The Nation Newspaper

Category: Letters

  • The gains and pains of Presidential election

    The gains and pains of Presidential election

    SIR: Wednesday, April 1st 2015 will remain a great day in our democratic history, not only because it was the first time an opposition party defeated an incumbent president in a presidential election but because it was a day Nigeria joined the privileged few African countries where the idea of competitive electoral politics is becoming gradually institutionalized.

    Let me use this medium to congratulate the people’s general, Muhammadu “Okechukwu” Buhari on a well-deserved victory. You are the change that we seek. May your reign bring the desired change.

    My support for the president-elect became appallingly obvious when he emerged as All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential flag bearer. In one of my articles in December last year titled, General Muhammadu Buhari: “The Wind Of Change”, I averred that “General Muhammadu Buhari is the Moses of our time who is confidently living out his life of grace, this explains his wide acceptance this time around across the federation which has made him remain resolute in his mission and vision to stamp out corruption once he’s elected president”.

    I postulated further that, “General Buhari’s charismatic authority is a phenomenon, he is a man of untainted integrity, a strong distinct personality, with an unlimited amount of passion, he has the ability to inspire people to key into his vision. His cult of followership is on the increase. It cuts across ethnic, religious and party affiliations, it is a demonstration of his extra-ordinary insight and accomplishments”.

    One then urged Nigerians wherever they are in the yuletide season- north, west, east or south, to drum, sing, shout and write about the man. However they can, they should spread the good news about General Muhammadu Buhari. I give kudos to all those that shunned parochial sentiments and supported the people’s General till the last day-it wasn’t an easy decision to make. To the narrow minded, it was strange for someone from my region to be a die-hard supporter of an assumed Muslim fanatic. Many of us passed through the fire in defence of General Buhari they hardly know other than the hate documentaries and contrived propaganda some paid apologists of the out going government used to get at him.

    On social media platforms like Facebook and twitter, I wasn’t spared at all, the insults were beyond reproach and in the process of defending the people’s general, tempers ran high and friendships were severed. I lost friends who did not see reasons with me why we should look beyond religion and ethnicity and vote for a change.

    Due to ignorance or outright refusal to see the impossibility of such, majority of Christians were irreversibly paranoid of an “Islamic agenda” in Nigeria if GMB emerged president of Nigeria courtesy of repeated sermons in their various places of worship. On Monday 30th March, while many awaited the announcement of the winner of the presidential election, I was in my comfort zone celebrating the victory of the people’s General on my face book page, many that doubted me from the onset started coming to terms with the reality as results from states were collated.

    You and I were witnesses to the celebration of Nigerians both at home and abroad on Tuesday, 31st March. The emergence of GMB as the president-elect of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria is a strong reminder that “failure is indeed an orphan”. Many that never saw anything good in the opposition APC before now are already identifying with the party and before May 29th hand over date, there will be an exodus of politicians from other political parties to the soon to be governing/ruling party.

    After the elections, the biggest shame won’t be who won or lost, but the friendships or relationships that were damaged over politics while the campaigns lasted. Same politicians we supported that made us severe our friendships may defect to the soon to be governing party and it will be business as usual. I may have had the last laugh but the truth remains that friendships lost may never be regained again. It’s not worth the stress. Let’s drop our hatred for one another and move on, there’s life after politics.

    To friends that have been asking me all over the social media, “the gains of supporting General Buhari now he has won?”. The answer is very simple and brief, “It is not what I will gain, it is what Nigeria will gain, a great and better Nigeria for us all. Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by travails… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat according to Theodore Roosevelt.

     

  • Open letter to Gen. Buhari

    SIR: Dear People’s General. I write to congratulate you on your victory at the presidential elections. You will agree with me that it is a double victory for Nigerians. Victory number one: You won a historic election. A victory that shows that the Nigerian electorate are now capable of voting out an incumbent. It is a victory for Democracy in Nigeria. You are therefore a hero of Democracy in Nigeria. Your name is already written in gold.

