reporter?:

If Buhari choses the right candidate from AC as his running mate, say someone like Fashola who a lot of people admire, he could win it all.
Buhari will undoubtedly sweep the majority of the North, and AC will deliver SW, EdO, a big chunk of Kwara, and part Kogi.

If Atiku wins the PDP primaries, he'll win some middle belt states and SE, and lose at least half of SS in the general elections and the rest of the nation.
Combination of Buhari and AC will definitely give PDP a good run.  This is the best option for Buhari to get the much needed Southern alliance, without it Buhari is dead in water.

The best option for PDP at this point is Jonathan, he is the only electable candidate they have.

Wasn't this the same permutation in the past with  APP/AD?.
Don't get me wrong I like Buhari, for the fact that all Nigeria corrupt politician both from North/South are all scared stiff of the guy, shows that there is something about the man that possibly make him a different kettle from others.

Kwara would vote for me. I am 100% confident. 1000% self confident of this.

Do you see the name of Tinubu on the ACN list, go to their website. You cant find Tinubu name there. What does that tell you.  Akande is in control.

Why do you think fashola has been dissociating himself from tinubu ,  Because fashola is not ready to loss the election. So he does not want tinubu to pull him down. He has been saying I dont know this person call Tinubu, I have never seen him before or even heard of the name. he is just been smart.


Watch fashola


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPgJttYFIws&feature=player_embedded

Who do you think help ACN to get back Ekiti and Osun state. Do you think is Tinubu, NO. I know who is behind it. I dont want to tell you, what went behind.

How do you expect a generation would continue to have power and expect that our generation has no right to power. It is pure nonsense. You can not have power in your generation and when it is our turn you still want to have power.

In your generation , you could not fit the problem of Nigeria, and your still dont want us to come and fix the mistake other generation made. Is this fair to us and our generation. Let be honest with ourself.

Dont you people have feeling for our generation .  Do you think we dont have hope too.

Look at this, does this newspaper report  look like if  Bola Tinubu is behind ACN getting Osun or ekiti state to you.

Does it look like Tinubu to you.

If one generation allow your generation to power, what about us. Are we born to be fools.??

ladies and gentlemen its regional politics time and all our politicain tend to uphold what is not obtainable in a democratic system but for their selfish reasons because they are above the law so am not suprise but only scared at the lvel this will take us, as hopeful as 2011 is it's doubtful may God save us from this blood thirsty vampire roaming our political sphere.may God help us, seriously praying for this country cos i love 9ja.

DapoBear:

I disagree. If the PDP alienates GEJ and the Ijaws, then the presidency is ripe for the taking with a Buhari/Fashola ticket. Why will GEJ help them rig elections if they won't let him be president, for example?

Atiku failed because nobody likes or trusts him. If you are a northerner, you'll vote anybody halfway decent over him. Buhari >>>> Atiku in the North.

I don't know how some of you think.
Why would Fashola, people like you kept telling us how brilliant he is with Lagos, would leave that to become a Nigerian vice president that doesn't know what his job is, except representing the president at funerals and weddings?
Why would Fashola leave Lagos where he is the guy and go to Abuja, where he will become one of the guys?

Buhari should go and seat down, and not waste his time. He can never rule Nigeria again in his life time.

The only post he can win is "the general overseer of loser" period.

Jarus:

Buhari/Tinubu ticket, though very strong, will not fly, given the religious and regional sensitivity. All Buhari needs is Tinubu's backing, ACN merging or forming alliance with CPC. He can then go and pick his running mate from SE or SS.

Information from my friends up North says the Buhari whirlwind is sweeping across the entire North now. If election is conducted today, CPC will sweep Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi and a good showing in Kaduna. Many PDP politicians, having seen the trend, have even started crossing to CPC.

SW is AC's for keeps. If the election is free and fair, only Ogun can retain PDP today. And SW and NW have the largest voting population, let's not forget.


A working understanding between CPC and ACN will give PDP a run for their money.

In Kwara, my state, PDP is still in overwhelming control, but AC will put a good show in the southern part of the state. I just came back from Offa, and the the massive support ACN is enjoying surprises me.

