NIGERIAN PRESIDENT 2023: ON BOLA AHMED TINUBU I STAND

By Kenneth Uwadi

In Nigeria we are a few months away from the 2023 presidential election. Elections in Nigeria are always fiercely contested. Politicians do everything to win elections. Presidential election flag bearers of various political parties in Nigeria have emerged. We have Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and  Peter Obi of the Labour Party,

The challenges facing Nigeria are as huge and diverse as the country itself. Insecurity is the greatest challenge Nigeria is facing. Security threats such as violent conflicts, armed robbery and kidnapping have assumed worrisome dimensions. Evolving threats such as insurgency and terrorism have further complicated the situation. It is estimated that Nigeria has witnessed uncountable violent ethno-religious, communal and political conflicts of varying intensity and magnitude. Poverty and unemployment are also problems this nation is facing.

The growing uncertainty over the 2023 general elections appears to be having serious effects on businesses in the country. Whatever happens in the political arena is bound to affect the market positively or negatively. The polity must be calm. Politicians need to be upright and play by the rules by following due process to ensure a peaceful atmosphere ahead of the elections. Besides, as the elections draw nearer, law enforcement officers should be more proactive. They should be able to identify flashpoints and ensure that a robust security arrangement is implemented to prevent breakdown of law and order.

As we seek a new President, the question remains, are you getting involved in the politics that have an effect on you? Have you made your analysis and decided for whom to root for? Without disregard for other political parties and their candidates, the 2023 presidential election is going to be a straight fight between Senator Bola Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). One of the things I pride myself as capable of doing effectively is to predict outcomes of Nigerian general elections. For me and my household, on Bola Ahmed Tinubu we stand.  He will win.Between his emergence on the political turf of Nigeria in 1999 and now, only an armchair, analytical yokel will underrate or belittle his awesome genius in Nigerian politics. He became so consequential that analyses compare him to the sage, Obafemi Awolowo. The truth is that, since 1960, seldom has Nigeria had a political aficionado who deployed the genius of the streets in the service of politics as Bola Tinubu. He is a strategic thinker, a great planner and a well organized personality.

Tinubu has been at the receiving end of all manner of attacks in the past few days. The attacks came not only from those who hate him, those who secretly admire his guts, those who fear him, but also from those who have been eating from him for a long time. But I stand with him and I know he will win. He has a track record of performance. He transformed Lagos State and he will replicate the feat in Nigeria.Those insulting him over his health status are not God. They are empty brains, blind and ignorant. Tinubu knows the road to prosperity, safety, clean environment, development of our nation and infrastructure because he has done it in Lagos state and will do it for Nigeria. He has made men and will make more men. He has a track record. He has produced councilors, local government chairmen and chairperson, members of House of Assemblies, House of Representatives, senators and governors. .He is a strongman and leader. He has the capacity to take Nigeria to the next level. He will take up the challenges of nation-building and development in a peculiar age of changing metrics of governance and collective security.

The PDP decided against a Southerner for President and adopted the ‘Anti South Posture’, evident by oddities and reprobate leadership being celebrated in the Party today, accounts of which daily saturate the pages of Nigerian newspapers and cyberia. They ( PDP) will not only be roundly defeated at the presidential  polls, but disgracefully too. Even the undemocratic underhand tactics that often determine who wins and who loses in Nigeria’s brand of democracy are odds that are currently stacked heavily against them. The North cannot rule Nigeria for eight years through President Buhari and go for another eight years through Atiku. Although it is not enshrined in the constitution, power rotation is a covenant that should be kept. Rotation of the presidency is capable of addressing the issue of power domination by certain regions or tribes in the country. Give all citizens a sense of belonging and reduce tensions across the country.  Sending the presidency to the South in 2023 is a task that must be carried out. God bless Nigeria.

-Kenneth Uwadi writes from Mmahu-Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria .

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