    The number two gain is that the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan conceded victory to you in a gallant way that is not common in Nigeria, thereby averting any violence that was waiting for the echo of his voice. This action also produced another hero of Democracy in President. This is a great achievement and great legacy. I therefore recommend that you treat President Jonathan as a hero throughout your tenure. He should be regarded at all times as a Statesman beyond party lines.

    Here are the things I suggest should occupy your attention in your first 100 days in office: Security: Let physical and digital security become your priority immediately. To this end, I suggest that the Police be  made the central force for our internal security. Let us improve on the intelligence gathering and total skills of the police force. Let the Federal Government offer all graduates of Universities in Nigeria with first class and second class upper division or Distinction and upper credit HND opportunity to enlist into the intelligence arm of the police force. Then improve the conditions of service of the police force making it an elite force.

    Also let there be room for short service commission for experienced professionals from the private and public sectors to enroll into the police force. Let there also be Degree awarding Police training centers as we have for the army. These efforts will increase the intelligence gathering of the Police force and make it far more effective. Secondly, let the Federal Government and State Governments and the Federal capital territory embark on the installation of cameras to provide evidence for all crimes to make investigation easy. Later on, this will reduce drastically such crimes as kidnapping, 419, armed robbery and ritual killing.

    Corruption: Start by declaring your assets and make it a condition that anyone who will serve in your cabinet must declare his/her assets. Strengthen the existing institutions like ICPC, EFCC, National Orientation Agency and create more. Re-introduce War Against Indiscipline (WAI). Do not spare any corrupt officers. Agriculture: Let there be a proper framework for agriculture. Do not tell us the successes of your agric policy and efforts on the pages of newspapers and television screens. If agriculture is working, the common man will know, it does not need advertisement. The common woman will come back from the market with a basket of tomatoes at N100. It should be like the GSM, which impacted the common man without any advert from government. Also take note that any policy or program that you have to spend money to convince Nigerians is not in the interest of the masses that voted for you. Address also the issue of recurrent versus capital budgets of this country. Do not create any groups that will start singing your praise; it is a waste of time and resources of Nigeria.

    Please start with the three items above, after which education, infrastructure development will start. Sir , this is the time to start work. I suggest that every appointee into your cabinet must pass an interview and sign a document of performance commitment before appearing before the senate. If finally appointed, performance must be regularly measured.

     

    • Ezenwa Uche ,

     Lagos.

  • FRSC and statutory functions

    SIR: Though the Nigerian Army started the first public safety campaign in 1972 when it initiated an annual road safety week, the very first deliberate government policy on road safety was the creation in 1974 of the National Road Safety Commission (NRSC) by the then Military Government. The impact of that commission was, nevertheless, not sustained. But in 1977, The Military Administration in Oyo State established the Oyo State Road Safety Corps that made some local significant improvements in Road safety and road discipline in the state.

    This lasted till 1983 when the Federal Government disbanded it. With the emergence of oil boom in Nigeria in the early 1970s, the trend of road traffic accidents spirally escalated and turned the country into one of the most road traffic accident (RTA) prone nations in the world, second only to Ethiopia. To address this dangerous trend, the Nigerian Government established what is now called the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in 1988 with certain spelt out duties and functions.

    Some relevant parts of such functions as contained in Decree No.45 of 1988 as amended by decree No.35 of 1992, passed and named by the National Assembly as Federal Road Safety Commission (establishment) Act 2007 which established FRSC are as follows: To design and produce driver’s license to be used by various categories of vehicle operators and determine, from time to time, the requirements to be satisfied by an applicant for a driver’s license; To prevent and minimize accidents on the highways and clear obstructions on any part of those highways; To educate drivers, motorists and other members of the public generally on the proper use of the highways; To design and produce vehicle number plates and standardize highway traffic  codes; To give prompt attention and care to victims of accidents and conduct researches into causes of motor accidents and methods of preventing them as well as putting into use the result of such researches.

