Nigerian senator and human rights activist, Shehu Sani has said that it is possible for power to shift from the North to South in 2023 only if the two major political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) resolve to pick their presidential candidates from the South.

Shehu in an interview with THE SUN expressed fear that if the parties decide to choose their candidates from the North and the South, there is a tendency that people will vote based on religion, ethnicity and regional lines.

Sani advised the South West and the South East to resolve their political differences and come up with a common position that the entire Southern region with rally round for a smooth power shift to the South in 2023.

Sani while speaking on the challenges said “ethnicity, religion and sectionalism; particularly nepotism has been a serious threat and impediment to the unity of our country.

“It is not about competent persons or rotational presidency; it is preserving the unity of the country. It is unsafe for one part of the country to dominate the political affairs of the country in the name of democracy; it is unfair and unjust and a serious threat if we say the national anthem belongs to all of us, the national flag belongs to all of us, the national pledge belongs to all of us, let there be the practicalization of those things that belong to all of us.

“We can have a democracy and rotational presidency at the same time as much as one part of the country is able to produce a leader, another part of the country should be able to produce a leader.

It is unfair to say because you are Igbo, you are Berom, you are Nupe, you are Kanuri, you are not the majority so you cannot produce a leader. It is only when you have a country that you can have democracy, it is only when you have a country that you can say your ethnic group is the majority if you don’t have a country, where will you use as a territory to say you are majority in numbers and I think that should be clearly understood.”

Asked if the shifting of power from the North to the South is possible in 2023?

Shehu said it possible if only when all the major political parties resolve to bring out candidates from the Southern part of Nigeria if one political party brings one candidate from the North and another from the South, then you can expect what will happen.

So, this is not simply a party thing, it’s simply about our country. It is unfair to think that God has ordained one part of the country to always produce leaders because they are more in number, it is wrong for you to think that. As far as I am concerned, it is fair for all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, if the North is in power, it is fair for the South to also be in power but people used to ask, should it go to the South West or should it go to the South East? I think it is up to the people of the South to decide where the power is going to go.

But we shouldn’t deceive ourselves that the historical disharmony, discontent and disunity between the South West and the South East have always been to the advantage of the North.

So, the first condition is power can move easily to the South if the two major political parties all resolve to keep Nigeria safe as one on the ideals of the rotational power.

Citing the second condition, Shehu said it is possible if the people of the South have agreed to put their house in order and resolve that this is what is going to happen.

If two political parties, one fields the South, another field the North, it will be easy for people to vote for the one that comes from their region because ideals differ from reality, he added.