The die is cast. With the emergence of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) as the Presidential Flag bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC) through a very open and transparent presidential primary, it shows that the 2019 presidential election is a straight battle between the two contending presidential Candidates of the two major political parties-that is, incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari and the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar. All other presidential candidates are either living in self delusion or are just simply jesters. But democracy allows for multiparty and as such they are welcomed to make up the numbers.
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 2019.
First, what are their intensions? For Buhari, every Nigerian holds him in high 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 by General Buhari who fled the country in a desperate bid to escape justice. This is why most Nigerians believe Buhari is the only 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 former Vice President, 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 aspirants aside at the dollar-soaked Port-Harcourt PDP national convention to emerge the party’s flag bearer.
No doubt too, the PDP remains the worst corrupt and inept government since the return to democratic rule in the country. Several cases of corruption leveled against persons in the PDP government did not see the light of day. Worst is the fact that they were even rewarding corruption. A shining example is the pardon he 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 PDP administration, yet, no one was punished. Where are the oil subsidy thieves that were pushing for the removal of subsidy from petroleum products? How many were convicted under PDP administration? What about the sources of funding of their campaigns? Nigerians kept on asking the source of fund and they never provided answers until Buhari came to discover their vent into the public coffers, including returned looted assets. Can the PDP have the moral right to prosecute anybody in court in Nigeria for corruption when it stinks of corruption? The answer is an emphatic no.
This desperation of the Peoples Democratic Party to return to power by hook and crook should be resisted by Nigerians. The party always play bad politics with the appointment of its Board of Trustees Chairman and members. Alhaji Bamanga Turkur was forced to resign as its National Chairman and Alhaji Adamu Muazu was brought in from the back door. Bamanga Tukur went to court to reclaimed his chairmanship and met a brick wall. All these show the PDP as a party which does not believe in equity, fairness and justice. How can a party with these negative attributes produce the president of a country in dire need of change and combat poverty and insecurity?
The PDP on its part had been afraid of the All Progressives Congress from its formative days. Prior to the consummation of the merger, observers as well as some active players on the Nigerian political turf, mouthed that it would, like the previous ones, end in a stalemate. This, they explained was because it’s the coming together of strange bedfellows whose principles and political ambitions would not agree. But it later turned out that the personalities in the merger were unswerving in their commitment to proving all doubting Thomases wrong. When General Buhari was declared the presidential candidate, all contending aspirants accepted the outcome of the primaries and congratulated the Daura-born General, with all promising to join to his campaign train. Many PDP presidential aspirants were shocked with the outcome.
Clearly, the PDP remains afraid of the APC will continue to flee from its shadows till 2019 when they would be trounced again for apparent reasons.
It is noteworthy that Nigerians had never taken interest in the coming together of opposition parties in their bid to square up with the government at the centre when it happened, which many believed reduced citizens to vagabond status. Nigerians are apprehensive that basic needs of life such as health, education, water, electricity, food and other things would be out of the common man’s reach if by default, the PDP wins.
Also, the country was enmeshed in insecurity of unimaginable magnitude when the PDP held sway. They were busy borrowing foreign loan to fight insurgency, which defied all of their efforts. They borrow to enable them steal more of it, and the slaughtering of innocent Nigerians both Christians and Muslims alike continued unabated. The southern part of Nigeria and North Eastern parts were a haven for kidnappers, where even royals, celebrities, academics, sports heroes and heroines and even the poor public were afraid of their lives and the lives of their loved ones as they went about their lawful businesses. In the north, the insurgency of Boko Haram and menace of unknown gunmen made an average citizen feel very insecure. The PDP security chiefs failed to address these problems and had no answers to addressing them. Nigerians believe that only General Muhamadu Buhari among the presidential candidates who has recorded huge successes in dealing with insurgency can successfully deal decisively with the problem, himself a victim of Boko Haram insurgency.
Nigerians deserve nothing less than the best from its leaders, not endless excuses that the PDP governments kept giving. The upcoming 2019 general elections presents a unique opportunity for Nigerians to keep the PDP at bay. General Muhamadu Buhari has all it takes to deliver Nigeria from the shackles of the oppressive PDP forever.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
• Mr. Dan Owegie is a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
