Former Governor of Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, has said Nigeria’s next president should come from the Southern part of the country.
Speaking on Channels Television on Thursday, Shekarau noted that by 2023, President Muhammadu Buhari who is from the northern part of the country, would have been in power for eight years, and “common sense tells one that we should look the other side, to the Southern part of Nigeria”.
When asked about his position on the growing call for a South-East presidency in 2023, he said, “I don’t call it zoning, I would rather call it some balancing. There has to be some sense of belonging. There is what I call the constitution of common sense.
“The Constitution of Nigeria or the constitution of any of the political parties didn’t say if I am from the North, my running mate must be from the South. It is not written but if today, I am a presidential candidate from Kano and I tell you my running mate is from Bauchi, you will say something is wrong with me.
“The presidency has just been from the North for eight years. Common sense tells us that we should look at the other side, to the Southern part of Nigeria. We should recognise the North and the South, this is elementary geography and history.
“Perception is what you have to carry along. If you continue to dominate on one particular side, the perception from the other side is, ‘What about me?’”