Is a Nigerian politician really that interested in religion? I don't buy this moslem, christian nonesense. What this people care about is political power and how to hold on to it. Yoruba/Igbo moslems, are they really moslems? They drink, eat in ssecret during Ramadan, womanise etc.
Southern Moslems my foot!

useless nigerians . they keep gettin more stupid
TUFIAKWA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bababuff:

Buhari should go and seat down, and not waste his time. He can never rule Nigeria again in his life time. 

The only post he can win is "the general overseer of loser" period. 

Joke apart, can you tell me why people like you are afraid of Buhari and why he is worse that the lot?
Again, Joke apart, just some constructive reasoning.

Eziachi:

I don't know how some of you think.
Why would Fashola, people like you kept telling us how brilliant he is with Lagos, would leave that to become a Nigerian vice president that doesn't know what his job is, except representing the president at funerals and weddings?
Why would Fashola leave Lagos where he is the guy and go to Abuja, where he will become one of the guys?

1) The VP position doesn't need to be weak, it is what you make of it, and depends a lot on your own strength/intelligence as an individual.
2) In a situation in which Buhari ascends to office through SW votes and on an ACN ticket, then it can be very strong.
3) Moreover, Fashola has proven himself (imo) to be a very effective administrator. He wouldn't be just a wall ornament (like GEJ was under Yar'Adua); he'd play a strong role in setting specific policy.
4) Fashola presents himself well. He is very good at giving interviews that give off a "technocrat" vibe. If Fashola is VP, when CNN comes to do interviews to be broadcast internationally, they'll talk with him. When it comes time to do interviews or rub shoulders with Obama and leaders of other nations, with all due respect to Buhari, Fashola can and will also be sought out by the them, above and beyond what ordinary VPs are due. He simply will not be your typical ornamental VP.
5) Finally, after the 8 years as VP are up and with a job well done in improving Nigeria, increasing his prestige both nationally and internationally, he can then contest for presidency. Again, the man will only be 56 years old 8 years from now.

Another thing I like about this is that we can also then groom someone else in Lagos for national positions. Fact of the matter is that the ACN needs to grow its base of serious candidates. Moving Fashola up to VP gives an opportunity to someone else in Lagos to prove himself. Keeping the pipeline of talent moving serves the interests of the ACN party and Nigeria more generally, imo.

EDIT: minor typos fixed

DapoBear:

1) The VP position doesn't need to be weak, it is what you make of it, and depends a lot on your own strength/intelligence as an individual.
2) In a situation in which Buhari ascends to office through SW votes and on an ACN ticket, then it can be very strong.
3) Moreover, Fashola has proven himself (imo) to be a very effective administrator. He wouldn't be just a wall ornament (like GEJ was under Yar'Adua); he'd play a strong role in setting specific policy.
4) Fashola presents himself well. He is very good at giving interviews that give off a "technocrat" vibe. If Fashola is VP, when CNN comes to do interview to be broadcast internationally, they'll talk with him. When it comes time to do interviews or rub shoulders with Obama and leaders of other nations, with all due respect to Buhari, Fashola can and will also be sought out by the them, above and beyond what ordinary VPs are due. He simply will not be your typical ornamental VP.
5) Finally, after the 8 years as VP are up and with a job well done in improving Nigeria, increasing his prestige both nationally and internationally, he can then contest for presidency. Again, the man will only be 56 years old 8 years from now.

Another thing I like about this is that we can also then groom someone else in Lagos for national positions. Fact of the matter is that the ACN needs to grow its base of serius candidates. Moving Fashola up to VP gives an opportunity to someone else in Lagos to prove himself. Keeping the pipeline of talent moving serves the interests of the ACN party and Nigeria more generally, imo.

Well, unless you were born last night or has been on holiday in planet Mars all your life, you should know that the position of VP and deputy governor in Nigeria politics is meaningless.
You want someone to leave his worthwhile job to become a VP just to go and speak well on CNN? You must be a genius!

^-- That is not what the ACN appears to be envisioning in this arrangement:

Buhari and his associates in the CPC have always insisted on 'alliance' that would give Buhari the presidential slot so that the ACN will produce his running mate. But the ACN had insisted on 'merger' until the time for that elapsed based on the electoral laws.

