₦airaland Forum

Politics is heating up as politicians from all geo-political zones in the country, are advancing reasons why it is the turn of their zone to produce the President in the 2023 General Elections .

The North Central zone also has put up a simple case, that it is the only zone since the advent of democratic rule in Nigeria that has not produced a President or Vice President.

My position on this is clear. Every Nigerian from North Central or any other zone, who is able to inspire national revival, unite the country, secure the nation and prosper the economy of Nigeria is the only candidate capable enough to lead in 2023.

Many misunderstand the Federal Character Principle, it does not mean rotation of office, it only means that once the Chief Executive (The President) has been democratically elected into office from any part of the country, due diligence must be applied when appointing/electing other individuals into offices, such as Heads of other Arms of Government and Agencies and this should be done in such a way to reflect the plurality and diversity of the federation. This requires that electorate avoid the mistake of voting parochial people who can not see beyond their ethnic or religious cocoons.

It is the misunderstanding of this principle that makes some people think that executive office in Nigeria is a turn by turn matter. No, it is not. Nigeria is a democracy; anyone who must be President must win the vote at the National Convention of his or her party and thereafter, proceed to also win the Presidential election at the polls. There is nothing in our democratic practice that allows any region to be awarded the sole prerogatives to produce a Presidential candidate.
That is democracy!

Democracy requires persuasion to aggregate group interest. I suppose this is what North Central politicians are doing. At the end, democracy is majority rule.

TijaniAbu:
Comman see lies o, that lying dud governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has the biggest media team of any governor in Nigeria and all they do is tell lies.

He knows he cannot get 2nd term, kwarans hate him for his lies and incompetence on top of his thieving ways

poiZon:
So what is really happening in kwara state that the president hasnt gone there for once to commission project?
Or are the projects so big that it will need too many presidents to commission?

Before transition into a people's government, through the otoge political revolution in 2019, the only thing most people outside the state of harmony knows about the state is its political godfatherism.

Fortunately for Kwara, things are changing and the state's national profile is taking a new look.

In this past months, I have been traveling around the country, from Kogi, to Lagos, to Abuja.

As you all know, we have been accostom to the popular saying that the world is a global village, but nothing reinforces such claim and brought it close to home like the experiences I had traveling around the country lately.

It all started in Lagos, while in midsts of Nigerians from different parts of the country. A conversation about the current state of affairs in the nation began and soon after, the conversation was narrowed down to the issue of lawmakers in the country.

To my greatest surprise, one of the individuals in the gathering made reference to the Legislative Watch Assessment Report, produced by Grand Plan in partnership with Kwara Must Change, which was piloted here in Kwara State.

When I first heard reference being made to this report, it was kind of surprising because the person making this reference is from Kano and I was surprised that a project done in Kwara State could have such impression on somebody from far away Kano. So, while asking questions to probe what this individual really know about Legislative Watch, the other individual who came from Nasarawa State jumped in and also spoke glowingly about Legislative Watch and the impact it made in their state.

According to him, the project was trending in Nasarawa for weeks.

When I said it's just a Kwara report, both individuals strongly disagreed. That project is beyond Kwara, it is a report like no other and it's impact was felt all across the federation. They concluded.

While these conversation were taking place, they never knew I had anything to do with the report. So, it was a shocking moment for them, when I said that we did the project and that I was the lead researcher. They went berserk in excitement, looking at me strangely and affectionately and I began to feel excitedly scared for myself.

It was at this point that I thought of bringing up conversation about the national perspective of Nigerians about Kwara State and the current administration in the state.

Even when you know the truth, sometimes, it is always good to aggregate opinion of independent third parties that are not connected to the players or affected by their prejudice.

Fortunately, all of the people in this gathering have nothing but praise for the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq led administration in Kwara State. Some of them even compared his activities to that of their own state and concluded that Kwara State is at the forefront in governance.

This encounter spurred my interest in wanting to have a real feedback about national perspective of Nigerians on Kwara State.

So, I decided to make a delibrate random survey anywhere I go about Kwara State.

In Lagos State, I asked 15 people about their perspective of the Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq led administration in Kwara State.

While 3 of them do not have any real opinion because of limited information, 10 of them spoke about the state in glowing terms. The remaining 2 were critical of the state due to the ongoing dispute between the ruling party.

Although, out of the two individuals critical of Kwara State because of the ongoing dispute between Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq and Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, one praised the governor for taming the minister, noting that he belongs to the same constituency with the minister in Lagos and they have also been looking for ways to deal with him.

In Kogi State, it was positive feedback all through for Kwara State, amongst the 5 individuals sampled.

Furthermore, at the federal capital territory in Abuja, Kwara State is seen as one of the top 3 performing state in the country.

