The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Concerned Members’ Forum, Katsina State, Alhaji Aliyu Sani, has urged restraint and full compliance with the provisions of zoning in the constitution of the party. The founding member of the PDP argued that President Goodluck Jonathan ceases to be part of the mandate given to the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua by 2011.
He spoke on this and other topical issues to Daily Sun in Katsina, Katsina State. Excerpts:

Reaction on PDP’s decision that says zoning stays but Jonathan can contest
PDP is our party and it is a great because we have great people among us. We have people who can decide, we have people who can deceive and people who can come up with things like the doctrine of necessity. We have a lot of clever people in PDP.

An average Nigerian knows that these people who claim that Jonathan can contest are deceiving him. Jonathan himself knows that the people are deceiving him because he is a respected gentleman who is worth his salt. I don’t believe Jonathan will allow himself to be deceived by those surrogates.
All the political manouvres going on in the Wadata Plaza in Abuja and other places including up North is nothing, but the desperation of people trying to make money or something out of nothing. But the real fact is that the North is one solid entity that cannot in anyway and will never relinquish power to any part of the country as far as 2011 is concerned. We are one and solid entity.

Even those who call themselves the foot soldiers of Jonathan, going about campaigning for him, telling people lies are not serious because it is their own trade. They are used to that, they are always ready to be hired and people have already known them.
There is nobody among them that can call 10 to 29 northerners and tell them what to do, you can see the roll call. Some lost relevance long ago, some lost relevance during the Third Term agenda of Obasanjo which failed woefully. Some of them are not taken seriously even in their wards.

It is funny when some people continue to say Jonathan should contest and are sponsoring youth groups and some greedy elders claiming it is unfair to deny Jonathan the right to contest while others say those opposed to Jonathan are interfering with God’s decision. Which God? The only God we know which creates everything and everyone is the one that has given power to the North. He is the one that took it away at the time He wanted by taking Umaru. May his soul rest in peace. That God is still very much alive and He is the God we worship. We know He is with us, we tell Him everyday that this power which belongs to us must remain in the North until 2015.

That Yar’Adua/Jonathan ticket subsists till 2015
That is bull shit. In which part of the North is Jonathan from? Was he born in Zungeru or Sokoto? What ticket are you talking about? It was Umaru that picked Jonathan as running mate and the ticket terminates with Umaru.
If Umaru who was given the mandate to contest for four years by the North had been alive and found not to be suitable, the North would have changed him and Jonathan would not be there.

Whoever the North decides to field would have another running mate. May be, from the South-East or South-South, but this time around, it could be Peter Odili or another person. The ticket is with the President not the Vice President.
The counter argument of some clever people who want to sap Nigeria or the economy or use Jonathan to make some money out of the nation’s coffers or just trying to bulldoze their way back to reckoning by telling lot of lies is false. The ticket is not for Jonathan, it is for Yar’Adua and it terminates in 2011.

Generational shift
You cannot divorce maturity from leadership. The generational shift they are canvassing is good but how many of us are ready for that? How many among the youth have proved their worth or have even the guts to come now and say they want to contest?

You see, wisdom is a gift from Almighty God. The country as it is now, needs a lot of guidance. A young man cannot guide the nation. There are a lot of implications in leadership. You cannot know until you are able to be part and parcel of leadership. If you don’t know the intricacies of leadership, you cannot lead.
Leadership is not just about occupying an office. You are going to lead a complex society like Nigeria with over 250 different tribes with different cultures and different religions. So, we need someone who actually understands Nigeria. The knowledge of most youth of today is limited to their offices and areas of specialization.

By the time the nation is put in the right perspective, on the right footing, where probably you get a credible leader that can do away with a lot of things like corruption and other societal ills and restore peace, then the new generation can assume leadership because the setting would be right for them. But for now, there are lots of problems.
This is why, in as much as I believe in generational shift, I also want the youth and people of my own category to be part of the government and learn governance. They should learn the intricacies of leadership and understand Nigeria as it is with all its complexities. Then we can aspire to be president when the setting is right. But for now, we need a mature person.

Consensus candidate from the North
Actually, you see, each and every member of the PDP can aspire to become the President, provided he satisfies all the criteria. But what is most important is how credible are you. I am sure if level-playing ground is provided and a free and fair primary is conducted, whoever loses will certainly support the winner. I assure you when a credible candidate emerges, it will be a balance fight between PDP and whoever emerges in the other parties.