A high level source in the ACN told Daily Trust that the last thing the ACN will agree to is an 'alliance' with the CPC. The source said it does not have to be a merger so long as it is not an alliance. The fusion he said could be in a name change, "even if it is something like ACPC."

He said the ACN is sceptical about entering into a merger agreement with Buhari because many of the members still believe that he is not yet "democratically domesticated enough" to be trusted to handle an alliance of different parties after winning an election. The fear is that General may not be accessible after election.

"But if we are all in the same political party, there is always a National Executive Committee [NEC] to call him [Buhari] and say look we want this, we don't want this," he said.

Does that sound like a party that will just give Buhari lord and mastery over Nigeria? Does it sound like a party which will allow the VP position to be toothless?

If this partnership happens with Buhari, it will happen on ACN terms.

As I said earlier, that past VP candidates were toothless doesn't mean that this next one will be.

Is it not possible for Goodluck Jonathan to contest on the platform of ACN with Ribadu as the running mate in the event of an Atiku ticket on the platform of PDP?

DapoBear:

^-- That is not what the ACN appears to be envisioning in this arrangement:

Does that sound like a party that will just give Buhari lord and mastery over Nigeria? Does it sound like a party which will allow the VP position to be toothless?

If this partnership happens with Buhari, it will happen on ACN terms.
As I said earlier, that past VP candidates were toothless doesn't mean that this next one will be.

Says who?
You are grossly underestimating Buhari?

He is going to deliver the North, which is a bigger bargaining chip than the SW
And who says, he needs a Yorubaman as his vice to deliver the SW

You'd be surprised that most SWers actually like the guy to death
I have never met a Yorubaman above the age of 35 who does not like Buhari, he is that popular in the SW

And most Yorubas believe in the spirit of fairness, I for one will rather vote for someone from the SS/SE as Buhari's vice, than have another Yorubaman play second fiddle to Buhari
Don't forget that in Nigeria politics, as in most advanced democracies around the world, the VP slot is a very useless slot. The first lady is more powerful than the VP (after all, Hilary Clinton was more powerful than Al Gore, when Bill was the president)

Pukkah:

Didn't Kwara vote UPN?

Nah. Kwara voted for saraki. When he had problems with adamu attah, he pulled his supporters to queue behind cornlius adebayo. So it was not UPN per se.

na_so:

Nah. Kwara voted for saraki. When he had problems with adamu attah, he pulled his supporters to queue behind cornlius adebayo. So it was not UPN per se.

Thanks for the insight
My thinking as well

Pukkah:

Is it not possible for Goodluck Jonathan to contest on the platform of ACN with Ribadu as the running mate in the event of an Atiku ticket on the platform of PDP?

If Jonathan loses to Atiku, doesn't it say to you then that he is not good enough?
Why would ACN then give their ticket to him just like that?
When he is not their member, only as a platform to go into an election and few months after the election, he will tell them that he returning home/mainstream (PDP)?
You Nigerians has a very short memory. So the likes of Ohakim, T.A Orji doesn't come to your mind?
No wonder this politicians treat you people like fools.

@ Stranger

Guy, thumps up for you. Sometimes when i read your comments on Tinubu, I go back to check if it wasn't posted by me. Like minds in that regard. I never knew there are people on this forum who share my view on that crook sonafabitch called Tinubu.

Back to the topic:

Buhari/Tinubu may not work. In fact accepting to run with Tinubu may be Buhari's greatest undoing in the southwest. Tinubu's acumen in SW politics has been exaggerated by the ACN victories of Ekiti and Osun States. The fact in those states is that the PDP sold themselves out by not institutionalizing internal democracy, the same mistake AD made in 2003 i.e. by imposing candidates even when they are clearly not popular. So, ACN being the opposition party jumped on the opportunity of the ensuing cracks and seized power. Even though Oyo and Ogun may be infected with ACN sentiments in the 2011 elections, it is not certain if that will translate into Buhari/Tinubu victory in the SW bearing in mind that the presidential election comes before the governorship. Naturally in the southwest, the presidential votes go where the governorship go. But it will be different this time.

