Power Must Shift to South in 2023, Says Zulum

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum, has again aligned himself with the calls by the growing list of prominent Nigerians insisting that power must shift to the South in 2023.

Zulum spoke yesterday in Abuja at the golden jubilee lecture and public book presentation titled: Strategic Turnaround by the former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside.

Speaking on the topic: “Security and Economic Growth: Leadership in Challenging Times,” the governor said: “The issue of power rotation is a covenant between us hence the need to shift the power to the South.

“I have advocated for power to shift to the South and I will continue to do so. Nobody should say that I am saying this because I am looking for the position of vice president; I don’t have an interest. I don’t have an interest in becoming the president or the vice president now. Let the Southerners compete among themselves – be it South-South or South-east or South-west. “This is something we need to do,” he said.

He argued that every part of the country should be given a sense of belonging, insisting that the time has come for Nigeria to do the right thing.
Zulum argued that restructuring, state police and devolution of powers would not solve Nigeria’s problem.

According to him, only a holistic solution to the security challenges would solve the country’s challenges.
Zulum said: “There must be a clear demarcation between competency and loyalty and our leaders must be chosen based on performance.”

He added: “I would advocate as a starting point that good governance is the heart and soul of security and development. Bad governance will spread insecurity and destroy the possibility of development as trust is broken between the elected and the electorate.

“A weak system breeds corruption and in order to survive, people will try whatever means to circumvent due processes and over time this will lead to insecurity.
“The search for alternative means of survival that is not legal constitutes insecurity.”