As part of preparations for next year’s general elections and in line with the time table of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, all political have submitted the names of candidates to the electoral body for the various positions. With the conclusion of the exercise, it is obvious that the presidential race is between the, incumbent President and candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Muhammadu Buhari versus that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Vice-President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. All other presidential candidates, with all due respect, are merely escorting the duo of Buhari and Atiku to the polls.
Since then, tongues of the opposition PDP leaders and members have been wagging. They have been thumping their chests and boasting that they would unseat the incumbent President. What a day dream and wishful thinking.
The PDP members have suddenly forgotten that their party is synonymous with corruption. They are lost in the delusion that Nigerians have short memory of how they plundered the nation for 16 harrowing years.
When people indicate interest to vie for a position in a democratic setting, what should come to our mind is: What are their intentions? What is their pedigree? Does the candidate mean well? Do they have the capacity to deliver on their promises? How will the best emerge? Answers to these posers should guide our choice in February 2015.
First, what are their intensions? For Buhari, every Nigerian holds him in great esteem. He has integrity going for him. While a former Military Head of State, he launched the War Against Indiscipline (WAI). He, along with his Deputy, General Tunde Idiagbon doggedly prosecuted the war and for the first time, Nigerians started learning how to be disciplined citizens. Under the programme, they went after all the corrupt elements both in the military and civilian populace and fought corruption head on. Those found wanting, past and present were apprehended, tried and when found guilty sent to prison just as their loot were recovered for the country. Nigerians cannot forget the diplomatic suitcase era, which was an attempt to repatriate the Head of Presidential Task force on Rice, Alhaji Umaru Dikko who fled the country in a desperate bid to escape justice. This is why most Nigerians believe Buhari is the candidate that can lead a genuine war against corruption, a problem that has stunted growth and development in the country. If you also check his life style, he is not involved in primitive accumulation of capital. So, when you check his intension into government, it is clear, he wants to serve.
The same cannot be said of Atiku Abubakar. How did he emerge as the PDP candidate? He used his financial war chest to muzzle the political space within the PDP and brushed all other eleven aspirants aside to grab the ticket. Before the commencement of sales of forms, it was so obvious that he would emerge as the candidate of the party and that was what played out when they finally converged on Port-Harcourt to rubber stamp him.
No doubt too, the PDP supervised the worst corrupt and inept government in the country. Several cases of corruption leveled against persons in their government did not see the light of the day. Worst is the fact that the PDP consistently rewarded corruption. A shining example is the pardon granted corrupt leaders who pilloried the state-Alamieyeseigha and others. What about the Oduagate? Mindless thieving in the oil and gas sector acknowledged by several reports of the same Jonathan’s administration, yet, no one was punished until the Buhari government came after them in 2015. Where are the oil subsidy thieves? How many were convicted under Obasanjo or Jonathan?
Since the election of President Muhammadu Buhari and the enthronement of the All Progressives Congress at the centre, the administration has fought corruption to an appreciable level. The Buhari administration is also recovering looted assets both locally and the ones stashed in foreign jurisdictions. This has earned President Buhari his current leadership position as the champion of anti-corruption in Africa.
Besides, he is gradually building the economy and improving local production of agricultural and manufacturing sector. We are coming back gradually to the days of made in Nigeria goods. Looking inwards is key to taking Nigeria to the next level and not the dumping ground of foreign goods the PDP reduced the nation to when they held sway.
Insecurity has been dealt with, particularly in the North Eastern part of the country. Even the herders and farmers conflict in the middle belt has also been brought under control by the APC-led federal government.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), therefore deserves re-election in 2019, in view of the achievements of the APC-led Federal Government.
It is important that religious leaders and traditional rulers take steps to encourage their adherents and subjects to read every political party’s manifesto carefully and vote wisely in the 2019 general elections. Nobody should fool anybody with any blind message laced with a selfish agenda. Nigerians must shine their eyes very well.
We see selfishness at all levels gearing up in the PDP – personal, family, tribal, regional, and even religious. This is at the root of corruption, violence, disloyalty and the win-at-all-cost and by-all-means syndrome at elections that most persons routing for PDP represent.
We definitely cannot continue this way, good governance, genuine democracy, national unity, peace and prosperity for all Nigerians will continue to elude us if we allow persons who plundered and pilloried the nation for sixteen years to return to power.
President muhammadu Buhaari has done well this past three and a half years and he has set the foundation solid enough for the building of a new nation that we would all be proud of. Buhari has no stain of corruption in him. He has all that it takes to prevent the hemorrhaging of our common patrimony.
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is going nowhere as there is no vacancy in Aso Rock. He can try his luck as he is currently doing but at the end of the day, Nigerians are sure going to vote massively for President Muhammadu Buhari and that will send Atiku to a permanent retirement from partisan politics in Nigeria. February 2019 is not far and the APC will re-enact its winning streak.
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Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Edo State.
