Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed that he has received several death threats over his stance against the current government.
In a statement titled, "Points for Concern and Action", issued on Sunday, the former leader said;
"God of Nigeria is a living God and a prayer-answering God. Nigerians must cry out to God to deliver Nigeria. Here again, I have been threatened with arrest and extermination but I will not succumb to intimidation or threats. Maybe I should remind those who are using probe as a threat that I have been probed four times by EFCC, ICPC, House of Representatives and the Senate and Buhari has access to reports of these probes. But I have also challenged Buhari and the criminals around him to set up a probe on the same allegations and I will face such probe in public.
But I know that these criminals cannot withstand a Police inquiry let alone clinical probe on the past public offices they held. My fervent prayer is that President Buhari may live to see the will and purpose of God for Nigeria. My final appeal to him is to desist from evil with manipulation and desperation because evil has repercussion especially as man who should watch and be mindful of his self-acclaimed and packaged integrity. At the end of the day, those who goad you on will leave you in the lurch. You will be left alone, Unclad and unheralded. In defeat, which must be Buhari’s fear leading to desperation, he and his co-travellers can still maintain modicum of decency, and exhibit fear of God in their actions."
1. “Democracy becomes a sham if elections are carried out by people who should be impartial and neutral umpires, but who show no integrity...”
2. “The transmission and collation of results are subject to interference, manipulation and meddling. If the INEC’s favourite political party wins with all the above infractions, the result will be conclusively declared and if not, there will be a ‘rerun’.”
3. “The track record of the present INEC is fairly sordid and all men and women of goodwill and believers in democracy must be prepared for the worst from INEC and their encouragers...”
4. “Amina Zakari has become too controversial a figure to be able to give assurance of free, fair and credible election for INEC.”
5. “A judge does not sit in judgement over a case once he or she becomes a cause for controversy... Madam Amina Zakari should, in honour, stay out and not be seen as a source of contamination of the election.”
6. “Amina Zakari is not the only Commissioner that can be in the Collation Centre. Let the INEC Chairman act boldly and impartially and prove his absolute neutrality and responsiveness...”
ON BUHARI
7. “Some men of God would hold President Buhari to his word on free, fair, credible and peaceful elections. I am a realist... I am not persuaded by a track record of hollow words, impunity, insensitivity and ‘I-couldn’t-care-less’ attitude.”
8. “It is no use, at this juncture, to keep lamenting about the failure, incompetence, divisiveness, nepotism, encouragement and condonation of corruption by Buhari administration...”
10. “President Buhari and his hatchet men in the coming election think that the judiciary must be primed in their favour. Hence, the Chief Justice of Nigeria... has been harassed and prosecuted...”
11. “President Buhari and his people believe no stone should be left unturned to rig Buhari in. It seems to be a ploy to intimidate the judiciary as a whole in preparation for all election cases that will go before them.”
12. “Buhari has succeeded in deceiving us the first time and we will be fools to allow ourselves to be deceived the second time.”
13. “Even when figures, facts and statistics are made clear to Buhari, he keeps repeating what is untrue, either because he cannot understand or for mischief purposes and that places him on the level of a pathological liar.”
14. “[Buhari] believes he can get away with impunity and deceit as he seems to have done on many occasions in the past.”
15. “Bola Tinubu’s statement about Muhammadu Buhari in 2003 is fairly prophetic, “Muhammadu Buhari is an agent of destabilisation, ethnic bigot and religious fanatic who, if given the chance, would ensure the disintegration of the country. His ethnocentrism would jeopardise Nigeria’s national unity.””
16. “Buhari’s watch can be likened to what we witnessed under Gen. Sani Abacha in many ways. When Abacha decided that he must install himself as Nigerian President by all means and at all costs, he went for broke and surrounded himself with hatchet men who on his order and in his interest and at high costs to Nigeria and Nigerians maimed, tortured and killed for Abacha.”
17. “...we have heard of how Buhari and his party are going about his own self-succession project. They have started recruiting collation officers who are already awarding results based on their projects to actualise the perpetuation agenda...”
18. Buhari’s “henchmen are working round the clock in cahoots with security and election officials to perfect their plan by computing results right from the ward to local government, state and national levels to allot him what will look like a landslide victory irrespective of the true situation...”
