Former spokesman and ex-Director-General of the Peter Obi Presidential Campaign Organisation, Dr. Doyin Okupe, has stated that the South should produce Nigeria’s president in 2027, rather than the North.
Speaking during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Thursday, Okupe said while the 2023 presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, is eminently qualified to contest, it would not be appropriate for him to become president in 2027.
Okupe explained that the issue is not Atiku’s age or competence but geopolitical balance, arguing that the South deserves to complete an eight-year term just as the North did before the tenure of President Bola Tinubu.
“Atiku failed in 2023, not because he was not a good person, but because people felt that a northern Muslim cannot succeed another northern Muslim after eight years,” Okupe said.
“If Atiku still contests in 2027, he has a right. He is eminently qualified and one of the best we have, but geopolitics is an issue.
“The conditionality still persists—a southerner would have just completed four years and needs another four-year term.
“It’s not in the constitution, but we agree that when a northerner does his eight years, a southerner will do. So, the North cannot now terminate the tenure of the South in 2027. It is not going to work.”
Okupe noted that Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, is also eligible to contest in 2027 as a southerner. However, he said it would be difficult for Obi to defeat Tinubu if the latter continues working effectively for Nigeria’s progress.
“Obi can contest. Obi is a young man, very dynamic and very ambitious, but geopolitics is important in a country that has not achieved horizontal and vertical unity.
“The person who is occupying the place right now, Tinubu, is also a southerner, who is doing well.
“We can see what this gentleman (Tinubu) is doing. I wish Obi luck, but it is going to be an uphill task,” Okupe stated.
On potential alliances among opposition politicians to unseat Tinubu in 2027, Okupe expressed doubt, citing Nigeria’s political immaturity and the unwillingness of political actors to make necessary concessions.
“I have been in this game for 40 years and above. I came into politics in 1978. I have been in several talks, discussions, and I have represented my party and movement in several alliances.
“We have not attained that maturity to get to the level of being rational and reasonable and ready to give the necessary concession for a group interest.
“Even if you look at our private businesses, go and check, 90 per cent of business partnerships will crumble within the first three years.
“I wish those who are trying alliance luck, but it is going to end up the same way it has always ended up. All the alliances will end up in futility,” Okupe said.
Reflecting on the alliance that brought ex-President Muhammadu Buhari to power in 2015, Okupe acknowledged that it succeeded because Bola Tinubu, the alliance leader, made significant sacrifices.
“The man who spearheaded that alliance has grown beyond this constitution of naivety and selfishness.
“Everything, he conceded so that the thing could work,” Okupe said, contrasting it with the lack of similar willingness among opposition figures like Atiku, Obi, and Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso.
“If you look at it very well, that kind of maturity does not exist,” he added.
Okupe praised Tinubu’s performance since assuming office, stating that Nigeria is fortunate to have him as president.
“Tinubu has purpose, zeal, and clarity of mind about where he wants to lead the country to.
“It took Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore 31 years to bring Singapore from nowhere to the first-world country it is presently.
“It is either we want this country to move forward and be upgraded, or we want to keep playing politics and destroying the lives of our children,” Okupe added.
