*THE SOUTH*
1. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (SW), 8 years.
2. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan (Ijaw), 6 years
3. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (Yoruba), 4 years.
The South would have occupied the position for *18 years.*
*THE NORTH*
1.Alhaji Musa Yar’Adua (Hausa-Fulani), 2 years
2. Alhaji Mohammadu Buhari (Hausa-Fulani), 8 years.
The North has occupied the position for *10 years*.
From this simple truth, where is the equity Okupe and Co are preaching?It goes without saying that in the spirit of the unwritten gentlemanly political agreement, the North is in deficit and therefore should produce the next president in 2027.
For those who drag the military era leadership into the argument, may I remind them that military regimes were not democratic. They were expensive gambles whose penalty for failure was death. Bisalla, Dimka, Vatsa, Orkar, and others are sad reminders of the cost of coup failure whether real or phantom.
The military era was dominated by northern leaders – Yakubu Gowon, Murtala Mohammed, Muhammadu Buhari, Ibrahim Babangida, Sani Abacha, and Abdulsalam Abubakar. Ironsi, Obasanjo and Abdulsalam Abubakar were circumstantial leaders. The others dared, executed successful coups and became leaders.
Did the Northern soldiers stop other military officers from other parts of the country from planning coups? No! Who suffered many deaths by execution for coup failures? The North!!
When we chose to remain blinded by ethnic sentiments in our old age, I wonder what legacy we are bequeathing to our children and our future generations unborn.
Written by Ibrahim Balami from Potiskum