19. “The current plan is to drape the pre-determined results with a toga of credibility. It is also planned that violence of unimaginable proportion will be unleashed in high voting population areas across the country to precipitate re-run elections and where [Buhari] will be returned duly elected after concentration of security...”
20. “Buhari’s scheme bears eloquent testimony to this road similar to Abacha whom he has praised to high heavens and as an arch-supporter and beneficiary from Abacha, he has seen nothing wrong done by him. “
21. “It is clear from all indications that Buhari is putting into practice the lessons he learned from Abacha. Buhari has intimidated and harassed the private sector, attacked the National Assembly and now unconstitutionally and recklessly attacked and intimidated the Judiciary to cow them to submission.”
ON OSINBAJO
22. “Osinbajo must have gone for, “if you can’t beat them, join them”. A great pity indeed and which makes people ask the questions, “Any hope?”
23. “Osinbajo has shown the human weakness and proved the saying that the corruption of the best is the worst form of corruption.”
24. “What is the connection between taking the number of PVC of the ‘traders’ and the forthcoming election? There is something sinister about it, and Professor Osinbajo, of all people, should know that.”
ON DEMOCRACY
25. “This is a time for vigilance to fight to safeguard our votes and defend our democracy. The price of liberty and sustenance of our democracy is eternal vigilance and appropriate reaction to ward off iniquities... We must all be ready to pay that price and not relying on hollow words of callousness. The derailment of Nigerian democracy will be a monumental disaster comparable to the disaster of the Nigerian first military coup...Nigeria must not be allowed to slip off the democratic path nor go into anarchy and ruin. No individual nor group has monopoly of violence or gangsterism...”
. This noise is belated.We are still going to vote APC..... No looting of public fund again....No bribing of National Assembly again ....No sharing of oil well again......The noise is much again him because what they did for 16 years is not possible again......If you like write essays after letters.,you can everln write comprehension passage we don't care we are behind Buhari and he will win in FeBuhari...
Ecstasy154: Former president Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria is back to the Abacha era when state institutions were used to fight perceived enemies of the head of state.
He was speaking on Sunday in his state of the nation address which he tagged “Points for Concern and Action”.
Sani Abacha, a general, was the military head of state from November 1993 till his death in June 1998 and was accused of using dictatorial powers to rule the country.
TheCable understands that Obasanjo decided to address the nation following recent developments in the polity, including the trial of the chief justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, over an alleged false declaration of assets.
Obasanjo said: “Today, another Abacha Era is here. The security institutions are being misused to fight all critics and opponents of Buhari and to derail our fledgling democracy. EFCC, Police and Code of Conduct Tribunal are also being equally misused to deal with those Buhari sees as enemies for criticising him or as those who may not do his bidding in manipulating election results. Criticism, choice and being different are inherent trade mark of democracy. If democracy is derailed or aborted, anarchy and authoritarianism will automatically follow.
“Today, as in the day of Abacha, Nigerians must rise up and do what they did in the time of Abacha. Churches and Mosques prayed. International community stood by us Nigerians. I was a beneficiary and my life was saved. Well-meaning Nigerians took appropriate actions and made sacrifices, some supreme, some less than supreme but God had the final say and He took the ultimate action.”
Obasanjo was jailed for life by Abacha on 1995 over an alleged coup plot, but he was released in 1998 after the death of the military ruler.
He was then twice elected president of Nigeria, from 1999 to 2007, having been a military head of state himself from 1976 to 1979.
Ecstasy154: Former president Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria is back to the Abacha era when state institutions were used to fight perceived enemies of the head of state.
He was speaking on Sunday in his state of the nation address which he tagged “Points for Concern and Action”.
Sani Abacha, a general, was the military head of state from November 1993 till his death in June 1998 and was accused of using dictatorial powers to rule the country.
TheCable understands that Obasanjo decided to address the nation following recent developments in the polity, including the trial of the chief justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, over an alleged false declaration of assets.
Obasanjo said: “Today, another Abacha Era is here. The security institutions are being misused to fight all critics and opponents of Buhari and to derail our fledgling democracy. EFCC, Police and Code of Conduct Tribunal are also being equally misused to deal with those Buhari sees as enemies for criticising him or as those who may not do his bidding in manipulating election results. Criticism, choice and being different are inherent trade mark of democracy. If democracy is derailed or aborted, anarchy and authoritarianism will automatically follow.