I would prefer Buhari considers Oshiomole/Fashola as running mate. Although both of them for reasons known to them have at one forum or the other resented the idea preferring to stay put as governors of their states. Fashola was said to have rejected the idea at one time when Tinubu first muted it because he saw it as Tinubu's ploy to take Lagos from him. Oshiomole would rather stay with a bird in hand than take a gamble with Buhari.

In all, Buhari's chances would only become bright if PDP fails to present GEJ at the general elections.

why does Buhari want to rule nigeria?

stranger:

Says who?
You are grossly underestimating Buhari?

He is going to deliver the North, which is a bigger bargaining chip than the SW
And who says, he needs a Yorubaman as his vice to deliver the SW

Again, he cannot win nationally if he doesn't have some southern region. Why would they just give him the ticket for free? They will extract concessions, otherwise they are mumus. And say what you will about the ACN, but I don't believe that they are fools.

Tell me why the ACN will support Buhari for free.

You'd be surprised that most SWers actually like the guy to death
I have never met a Yorubaman above the age of 35 who does not like Buhari, he is that popular in the SW

Maybe it depends on who you know. The Yoruba I talk to about politics don't like him, at all. In any case, I doubt he can win the SW without help.

And most Yorubas believe in the spirit of fairness, I for one will rather vote for someone from the SS/SE as Buhari's vice, than have another Yorubaman play second fiddle to Buhari

What does fairness have to do with this? I'm not opposed to selecting someone from the SS/SE, but why would it be "unfair" not to do so? Just because the PDP mandates some sort of rotation/zoning doesn't mean the ACN is obliged to follow the same.

Don't forget that in Nigeria politics, as in most advanced democracies around the world, the VP slot is a very useless slot. The first lady is more powerful than the VP (after all, Hilary Clinton was more powerful than Al Gore, when Bill was the president)

It really truly depends on the personalities involved. Hillary Clinton was NOT stronger than Al Gore, that is revisionism. She dramatically raised her political profile AFTERWARDS, when she became Senator in NY, ran for public office.

Also, what of Bush/Cheney? Cheney was quite strong.

A Buhari/tinubu  ticket will not fly. A muslim/muslim ticket will not fly. Forget the June12 story, a lot of us hardly knew that MKO was a muslim, but when you now have a buhari that has been tarred with the "zealot's" brush(right or wrong), then it would be political suicide to do a muslim/muslim ticket.

Secondly, either you believe it or not the VP is in a strategic position to succeed the president, then you can be sure that the general suspicion of the SE and SS and other tribes that the core north and the SW want to colonise the presidency for generations would resurface. The best bet would have been say a buhari/peter obi combo that has the blessing of the ACN.

What is wrong with Buhari/ Ribabu combo?  Why don't the ACN forget about what the average Nigerian
Tribalist would think and focus on winning the election,
why would religion and ethnic sentiments be attributed to evrything done in this country
Are we going to ever find the "CHANGE" we need.

na_so:

Secondly, either you believe it or not the VP is in a strategic position to succeed the president, then you can be sure that the general suspicion of the SE and SS that other tribes that the core north and the SW want to colonise the presidency for generations would resurface. The best bet would have been say a buhari/peter obi combo that has the blessing of the ACN.

Hrm, I see. Yeah, thanks for making it crystal clear to me about this aspect of it that I guess I didn't understand.

It seeems unfortunate to me that the country operates like this. Maybe the people sef of Nigeria believe in zoning, rather than more open politics?

If ACN and Buhari are able to beat the mighty PDP with all of their machinery, it seems pretty unfortunate that some would paint that as colonization or a North/SW plot  

Really lame. So Buhari/Yorubaman ticket would be viewed as colonization/injustice/unfair? Again, really lame, this Nigerian mentality.

na_so:

A Buhari/tinubu  ticket will not fly. A muslim/muslim ticket will not fly. Forget the June12 story, a lot of us hardly knew that MKO was a muslim, but when you now have a buhari that has been tarred with the "zealot's" brush(right or wrong), then it would be political suicide to do a muslim/muslim ticket.

