By Segun Olatunji, Kaduna
Thursday, 3 Mar 2011

Former military head of state and presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Maj.-Gen. Mohammadu Buhari (retd.), on Wednesday in Kaduna began his campaign, saying he was on a mission to rescue Nigerians from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party.


Addressing the huge crowd of supporters that thronged the Murtala Square for the campaign in Hausa, Buhari stressed that the CPC would not tolerate any attempt by any party to rig the April elections. Flanked by his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare; the CPC National Chairman, Prince Tony Momoh; and other party chieftains, Buhari called on Nigerians to use the opportunity provided by the elections to bring about a change in the country.


“We are today facing an uncertain future in an uncertain world. It is vital Nigerians make the right choice about who would look after them in the next four years. I’m standing here today as the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change.


“I consider myself to be on a rescue mission. Never before have we seen such bad leadership in our national life. The country’s life is literally falling apart on all fronts on security, in education, on the economy, in the health care system and youth employment. Many critical observers have begun to list Nigeria among the failed states of the 21st century,” Buhari said.


Commenting on the role of the PDP in the nation’s affairs in the past 12 years, Buhari said Nigeria had become internationally recognised for corruption, inefficiency, business uncertainty and infrastructural decay.


He said, “For 12 years, the PDP government has failed to tackle all these problems in spite of the resources at their disposal. We can and we must reverse these trends. The first step is for Nigerians to vote PDP out. They are finished. They have passed their sell-by date.”


Also speaking, Bakare urged supporters of the party to use their votes to chase the PDP out of power, noting that the time for change had come.


In his address, Momoh described the CPC as the fastest growing party in the whole world, stressing that its teeming supporters that attended the occasion were not ‘rented’. However, the expected symbolic presentation of flags to the party’s governorship candidates in some Northern states did not take place, owing to the controversy that has continued to trail its primaries.


Although the claimants to the CPC’s governorship tickets in Katsina, Kano and Bauchi states were present at the rally, none of them was called forward to receive the party’s flag.

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