“Today, as in the day of Abacha, Nigerians must rise up and do what they did in the time of Abacha. Churches and Mosques prayed. International community stood by us Nigerians. I was a beneficiary and my life was saved. Well-meaning Nigerians took appropriate actions and made sacrifices, some supreme, some less than supreme but God had the final say and He took the ultimate action.”
Obasanjo was jailed for life by Abacha on 1995 over an alleged coup plot, but he was released in 1998 after the death of the military ruler.
He was then twice elected president of Nigeria, from 1999 to 2007, having been a military head of state himself from 1976 to 1979.
We have heard you our Igbo people. Whether you vote Buhari or not the South west will vote him and he will win the election.please note that Buhari will never ever handover to you as president in 2023.He will handover to Southwest.After south west it will be returned to the North. You will gnash your teeth till eternity. The choice is yours and the result is for your region ...Whoever has ear should listen to what the spirit is telling the Nigerian congregation..... You can still repent for good or be stiffnecked at your own peril
wowcatty: After 16 years of hell from Pdp, only irredeemable fools would entertain the thought of voting Pdp ever again. Apc can have 4 more years, and after 8 years if they don't get it right, they deserve to go the way of Pdp too.
. This is what we have been telling them but they are stubborn people thinking they can deceive us with online propaganda. It could have been better if the opposition is from another party not PDP which confessed 16 years of misrule mismanagement of fund looting of treasury and so on We are waiting for them at the gate...we will see in three weeks time
Busari132: The news of Atiku not willing to debate because of absence of Buhari was broken by Reno omokri on his twitter handle. Nigeria didn't find it funny and blasted Atiku and his handlers . see screenshot as shown below
They stole our money for 16 years and now they want to rule as president again....We will see in FeBhuari ....we will wait for them at the gate..
Busari132: The news of Atiku not willing to debate because of absence of Buhari was broken by Reno omokri on his twitter handle. Nigeria didn't find it funny and blasted Atiku and his handlers . see screenshot as shown below
Debate gives you opportunities to tell Nigerians what you want to do if elected not to attack anybody......Atikuloser has no mission for Nigeria.His campaign handlers and those following him should be flogged for their non intelligence
Nigerian politics is ridiculous. Different kinds of animals are contesting to be President.... rat goat sheep and so on.Can they withstand the lion of Daura hated by hundreds but love by millions.....It is in Nigeria that those who cannot win local government chairman election want to become President..... We shall see in FeBhuari if they can win their ward during elections
princedhapur: Live From Jos Plateau...........Who is still dreaming that a crminal like Atiku Abubakar(in an open election, where the talakawas will be allowed to cast their votes)can defeat a saint Buhari #NextLevel is assured.
Buhari hated by hundreds but loved by millions......
Asshurbanipall: Just met with representatives of Nigerians in D.C metropolis. Discussed my plans and commitment to work with the diaspora to get Nigeria working again. #LetsGetNigeriaWorkingAgain #BetterNigeria
President Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja appealed for accommodation and tolerance among cattle herders and farmers throughout the country.
Speaking at the State House when he received the leaders of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association on Nigeria, MACBAN, on a courtesy visit, the President appealed for calm among all citizens, saying that his government will give equal respect to all citizens irrespective of their ethnic, religious and geopolitical backgrounds.
According to President Buhari, “I appeal to all farmers and herders for restraint, mutual respect and tolerance for one another as people destined to live together in this great country. I appeal for patience and understanding as the administration works towards lasting solutions to these conflicts.”
He also urged the herders to support him in the task of bringing lasting peace to the country.
The President called on state governors to work with the Minister of Agriculture, who he said, had been mandated to work out a solution with the states by which herders will have access to water for their livestock, and farmers will have security against destruction of their farmlands.
President Buhari attributed part of the conflict between the two groups to the climate change phenomenon and population explosion, but regretted that its politicization by selfish individuals who did not mean well for the country did not also help matters.
He emphasized that this conflict was neither religious nor ethnic, but one that his administration has foreseen and warned about.
According to the President, “Before the Benue and Taraba crises, I called the Minister of Agriculture and the Governor of Central Bank and asked them to work with the state governors on rediscovering the gazetted cattle routes, clear of farmlands that had made for peace during the First Republic.”