Secondly, either you believe it or not the VP is in a strategic position to succeed the president, then you can be sure that the general suspicion of the SE and SS that other tribes that the core north and the SW want to colonise the presidency for generations would resurface. The best bet would have been say a buhari/peter obi combo that has the blessing of the ACN.

@ Dapobear

Therein lies why it would be unfair to have a Yorubaman as Buhari's VP!
Again, you have to be very practical
Think broadly
It will do SW a lot of good if we can be patient for our turn. Support others now, so they can support us when we need them
This is the reality.

na_so:

A muslim/muslim ticket will not fly. Forget the June12 story, a lot of us hardly knew that MKO was a muslim, but when you now have a buhari that has been tarred with the "zealot's" brush(right or wrong), then it would be political suicide to do a muslim/muslim ticket.

Why do people keep saying this? Who is not going to fly among? Look, me personally, I will never vote for a FANATICAL Muslim type. But a moderate, Westernized Muslim like Fashola? Guys like him are ordinary, sane, and not going to cause any religious harm. It makes no sense to me that people would be against a ticket like that.

Jarus:

Buhari/Tinubu ticket, though very strong, will not fly, given the religious and regional sensitivity. All Buhari needs is Tinubu's backing, ACN merging or forming alliance with CPC. He can then go and pick his running mate from SE or SS.

Information from my friends up North says the Buhari whirlwind is sweeping across the entire North now. If election is conducted today, CPC will sweep Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi and a good showing in Kaduna. Many PDP politicians, having seen the trend, have even started crossing to CPC.

SW is AC's for keeps. If the election is free and fair, only Ogun can retain PDP today. And SW and NW have the largest voting population, let's not forget.


A working understanding between CPC and ACN will give PDP a run for their money.

In Kwara, my state, PDP is still in overwhelming control, but AC will put a good show in the southern part of the state. I just came back from Offa, and the the massive support ACN is enjoying surprises me.

Buhari has always being popular in the states you mentioned. The fact the 45% of the entire PTF funds went to these states also make him very popular amongst talakawas.

DapoBear:

Why do people keep saying this? Who is not going to fly among? Look, me personally, I will never vote for a FANATICAL Muslim type. But a moderate, Westernized Muslim like Fashola? Guys like him are ordinary, sane, and not going to cause any religious harm. It makes no sense to me that people would be against a ticket like that.

Not going to fly among middlebelters, 95% of SE and SSoutherners,20% of Northerners and roughly 40% of SWers
And that my friend is a pretty significant percentage

stranger:

@ Dapobear

Therein lies why it would be unfair to have a Yorubaman as Buhari's VP!
Again, you have to be very practical
Think broadly
It will do SW a lot of good if we can be patient for our turn. Support others now, so they can support us when we need them
This is the reality.

This aspect of Nigerian politics is soooo silly. If it is the reality on the ground that every is pro zoning/rotation, fine, I'll live with that. But to be quite honest, it has lowered my opinion of Nigeria as a country if that is the case. Political office should be taken by the BEST/SMARTEST/ most astute, not zoned, affirmative action-style.

If Buhari and the ACN can defeat the incumbent PDP, what right does anyone from the SS or SE to cry foul play? It is silly. With all the advantages that the PDP has as a party, they can also basically get to use zoning to stay in office?

So you are telling me that no matter how clever I am, no matter how good I'd be as a candidate, I cannot run in certain years because I'm from the wrong ethnic group? That this year is the SEs turn, or the SSs turn?

If that is the case, then that really changes my feeling about Nigeria a lot.

stranger:

roughly 40% of SWers

So if faced between the option of:

Buhari/Fashola

GEJ/Sambo

40% of SW voters will choose the latter over the former? Just purely due to religion? Despite the fact that the former choice would be far more effective at the actual job of governining the country, fixing the economy, raising the international prestige of the country?

If this is the case, I will accept it. But to me, it seems insane.

DapoBear:

Why do people keep saying this? Who is not going to fly among? Look, me personally, I will never vote for a FANATICAL Muslim type. But a moderate, Westernized Muslim like Fashola? Guys like him are ordinary, sane, and not going to cause any religious harm. It makes no sense to me that people would be against a ticket like that.

