Northerners won’t vote based on sentiments in 2023, Arewa leaders insist
THE Northern Elders’ Forum ( NEF) has maintained that northerners would not vote along ethnicity and religious lines in electing the president and other political leaders in 2023, saying Nigerians have learnt their lesson at a great cost.
According to its chairman, Prof. Ango Abdullahi, those to be voted into office must have socio- economic development plans for the North and Nigeria at large .
He added that it is politicians, who care for the people before, during and after elections, that would have their votes.
Speaking yesterday as convener of ‘ Northern People’s Summit on barriers between the people and their leaders’, Abdullahi charged the region to “think out of the box and elect a new set of leaders that would do a lot better than the current ones.” Continuing at the event, graced by chieftains of Arewa Consultative Forum ( ACF) and northern youth groups, the one- time vice chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University ( ABU), Zaria advised those agitating for secession to have a rethink, stating that such was not a solution. He called on the Federal Government to treat the threats posed by the agitators with the seriousness it deserved.
He said: “Northern voters have supported three southerners – Abiola, Obasanjo and Jonathan – to victories in the past. Two of them ( were) against northerners.
“Northern voters are enlightened and conscious of their responsibilities. They have learnt, perhaps at a greater cost than most Nigerians, that ethnicity and faith alone do not make good leaders. They would not accept to be further weakened to lose same rights all Nigerians enjoy.
“Those politicians, who want northerners to vote in a particular manner , should soil their boots and convince us how their candidates would improve security, economy and society in the North and the country. Using restructuring as a threat or bar - gaining tool for accepting zoning would imperil the country.”
The don continued: “Politicians and leaders, who desire to lead, need to understand that Nigerians are watching what they do in their immediate constituencies to get our support. We should speak frankly and directly to the rest of Nigeria on this issue.
“Politicians, who cannot impose their influence on irredentists that threaten our corporate existence, lives and livelihoods, stand on very thin, ground in our estimation.