President Buhari expressed strong confidence that a way around the problem will be found, working with the states which have an important role to play in finding a lasting solution.
“Whatever it will take, I am determined to bring peace between farmers and herders. I urge you all to be patient and exercise restraint while we are working for an enduring solution,” he stressed.
MACBAN, led by Alhaji Mohammed Kiruwa, informed the President that the 20-million strong body had sent the delegation to endorse his bid for a second term of office on account of the administration’s achievements in office which included, the successful clampdown on kidnapping and cattle rustling; and the fight against terrorism and corrupt elements in the society.
Alhaji Kiruwa said President Buhari’s personal qualities of honesty, integrity and his unparalleled commitment to the unity and progress of the nation, also informed his association’s support for a renewal of his tenure.
The handwriting is on the wall ..Buhari will rule for the next four years...The North is behind him..He is using their slot...The south west is behind him too. Osinbanjo is our son..we will vote APC massively.... The middle belts have no option other than voting him...The South east will decide whether to go for Buhari and have chances in 2023...if they vote Atiku.. and Buhari still wins they will gnash their teeth when The south west presents the next president in 2023..... Whoever has ears should listen to what the spirit is telling the Nigerian congregation.
adeoluphilips: Oyo 2019: Alao-Akala promises to prioritize workers' welfare and infrastructural development as ADP flags off campaign [b][/b]
By Wadud Wadraj
The bustling city of Ibadan was agog yesterday as Action Democratic Party, ADP stalwarts, led by its governorship candidate and a former governor of Oyo State, Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala; his running mate, Prof Abideen Olaiya; Honourable Olatoye Sugar; Dr. Fola Akinosun and Dr. Ahmed Salawudeen, stormed the city to flag off the party's campaign for the 2019 general elections.
Addressing the overwhelming supporters of the party who thronged Monatan market, venue of the campaign flag off, Otunba Alao-Akala avowed the commitment of his party to rescue the State from the grips of economic downturn, porous security, infrastructural decay and total collapse of the education sector.
He said the Action Democratic Party had meticulously designed its manifesto to revamp all the sectors of the State from systematic stagnancy and inoperable ridgity. He decried the rot in the education sector of the state which has translated to the decline in the performance of students in WAEC examinations as Oyo State emerged 26th in the latest ranking by the Exam body. According to him, his administration will resuscitate Oyo State Scholarship Board in order to assist indigent and gifted students of the State.
''I will ensure payment of thirty thousand minimum wage and approve all outstanding promotions to boost the dwindling morale of the labour force. All higher institutions across the State will receive necessary facelift and adequate funding to run their affairs without hiatus. Also, all arrangements for the takeover of Lautech by Oyo State will be finalized at the onset of my administration.
"Infrastructural development and urban renewal projects will also resume in full swing. It is on record that our administration developed Kolapo Ishola Estate to provide modern housing with crisp environment at the heart of the State's capital," he said.
Hon. Olatoye Sugar, while acknowledging the large turnout of people at the event admonished them to monitor the electoral process till the official announcement of results by the electoral commission in order to foil the plans of the ruling party to subvert the will of the electorate, he also noted that the present administration in the State has betrayed the main purpose of leadership and should be sacked through electoral means.
Professor Abideen Olaiya who affirmed his belief in the party's triumph in the forthcoming elections maintained that other political parties are jittery of the meteoric rise of Action Democratic Party (ADP) in Oyo State. He stressed that Otunba Alao-Akala remains the most experienced of all candidates jostling for the governorship seat.
Other dignitaries at the event were Chief (Mrs.) Kemi Alao-Akala; Director General of Alao-Akala campaign Organization, Chief Wale Ohu and all candidates of Action Democratic Party in the State.
. Deputy gov of Ladoja. for four years..governor for four years...You now want to come back.Are you the only one there? Thank for spending money to masses now through your fruitless campaign out the money you have stealing since.....You can never ever win in Oyo state ....
PrettyCrystal: While some Nigerian soldiers at the battlefield are getting tired and want to return home, a gallant young officer and his colleagues are storming the northern part of the country in high spirits.