Lets be practical, the time left for campaigns is really too short for Buhari to disabuse peoples minds about the general perception on his religious leanings, and getting another muslim as running mate, even if the person is as respected as Obama, would do a serious damage to his campaign.

This is Nigeria, our voters are still largely semi-literate. The real voters are the market women, motor park boys etc. They definitely would never see it the june12 way. Abiola was such a unique character, that his acts in philiantropy adequately worked for him. People generally saw him as a good , rich man with a unique grass-to-grace story and hence willing to help the needy.

May be i should not be saying all these to make the buhari camp wiser. I am a GEJ supporter, the more mistakes the opposition makes the better GEJ's chances.

No problem! If the presidency is now a birthright of the North and the SW,then I strongly declare to thy tenth oh SS and SE. let the SW and NORTH rule themselves while we declare our own country period!

To me, this seems like David fighting Goliath, and David winning. But it appears that most Nigerians, due to zoning/religion would prefer to see Goliath win. Even if Goliath is going to be far less effective in administering the country, bringing about progress.

So what exactly is the goal of Nigeria as a country? Is it just for show? Everyone take turns, even at the cost of progress?

na_so:

Lets be practical, the time left for campaigns is really too short for Buhari to disabuse peoples minds about the general perception on his religious leanings, and getting another muslim as running mate, even if the person is as respected as Obama, would do a serious damage to his campaign.

This is Nigeria, our voters are still largely semi-literate. The real voters are the market women, motor park boys etc. They definitely would never see it the june12 way. Abiola was such a unique character, that his acts in philiantropy adequately worked for him. People generally saw him as a good , rich man with a unique grass-to-grace story and hence willing to help the needy.

May be i should not be saying all these to make the buhari camp wiser. I am a GEJ supporter, the more mistakes the opposition makes the better GEJ's chances.

I see. At least now I understand why Nigeria is not doing well as a country. It isn't just the politicians alone. With no offense to you all here who are no doubt more enlightened, it appears that many of its people are voting to make the country worse  

Anyway, maybe the ACN should field Buhari and some SS or SE man, then. . .

DapoBear:

This aspect of Nigerian politics is soooo silly. If it is the reality on the ground that every is pro zoning/rotation, fine, I'll live with that. But to be quite honest, it has lowered my opinion of Nigeria as a country if that is the case. Political office should be taken by the BEST/SMARTEST/ most astute, not zoned, affirmative action-style.
If Buhari and the ACN can defeat the incumbent PDP, what right does anyone from the SS or SE to cry foul play? It is silly. With all the advantages that the PDP has as a party, they can also basically get to use zoning to stay in office?
[b]So you are telling me that no matter how clever I am, no matter how good I'd be as a candidate, I cannot run in certain years because I'm from the wrong ethnic group? That this year is the SEs turn, or the SSs turn?[/b]If that is the case, then that really changes my feeling about Nigeria a lot.

I don't buy the idea that certain individuals are better or more clever than the others
No one runs the country alone
You always need others to help out, and on that basis alone, all you need is someone who can get along with other people and manage people well, a very important skill, but not very difficult to acquire IMO.
There is always someone able to do the job from every group, and in the spirit of fairness, every group needs to be given a chance

Nigeria is not a peculiar case, Obama was not the smartest person in the last presidential election
Hillary was, but for reasons known to Americans, they voted for Obama
Also,when Bush became the president, he wasnt the smartest candidate around, Gore was the first time, and Kerry was the second time. Americans voted for Bush because unlike other candidates, he was more like the ordinary guy on the street, with a lot of common sense.

The reason American politics does not favor zoning per se is because a huge proportion of the country is white
And for a long time, Blacks were not allowed to vote, so they do not matter
And moreover, even in American politics, the parties always strive for geographical balance when choosing their president and VP slots, which is what we call Zoning in Nigeria

It is actually not a crazy idea.
And as a party you have to be able to react to your opponent's permutations. Remember why Michael Steele became the president of the GOP?
So its the same in Nigeria
There is zoning in America as well, they just don't call it zoning the way we do.

That said, it is a temporary thingy
I expect things to change overtime, not in my lifetime of course
Until then, ZONING 4 LYF