By Ochiaka Ugwu
The clamour for 2023 presidency to be zoned to the southern part of the country got a boost yesterday with Nigeria Equity Group (NEG) drumming support for president of Southern Nigerian extraction with Christian background.
The group who communicated this during a World Press Conference addressed in Abuja Tuesday tagged: “2023 and the Consensus for a Christian President” noted the purpose of the event is to state strongly their position in respect of the 2023 presidential election.
The group’s National Convener, Dr. Emeka Nwosu flanked by its National Secretary, Alh. Mubarak Muhammed informed they are aware that various groups and interests have started positioning for the next election cycle and wish to note that there is nothing wrong with it as humans are essentially ‘political animals’ who are wired to play politics.
“But our concern is that with the deterioration of relations among Nigeria’s multifarious ethnic groups and the heightened tension in the country today, if we do not carefully and wisely manage the journey towards 2023, the visible cracks of our country would get worse, and Nigeria may not survive the next round of crises that would emerge as a result.
“We have observed that in the last six years, Nigeria has faced a high and intolerable level of disunity as inter and intra-ethnic crises have increased ten-fold. Our political environment is now governed by mutual suspicion, hatred and lack of empathy. Our natural fault lines have been so widened that it may soon be difficult to bridge them. This situation has led to frequent crises and violence, which have made Nigeria one of the most terrorized countries in the world”.
Nwosu further stated their calculation was there is a zero chance for a Christian to emerge president when power shifts to North as its populated by Muslims.
He expressed the need for a consensus on a Christian being President in 2023 in order to ensure balance and equity and not to further aggravate ethno-religious crises that are already getting out of hand.