The young soldier identified as Oluwatosin from Ibadan, Oyo state, was recently posted to Maiduguri, Borno state capital to fight Boko Haram insurgents.
Earlier today, the army troops left in a convoy while heading to their duty posts.
The young soldier revealed that he and his colleagues are battle ready for the deadly terrorists who have been troubling the nation.
In the north if Buhari and Atiku line up in February for election in each state. those that will be at the back of Buhari will outnumber those of Atiku...We will see in three weeks time.....
. Some people will run and run enter synagogues when Buhari is declared winner in February.....If you like spread rumours about him and use use hate campaign against him.....His second term is a certainty....
Many issues were raised here.They are critical and are great factors in deciding who will win in February. Let go there and see what will happen in FeBuhari
America has the culture of allowing a major party flagbearer from Africa to contest and come without harassment or arrest for a free and fair election. This applies to Atiku.His corruption case is still intact. To set the record straight Obasanjo and company processed his visa in December but Atiku did not want to go for fear of arrest in USA. If he is not a major contestant on February he must have bee arrested by now. The turn of events in February will determine USA next action......
Trash trash trash. you are seeming demented as well I wish you well in the next general elections. Av got a clinic to run. Go have a review of your life and frustrations.
Please remember to take some dosage of mental health drugs ..it will be good for your bipolar disoder too...I guess you belong to those whose leader is in Isreal...Like leader like followers. frustrated and hopeless Nigerian....
eendy: I wonder how old you are, but if how Nigerian politics works will govern how you live your life... Then you are your own demon. I spit on anything associated with you. I practice far beyond the chores of Nigeria I only pray it gets better so that less privileged lots like you will know what it means to have a president. Cow.
. I know you are a frustrated Nigerian with myopic view on matter.I wonder how you and your family and your derailed generation will cope When Buhari wins in February.... Accursed you and everything that belongs to you. your. senility is beyond medical intervention. ...I don't even think you live with humans or possibly you are an animal in human body.....At any rate woe to you and your thoughtless brain that will make you and everybody that associates with you backward forever and ever.....
eendy: I don't think I have ever seen a more daft reasoning than this all my life... As calcified as buhari's brain is, he would not reason this foolishly
your insanity and that of your generation becloud your understanding of Nigerian politics .You will regain your senses in February if it won't be too late for you....
duepurpose: Its obvious you have a serious psychiatric problem. We are talking about the fate of about 200m people placed in the hands of lifeless robot of a president, and you are here fooling yourself about North and South. How did i end up in this part of the world!
I don't abuse people when ex pressing my opinion but I will start with you today to you a lesson about mannerism......... I believe that the madness that is running in you and your generation will be healed in February .....I pray you don't commit suicide after the election.........
LZAA: U woke up this morning to type this trash Kai zombiesm sha
truth is always bitter but we will continue to say it without apology or sentiments to anybody...Is the south east serious at all about 2023? You think if Buhari wins in 2019 without the support of the south east he will handover to the south east in 2023? far from it.I t appears the south west understands the north well that why unless the south east wakes up they will lose their chance on 2023.
I don't understand why this noise about the president s health.The north said it is their candidate we must support. him .The north supported OBJ too and old man for 8 years of his corruption and money looting.still the north allowed him....Please it is the north turn for eight year if it Buhari they prefer as it is now. we should allow them and follow their candidate......Buhari till 2023....then our turn in south preferably south West
martowskin1: Shift to the south that is not united abi which south are u talking about ....
If APC make a mistake bringing up a south candidate, trust me they will loose ....
As it stand any northern candidate will beat a southern candidate hands down...
Until the south have sense to unite, the north will continue to rule
. Your opinion is noted....The south west is united but the south east is not....It appears Hausas trust the south west more than the south east. Our wasteful son OBJ ruled for 8 years..Buhari must rule for 8 years and complete the north tenure.In 2023 the north know that power must shift to the south.The only south that has not produced president is south east.But are they serious there? can they work together?February battle will show that.if the south east does vite Buhari he will never hand over to them....Don't be surprised if the south west comes back again. For the shifting of power it is a forgone conclusion.
