The Southern Nigeria Frontier SNF, wish to formally respond, to the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), over the provocative statement credited to its Publicly Secretary, Mr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, where he vowed that the North will continue to lead Nigeria, boasting that the region has the majority to produce Nigeria’s President without recourse to any rotational arrangement.
We are amazed, that the position of the Northern Elders Forum, is coming from no other person, than a Mauritanian first generation Nigerian, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed who now feels, that he is more Nigerian than the rest of us, and can as such, appropriate Nigeria’s Presidency at the discretion of the NEF.
We wish to state unequivocally, that the position of the self acclaimed Northern Elders Forum, is not only an illusion by the NEF, the truth remains that Baba-Ahmed’s North will rule only its corner of the country continuously uninterrupted, and not our own Nigeria in general.
While not willing to unnecessarily dignify the NEF, which has become famous as a group of crisis enterprenuer, the SNF wish to unequivocally state, that successor of President Muhammadu Buhari come 2023 must come from the Southern part of the country, this we remain, uncompromising about.
If it is the wish of Baba-Ahmed and his NEF, to hold on to the leadership of Nigeria, as long as it desired, we must remind them, that they will only rule their corner of Nigeria and not the country as a whole.
Perhaps the NEF is in desperate bid for forceful leadership and territorial control, we can without contestation, permit them to hold on to their territories that are speedily being lost to insurgency, occasioned by bad leadership in the North, particular in the Northwest, up to the stretch of Sambisa Forest, with the exception of the middle belt region, and we have no problem with that.
It is only morally and conventionally right, that the next President of Nigeria should come from the Southern part of the country, this ordinarily should not be a subject of debate, except when such is being stirred by crisis enterprenuer like Baba-Ahmed and his NEF.
As a people of the South, we will no longer watch Northern Nigerians reduce Nigeria to their private estate, and abuse power to the detriment of others. Therefore, after President Buhari’s second term which expires in 2023, the Presidency of Nigeria, must come back to the Southern part of the country.
Enough is enough.
Signed:
Olufemi Lawson
Spokesman,
Southern Nigeria Frontier SNF