    Also, the FRSC is empowered to determine and force speed limits for all categories of vehicles and adopt the use of speed limiting devices; To cooperate with other bodies or agencies or groups in Road Safety activities or in preventing accidents on the highways; To make regulations in pursuance of any of the functions assigned to the corps under this Act; To regulate the use of sirens, flashers and beacon lights on vehicles other than ambulances and those belonging to the Armed forces, Nigeria police, Fire service and other para military agencies; To provide roadside and mobile clinics for the treatments of accident victims free of change.

    Contrary to the above duties and functions of the FRSC, vehicles and other materials causing obstructions on the major highways is a regular feature on our roads. Apart from the fact that vehicles which have been damaged as a result of accident or mechanical faults constitutes obstructions on the roads, thereby hampering free flow of traffic, the activities of some motorists who by one way or the other feels they are above the law of the land and parks their vehicles in such a way that obstruct the flow of traffic thereby infringing on the rights of other road users. Many of these road obstructions end up spending weeks and months on our highways without any positive response from the FRSC. Rather, the FRSC itself regularly constitutes road obstructions of some sort in the name of carrying out unnecessary checks, which in their own wisdom should only be carried out during festive periods.

    It is a well-known fact that one of the major causes of accidents on the Nigerian roads and elsewhere in the world is drunk driving. Unfortunately and ridiculously too, when one takes a stroll along the streets of the major cities in this country, sights of bars and beer parlors are quite obvious and glaring everywhere, especially within the hours of 6pm and 12midnight, most of the customers who patronize such bars and beer parlors usually go in their vehicles. One now begins to wonder if drunk driving is really an offense in Nigeria? If motorists can freely park their vehicles along the road sides of major streets, take as many bottles of alcohol and then are allowed to go on to drive their vehicles on the same roads with innocent Nigerians, then the FRSC is not doing enough as regards our safety on the roads.

    A visit to some of the major parks in major cities shows that the sale and consumption of diluted local gins called paraga, ‘push me-I push u’ or ‘taju-taju’ is a regular feature. Most of the divers wouldn’t take off without taking one or two “shots” of these diluted local gins. What is surprising is the way the FRSC has always pretended as if it is not aware that such things happen in Nigeria, thereby deliberately putting the lives of innocent Nigerians  at risk.

    Rather than focusing on generating funds or revenues for the government, which is not even part of its statuary duties and functions, the FRSC should concentrate more on saving lives on Nigerian roads and it should remain within the confines of its functions. It should beam its searchlights on the activities of the sales and consumption of alcohol in parks and on the streets of major Nigerian cities. Regular and routine surveillance should be carried out on the highways to ensure that obstructions are cleared in order is prevent accidents and enhance free flow of traffic. The FRSC should not always wait until it is festive season to go all out to ensure maximum safety on our roads but this should rather be a daily routine. In line with the functions  and duties of the FRSC, roadside and mobile clinics should be established at regular intervals along the major highways to serve as first aid points to accident victims..

     

    •  Hussain Obaro,

    Ilorin-kwara state

  • Gale of defection is and party politics in Nigeria

    The lamentable ironies of Nigerian political elites revolve around hypocrisy of the highest order. They are one thing outside and another thing inside government. In September 2010, one time CBN Governor wrote a piece entitled “2011 Elections, Let the Real Debate Begin” and was published by Thisday newspaper. The FEC discussed it and the Minister of Information then rained personal attacks on the author. However, many newspapers’ editorials were in strong support of the issues raised.

    Another elections period came around this 2015, but the tragedy of the electioneering campaign was that both contending parties missed the  golden opportunity to sensitise the electorate about the enormous challenges ahead and hence mobilise them for the inevitable sacrifices they would be called upon to make soon. Both bigger parties talked around the major development challenges to sway the gullible electorate, but none has any credible agenda to deal with these issues. The assertion is correct within the context of the evolving global economy and Nigeria’s broken finance.