feddis: PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has declared that if eventually he loses the February 19 presidential election, it will not be the first time of him losing elections. President Muhammadu Buhari The President who stated this while fielding questions on whether he will accept the results of the forthcoming election if he loses said it was impossible for him to lose. The President said he tried it three times but was unsuccessful until the introduction of electronic system and the Card Reader by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Speaking during a live programme tagged ‘The Cadidates’ debate for the 2019 general elections in Abuja, President Buhari said it sounded impossible for him the lose the election considering the wide reception has continues to receive across the country during campaigns. Asked specifically whether he will quit office if he is defeated in the forth the election, President Buhari said, “it won’t be the first time I will lose election,”. I tried 2003 and I was in Court for 13 months, 2007. I was in court for 18 months in 2011 and went up to the Supreme Court. I sat down and said God Dey. For the fourth time, God and technology helped me. President Buhari said that the government was following a tedious way in fighting corruption, following carefully the books and records. He said there are instances where contracts were awarded to companies and individuals without work done. Asked whether he was getting frustrated by the slow pace of the fight, President Buhari declares that “I can’t afford to get frustrated.”. He also explained why he has decided not to react on the bribery allegations against the governor of Kano State Abdullahi Ganduje. “I am completely overwhelmed by the Ganduje case. I decided not to talk about it because the State Assembly has taken it up,” he added.
The bitter truth is he cannot lose.He will win the election convincingly..... The north has additional four years now and the power will shift to the siouth ...It is sealed already.
February 16 2019 is an important day in the history of Nigeria.It is a day we will choose the president for the next four years.It is a day of making choices with only your one vote.It is a day Nigerians will decide whether to go forward or backward,whether to bring those who stole our money for sixteen years back or not,whether they prefer corruption in arrears or not ,whether the North will turn their back against Buhari or not,whether Atiku is More popular in the north than Buhari or not, whether the south west will abandon Osibanjo and forfeit their second position or not,whether the south east will support Buhari and be in line for 2023 presidency contest or not, whether Nigeria will let the north finish their second term like Obasanjo in 2023 or vote for a new northern man that will rule till 2027 or not,whether Nigeria will prefer sharing peoples money galore again or not,whether Obasanjo is still relevant in Nigeria or north,whether the Igbos are wise or not by planning for presidency in 2023 and whether the man who ruled as V P for 8 years looting our money is a new hope or not.The Febuary battle is between Buhari and Atiku....Who will you vote for and why?Express your opinion .Don't abuse anybody.Be a mature Nigerian
Oweku: Hmm...A 76 years old man who his suppose to be resting his old bones and playing with his grandkids is fighting to lead a country with more than 60 million great youth....
To make matters worst the same promise of 2015 ...All the promise get carry over to 2019..
And a 72 year old man who wasted 8 years looting our money wants to come back as the president.....What a country of looters in arrears!
mrrights: Dreaming of a February surprise By Minabere Ibelema
I had a dream that when the result of the February 16 presidential election was announced, the winner was neither incumbent Muhammadu Buhari nor contender Atiku Abubakar. Rather it was a presidential candidate who hardly anyone has heard about.
Okay, it was actually a daydream, a flight of fancy. Yet, it is not beyond the realm of possibility. Blame the daydream on the widespread dissatisfaction among Nigerian voters regarding the binary choice before them. To many of Buhari’s 2015 supporters, he has been a disappointment. For reasons within and beyond his control — mostly the latter — there has been no discernible improvement in the plight of the masses. Moreover, he has done much to vindicate critics who said in 2015 that he is too ethnocentric to lead Nigeria.
On the other hand, many voters see Atiku as another of the old brigade, another recycling of political leadership. That’s why Atiku has not been able to ignite the fuse of enthusiasm that Buhari did in 2015. Besides, Atiku comes with his own political baggage, dogged as he is by allegations of corruption. It is in this context that one’s imagination has to be excused for conjuring up a scenario for a February surprise.
Of the 91 registered political parties, most are parties only by name, having membership that might not fill up a small classroom. But numbers add up, and there is strength in numbers. Just ask Jonathan Swift — Ah!!! He bemusingly illustrated this in one of his tales in Gulliver’s Travels, the travel to Lilliput. Though the Lilliputians were so tiny that Gulliver could fit several in his palm, they nonetheless bound him and compelled him to do their will.
