De-emphasize Zoning, Focus on Governance Issues to Douse Tension, Bafarawa Urges Politicians, Commentators

Adedayo Akinwale

A former Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarawa, has urged politicians and social commentators to stop talking about zoning of presidency in order to douse political tension in the country.

Bafarawa in a statement issued on Sunday said for a long time now, such agitations were getting increasingly strident and causing political tension in the country.

He stated: “It was high time that our politicians piped down on such political issues and concentrate mainly on the issue of good governance so that our country would eventually breathe some peace and tranquility.

“All politicians across the political, tribal and regional divides should come together for the common good of our country. We should do everything possible at our disposal to contribute our quota towards the peace and security of the country.”

The former governor stressed that the agitation for rotation or zoning of the position of the presidency had been the greatest political quagmire for a very long time in the political growth or evolution in the country.

Bafarawa added: “To my knowledge, first as a Nigerian politician with considerable political and governmental experiences, I did not know when and how anybody in the country has arrived at zoning the position of the President to any zone, whether to the South or to North.

“I have no faintest idea that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or even the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) has made any proclamation to the effect that the position of President is zoned to a particular section of the country.”

Bafarawa noted that in recent times, such a sensitive issue along with other similar issues were either being canvassed or deliberately touted thereby causing a lot of political tension and widening the gap of our common unity of the country.

He said, “It has always caused tension, bringing mistrust and threat of restructuring or secession or similar challenges signaling breakup of the country or mistrust among our major tribes and religions.

Bafarawa noted that politicians should be wary of making any comment bordering on the issue of zoning or rotation of the position of President to any part of the country.

“At this crucial period of time when the country is enmeshed in various challenges, I use this opportunity to offer advice to our politicians as well as our numerous socio-political commentators spread across the country to delve less in politics and instead offer more constructive advice on how best the government could get the country out of this mess,” he said.

Bafarawa stressed that offering solutions to solve the problems of insecurity and economic problems would douse the tensed atmosphere brought about by the present insecurity, and similar problems.

He stressed, “I have the hope and confidence that by the time our politicians and social commentators talk less about rotational or zoning of Presidency to zones or regions thus concentrating on substantial issues affecting the country, there would be less tension and or hypes which further divide the country along regional, religious and tribal lines. “