Nigeria Content Online

Governor Mamuda
Shinkafi, of Zamfara State, at the weekend expressed his support for
the 2011 presidential ambition of former military ruler, Ibrahim
Badamosi Babangida. Mr Shinkafi spoke with newsmen in Abeokuta after he
was conferred with chieftaincy title of ‘Aare Rotoba’ and his wife,
Aishat Babangida-Shinkafi as ‘Yeye Aare Rotoba’ of Owu Kingdom by the
Olowu of Owu, Adegboyega Dosunmu.

“He is the most
popular candidate at the moment because he has people in all the local
government in Nigeria and, as the president said, everybody is free to
contest election, we can see all aspiring now,” said Mr Shinkafi. The
governor, who is son-in-law to the former dictator, said it is his
belief that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) will
conduct free and fair elections. “There is internal democracy, there is
general democracy,” he said. “We belief President Jonathan will give
free and fair election in Nigeria which everybody, both within Nigeria
and outside, are going to be impressed with.”

Mrs
Babangida-Shinkafi said she is happy with the chieftaincy honour. “I am
very very happy,” she said. “This is the happiest moment in my life.
This has shown that I am their blood, and they are my blood.” She
called on all Nigerians to be united, saying “let us put our head
together and be one as a nation. Let us be our brothers’ and our
sisters’ keepers.”

The zoning gimmick

Mr Shinkafi also
said that the fuss over zoning by some members of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) is not necessary. Speaking to aviation
correspondents at the General Aviation Terminal, Murtala Mohammed
Airport, Lagos, on his way back to Zamfara after receiving the
chieftaincy title, the governor described zoning as an arithmetic
adopted by the PDP for the 2011 general elections. “Professionally,
there shouldn’t be any zoning; but it was the party’s arrangement to do
some arithmetic to capture the centre but this is no longer useful and
PDP can do whatever they feel is good for them to capture the centre,”
he said.

He said it was his
view that anyone should be allowed to contest and that the ruling party
should be left to manage the issue of zoning. “Everybody is free to
contest and that is a party democracy and joint democracy in a
country,” he said. “Zoning is only a PDP arrangement and many people
have said that it should not have to be a problem, the PDP should be
left to manage associations and circumstances that come up in the
process.” He also described the process as a “political gimmick” by the
PDP that has been beneficial to the party, stressing that it is left
for the party to decide when to do away with practice.

“Zoning is a political gimmick to have power, it is only for the
PDP, and it was used by them to get power; I think when it is good for
them they will use it and when it isn’t they will abandon it,” he said.