There is no region big, powerful, populated, and rich enough to win the Presidency of Nigeria at any point in time and this is what has just been confirmed by the 2023 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
Newspaper Columnist, and Famous Journalist, Dare Babarinsa made the assertion while speaking on This Morning on TVC News on Wednesday Morning with Yori Folarin.
Mr Babarinsa said for the emergence of a President in Nigeria, there will be an handshake across the regions and across the Niger.
He described the 2023 Elections as the Freest, most peaceful and Fairest Election since the return of Democracy in 1999.
According to Mr Babarinsa the fact the President Elect is celebrating his 71st Birthday and the outcome of the 2023 Elections is a victory for Democracy.
He said the President is one of the heroes of the nations’ Democracy who was driven into exile while people like him were also in the trenches running the famous Tell Magazine in the heady days of Military Dictatorship.
He said the President Elect has been a member of the power game for long and his ability to hold on to Lagos in 2003 was a major source of power for him.
He disclosed that Lagos was used to regroup, rebrand and launch his own brand of Politics and launch an offensive against the Peoples Democratic Party in the Southwest and start regaining States that had hitherto been lost to the Tsunami of 2003.
He added that the 2003 Elections led to the Transformation of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu from just the Lagos Politician to a National Leader who has since then been playing on the National Stage.
Going further o the issue of devolution of powers from the Centre to the Federating units which is viewed with a lot of suspicion by many, he said people who saw friends die in the Civil War see talk of devolution of power as something to be avoided at all costs due to the need to prevent further bloodshed which they think can result from too much devolved power.
He said the Civil War is a cautionary tale against devolution of powers for them.
He however added that the current Federalism is not working well and in the end something must change due to the failure to address issues which has led people to migrate in droves outside of Nigeria.
He said the Political leaders in Nigeria have to think of re-inventing the Federation.
He said from his own point of view as a Nigerian the States are too many as Federating units while also advocating for a revisit of the outcome of the 1995 Constitutional Conference under the late General Sani Abacha.
He added that Political Leaders must start considering the use of the zone as the federating units while the Central is unburdened of most of its current duties which will be devolve to the six regions instead of the current thirty six States.
According to Mr Babarinsa, their is no reason while the Southwestern region will not have its own railways corporation with a link between all the States.
He sad this will also ensure that the Federal Government does not carry unnecessary weight which is already too much for it.
He urged the President Elect to from day one when he is sworn in to office to be bold in his decisions.
He added that changes require a lot of courage and a bold person will not be able to make it happen.
He called for a constitutional amendment to make Nigeria work for all Nigerians which will convince them that they can work, grow and make profit in Nigeria.
He called for a full devolution of powers which will help in bringing developments closer and faster to the people but not necessarily the abolition of the current States structure.
He said the current structure makes it difficult for the people to know where to apportion blame in the event of any infraction or failure.
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