    From the socialist political perspectives, we have always provided alternative platforms for a paradigm shift. Bourgeoisie democracy rooted in capitalist economic model can never and will never liberate and emancipate the working people, peasants, artisans, youths and women from the vicious cul-de-sac of imperialism. Nigerian politicians like their counterparts across the African continent are dare devil desperados. Their stock-in-trade is problem creation, but lacks the abilities to proffer solutions. They are ardent destroyers, but not builders as they are quick to sing transformation without an idea of reformations. They know best how to create genies like thugs, kidnappers, armed robbers, assassins, arsonists and terrorists. They don’t understand the theories to create genius who could be inventors of global brand or innovators in leadership and business. They only believe in the now and here, but no thought for posterity as they teach the youths not to believe in the future when they expect to be leaders. They pay the youths to do their bidding for paltry worthless amount of money

    Today, the African youths have mortgaged their future as they have been in cohort with politicians to destroy and truncate it before they even see it. They were at it as bomb blast echoed from the North East and reverberated in the South, East and West and spreading across the entire country as we awaited the Ides of February 14 2015, time line Nigeria. A temporal reprieve negotiated by stakeholders in security, defence, INEC and others put on hold the palpable doomsday. This was part of the contradiction that has sustained the brigand political competition and administration in Nigeria which has reduced the polity to an intra bourgeoisie squabbles and manipulation. The total devotion to such macabre politics is one which has unwittingly thrown us to an odd paradox in several respects. There is no better time to echo a people’s revolution than now.

    However, when 28th March 2015 finally came, the Nigerian people demonstrated their power to change unpopular government with their votes. Although, the ideal change that emanates from below is yet to produce a government. It is in this stage that an organisation like Socialist Workers League and other socialist tendencies come to reckoning. These are tendencies with a clear programme which consists of the most advanced elements of the working class and social activists. It will provide platforms that can gather the energy from the looming spontaneous outburst of protests from below and focus it. When this begins to happen, then we know the dawn of people’s protest for real change has come. The incoming government does not represent the genuine working class desired change yet as only workers themselves can agitate for the desired change through self emancipation from below.

    By Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh, Abuja

  • Shameful defections of our politicians

    The recent victory by the APC in the last presidential and national

    assembly elections has triggered mass defections of our politicians to the party.

    This is not a good development in our quest to sustain a virile

    political system in the country, because of the seeming one-party system enthronement in our nation.

    The recent defection to the APC by major political stakeholders would not augur well for our country.

    The enabling environment that would create favourable opposition parties that would checkmate the excesses of the ruling party is what is needed at this period of our political development.

    Those defecting to the wining party should have taken a lesson from the president-elect who refused to change parties, despite the olive branch extended to him at that time.

    All those politicians defecting to the wining party have shown that they don’t have clear ideology and principles of nurturing a party to stardom like what the current opposition party has done before it was able to clinch power from the ruling party.

    Nigerian politicians should cultivate the habit of grooming political parties for long period of time to check the party in power, so as to promote the culture of political growth in the country.

    The recent election that took place in the country has portrayed Nigeria in positive light in the eyes of the world, due to the transparent and credible election.

    We should not allow ourselves to be a laughing stock in the eyes of the world by the gale of defections of our politicians to the wining party; it’s not the usual around the world.

    Bala Nayashi, No 1 Yashi Areas, lokoja

  • Extortion of passengers at Lagos Int’l Airport

    The Nigerian Immigration has started collecting as much as N50,000 to stamp the passport of people below 40 years of age going to Dubai. Meanwhile, nothing has changed at the port of entry of Dubai; everyone is allowed to enter the country as long as you have the visa.

    It is true that Dubai has recently called on Nigeria Immigration to check on young travellers coming into the country with other motives, but they have not asked them to make money from them.

    The Dubai visa is system automatically generated and it has been programmed on the system, your visa can never be approved if Dubai does not want you to come.

    Under the new rule: Dubai Immigration says that if a man is less than 40yrs, he can’t travel on tourist visa. A tourist visa is one month but a man less than 40 years can come on two weeks visa, three months or residency visa.