Nigeria’s Lilliputian parties can do something similar. I imagined them starting with a web-based joint convention facilitated with social media. In the course of the convention, they would fuse their various lofty platforms and form a Congress of Micro-Parties (CMP). The convention will then choose a presidential candidate from among the attendees, most likely the presidential candidate of one of the mini-parties.
CMP could then rev up enthusiasm through social media. Given that a most of the mini-parties were formed by young people and given their superior social media savvy, they could distance the APC and PDP in galvanising interest via digital media.
I also envision these young people lobbying their parents, uncles and aunts to give change a chance. They would lay out their plans for reform in concrete terms, not just rhetoric.
All this will happen so rapidly that it will catch the establishment parties and politicians unprepared for counter measures — not even rigging. And so, before we know it, there is a new political order in Nigeria, a concrete demonstration that the electoral process is a powerful means of change.
This will be a different kind of revolution. Unlike the Tunisia-inspired Arab Spring, for example, it would entail no upheaval. And rather than bringing about democratic rule, it will deepen an existing democracy. Above all, it will wrest political power from those who have long dominated it mostly because of their wealth and scheming. As daydreams go, this seems within reach.
Who’s afraid of the people’s will?
A major reason Nigeria’s democracy has been precarious over the years is that many politicians are unwilling to abide by the people’s will. And so — through vote-buying, rigging, intimidation and even assassinations — they subvert whatever process is put in place to ensure fair elections.
It is not surprising, therefore, that some schemers are now seeking to get around the safeguards of the Permanent Voter Cards and Voter Identification Numbers. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu recently announced the agency’s discovery that partisans are buying the cards and numbers with the goal of skewing the ballot. The fraudsters also collect the sellers’ phone and bank account numbers.
Yakubu speculates that the goal could be to keep voters from voting at all. Or “they may be acting on the mistaken notion that our system can be hacked and the card readers somehow preloaded ahead of the election and compromised,” Yakubu said. “We want to reassure Nigerians that we are aware of the new tricks. It is a futile effort.”
One hopes so. It is difficult to stop desperate people. And desperate politicians do desperate things.
Talking of desperate people, some of them saw it fit to disrupt the All Progressives Congress’ inaugural campaign rally at Ikeja on Tuesday. The violence was apparently perpetrated by rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, some of whose leaders were participating in the rally.
As The PUNCH reported, “Confusion thereafter ensued as the hoodlums, suspected to be supporters of MC Oluomo and Mustapha Adekunle, aka Seigo, another union leader, invaded the arena with guns, daggers, cutlasses and other weapons, leading to a free-for-all.”
Question is why would rival union members use the occasion of a party rally to engage in warfare? Despite the sustained gunshots, no fatalities were indicated in the initial reports. That suggests that the goal of the sustained shooting wasn’t so much to kill, but to disrupt the campaign. It is evidence that the next five weeks may not merely be raucous, they will be tumultuous.
The question of who is afraid of the people’s will mustn’t be disposed of here without comment on the attempted coup in Gabon. Of particular interest is President Muhammadu Buhari’s reaction to it.
“The military officers in Gabon should understand that the era of military coups and governments in Africa and indeed worldwide, is long gone,” Buhari is quoted as saying on Tuesday through a media assistant. “Democracy is supreme and the constitutional stipulations on the peaceful change of administration must be respected. That is the only way we can ensure peace and stability not only within the country but also in the region.”
“Amen” — and the equivalent in Islam — I can hear people chorus. It has to be very assuring to hear that view from someone who, as an army officer, overthrow an elected government and installed himself the head of state. We can now see why Buhari pleaded and got the press to stop referring to him as a general.
Even more assuring with this extolment of democracy is Buhari’s implicit pledge to ensure fair electionsnext month. After all, democracy based on compromised elections is much like a house built on sinking sand. That couldn’t possibly be the democracy he has in mind.Do I hear some more “Amen” to that?
. The dreamer has taken Tramadol before sleeping.He has to go back and sleep again .I am sure he will see in his new dream that the winner is between Atiku and Buhari..The north will stiil rule till 2023 as Obasanjo did for 8 years. Between the two it is Buhari that will win even with 2 000 votes......please Mr dreamer go and take Tramadol or Indian hemp no more
Politics › Re: I Have Received Death Threats - Obasanjo by ejimatic: 7:41pm On Jan 20, 2019
#NextLevel is assured.