₦airaland Forum

TonyeBarcanista:
Tonye Barcanista

On Thursday a group of aggrieved members of All Progressive Congress (APC) purportedly from northern Nigeria and led by a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Lawal Babachir, formally endorsed Mr Peter Obi of Labour Party for the 2023 presidential election. The group hinged their decision on not backing the candidate of their party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, over his decision to pick Senator Keshim Shettima from as running-mate. The decision not to back their Party's candidate was based on the fact that both Tinubu and Shetima are Muslims from the South and North respectively.

While I, like many others, commend the Babachir led group for turning their back on the divisive Muslim-Muslim pair of APC, I find their decision to support Mr Peter Obi as morally unjust and in conflict with the group's position on Tinubu/Shetima pair.

It is an open secret that Obi picked Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, a Muslim from Kaduna State as running-mate, yet, he strategically schemed out Northerners and Muslims from strategic positions in his Presidential Campaign Council. Without mincing word, Obi's Campaign team is heavily "Anambranised" and "Christianised" (if I must use both words) - which is as dangerous for the country as Muslim-Muslim pair of APC if allowed to occupy the position he is running for. In other words, the APC Muslim-Muslim pair and pan-Anambra/Christian team of LP Campaign are same coin of different sides.

In the LP's Campaign Composition, Peter Obi, a Christian from Anambra State, is the Presidential candidate, Julius Abure, a Christian from Edo State is the Chairman of the Advisory Board and the National Chairman of the Party, Chief Clement Ojukwu, a Christian from Anambra State is the Secretary of the Campaign, Dr. Doyin Okupe, a Christian from Ogun State, is the campaign Director-General, Chief Oseloka Obaze, a Christian from Anambra State is both the LP PCC Campaign Manager and Deputy Director-General of the Campaign, Mr Valentine Ozigbo, a Christian also from Anambra State is a Senior Campaign Advisor to Peter Obi and so on. The only top positions ceded to the North and Muslims are the positions of LP's running-mate (Datti Ahmed) and Campaign Council Chairman (Mr Mohammed Zarewa).

From the aforementioned, Peter Obi shut out not just Northern Muslims but also Southern Muslims and non-Anambra Christians (Save Okupe and Julius) from strategic positions in the LP Campaign Council. This clearly shows that Obi and LP are as guilty as APC in sectionalism in the composition of their team. To make matter worse, Peter Obi denied LP' National Secretary Alhaji Umar Farouk Ibrahim, a Muslim from the North, who ordinarily should be the LP' PCC Secretary, and gave the position to Clement Ojukwu, a Christian from Anambra State, who is the Party's Organising Secretary.

If Babachir could listen to the voices of majority Nigerians who are aligned with the candidature of Atiku Abubakar and Ifeanyi Okowa, the Presidential and Vice presidential candidates of Peoples Democratic Party respectively. This is because only the pair represents Nigeria's diversity and unity in terms of zoning, religion and region.

In the PDP Council, the Candiate, Atiku Abubakar is a Muslim from Adamawa State, the running mate, Okowa, is a Christian from Delta State, the Campaign Chairman is a Christian from Akwa Ibom State, Campaign DG is a Muslim from Sokoto State, the Party National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, is a Christian from Benue State, the Party Board of Trustees Chairman, Sen. Adolphus Wabara is a Christian from Abia State, and so on.

Perhaps, Babachir saw these yet aligned with Obi Campaign Council that is even more sectional than that of his party while sidestepping the Atiku-Okowa team that represents Nigeria's ethnic and religious
diversity in its composition due to mischief and hypocrisy. Maybe Babachir's public endorsement of the sectional Peter Obi Campaign is a strategy by Asiwaju Tinubu to ensure balkanisation of opposition votes to pave way for his victory knowing that majority of Nigerians are against his candidacy. This may be true when one take into account that same Tinubu was instrumental in the nomination of Babachir as SGF and same Babachir almost singlehandedly purchased APC Presidential nomination form for Tinubu.

Meanwhile, in all fairness and equity, it is just for all Nigerians to reject Muslim-Muslim ticket of the ruling party as well as the 'Anambranisation and Christianisation' schemes of Labour Party. Our diversity must reflect all that we do - this is the only way we can #RecoverNigeria. This is the reason majority of Nigerians are aligned with Atiku-Okowa presidential ticket.

God Bless Nigeria

Tonye Barcanista

brutustech:
Yesterday's outing in Kwara state is a wake up call to everyone who had written off PDP in the state because they were oblivious to the grassroot efforts Bukola Saraki and the PDP leaders have been putting forward after 2019 election. The pulse of the people that was felt across the state only suggests that Kwara will swing in favour of PDP in 2023.