    This law of 40 years doesn’t affect women at all on any kind of visa.

    These are the Visa Types:

    1] Tourist visa/one month visa [A man less than 40 years of age is not allowed}

    2] Service Visa / two weeks Visa [it is ok for all]

    3] Visit Visa / three months visa [it is ok for all]

    4] Residency Visa / two years Visa [it is ok for all]

    I just want all those travelling to Dubai to understand everything about visas and reject extortion.

    Please note that the new rule affects only a man less than 40 years on Tourist visa only.

    Do not allow shameless immigrations officials collect any money or send you back home when you have your valid visa.

    Thank you.

  • Buhari and burden of statecraft

    SIR: I really don’t envy Nigeria’s President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd). The huge responsibility destiny has placed on his shoulders, following his emergence in the March 28th presidential election, can only be carried by an extraordinary human being. It takes a man with spectacular attributes to accept such a task and deliver on the demands of such an exalted office.

    It is unusual to envy a man who is faced with a situation as complicated as presiding over the affairs of a nation of nearly 170 million people. You really can’t envy a man who many see as the long awaited messiah. A man so talked about and adored by countless number of people. A man whose name commands enormous respect. A man who has promised to put Nigeria on the path of prosperity and moral rectitude. GMB finds himself in a situation as difficult as drilling a borehole with a needle. Can he deliver? Only time will tell.

    Jokes apart, it is certainly not going to be as easy as anticipated by some Nigerians. It is an open secret that GMB will encounter countless battles in his quest to fix the system. Time indeed is of the essence. Typical of Nigerians, they will expect the President-elect to right all the wrongs perpetrated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the last sixteen years in one full swoop. All they would want to see are practical changes; both in actions and words. No room for rhetoric, just action.

    GMB is assuming leadership at a time most Nigerians have become politically enlightened and are very ready to ensure that leaders deliver on their campaign promises. Nigerians have resolved to take their destiny in their hands. The era of ‘siddon look’ is far gone. We are now at a stage in our chequered political history where voters know the power that the voters’ card confers on them. The Daura-born General is coming to power at a time the nation has been bruised, battered and inflicted with festering economic, political and social wounds. I am very sure he is not unaware of what the issues are. He should perish the thought of coming to offer any form of excuse on why Nigerians shouldn’t expect much from his government when inaugurated.

    Without doubts, expectations are incredibly high. Nigerians are all looking up to him for immediate answers to nagging national maladies. They would wish he could banish Boko Haram without necessarily deploying troops to the northeast. They would also wish that all unemployed Nigerians gain employment in choice government parastatals without appearing before any recruitment panel. All dilapidated infrastructure are fixed over-night. Bad roads fixed; hospitals equipped and supplied with modern state of the art equipment and corruption is killed and buried overnight. That is Nigerians for you.

    As he basks in the euphoria of his well-deserved victory, he needs to be reminded that Nigerians are naturally impatient people. This sweet honeymoon won’t last long. Very soon, yes, very soon, we, including this writer, will pick up pen to remind him of the many promises he dished out during his campaign tours. GMB should perish the idea of having a swell time in the next four years. Anyone saddled with the assignment as serious as administering Nigeria should not expect to be pampered.  We shall hold GMB and his cabinet to account. The very tool with which we opposed, engaged, assessed and criticized President Goodluck Jonathan’s anti-people policies and programmes shall be used in dealing with GMB’s government. Either ethnic or political interests won’t sway us. We shall be very critical of his government; especially on issues that pertain to good governance, rule of law, corruption and insecurity.

