₦airaland Forum

As the events leading to the presidential contests of the next one year slowly unfolds, remember to keep this in mind; President Buharis candidate for the next election is a northerner. There is nothing in the politics or body language of the president that suggests otherwise. The president has been unflinchingly pro North since he assumed power. Almost all appointments go to the North. Most projects go to the North. Most of his administrative set up are northerners and there has been a conscious move to recalibrate the economic base of the country, in a way that guarantees that both the political and economic lives of the country is dictated by northerners.

The president went as far as telling different United Nations agencies and international organizations to concentrate their aids and other helpful activities in Nigeria in the northern part of the country! This very president makes no pretensions about where his loyalty lies. He wears it like a badge of honor. He defends it openly and he goes about the defense of his northern agenda with an uncanny ruthlessness that is uncommon. He has been like this since his emergence in the corridors of power and he has never shown any signs of changing. The only time president Buhari acts as if he rates the south is during campaigns when he badly needs the votes and the geographical spread to win.

As the convention for the ruling party starts in few hours time and as the real move towards the next presidential elections begins, Buhari has refused to show any solid support to any southern politician. He started off trying to pretend like he is above the game and will only support the final product of the convention. But midway, he started talking of a preferred candidate when the trajectory of the political trend within his own party started moving towards a greater support for a southern president. He became so noisy about this socalled preferred candidate that it started to ruffle feathers! As the talk attracted criticisms from many quarters in the country, the president went for his real plan; a choreographed convention.. I think this was deliberate. Why do I think so?

Right from the onset, many northern potential presidential candidates in The APC refused to join the race for the presidency. On the surface, this looks like a good omen as it suggests that the North believes that it is the turn of the south to govern the country. But this is not the reason. The northern politicians that I know have always contested every election in Nigeria, irrespective of the "zoning arrangements". Abubakar Rimi, Atiku Abubakar, Mohammadu Buhari, Sule Lamido, Rabiu Kwankwaso, Ribadu.., name them. They have always argued fervently against zoning and have come out gingerly every presidential election to contest. Again, it is strange and baffling that the presidents men kept encouraging almost all Southern political heavyweights in the APC to come out and contest. Why are they doing this? Did Obasanjo play such nasty game withthe North? No! So why is the pool of The APC presidential contestants so starved of northern politicians?

The answer is simple. The North wants to continue ruling after Buhari but have realized that public opinion is overwhelmingly against this even in the North. They have realized that Buharis unhinged presidency has eroded the reasonable political support the core North used to enjoy from such places as the middle belt and the South South. They know that a northern presidency is a no no in the South East too. That means that it is only the South West that is left. The same South West believes that it is "their turn" to rule! Essentially, the core norths most trusted allies in the South are now the ones who are most probably going to be very wronged with the emergence of another northern president! It looks like finally, the political maradonas of the north have dribbled the region to a political cul de sac! So what is the way out?

Make it look like the North is in support of a Southern president and then leave one Northerner in the presidential contest thereby ensuring that the northern votes in the convention can go in bloc to the real preferred candidate, while encouraging the numerous Southern candidates to cancel themselves off by giving them hope. The North will then use the media afterwards to blame the southern politicians for their "inability to reach a consensus that allowed one Ahmed Lawan to emerge". That looks like the game plan. The withdrawal of the Jigawa states governor from the APC presidential contest few hours ago, living the current Senate President as the only strong Northern Candidate and the utilization of the EFCC agents to checkmate any attempt on the part of a financially bouyant Wike to "usurp" power in PDP, should be pointers to discerning minds.

The EFCC going into the PDP convention ground to thwart any attempt by Southern politicians to match Atiku dollar for dollar was the height of it! Do remember that Atiku Abubakar represented Buhari at the traditional wedding of his son few months ago! With these actions, we are about to face an electoral contest in which the dominant political parties will provide two northerners, all friends to the president as their candidates. This will be done with the governors of the north shouting and pointing to their diversionary press release that suggests their commitments to supporting a president of southern extraction. It is a ruse! It is part of the game plan! The north wants to retain power at all costs because the north is like a fish out of the water without power and they know this.

If it gets too tough as it seems like since Tinubus outburst over their refusal to give him his presidency, the North might surrender The APC presidential candidacy to a southerner, then rig him out in favor of Atiku Abubakar in the general elections proper! Do not forget that a conscious attempt to dilute the rank file of the appeal courts and the supreme court has been going on for them last eight years. They will hear your litigations on any irregularities with the elections. All these northern politicians who are deliberately and auspiciously dramatizing their preference for a southern president are part of this plan and are just playing their part of the script. This includes these avalanche of northern 'ex this and ex that', that follows Southern presidential candidates around as campaign helps. Spies..