Jonathan and 2011
My advice to Jonathan is to come out in clear terms. If he is trying to use people to know the psychology of Nigerians, I think he is trying to add salt to injury. As a leader, one has to be straightforward. He has the right to contest constitutionally.

He was part of the zoning arrangement as such I advise him to step down in 2011. He should not in any way allow himself to be deceived. He should make it categorically clear to Nigerians that he is not contesting. If he does that, he becomes a hero and all Nigerians not only northerners will root for him come 2015. For now, I advise him not to ridicule himself because he will be disgraced.

Babangida, Atiku and Gusau
Yes. I think the most suitable among the trio under PDP is the one we are waiting for and that is General Aliyu Gusau. He is a man of principle and he is a very strong candidate. He is forthright and he will never disappoint. Gusau is the only person that can deliver, others have been tested and we have seen their performances. I am not saying they are not capable, but Gusau will perform because he has a better understanding of Nigerians and Nigeria.
Societal ills like corruption, robbery and kidnapping will be drastically reduced if Gusau is given the mandate next year. He is the man we are waiting for. If he declares his ambition, I am sure the whole country will root for him. As far as we are concerned, he is the best candidate of the PDP.

The new Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is gaining popularity rapidly in Katsina State among others. Do you think Governor Ibrahim Shema will retain his seat next year?
This is funny. When you said CPC could take over the governance of Katsina State, I laughed. First of all, you look at the credentials of the governor. You look at the projects and programmes this gentleman has executed in three years. By all standards, we know, you have been in Katsina so you know what the governor has executed in three years surpassed what Yar’Adua did in eight years. This is a common knowledge and we proclaim it everywhere. If you are honest to yourself, you will admit it.

People who have left PDP for other parties are entitled to their rights. Every Nigeria has the right to join any party of his or her choice. Katsina State indigenes are aware of what the governor has done for them. The governor has being trying to ensure the people of Katsina get the best. For this reason, there is no party, no party I repeat, can upstage PDP in Katsina in the coming gubernatorial election, no matter who is fielded. I assure you of this.




http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/30/national-30-08-2010-001.htm

Jonathan should watch both his front and back. Haba! Some of these northerners are becoming disgusting with their regular, puerile verbal puke and cholera. From snatching up every available space in the media in their anti-Jonathan campaign to contracting marabouts and cut-and-join prophets that scream doom all over town. They are really kicking tenuously like a dying broiler chicken while exposing their vulnerability. I still say, shut up, all of you, and field a strong candidate against Bro Joe come next year.

Talk is cheap. The man is entitled to his opinion. I surely know he is not speaking for me. By the way, who or what does North refer to? To the best of my knowledge, it is a heterogeneous entity with varying (and often conflicting interests). His purpose could be better served by being more precise such as say, the Hausas or something of that nature.

Do the Hausa not make up the majority of the north? And the Kanuri will go along with them as "One North."

I see that the North is going to do a power-play. If they pick and Igbo VP and then agree to give up the spot by 2015, then the Igbo will go along with the north on this issue.

Why won't dis man shut his trap!North-West might be one but please but involve North-Central and North-East.Anytime u want to cheat u'll say the North is one.No,we are not!

what is d problem of dis northern leaders, so the people that are dieng of cholera no even concern them,are u elders sick up stairs or what, that u only think about yourself and not your people.and i dont blame you i blame all ur youth that were being force to go to school and refuse because they wanted to rear cow if not they would have realise the importance of education

debeginin:

Why won't dis man shut his trap!North-West might be one but please but involve North-Central and North-East.Anytime u want to cheat u'll say the North is one.No,we are not!

Rotflmao.

talk about one ignorant leprous fool who does not even know where the monthly allocation his states gets comes from.
these fools should go to their neighbors niger republic and taste the poverty then they will come back to us the south to employ them as our laborers.
they are not even grateful that God made lord ugard to join them with the south, they want to rule
awon ode!

@ Eze

Do the Hausa not make up the majority of the north? And the Kanuri will go along with them as "One North."

I see that the North is going to do a power-play. If they pick and Igbo VP and then agree to give up the spot by 2015, then the Igbo will go along with the north on this issue.

With IBB they wont. He has never honored his words from records. With some1 else may be. Remember the North(especially IBB) has never trusted Igbo officers and they will just use us and dump us. IBB is poisonous, Buhari seems honest but very rigid!

