A former governor of Plateau State, Ambassador Fidelis Tapgun, has said that he cannot see any pathway to victory for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar in the forthcoming presidential election.

He dismissed the fears in certain quarters that Atiku’s candidacy cements the polarization of Nigeria into North and South, remarking that what used to be a straight way to victory for a northern candidate over a southern counterpart has become overgrown with weeds.

Tapgun, who at various times served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Kenya and Minister for Commerce and Industries, maintained that although the former Vice President remains his man, the political realities of present-day Nigeria, makes his 2027 voyage very hard to understand.

He remarked that no matter what anybody can say to the contrary, the rotational principle between North and Southern Nigeria has attained a near constitutional acceptance, stressing that patriotic citizens do not see any sane reason for another northerner to succeed the late Muhammadu Buhari after eight years’ Presidency.

In an exclusive interview with TheGuardian in Abuja, the former Director General of Obasanjo/Atiku presidential campaign organization, stated: “This subtle electoral polarisation of the country that those of you in the media project as 2007 election approaches, no longer exists.

“The influence and political activities of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar may not be enough to galvanise the Northern support for the political insurgency of Atiku as you put it. I don’t think so. I don’t know what he’s counting on. He’s my man, but I really do not know what he’s counting on.

“I don’t really know, because if you follow the trend of what has happened since President Bola Tinubu came to office, he has tried to get all parts of the country together. And this thing about the North and the South, presidency rotating from the North and the South, Buhari left. Tinubu took it over from Buhari. Buhari wanted to give it to (Senator Ahmad) Lawan in the North?

“That was why Tinubu said, no, this is our time. It is Yoruba’s time. And when he said Yoruba’s time, he said it’s my own, me because he installed all the people, he installed him (Buhari) that’s why he took this thing.

“And he took it against all odds. They were all watching, they were all looking and he grabbed this thing from them. So, he’s just spending his four years, and you see he wants to take it away, to go to the North, to come to the North and do what? For heaven’s sake. Buhari did eight years. This man should do his eight years before it comes back to you.”

The former Plateau State governor maintained that if Atiku wants to be president, he should wait until 2031, when this Tinubu government is over then he can contest at that, reiterating that for anybody coming from the North now is not doing justice to themselves really.

Tapgun contended that not minding the charting of the Middlebelt as North Central geopolitical, the region would still play its unifying role for the country in 2027, explaining that just like the belt holds the trouser/skirt and shirt/blouse together, the Middle Belt will identify with the notion that the presidency remains in the South for the next four years.

His words: “I don’t know what you mean by the common North. Middle-Belt is not part of that sort of thing. Talking of this common North, you people from the South just say everybody is North, it’s not correct, really. It’s not correct.

“Middle-Belt is a distinct area and it is the area that has kept this country together. That’s why we call it the Middle-Belt. You know, during the Abiola crisis, we went to one of our crisis meetings here in Abuja. I was going back to Jos. So, I stopped at a church in Kafanchan. There was an ECWA Church, they asked me to come in. So, I went in there and after that, I had to talk to the people.

“I told them about what we were doing to sustain the country’s unity. I said look, we are like the belt that holds trouser and shirt firm. You needed to see the thunderous clap in the church that day. They were so happy, it’s just a simple explanation.”

He regretted that the dismantling of the Sarduana-era monolithic north started when some overzealous politicians started opposing the appointment of Middle Best indigenes into federal government position.

“So, this country is held together by the middle Belt. They keep on saying, North, but if it comes to distribution of official appointments they say, no, no, we’re not part of it. You remember Audu Abubakar incident, when Obasanjo appointed the Chief of Naval Staff from Kogi and they said, no, he’s not a Northerner. So, these are the things,” he recalled.(The Guardian)

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