Those who understand the factors playing out in Kwara state will tell you that the dynamics are different from 2019. APC who rode to power in the state through a coalition have not only failed to deliver but have also been plagued by bigger crisis which culminated into the establishment of a third force in Kwara thereby splitting their base.

PDP on the other hand not only retained their structure but provided refuge to those who were disappointed and regretted contributing to the emergence of the governor who is deemed to be one of the worse performing governors in Nigeria today. As of today, it is said that he has no groundbreaking project to his credit.

Neutral voters have also been swinging in favour of PDP because the APC government in power have nothing to use to woo them or convince them on why they deserve to be reelected. Many of the dynamics shaping up in Kwara bears a similitude to what we experienced in Osun state.

PDP hasn't gone to sleep in Kwara state, infact yesterday was an indication that the party has consolidated on its pre-existing structure and is now stronger than ever.

Kwara has taken the lead for PDP in the North Central and there will be interesting events to prove this in the coming days.

David Titoloye

Yesterday's outing in Kwara state is a wake up call to everyone who had written off PDP in the state because they were oblivious to the grassroot efforts Bukola Saraki and the PDP leaders have been putting forward after the 2019 elections. pic.twitter.com/RDKeWPzaB4

— David Titiloye (@DavidTitiloye) November 25, 2022

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TonyeBarcanista:
By Tonye Barcanista

At the return of democracy in the second republic, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and the Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP) were the dominant parties in the country. Of these three parties, the NPN was the first (and only) to adopt zoning of offices; the party chairmanship was ceded to the South while the presidential ticket to the north. The party equally made the green revolution (agriculture) a primary focus in their campaign.The other parties; ie UPN and NPP centered their campaign around welfarism and social justice/social change respectively.

In the third republic, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was the dominant party centred their messaging on welfarism and social justice. The other party, National Republican Convention (NRC) was conservatism leaning.

At the return of the fourth republic,democracy in 1999, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) - which still dominates the political space, as well as the All Nigeria Peoples Party (now defunct) pursued Social conservatism and Economic liberalism. The Alliance for Democracy (later Action Congress of Nigeria) adopted a combination of progressivism and welfarism.

While all parties between the period of 1979 and 2007 tailored their messaging in accordance with their respective agenda and Ideology, the Congress for Progrssive Change (CPC), which was formed in 2010 with the sole purpose of actualising the presidential ambition of General Muhammadu Buhari at the 2011 election, brought a new but sad dimension to the political arena. The CPC ran a vicious campaign that was never seen in the country - though their concentration was primarily in the northern part of the country. The consequence of that was a post-election violence that was never seen in Nigeria which cost the lives of members of National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) and other young Nigerians in Bauchi, Kano, Kaduna and other States - sadly no single perpetrator nor any of their soonsor was convicted.

In 2013, the ACN, CPC and ANPP entered into merger to birth the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the sole purpose of wrestling power from the then ruling PDP. During the 2015 electioneering the party deployed propaganda, hate speech, violent messaging and bigotry against then ruling PDP and her supporters. For the first time in Nigeria, the APC and her chieftains threatened to form a parallel government if the electoral outcome did not favor them - may I also add that the same chieftains of APC in 2014 charged residents in Osun State to mete jungle justice on anyone that sought to hijack their mandate in Osun gubernatorial election.

As a consequence of their vile speeches, the electoral atmosphere became extremely tensed with many fearing that a second Civil War may erupt. Though APC won the 2015 poll, the party successfully made hate speech, threat of violence, propaganda and several other vices as an electioneering norm to unseat an incumbent to attain power; only God knows what would have happen if the result was not in the APC's favor.

To make things worse, the party successfully reversed every democratic gains that Nigeria attained between 1999 and 2015 under successive PDP administrations - inflation rate is at all time high, insecurity is talk of the town, prices of commodities are skyrocketing on daily basis, pump prices of petrol and kerosene are not only exorbitant but relatively scarce, schools are shut down due to striking teaching and nonteaching staff, the polity is tensed - Nigerians are angry.

Therefore, it is incumbent on the electorates to be resolute and deliberate to #RecoverNigeria from the grip of the ruling APC in February 2023 poll: based on his manefesto and antecedents, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the PDP Presidential Candidate, is undisputably the best alternative for the to lead Nigeria from the pollution of the ruling APC.

God bless Nigeria

binsanni:
Name checker republic, make una help check which region this one come from