Following the official declaration and announcement of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as winner of the February 25 presidential election having polled 8, 794, 726 votes, the President – elect in his acceptance speech has demonstrated his passion for a fair and just society, with this extract from his speech – “I will be a fair leader to all Nigerians”.
President-elect Bola Tinubu
From the breakdown of the results of the presidential election , it is obvious that the South East geographical zone comprising Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra and Imo states voted en- masse for the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, who polled 6, 101,533 cumulatively with the APC presidential candidate getting the lowest votes from the South East compared to other geographical zones across the country. However, the President’ elect has further exhibited statesmanship and sportsmanship with his compassionate acceptance speech.
The result from the South East couldn’t have been better owing to the marginalization that has been consistently meted out to the zone since the civil war . It is time now for Tinubu, who we know to be a selfless, patriotic, genuine and progressive leader to correct the imbalance by zoning the position of Senate President among other key appointments to the South East as a way to pacify, earn the trust and restore faith of Ndigbo in the Nigerian project. This way, the President -elect will forever be remembered for his genuine commitment to a just and fair Nigeria.
I know this piece will attract positivity and negativity from various quarters depending on how it is appraised but truth be told, Nigeria will only be great if all geopolitical zones are treated fairly and equally.
I wish Tinubu continued success in the noble task of building a prosperous Nigeria.
Adamu Kadir writes from Kano
