Amid the clamour for the president to be zoned to the southern part of the country in 2023, former military president General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (rtd) has voted for merit and acceptability, and that Nigerians must know the qualification and belief of who the next president of the country will be.

General Babangida in an interview on Arise TV, monitored in Minna, Niger State on Friday believes that democracy does not align with zoning or power shift.

We have to make a choice either we want to practice democracy the way it should be practiced or the way it is being practiced or we define democracy according to our own whims and caprices.

If we are going to do it the way it is done all over the world you allow the process to continue, it is through the process that you will be able to come up with a candidate that will lead the country,

he declared.

Babangida also said Nigerians should know the “person, his qualifications his beliefs” before such a person is voted to lead the country

regardless of where he comes from.

The former military presidents also said no person can make Nigeria a one party state, insisting however that two party system of government is good for the country. He added that

two parties are still the best for this country. With about 70 parties registered nobody is talking about the others, only APC and PDP.

According to him, Nigerians

will not allow that (one party state) to happen, they will make so much noise that whoever will attempt to do it will not do it, this is the good thing about this country,. They will demonstrate they will engage you in all sorts of things so as not to do the wrong thing.

Nigeria can do well with a two party system,

he insisted.

On insecurity, the former military president believes banditry and kidnapping have continued across the country because the military which has the capability to contain the menace “Is overstretched” and faced with “obsolete equipment”.

In addition, he noted the leadership of the force which he said must be acceptable to everyone involved in the fight against banditry and other crimes in the country.

He totally opposed the disobedience of court orders by agents of the government, especially operatives of the Department of State Services saying “nobody should disobey lawful orders in a democracy”.

Babangida in answer to another question said separatist agitations across the country could be assuaged if the leadership makes the people to go into more gainful ventures and states made to manage their resources for the development of the states and the country.

The former military presidents who turns 80 years on August 17 this year supported autonomy for local governments and firmly opposed any attempt by governor’s to erode the powers of the local government chairmen since they were elected by the people.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.