2023: North Being In Power Has Made Nigeria Poorer – Ezeife

Elder statesman and former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife has claimed that the North being in power for the past seven years has made Nigeria poorer.

Ezeife said that the North has dominated every leadership position in the country since 1966 and has taken more than 90 percent of the country’s resources.

In an interview with The PUNCH, Ezeife condemned the call for the North to get four more years after the expiration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s tenure in 2023.

The former governor pointed out that some people in the North do not accept ‘One Nigeria’, adding that the region sees other zones as their footstool.

He said: “The North claim they are born to rule. How can anybody talk about an extra four year term for the North, when since 1966, the North has dominated the leadership of Nigeria?

“The North has taken more than 90 per cent of what is available in Nigeria. Therefore, I don’t expect anybody who is reasonable to go and begin to analyse the number of years each president has spent.

“If the number of years to rule is 100 per cent, the North has ruled for 75 per cent of the time. Everybody should be recognised as a human being and responsible to take care of the welfare of his own family. We should all have equality and the rights of the human person.

“They did not just dominate it fairly; they created state, local government, constituencies all dominated by the North. Since then, the North has doubled the number of the local government of the South.

“Why should the North want to be in power when being in power makes Nigeria poorer? There was a time the World Bank said a part of Nigeria was growing faster than the rest of the world.

“Today, what we hear is that Nigeria is the poverty capital of the world. Who has been in charge to make Nigeria the poverty capital of the world if not the North? Obasanjo did his best. Jonathan was doing very well before they concocted Boko Haram to pull him down.

“I think if the North decides that equality is too much for them to bear, then let us renegotiate and go our separate ways. That time, everybody will beg to come together again, and it will be too late.”