Why It Won’t Be Easy To Produce A Southern President Now, Like It Was In 1999- Olu Falae Explains

As Nigeria inches close to another electioneering season that will usher in leader who will occupy the exhalted office in Aso Rock, analysts and statesmen across the country are already x-raying the probability of achieving a Southern Presidency which is being agitated for by the Southern region.

Former Minister of Finance and presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, Chief Olu Falae has given an insight into what is currently happening in the country compared to what happened in 1999 when the country newly returned to democracy.

Speaking on the Tuesday edition of Arise TV Morning Show, Falae said the mood and situation in the country presently is different from what we had in 1999 that led to the total surrendering of presidential contest to the Southern region.

According to him, the death of MKO Abiola was still relatively fresh in 1999. The Northerners who have held on to power for several decades before then knew that Southern region has been terribly cheated, marginalized and the only way to pacify them was to concede the presidency to them.

Abiola who massively won the June 12 1993 Election was never allowed to rule. He was snetenced to prison for felony. In 1998, Abiola was killed in the prison. His death triggered another unrest across the nation.

A national democratic transition committee was set up which eventually resulted into the birth of democracy in 1999. In the committee, it was agreed that the Southern region should be given the privilege of contesting without opposition from the North.

Hence, Olusegun Obasanjo contested PDP presidential Primaries against Alex Ekuweme and won the ticket. Olu Falae emerged as SDP candidate unopposed. The two candidates from the southwest went into the general election which eventually produced Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as president.

According to Falae, the mood in 1999 was sensitive and pensive. The Northerners have no choice but to allow Southern region take over the presidency without opposition. It was a way of compensating and pacifying them for the denial and death of Abiola.

What we have presently is different. For southerners to be President in 2023, they will have to fight their ways to power. It won’t come on a platter of gold.

Falae explained on Tuesday while appearing as a guest on Arise TV.