Cant these people hold their peace and stop all these ranting and bla-bla-bla-bla all the time. I can not imagine an aged and experience man just keep on talking blabla the North will do this North will do, heaven will fall, rain will fall and so pls can you just shraaaaaaaaaaaappppp!!!! for goodness SAKE and stop all these childish rants. You kept on saying this and that and the person you all attacking never utter a single word to attack anybody or the North this is just a sign of maturity and compusure rather than blablablablablublublu North will do this North will do that

Anyman God did not disgrace no man can disgrace him take or leave it. If GEJ is destine to carry on as a president after 2011 nothing will anybody do anyone who is talking of trouble or disgrace will even ends up be disgrace. Please all these old unmature talker should grow no one is afraid of the North anylonger gone are those days.

I dont know why they are just worry about him PDP  said he can contest if he want to so whatelse is the problem now or is it GEJ that mandate it for PDP that he can contest? I guess No. So whoever want to contest should comeout devote his time on his plan on how to win not to be running a scary, fruitless talks to scare people or intimidate someone so Mr Sani or Chief sani or Alhaji sani or whatever grow up and talk sense not blabla wait till the election begin ok.

Talk is cheap. The man is entitled to his opinion. I surely know he is not speaking for me. By the way, who or what does North refer to? To the best of my knowledge, it is a heterogeneous entity with varying (and often conflicting interests). His purpose could be better served by being more precise such as say, the Hausas or something of that nature.

A venerable old man once told me that opinions are like the buttocks, everybody has one. The problem is the use to which the buttocks is put. Some use it to desecrate an environment and cause offence. It can also be used in a decorous and civilized manner. Tke a pick.

ranting of a deranged thief

Why is this information coming through sun newspaper ? The ibo are really against jonathan presidency,na wao

EzeUche:

Do the Hausa not make up the majority of the north? And the Kanuri will go along with them as "One North."

I see that the North is going to do a power-play. If they pick and Igbo VP and then agree to give up the spot by 2015, then the Igbo will go along with the north on this issue.

Why would igbo "go along" with northerners and not Jonathan who is from the old east has igbo name- has igbo roots and is more igbo than anyone?

does that make sense to you?

Niaja is far bigger than north or south or whatever any1 feels, If d man is good enough then let him be,

~Bluetooth:

Why is this information coming through sun newspaper ? The ibo are really against jonathan presidency,na wao

If this is your best input to this thread, then, accept my sympathy.

slap1:

If this is your best input to this thread, then, accept my sympathy.

What i still find hard to decipher is why the ibo can't support jonathan but instead wanted ibb by all means ?

Any Igbo man that want to support a Northerner is free to do so. After all these Ijaw men will never support any Igbo man.  As for me, Jonathan should be supported not because he is the messiah but we only want power to change hand and again most Hausas think they can rule anytime they want.  As for South-South, they hate Igbos die.  Take it or you leave it. 

Meanwhile, Jonathan has no Igbo root.  Forget that mockery story.  He is an Ijaw man.  You can only say people like Odili and others are Igbos but Jonathan is not.

North may win if they bring a detribalise candidate like Late Yaradua.

Where is becomerich to come and map out the region in order for this thread to be
properly addressed.

We Igbos must stop attaching Ijaws and some other South-Southerners to us just because of oil. They hate us and we have our own oil. They may think I'm going off point. Go and ask real Igbos about Ijaw's hatred against Igbos.

~Bluetooth:

What i still find hard to decipher is why the ibo can't support jonathan but instead wanted ibb by all means ?

What I still find hard to decipher is why your conclusion is inconclusive.

as for jonathan, instead of getting the masses on his side, he is busy investing on 3 jets at a time.
i mean just months before the general election! who are his political advisers? politically, he is a neophyte.
the wise thing should have been a public-oriented spending. why not deny yourself the luxury of a sleek jet just for a few month?
in the process of getting himself a middle- eastern royal treatment, he has lost a lot of goodwill.
with many now doubting his leadership credentials.
is he somebody who could be a non-conformist/dissident and a challenger of the annoying status quo?

its a pity you Igbos will never l[b]earn a lesson at a single time, its sure that if you support the North in the election and Jonathan win against your odds, definitely your marginalization has just started, cant you asked yourself this question
[/b]
HOW MANY TIMES IN NIGERIA HAS AN INCUMBENT PRESIDENT LOSE AN ELECTION

slap1:

What I still find hard to decipher is why your conclusion is inconclusive.

seanet02:

its a pity you Igbos will never l[b]earn a lesson at a single time, its sure that if you support the North in the election and Jonathan win against your odds, definitely your marginalization has just started, cant you asked yourself this question
[/b]
HOW MANY TIMES IN NIGERIA HAS AN INCUMBENT PRESIDENT LOSE AN ELECTION

i think i don't need to SLAP you to decipher this one now.

