2023: Nigeria Equity Group calls for religious, geographical power shift

By Haruna Salami

A non-partisan political organization, the Nigeria Equity Group (NEG), has called on all political parties and other critical stakeholders in the country to work towards ensuring that religion, as well as geography, are considered as key factors in the power shift equation for the 2023 presidential election to give all Nigerians a sense of belonging.

In a press release signed by its Convener, Dr. Emeka Nwosu, and Secretary, Muhammed Mubarak, the group argued that it was only fair to consider a ‘religious power shift’ that would produce a Christian President in 2023 after the eight-year reign of President Muhammadu Buhari who is a Muslim to maintain the careful balancing that has been established since 1999.

“Our position is that after an eight-year rule of a northern Muslim in 2023, it would only be fair and equitable that whoever takes over from him be a competent Southern Christian. The population of Nigeria is shared almost equally by Christians and Muslims and between the North and South, we, therefore, hold that, for the sake of equity, after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari, a Northern Muslim, the position of the President should go to a Southern Christian in 2023,” the group stated.

The NEG, therefore, called on ‘’all the political parties in the country, especially the two major ones- the APC and PDP- to reserve their presidential tickets for Southern Christians in 2023.’’

 ‘’This will not be unusual. In 1999, the two major parties at that time, the PDP and APP, ensured that their presidential candidates were both from the South-West to assuage the historical injustice done to the people of that region with the unjust nullification of the June 12, 1993, presidential election which denied Chief MKO Abiola the presidency”, the statement said.

‘’We wish to put it on notice and state strongly that we will mobilize similar organizations and indeed all Nigerians to work against any political party that does not follow this template in 2023.

‘We are assured that there are many competent Southern Christians with the experience, passion, patriotism, and competence to lead Nigeria towards stability and prosperity, and this is the route we must follow to avoid worsening the division and crises that have plagued our nation.’’