Lalasticlala

It is a lie. It is same Buhari that pressured the northern Governors to back a southerner,that the presidency is going to the South. Reason why you see some of the northern aspirants already stepping down.


Buhari's preferred candidate is a southerner, whether Osibanjo or Amaechi,I do not know. But one thing is sure,his preferred successor is a southerner

Buhari candidate is between Osibanjo and Amaechi

Pierohandsome:
It is a lie. It is same Buhari that pressured the northern Governors to back a southerner,that the presidency is going to the South. Reason why you see some of the northern aspirants already stepping down.


Buhari's preferred candidate is a southerner, whether Osibanjo or Amaechi,I do not know. But one thing is sure,his preferred successor is a southerner

We have the northern youths already "attacking" their northern governors for"pressuring" Buhari to hand over to the South. Then you're here saying it was Buhari that pressurized the northern governors to back him in support of a "southern president".
Which is which?

Yes Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Northerner.

Funny enough buhari's top picks were from the SE/SS but the events that unfolded in PDP affected that.

WesternOligarch:
Funny enough buhari's top picks were from the SE/SS but the events that unfolded in PDP affected that.

When you have chosen a successor, you go out and do what you have to do in order to make sure he wins. That's simply the way it happens over here. Obasanjo made Yaradua his successor and there wasn't too much drama as we are seeing today because he was straightforward with that. Buhari controls the party. He nominated the party heads who will set the rule of electing the party flag bearer. When you start seeing this kind of drama, it's because the president has a dubious game plan up his sleeves. If he wanted to make an Easterner his successor, nothing that happened within The PDP will change that Dynamics. This is a Nigerian president not an American or French president.

This president appointed The INEC Chief, the Judges at the Supreme Court and The Appeal Courts, the Police Commissioners in every state and the Army Commanders across the country! Most importantly, this president is not one Goodluck Jonathan. Buhari can NEVER be bullied over his successor. If he pretends like he is being bullied, then he is selling you a dummy and you're buying it. A man who put his life on the line more than three times in different military coups just to usurp power, can't be powerless in trying to fix his successor, while he is the incumbent. Doesn't make sense at all.

I couldn't imagine people just coming up here to make some propagandas, when the headway is already decided, if you are the type expecting Bihari to handpick a candidate in this APC primary, you are just deceiving yourself, there are lots to be considered in doing that in politics and the process is not visible at the moment, consensus within the aspirants is not also visible because of most of the aspirats weight and strength and the don't want any decisions that will affect the party to be taken, hence, the Northerners aspirants are 2nd in the raise, the game is for the Southerners, and if you are thinking it's going to the south/south or south east, Alaye go give yourself a rethink, the hand writing of APC is towards the SOUTH WEST, Bet it on me, VP Yemi Osinbajo and Bola Hammed Tinubu are the only candidate going to the convention next week, you ask me what of Amechi, he's going for third position, my opinion dou

You seem to understand the game. Buhari will make it look like he supported the south but north got it by "mistake". Buhari understand that morality aspect of political warfare

XerXers:
You seem to understand the game. Buhari will make it look like he supported the south but north got it by "mistake". Buhari understand that morality aspect of political warfare

You totally understand the point I'm trying to make. The president understands that The North will be totally alone if it insists openly on continuing to rule postt Buhari. It is as if every other part of the country has gotten tired of the whole northern political domination and are just waiting for Buhari to finish and leave.

So they came up with this idea of encouraging every serious southern politician to contest. The president continued encouraging all of his Southern ministers to contest. All of a sudden, the same northern politicians that were swearing that there was nothing like zoning few weeks ago are now shouting themselves hoarse and dropping well dramatized press releases to inform the whole country that they support zoning!

They're shouting "we have washed off our hands oooo, it is you southerners that refused to agree between yourselves". Meanwhile, they are busy removing every northern obstacles to Lawan and Atiku in both the PDP and the APC... It is a very simple attempt at political treachery. If Buhari wants a southern president, he should go forward and make that happen. When Obasanjo wanted a Northern president, he went out of his way to make Yaradua without any drama.

Shey nah person like this we go take serious? See how he lule for here and he didn't even bother to tell us that his prediction was wrong so if he predict another one tomorrow he go dey expect us to swallow am?