By Afá»lábà Adedayá»Ì€
DOGARA 
TINUBU
With the recent defection of Rt Hon Yakubu Dogara former Speaker House of Representatives back to the APC alot of pundits have began to speculate on a possible matchup with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the presidency come 2023.
The combination is uniquely suited to serve as a unifying force for the country and also bring about enormous progress to Nigeria considering the pedigree of these 2 individuals.
The statement recently credited to Mamman Daura on the issue of rotational presidency is call for all Southern Nigerians to rally around one of their own and there is no other that fits this bill at this time in history other than the indefatigable Asiwaju.
Bola Tinubu is the most charismatic figure in southern Nigerian politics at the moment, hate him or love him he has an army of supporters ready to March at the press of a button, he has the financial war chest, the organisational structure and a national spread of supporters and also the political sagacity to bring the presidency down south, he has strong ties with Governor Ganduje of kano, being the largest voting block up north, Gov Bagudu of Kebbi and many others to numerous to mention.
All Tinubu needs to do now is reach out to his other southern governors regardless of political party affiliations, especially Gov Wike in Rivers and Gov Obiano in Anambra, the 2 leading states in the South South and South East, he might as well go on to form a government of national unity.
Another issue which would have been a headache for Asiwaju has turned out to be a blessing, being a Muslim from the South made him unable to emerge as VP for President Buhari as a Muslim/Muslim ticket is not a winnable formula for a diverse country such as Nigeria, enter a Christian young man Yakubu Dogara, whose emergence has Speaker was ironically opposed by Bola Tinubu in 2015.
Asiwaju would have had a hard time picking a Muslim deputy from the north as there are alot of imminently qualified individuals from serving to former governors and loads of grievance would have been generated from that process same way Atiku experienced a rebellion from the South eastern governors when he picked Peter Obi as his running mate.
Tinubu will not have to deal with that kind of scenario as there are not many northern Christians who have the National level of acceptance Yakubu Dogara brings to the table.
Dogara, one of the stars from the North is a top lawyer and also a well seasoned legislator, graduated top of his class from the University of Jos, soft spoken, brilliant, visionary and an good a strategist, akin to a midfielder in football pallas.
He brings to the table a network of supporters from across the country especially from the northern ethnic minorities that cut across the entire Northern region, especially the Northeast and North central, he also enjoys a very good relationship with the core north as evidenced in his election as speaker when members from states like Kano, Katsina and Sokoto supported him in their numbers. His good relationship with president Muhammadu Buhari is also a strong credential, he was personally welcomed back to APC by Mr President like his prodigal son.
Tinubu can deploy Dogara to break the ice with some of the PDP strongmen like Wike and Tambuwal who are his longtime associates and friends. A deal with Wike will neutralise Ameachi/El Rufai pact against Asiwaju. PDP is in disarray at the moment and most of the leaders will be ready to play ball.
Another issue that appeals to people about Dogara is his personality, humble but firm. Most people who know him are quick to point out that he has been very successful right after law school in his late 20’s but he is not known to drink, smoke or womanise, he has has always conducted himself with decorum right from when he was a youngster.
Dogara also attends Living Faith Church aka Winners Chapel which is the 2nd largest Pentecostal church in Nigeria Pastored by the fiery Bishop David Oyedepo.
News swirling around Abuja is that President Muhammadu Buahri might bring Dogara in as SGF to replace the lacklustre Boss Mustapha who has not been able to coordinate activities of the government to bring about the needed change Nigerians yearn for.
Thankfully most political leaders from the core muslim north will tell you that they would rather have the Senate President than VP, as the VP position is merely ceremonial and has no powers as can be evidence with how Osibanjo has been relegated to the background in the scheme of things.
The Senate President can checkmate the president with his legislative powers so they would prefer that position.
In an ideal situation the presidency is supposed to be ceded to the Igbos since there has never been an Igbo president since the advent of democracy in 1999 but the leading Igbo politicians have not put their house in order and the recent agitations for Biafra has breed alot of distrust especially from the core north.
Tinubu has a good chance of rallying the entire southern Nigeria and unifying the country under a government of National unity. The core north can keep the Senate Presidency, Speaker can go to the Igbos, the Niger Delta can have the SGF and some juicy Ministerial positions to the North Central bringing together a very fractured Republic.
In the interest of peace and unity of this country, I admonish my Northern brothers to allow power Rotation back to the south. Just like they brought in Obasanjo in 1999. The north has benefited immensely from the unity of this country let them help to sustain it.