    Nigeria first, Nigeria always, should be his guiding principle. It is not about those who pooled resources together to inject life into your political aspirations. Your party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) must accept the obvious fact that your loyalty is first and foremost to your country. Chieftains within your party should avoid the temptation of meddling into issues of national importance. Your new office forbids that you discriminate against those on the other side of the divide. Like you reassured in your acceptance speech recently, every Nigerian shall be treated equally, no matter the party he or she belongs. Let him be aware that he is about swimming in a shark-infested water where all he needs is rare courage and determination to succeed. He shall encounter hydra-headed political monsters. Let him know that he is about threading on a very slippery path, dotted with thorns, snakes and vipers. It really takes a courageous man to walk this path and return unhurt.

    Achieving significant success is largely a question of those you intend to invite into your cabinet. The success or otherwise of any government is determined by the array of individuals that form the cabinet. You should be very thorough in your selection of ministers and other high-ranking appointees. Competence, capability and track records should be criteria for selecting those who should form your cabinet. Square pegs should be put in square-holes, not otherwise. Shelve the idea of assembling your team based on narrow considerations. The best should be given the opportunity to showcase their innate talents.

    The APC isn’t short of brilliant minds. I can reel out hundred names of tested and trusted APC members that can form a credible and serious Federal cabinet. I resist the temptation to mention names here. Let’s leave that for the APC to handle.  GMB should prepare his mind for the challenges ahead. We really have no time to waste. Upon inauguration the new government is expected to hit the ground running. Political honeymoon rarely lasts, only laudable achievements do. I wish the President-elect good luck as he prepares to assume office come May 29th, 2015.

     

    • Abdullahi Yunusa

     Imane, Kogi State.

  • Nigeria’s threshold of stability

    SIR: Obviously, the prophesy of doomsday prophets preceding the last presidential election has come to naught. It is on record that the international community and some individuals predicted doom if any of the two major contenders in the 2015 presidential election; President Goodluck Jonathan of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), or General Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Congress (APC), lost the election. But in every contest, there will definitely be a winner and a loser. The rest is history.

    Congratulations and thanks to President Jonathan for his political maturity and statesman-like conduct. He conceded defeat earlier by congratulating on phone the winner, Gen. Buhari prior to official announcement of results by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and this went a long way in stabilizing the nation’s already high temperature.

    At this juncture, President-elect, Gen. Buhari deserves more of sympathy than congratulations. He rode on the crest of change mantra to attain this historic victory of defeating an incumbent president. The change he promised during his campaigns has raised the citizens’ expectations. Nigerians want positive socio-economic change from the day he is sworn-in as president on May 29, 2015. We need education that will produce employable graduates while poverty index needs to be improved.

    The sick economy needs to be healed; there should be moral discipline in the management of government expenditures as we expect corruption to be drastically reduced and security of lives and property given premium consideration. To whom much is given, much is expected and probably, the President-elect has recognized this fact.

     

    • Yusuf Anuphawi,

    Finance quarters Wuye, Abuja

  • The Lagos issue

    SIR: Lagos has always been accommodating to all comers. In its long and rich history, there has never been any major record of blood letting and inter ethnic discord and strife. Let us hope that this will continue to be so. As exasperating as the place can be at times, it remains actual fun a place to live. That is why it is a melting pot. It is an all comers place precisely because those you meet there on arrival are always so enduringly accommodating.

    Not everyone everywhere else is that all encompassing.  Astonishingly, in contradistinction, there are parts of cities in Switzerland where foreigners cannot buy property. They can rent for as long as they like but none of the changing of title business. Most people first come across this caveat through the property pages. Lagos does not have this kind of caveat to its eternal glory. Such is the liberal ethos of the metropolis that no one ever mooted the odious and utterly disgusting concept of ‘abandoned property‘ there.

    Certainly, that most fair minded of men, the former Lagos state military administrator, Mobolaji Johnson, had all the legal instruments to do so. However, the Yoruba are not like that. This is more than you can say for some other people. We must not also forget that a lot of people in Lagos also collected rent for those who were trapped in the east due to the civil war. This is a classic case of being your brothers’ keeper.

    It will be most unfortunate if everything now changes due to some senseless and insensitive exuberance. It should not come to “OK! No more Mr. Nice guy”. If it does, it diminishes the very essence of our humanity. Lagos is what we should aspire to be. It is the most civilised part of Nigeria. It has always been.

