ZONING WITHOUT EQUITY IS A FRAUD: WHY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP, NOT NOISE OR BLACKMAIL, IS THE PATH FORWARD
People are entitled to spin arguments however they wish, but facts are stubborn things. My position has been deliberately misrepresented by those who either refuse to read simple English or are determined to avoid the real issues.
Let me restate it plainly.
As a former Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, if Atiku Abubakar decides not to run for president again, he will naturally retire from partisan politics and assume the role of an elder statesman. That is the established tradition in serious democracies. There will be no “remote control” of supporters, no transferable political capital, and no automatic inheritance of his structure.
That is precisely why what is required in politics is strategic partnership, not social-media blackmail.
You do not get a partner by rushing online to shout insults or demand that someone steps down. That approach is not activism; it is political immaturity of the highest order. Partnerships are built through strategic engagement, negotiation, respect, and realism—not noise.
The Zoning Arithmetic No One Wants to Explain
Those shouting “zoning” or “turn of the South” owe Nigerians—especially Ndi Igbo—an explanation grounded in facts.
Since the return to democratic rule in 1999:
The North has ruled for about 10 years
Umaru Musa Yar’Adua: ~2 years
Muhammadu Buhari: 8 years
The South, by 2027, would have ruled for 18 years
Olusegun Obasanjo: 8 years
Goodluck Jonathan: 6 years
Bola Ahmed Tinubu: 4 years (by 2027)
This is not opinion.
This is arithmetic.
Anyone who looks at these figures and still insists that “it is the turn of the South” must explain how 10 years for the North versus 18 years for the South constitutes equitable zoning.
It does not.
There Is Absolutely NOTHING “South” About the Asiwaju Presidency
As National Coordinator of the South East Patriots (SEP), I say this without hesitation:
there is absolutely NOTHING South about the Asiwaju presidency.
Beyond geography, nothing in the structure, orientation, power balance, or outcomes of the current federal government advances Southern equity—least of all South-East equity.
Any zoning theory that finds nothing wrong with:
Obasanjo (South-West)
followed by Jonathan (South-South)
followed by Tinubu (South-West)
while the South-East has never produced a president, is not zoning. It is institutionalised injustice disguised as fairness.
SEP is not interested in emotional slogans.
SEP is fixated on the shortest, most realistic route to a South-East presidency.
And that route is strategic partnership, not political self-harm.
Beware of Fake News and Manufactured Division
SEP must issue a clear warning.
Those circulating fake news about Atiku Abubakar’s withdrawal—using recycled newspaper headlines from May 2024—are not acting in support of the South-East. They are working, consciously or unconsciously, for Asiwaju, with the sole objective of sustaining division between the North and the South-East.
This tactic is not new.
It is deliberate.
And it is dangerous.
You cannot build consensus through blackmail, intimidation, or misinformation. You cannot force strategic partnerships by lying people out of the race. All such actions achieve is confusion, mistrust, and fragmentation—exactly what those benefiting from the status quo desire.
SEP calls on Ndi Igbo to be vigilant.
Every time you see a fake headline announcing Atiku’s withdrawal—before he has even declared his intention—ask yourself one question:
Who benefits from this lie?
It is never the South-East.
The Danger of Political Jobbers Speaking for Ndi Igbo
Over the years, Ndi Igbo have made a costly mistake: allowing political jobbers to speak for us from their pockets. These are individuals who shout “South” loudly while actively supporting arrangements that permanently exclude the South-East.
SEP can no longer keep silent.
Some of the loudest voices masquerading as defenders of the South are, in reality, the same “Wikes” supporting Asiwaju, while poisoning every viable strategic pathway available to Ndi Igbo.
That deception must stop.
Why Atiku Remaining in the Race Matters
For the avoidance of doubt:
If Atiku Abubakar withdraws from the race now, he will retire from partisan politics and become an elder statesman. That is settled.
Therefore, from a purely strategic standpoint—and based on SEP’s research—it is in the considered interest of the South-East that Atiku remains in the race.
Why?
Because he remains the most strategic partner for achieving a South-East presidency through the shortest and most realistic route.
This is not sentiment.
It is strategy.
It is arithmetic.
It is political reality.
Conclusion
Zoning without equity is a fraud.
Noise without strategy is self-destruction.
Blackmail without leverage is childishness.
The South-East will not get power by shouting “turn of the South” while supporting arrangements that perpetually sideline it. We will only get there through clear-eyed strategy, honest partnerships, and the courage to reject convenient lies.
SEP is done pretending.
SEP is done keeping quiet.
SEP will continue to speak for Ndi Igbo—not from pockets, but from principle.
Obunike Ohaegbu
National Coordinator, South East Patriots (SEP)
Writes from his village in Anambra State
