When the rival People’s Democratic Party (PDP) held its convention about a fortnight earlier to pick its candidate for the 2023 presidential election, the party seemed to have taken the shine off whatever its major combatant, the All Progressives Congress (APC) might offer later, especially in the light of what seemed vacillatory tactics. The APC held its convention this week and the fun or fury was no less if not higher.
In a way, that fun was almost simultaneously spoiled by the seeming indecisiveness of the party’s leadership on the alleged role of President Muhammadu Buhari in the process of choosing the party’s presidential candidate. There was the attempt to impose Senate President Ahmad Lawan as the candidate, an attempt which was polished with a lie that he was President Buhari’s chosen one. Buhari himself did not help matters with his earlier clear-cut statement in a public declaration that, since the party’s state governors exercised sole discretion in choosing their successor(s), he (Buhari), too, should be allowed to choose his successor. That was the loophole exploited by the party’s leadership in blackmailing or at least intimidating party members, especially on the National Working Committee, that Lawan was Buhari’s choice as the party’s presidential candidate. Of course, the National Working Committee members stoutly resisted any such proposal while Lawan created further confusion by claiming that all such confusion on him were speculative. Speculative?
Obviously, Buhari at that stage abandoned the party leadership, which, accordingly, had to cope with the circumstances by making the nomination exercise open. At the end of the day, Lawan scored mere 152 votes. Was that their choice as an imposed candidate on the grounds that, as a fellow northerner, he (Lawan) stood a chance of defeating PDP’s Atiku Abubakar in the 2023 presidential election? It was, therefore, timely that such baloney was instantly shot down and must never rear its head again.
When the APC convention proper came, it was fun and fury listening to the various speakers, especially two tenable southeasterners, former Senate President Ken Nnamani (The Third Term Assassin) and Science and Technology minister, Ogbonnaya Onu, one-time Abia State governor. Ironically, there was a major dent on the submission of the two men in the demand for the presidency for the South East. When Buhari made the offer of the presidency to southeasterners in 2017, even these two gentlemen could not accept the offer on behalf of their people and allowed Ohanaeze to publicly reject the offer. If Onu and Ken Nnamani stood out in 2017 and accepted the offer of Nigerian presidency against 2023 on behalf of southeasterners, both men could have been better placed today to demand that richest prize. Even when in 1999, almost everybody in the South East chose to be unbilically tied to PDP, Onu wisely pleaded with his people not to put all their eggs in one basket. He should have repeated that clarion call in 2017 when Buhari offered the presidency to the South East against 2023.
A star at the APC convention was Latter Rain Assembly preacher, Tunde Bakare, who held the arena spell-bound with his skill in oratory. He was unmatched as he is in today’s politics and Christendom. Unfortunately, for all his performance, the man still emerged as an unserious fellow. Even the erstwhile reticent President Buhari had to smile in admiration of Bakare’s oratorical skill. All said and done, Bakare could not attract a single vote. That remains public assessment of his somersaulting tactics. About two years ago, in a kind of self-promotion, he decreed himself as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Not even the most ardent member of the Latter Rain Assembly dared (to) doubt that prediction of their boss. Then about a year ago, the same Tunde Bakare authoritatively told Nigerians at home and abroad to support Bola Tinubu for the presidency in 2023. As was to be expected, Bakare was stung by the barrage of harsh criticisms of the guys on social media, such that the Latter Rain Assembly preacher immediately beat a retreat. Little wonder that the same Bakare reminded himself of the purported message from God that he was to encounter some miracle in 2023.
Speaking after the spate of stepping down by some of the aspirants at the APC convention, Bakare delivered his message (from God) in such language and manner that even Buhari’s attention was attracted. Amid the total silence induced by Bakare’s oratorical skill, the preacher said he would not follow anybody or group of people to step down or to support Tinubu’s candidacy. The crowd anxiously awaited Bakare’s bombshell. He did not disappoint as he claimed that “Instead, I am stepping up to remind you of God’s message to me in the past that I would be elected Nigeria’s 16th President in 2023 to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Bakare did not have a single vote in the primary election.
Jigawa State’s Governor Abubakar Badaru was the first to claim he was withdrawing to support Tinubu. That was ridiculous. Was he helping Tinubu? Surely not. As far as three weeks previously, the same Badaru, in welcoming ex-Transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi on a lobbying tour of Jigawa State, acclaimed Amaechi figuratively as one ofBuhari’s children. According to Badaru, any such son of Buhari is of the same blood group with him (Badaru) who then described himself also as Buhari’s son. In any case, according to Badaru, not only would he never contest against Amaechi but the people of Jigawa would follow any direction Buhari took. If Badaru so fully committed himself openly to Amaechi, then who was (that) other governor of Jigawa also openly stepping down for Tinubu at Eagle Square, Abuja? Nigerian politicians? Amaechi, even as a fellow politician, must have been aghast.
Others who also stepped down did so for one of the following reasons Either to settle old political scores, or to escape public backlash back home for contributing to possible defeat of Tinubu or they never stood a chance of ranking in the results or a (not too) clever way of finding their way back to Tinubu’s favour.
Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State can be admired for fighting to the last. Otherwise, was he ever hoping to be elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023? His score of 47 votes should console him over others who (each) scored zero.
What can we say of Rochas Okorocha? There is no doubt that he has national reach and can also be conceded to have the language, English, Igbo and Hausa, a seeming tremendous advantage. For God’s sake, the man should minimize controversies around his person. More votes can thereby be attracted. Like every other state governor, Ebonyi’s David Umahi established his record but on the platform of the PDP. He was, however, trying to be smart in defecting to APC to seek the presidential ticket for 2023 only after being re-elected in 2019 on the platform of PDP. Otherwise, he should have quit the PDP in 2019 to contest on the platform of APC. Did Umahi expect APC members to abandon fellow members who toiled on the platform of the party in the last seven years only to hand over presidential ticket to newcomer Umahi? Were Umahi to be the candidate, he would not have absconded to APC. Should it have been a case of anybody for the APC presidential ticket? The candidate must be seen to have served the party to deserve the ticket.
The seeming loser in the APC exercise for the 2023 presidential ticket is Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Such mistaken identity is not unusual in history except that human beings hardly take note. Hence, Nnamdi Azikiwe is on record that “History will vindicate the just.” Over 50 years ago, Ikemba Emeka Ojukwu was demonised for the unsuccessful Biafran secession bid. Today, South West Nigeria is agitating for Yoruba Nation in determination to break from Nigeria. Any difference between Biafra and Yoruba Nation? That is history at work. Six and half a dozen?
With presidential candidates for the two parties now selected, one Nigerian on the spot is former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whose assessment of ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Tinubu is not only well-known but also well-documented. Will Obasanjo go out on election day to vote? That is a task for the Nigerian press. For whom will he vote? Also, with the selection of the two men and their well known economic policies, what is the fate of Nigeria’s source of wealth, the liquified natural gas? If to be sold, to whom and at what price? Ten trillion dollars?
The ladies and the youths? After all the noise, where are they?