    In the First Republic, P.C Ebudike represented Badagry-West in the Western House of Assembly. Mrs Mercy Eneli, Ibezim Obiajulu and Moronu were councillors freely elected by all Lagosians. It has been a long glorious history of accommodation.  To the opportunists and the sabre rattlers, let us remind them of the words of Bob Marley ‘when the rain falls, it won’t fall on one man‘s house‘. For they reap the whirlwind those who (inadvertently, it is to be hoped), sow the wind.

     

    • Kanmi Ademiluyi

    Lagos

  • April 11th elections: Lagos must be wise

    SIR: All is now set for the Governorship and State Assembly elections across most states of the federation. In the last few months, the candidates and their parties have been feeding the people with promises of what they will do when they get to or re-elected to power. To this end, one can safely posit that they have done their bits and it is now left to the electorates to do the needful come Saturday 11th April.

    However, it will be pertinent to call on the electorate to be wise when choosing the party/candidates to vote for. At this juncture, I will like to concentrate on Lagos, my state of origin and residence.

    It is no longer news to hear people from different parts of the country (even foreign visitors) including top government officials using the transformation that has taken place in Lagos as reference point to other governors to emulate so that the people can enjoy true dividends of democracy.

    This, is in view, of the fact that a lot of infrastructural projects have been completed and some ongoing; jobs have been created; workers are paid regularly and other laudable programmes have been put in place to pave ways for a better future for the people. So, one can safely say ‘it has been so far, so good’.

    Interestingly, members of the opposition parties have also given credence to the fact that the Fourth Republican governments in the state (1999 to date) have performed creditably and that they would have done far better if they had been in the same political party with the government at the federal level.

    During the electioneering campaign, the opposition party (PDP) in the state strongly emphasised on the need for people to vote for their party so that more development can be witnessed because of its affiliation with the federal government (PDP). This permutation was based on their unflinching belief that PDP will retain power at the federal level. True to their insinuation, I want to strongly align with their position that the progressive government in the state would have done excellently if they have been accorded the required attention and entitlements by the federal government. Be that as it may, it is still safe to say that our progressive leaders have put in their best to lead us to where we are today.

    It is in view of the position of the PDP vis-à-vis the efforts and good work of the government and leaders of the APC in the state that I will want to put forward the following tips for our people to consider before casting their votes on Saturday 11th April.

    Firstly, by the special grace of Almighty God, the outcome of the presidential elections held on March 28th, clearly shows that the APC will be in charge at the federal level from May 29th. What this means is that the best thing for every patriotic person in Lagos is to opt for the APC at the state level. This is in view of the fact that it will ensure continuity of the good work of the progressive government as well as getting the required and necessary support from the federal government.

    Secondly, the opposition party should be honourable enough to still stand by their very unique position and campaign strategy that Lagos will be better off if a candidate of the same political affiliations with the federal government is voted into power.

    Thirdly, after the party primary that produces Akinwunmi Ambode as the flag bearer of the APC, some leaders of the PDP in the state came out boldly to say that the APC have shown them the direction to go in selecting their own candidate (that is a Christian and qualified professional). This is an admission of the fact that Ambode is qualified, sound and capable of ruling the state.

    Fourthly, it would not be in the best interest of Lagosians and the state to take a dangerous gamble by putting our future in the hands of those that could not conduct peaceful and rancor-free party primaries.

    Fifthly, the state is steadily growing and now the envy of all and sundry. We cannot afford to take chances of experimentation going backwards.

    Sixthly, the PDP has engaged in evil personal campaigns against Asiwaju in the state to sell a dummy to innocent electorates and swing votes in their favour.

    Finally, now that we have gotten the opportunity that we have sought for years. So, my good people, it is time to VOTE WISELY.

     

    • Hon. Rasheed Olu-Ajayi

    Odi-Olowo Constituency 1 Mushin Lagos