How many of this people talking now are delegates to PDP primaries??

That is where the (S)election starts before the one we all will participate on.

~Bluetooth:

Why is this information coming through sun newspaper ? The ibo are really against jonathan presidency,na wao

Sun newspaper belong to Orji Uzor Kalu and he is positioning himself as VP for his fellow looter. Sun is not known for authentic news.

saintchux:

Sun newspaper belong to Orji Uzor Kalu and he is positioning himself as VP for his fellow looter. Sun is not known for authentic news.

you have said it all. orji kalu is a real looter of the peoples treasury, all he knows is making noise and then go back to eat his vomit.
kalu is a political jobber and nothing but a looter

saintchux:

Sun newspaper belong to Orji Uzor Kalu and he is positioning himself as VP for his fellow looter. Sun is not known for authentic news.

What has Sun Newspaper done? So you want Sun Newspaper to cover only Jonathan's speech or any article that support his ambition and opposition silenced? The usual Africa politics!

Again, remember that Orji Kalu has been a billonnaire before joing politics, but Janathan a class room teacher before joining politics is a multi-billionnaire today. Who is now a looter?

saintchux:

How many of this people talking now are delegates to PDP primaries??

That is where the (S)election starts before the one we all will participate on.

Everybody claims to be a founding member of PDP including this mallam, abeg make una find one adviser position in GJ cabinet for this guy and he will sing a new song Na dia way!

I think the problem is simple, the PDP made a provision for zoning in their constitution, if they are gentlemen then why won't they honor agreements? This is the 4th republic and the PDP being the party that is likely to determine the winner of presidential elections for the next 20 years should not start off Nigeria's "democratic" 4th republic with deceit. The agreement is clear, that "political offices shall rotate among the zones" The north is not saying that they want to rule indefinitely, but till 2015 only which will be approximately the 8 years the north is entitled to under the zoning arrangement. Obasanjo did his 8 years. Now its the north. The north didn't say that Jonathan (who is a product of zoning) should step down after Yar'adua's death to enable a northerner (Yayale) finish out Yar'adua/north slot. The north was politically mature and decided to allow the then VP to ascend to the presidency. Now the north is saying they refuse to be short changed.

Simple, if you want to discard of the agreement, then wait till it fully rotates and get together as a party and do away with the agreement, you don't rescind on agreements half way through it. Thats not fair, it goes against common courtesy. The 4th republic was supposed to be the birth of a New nation, new ideals, had the north wanted (practically speaking) they would have held on to power given their dominance in the military and security apparatus of the nation (the most important institutions in maintaining power) But the north yielded and allowed Obasanjo 8 years (which he used to dismantle northern interests particularly in banking) So my brothers and sisters, please let common courtesy prevail, abide by the pre-existing zoning agreement. Discard of it after everybody has done their fair share.

I think the problem is simple, the PDP made a provision for zoning in their constitution, if they are gentlemen then why won't they honor agreements? This is the 4th republic and the PDP being the party that is likely to determine the winner of presidential elections for the next 20 years should not start off Nigeria's "democratic" 4th republic with deceit. The agreement is clear, that "political offices shall rotate among the zones" The north is not saying that they want to rule indefinitely, but till 2015 only which will be approximately the 8 years the north is entitled to under the zoning arrangement. Obasanjo did his 8 years. Now its the north. The north didn't say that Jonathan (who is a product of zoning) should step down after Yar'adua's death to enable a northerner (Yayale) finish out Yar'adua/north slot. The north was politically mature and decided to allow the then VP to ascend to the presidency. Now the north is saying they refuse to be short changed.

Simple, if you want to discard of the agreement, then wait till it fully rotates and get together as a party and do away with the agreement, you don't rescind on agreements half way through it. Thats not fair, it goes against common courtesy. The 4th republic was supposed to be the birth of a New nation, new ideals, had the north wanted (practically speaking) they would have held on to power given their dominance in the military and security apparatus of the nation (the most important institutions in maintaining power) But the north yielded and allowed Obasanjo 8 years (which he used to dismantle northern interests particularly in banking) So my brothers and sisters, please let common courtesy prevail, abide by the pre-existing zoning agreement. Discard of it after everybody has done their fair share.

Guyman02:

Everybody claims to be a founding member of PDP including this mallam, abeg make una find one adviser position in GJ cabinet for this guy and he will sing a new song Na dia way!

you just said it, one board member appointment and this anti GJ will start singing Jonathan staright, Typical Nigerian, always after their POCKET