Amongst the 20 individuals sampled, only 3 were critical of the government in relation to it's ongoing dispute with information minister and the opposition leader, Dr. Bukola Saraki.

While 17 individuals spoke positively about the government and its performance, 3 individuals think the situation with the opposition leader, Dr Bukola Saraki could have been handled with more diplomacy. They also think the dispute with Alhaji Lai Muhammed was unnecessary. However, when they were provided with context to both issues, they seems to understand it better.

In all, Kwara State is now a state of interest for many across the federation and whatever happens here makes alot of impact in other states.

The administration of Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is also seen as a leading light in terms of governance and we must encourage the government to continue to improve on its chosen path until the state get to its promise land.

While it is always good to criticise government projects and policies, such criticism should seek to add value to governance, not diminish it. Valid criticism doesn't hurt anyone, it strengthen us all and make good governance a reality, not a dream.

*Abdulrazaq Hamzat writes from Abuja, Nigeria*

lexy2014:
U can't blame him. He is living under d deluded fantasy that APC will gift him it's presidential ticket in 2023. So he is doing as much ass licking as he can before then

Olawepo Hashim ask critical question, as he praises military offensive against bandits*

A former presidential candidate, Mr Gbenga Olawepo Hashim has asked a critical question, "who is going to manage the ungovernable spaces in Nigeria after the military offensive stops", as he commends the armed forces offensive.

The global business man, who recognized ongoing efforts at the national assembly to enact laws creating state police said that the critical aspect of the law on local government police must be considered for the ongoing efforts to make desired effect.

Full statement.

A WELCOMED OFFENSIVE BY THE NIGERIAN ARMED FORCES

The offensive carried out by the Armed Forces in Zamfara and other spots in Northwest Nigeria is a welcomed development and must be supported. The questions that keep agitating my mind remain; what is going to happen in the ungoverned spaces when the offensive stops? Who is going to manage the ungoverned spaces?

That is why the decentralization of policing function to Local and State Governments is important. Thankfully, the House of Representatives has already kick-started a process in that direction by sponsoring a bill which has attained second reading. But I am not sure it covers the necessity for policing at the Local Government level which is most crucial to tackling insecurity in the country.

There has been a disdain for that tier of Government especially by administrators of State Governments. We must also up our game in the Sahel countries of Chad, Mali, Niger and Libya by making sure we control migration and reduce the inflow of arm bearing migrants, who have occasionally destabilized North West Nigeria and mixing with peaceful Nomads who are doing legitimate businesses in the North East, North Central and in some parts of Southern Nigeria.

Ultimately, a new security architecture is needed, far beyond what can be discussed on Facebook. Once again, kudos to the Armed Forces.

zombieHUNTER:
This Man is a fool

*Atiku Abubakar topple President Buhari as most engaging political leader in Nigeria*

_As Olawepo Hashim tops APC presidential hopeful_

In build up to 2023 general election in Nigeria, politicians across the country are engaging the populace on various social media platforms especially tech giant, Facebook, to sell their candidature to the people and Grand Plan Communication, a new media, baseline research and communication outfit, that has been monitoring their online engagements and the issues they are discussing has published a new report for the month of August.

In the latest report by Grand Plan, former Vice President, Alh Atiku Abubakar emerged most engaging political leader in Nigeria. The former Vice President overtook President Muhammed Buhari and Mr Gbenga Olawepo Hashim in online engagement, both of whom were most engaging political leaders in Nigeria for the month of July, 2021.

This was contained in a report released on Friday by Grand Plan in Abuja, Nigeria.

In a statement by the Executive Director of Grand Plan, Mr Abdulrazaq Hamzat, the monthly social media engagement rating is to keep tab on the online activities of political leaders in Nigeria, especially those identified as potential presidential hopeful for 2023 that may seek to succeed the incumbent president, Muhammadu Buhari.

In the month of August, Atiku Abubakar recorded 317,500 engagements on his Facebook page, followed by former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki who recorded 198,300 engagements and Gbenga Olawepo Hashim, who recorded 160,800 engagements.

Olawepo Hashim came second, after President Muhammed Buhari in the month of July and in August, he slipped to third position in the overall rating.

However, despite slipping to third position in the overall rating for August, Olawepo Hashim still remains most engaging political leader in the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), while Alhaji Atiku Abubakar remain most engaging political leader in the country aswell as in the opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP).

According to Grand Plan, following ban on popular micro blogging platform, Twitter few months ago, Nigerian politicians have become more active on Facebook and most of them have made the platform their preferred medium of communication with the people.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world with over 2.8billion users. It is also by far, the most popular social media platform in Nigeria with over 65% control.

