Former Aviation Minister, Femi Fani-Kayode has revealed the most dangerous threat to peace and unity of Nigeria.
He said the most dangerous threat to the peace and unity of the country is not a Muslim/Muslim ticket but the obstinate and irrational insistence of keeping the Presidency in the North and fielding yet another Fulani candidate from the core North after 8 years of Fulani rule under President Muhammadu Buhari.
Fani-Kayode, in an article, titled: “Governor Okowa, the PDP and Muslim/Muslim ticket,” asked: “Can this be regarded as being reasonable or fair? Has my dear friend and brother Governor Okowa considered this? Does it not in any way weigh on his conscience?
“Does it not present a very real danger to the interests and welfare of the people of the South collectively? Surely the South should have a shot at the Presidency today. Surely it is the turn of the South. And to say otherwise would be insensitive, unreasonable, insulting and unjust.”
Fani-Kayode said in addition to that, it would present a very serious challenge to national unity and stability, saying he was glad that the Northern Governors and leaders of the APC that made this point themselves and insisted on zoning presidential ticket to the South.
The former minister said this spoke volumes for their sense of justice and fair play, stressing that without them and the insistence of their Southern Governor counterparts in the party, it could never have happened.
He added that by way of contrast, the Northern leaders in the PDP and the majority of their Northern Governors, reneged on an earlier agreement with their Southern counterparts led by Governor Nyesom Wike, breached the rules of zoning in their own party constitution, rubbished the efforts of the majority of Southern Governors in their party and insisted on not only keeping the Presidency in the North but also the position of the party’s National Chairman as well.
“This is not only unprecedented but it is also unjust. It is pure wickedness. It is a massive and unwarranted humiliation and slap in the face of every Southerner in their party and that is what Wike, Governor Makinde, Governor Ugwuanyi, Governor Ortom, Governor Ikpeazu and their supporters are struggling against,” he said.
He asked: “Should this not be Governor Okowa’s concern and not our party’s Muslim/Muslim ticket?”
“The obvious permutation that yet another Northern presidential candidate must be presented, given our nation’s history and circumstances, is dangerous for the unity of our country and grievous to the fortunes of their party is totally lost on people like Ayu and that is the concern that more reasonable men like Okowa should have.
“The message the PDP has sent to the entire country by their choice of a Northern presidential flagbearer is that as far as their party is concerned, Southerners are nothing but worthless slaves who are there just to make up the numbers and help to win an election. They are there just to be used and dumped,” he added.
