging Times’ at the launch of the book, Strategic Turnaround, Story of a Government Agency, by Dakuku Peterside

The author is the former Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

He urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to heed his advice and keep to previous agreements made to shift power to the southern part of the country in the next dispensation.

“I have advocated for power shift to the south and I am not saying this so that I will become the vice president.

“Although it is not enshrined in the constitution, power rotation is a covenant in our political party, and as a devout Muslim it should be kept,” the professor said.

He used the opportunity to blame the poor handling of Boko Haram terrorism in the early years and the corruption of government officials for the insecurity in the country, adding that the mistake Nigeria made that led to the banditry in the country was ignoring poor countries around it.

“If Nigeria had emulated some European countries and empowered their poorer neighbours, the situation would have been mitigated,” he asserted.

According to the governor, military interventions and even national restructuring cannot stop the crisis; hence he called for strategic leadership and social re-orientation to end insecurity in the country.

His words: “The greatest mistake made by the Nigerian government when insurgency broke out some years back was to think of the problem as only Borno’s. Restructuring will not solve the problem of insecurity in Nigeria.”

A fragile North East will ensure the North West is fragile; a fragile North West will also make the North Central fragile; a fragile North Central will ensure the South-South, South East, and South West are fragile.

“There is a need for a national security policy that focuses on good governance, delivery of basic services, economic reconstruction, and sustainable development, and security sector reform.”