While their are over 104 million internet users in Nigeria, only 33 million of them are on social media, with Facebook having over 30% of the total internet users and more than 95% of social media users, with its over 31 million Facebook users in Nigeria, some of whom also uses other social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat Tiktalk etc.

Data by Grand Plan showed that, President Muhammed Buhari, who emerged most engaging political leader for the month of July, slipped to 4th position, going three steps back, while Atiku Abubakar who was in third position in July, went two steps up to clinch top position for August.

According to data released by Grand Plan, Atiku Abubakar overtook President Buhari and Olawepo Hashim, both of whom were ahead of him in the July edition of the report.

"Other political figures, including Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, Chairman of Nigeria's Governor's Forum and Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Elrufai and others are still behind in social media engagements"

Grand Plan explained that, "President Muhammadu Buhari, who was on top in July with over 296,000 engagements saw his engagements go down to 96,700 in August and on the other hand, Olawepo Hashim who came second in July saw his engagements rose more than double, from 98,000 in July to 160,800 engagements in August, but still couldn't stop Atiku Abubakar and Bukola Saraki from overtaking them both.

While opposition figure, Atiku Abubakar's july engagement rose by more than 600% in August, Bukola Saraki's rose by more than 400%, that of Olawepo Hashim also rose by more 100%, being the best from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

"Atiku Abubakar's last 8 posts recorded the 317,500 engagements, Olawepo Hashim's last 6 posts recorded the 160,800 engagements, while Bukola Saraki's last 19 posts recorded the 198,300 engagements"

" On the other hand, the engagement of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State went down by more than 100% in August"

Executive Director of Grand Plan, Abdulrazaq Hamzat said that, increasing engagement imply growing interest in the candidate while decreasing engagement signify disenchantment.

Hamzat also explained that, contrary to popular belief that claimed suspended micro blogging platform,tweeter is the platform for youths, available record shows that Facebook still remains the dominant social media platform for youths.

According to him, 65% of Facebook users are under the age of 35, which means that they fall under the age demographic of millennials and generation z. It is also important to note that between 25-34 years old accounted for 32.5% of Facebook users, whereas just 2.9% of users were aged between 55 and 65 years.

Grand Plan observed that, while most of the 2023 presidential hopeful were discussing general social issues that is not connected to governance, Olawepo Hashim maintained his policy based discuss, while Bukola Saraki focused on party politics.

"Olawepo Hashim focused on issues of anti corruption beyond 2023, nation building and making the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) a party of ideology".

Grand Plan monthly social media rating of political leaders in Nigeria is released last week of every month.

Former Presidential Candidate, Mr Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, during an exclusive interview with Tribune Newspaper explained how he escaped multiple assasination attempt in 2007 after he challenged the Kwara Governorship election in court and how he was eventually driven into exile.

*So eventually you were driven into exile?*

Yes. Look,let me tell you about the circumstance of my going into exile in 2007.

God bless OgonnaOnovo.

He was the Deputy Inspector General of Police in charge of operations when Mike Okiro was IG, and he tried to protect me.

He knew what was happening in Kwara State then. But by the time, UmrauYar’Adua had taken over. You know those who were controlling the Yar’Adua’s government, I won’t mention them.

One Sunday, Onovo told me, ‘Look Excellency, I have tried my best; I will not allow them to come and kill you. But now, you have to leave the country. There’s a petition they have brought to our office and they claim you have arms in your house in Ilorin. I know you don’t.’ At that time, we were in the tribunal challenging the election. “They’re coming, and you know when they are coming to search for things, they will find what they want to see. So, my advice is ‘leave the country.

Whatever they find is not your business.’ On Sunday, I just asked somebody in the church: ‘Elder, you’re going to take me to Lagos.’ I pretended as if I was going on a visit. He drove me out of the compound. None of my security detail was with me. Nobody knew about it. I was in Lagos, and the next day, I was already in England. The next morning after I had departed, they came, led by an Assistant Commissioner of Police with a lorry load of policemen to search my house and the people at home said ‘oga is not around.’ They were so sure I was around. That’s how I went into exile.

Even the Chief of Staff to President Olusegun Obasanjo then, General Abdulahi’s son, was shot at in Ilorin. Before that encounter, we had very rough confrontation where some people wanted to ambush us in one of the neighborhoods but our security team was very alert, and thank God, we escaped that and a whole lot of terrible things. A lot of people died on the Election Day. Four of my agents were killed on the Election Day.

Even members of the state House of Assembly were killed in the open, and nothing happened to the killers. Even thugs killed policeman and nothing happened to those thugs. Even a Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) chairman in Kwara State was stabbed while they were having an NUJ election by thugs that were known. These things were recorded on tape and the police did not do anything.