By Chris Ochayi, Abuja
Nigeria as a country has seen very little development since independence as a result of political marginalization, which exists amongst tribes and ethnicities in the country. And because of this obstacle, relative progress is difficult to attain.

For the wide divide between the very rich and the very poor to be bridged, political power should not just revolve around a certain group of people or tribes, who by any means, will seek power for the pleasure of it, as has been the case in Nigeria where smaller tribes like the Ijaws, the Ibibios, the Efiks, the Anangs, the Idomas, the Igalas, the Beroms and every other smaller tribe have beenv sidelined, politically and economically by the majority  tribes.

In the history of  Nigeria’s democracy,the seat of the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been a position occupied by a select few-the major ethnic groups.

To achieve true democracy, measures should be put in place and such measures as  political structure, policy or legislation  would ensure that power is equally distributed amongst capable and deserving hands.

Only the Hausa-Fulani’s (Northerners) and the Yoruba’s (Westerners) have ruled Nigeria since its independence from the British in 1960.

When a new chapter of equal distribution of power in the country’s history book opened in 1999, with the gentlemen agreement of power zoning, it was a Yoruba man, in the person of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that benefited from the formula.

This conception was a political solution to compensate the Yoruba nation over the annulment of the June 12, 1993 Presidential election, which their illustrious son, late Chief MKO Abiola, was believed to have won .

With these majority warlords, political power in Nigeria, particularly, at the centre seemed to belong to particular tribes to the detriment of the minority ethnic groups. People must understand that to be a strong and progressive unit, they must see past ethnicity, tribes and geographical boundaries.

As a country with 36 states, 250 ethnic groups and over 140 million people, many minorities in the Middle Belt, in Niger  Delta states, and elsewhere in the country have felt marginalized for long. That feeling persists till  date.

Above all, there must be a political will amongst the powers that be to find a way to bring the marginalization of  minority tribes to an end in the country.

To this end, an attempt was made when the minority ethnic groups from the North Central, South South and North East geo-political zones converged in Abuja, the nation’s capital, where they demanded that President Goodluck Jonathan should be allowed to contest the 2011 presidential election.

In fact, the convener of the Abuja meeting, and former Senate President, Senator Ameh Ebute did not leave anyone in doubt when he declared that, now is the time to correct the decades of the political marginalisation of the minority groups in the country.

Operating under the aegis of Congress for Equality and Change, CEC, the pressure group, had particularly requested that a special consideration  be given to the South South by zoning the 2011 presidency to the zone in order to address the  suffering of the region.

National Chairman of CEC, Senator Ebute pointed out further that, since zoning was introduced as a political solution to  the issues bothering on inequality and unfairness, the South South geo-political zone should produce the next president in 2011.

“If there is going to be zoning, President Jonathan should benefit because of the peculiar nature of the region he comes from, and given the fact that the South South has not produced the president before”, he insisted.

Those who attended the meeting include, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, (Rtd), General Haladu Hannaniya, Senator U.J Yuhanna, Dr. Pogo Bitrus, Senator Jonathan Zwingina, Lawrence Ugbale, Senator Alex Kadiri, Dr. Bala Takaya, Senator Janfa, General Ibrahim Sabo, Engr. Benson Abounu and Ambassador Wiberforce Jatu.

Others were, Chibudun Nwuche, Esther Uduehi, Chief P.Y Diokpara, General Sam Oviawe, Chief Jackson Udoh, Chief Ita-Hensaw, Chief Bolere Ketebu, Senator Francis Okpozu, Chief Anyakeme Whiskey, Hon. Peter Igbodo and Mathias Ofoboche amongst others.

According to Ebute, “our support is justifiably premised on the special circumstances of the South South geo-political zone, where President Jonathan comes from, which ecology has been gravely devastated as a result of oil and gas exploration activities for over 50 years; a zone which has never produced a president for Nigeria but contributes over 80% of  the total federal  revenue”.

He added, “Nigeria and all its past leaders have been feeding fat on revenue accruing from the oil and gas resources of this deprived minority zone”
“By the history of long suffering of this region, we believe strongly that the circumstances which led to the special consideration of zoning the Presidency to the South West zone in 1999 should equally apply to the South South zone today.
“As a body which is committed to the pursuit of “equality for all” we wish to state that we would fully support President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2011 presidential elections if he decides to do so. He has no constitutional inhibition and as such cannot be barred by any other consideration, including the vexing issue of zoning from contesting.
“We believe the political space is wide enough to accommodate all entrants. It is therefore not acceptable to Congress for politicians to throw invectives at opponents and manipulate the audience rather than channelling their energies toward the pursuit of the political ambitions.
“The use of threat and provocative language to intimidate political opponents is crude, timid, violence prone and unacceptable. Experience has shown that such prophets of doom are always the first batch of Nigerians to fly to their illegally acquired mansions abroad during crisis”, he said.
“Much as we are not perturbed by such threats of political holocaust, we will always be ready to perform our patriotic duties of ensuring the preservation of the unity and oneness of this country, a duty we have been performing even as marginalized minorities at every critical era of our national life.
“Our history as a nation has been replete with experiences of marginalization of minority ethnic nationalities in the South South, North Central, North East and other minority elements in the country, a fact which substantially informed the formation of the Congress.
“The primary objective of the Congress is therefore to ensure that all disadvantaged groups are accorded equal opportunities and treatment within the Nigerian polity regardless of place of birth, religion and ethnicity”, he said.
Describing the meeting as a new dawn, Ebute noted, it is new approach to positive political transformation to strengthen the bond of unity among component units of the country, which is rooted in the coming together of peoples of the North Central, North East, the South South and indeed Nigerians of other geo-political zones who share similar historical and political experiences.
He said, “and those who believe in a Nigeria where all are equal and who are also convinced that positive transformation is essential and critical to the attainment of a detribalised Nigeria devoid of ethnic, religious and sectional differences which bedevil our society today.