2023: Why The South Must Quit Ego Tripping And Show Support For Tinubu, Matters Arising By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah

2023: Why The South Must Quit Ego Tripping And Show Support For Tinubu, Matters Arising By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah

The last 24 hours have brought up so many intrigues that one could wonder if the entire drama was only 24 hours long. What happened in just 24 hours yesterday reminds me of the movie Sequel 24 starring the great Jack Bauer.

Yesterday was action packed as the ruling party the APC kickstarted its much anticipated National Convention. The day began with the Northern Governors stating unequivocally their support for a Southern Presidency.

This was agreed upon by the president, who instructed the Southern contenders to work within themselves to produce a formidable candidate to confront the PDP and its flagbearer, Atiku Abubakar.

Following that, the South-West leaders met with the South-West aspirants and shortlisted three of them, namely Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Dr Kayode Fayemi, and Prof Yemi Osinbajo. However, the South-East and South-South aspirants were unable to achieve an agreement.

With expectations high that the APC will produce a Southern candidate to fly the party’s flag, the National Chairman of the Party, Abdullahi Adamu, endorsed the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, who hails from the North East, as the projected anointed candidate of the party and the presidency in a meeting with the NWC. It was alleged that he brokered a deal with delegates who would accept his VERDICT, offering each of them $50,000.

As soon as the announcement was made, all hell broke loose, with the majority of governors abandoning the National Chairman. Party leaders went straight for the APC National Chairman’s HEAD, demanding his resignation.

According to rumors, Abdullahi Adamu, who chased journalists out of the party’s national secretariat, has gone incommunicado. The presidency has since disputed the announcement and distanced itself from the National Chairman’s unilateral decision.

The Northern Governors insisted on transferring authority to the South and reiterated their position to the president. In turn, the president requested that the list of presidential candidates be pared down by today.

Five names have been forwarded to the president for consideration as we speak. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, David Umahi, Rotimi Amaechi, and Dr Kayode Fayemi made the list.

Matters Arising

A leopard is chasing us and do you ask me: ‘is it a male or female? There is a verified faceless cabal, as the APC national chairman demonstrated yesterday, and there is a grand conspiracy to offer a North vs North presidency rather than the expected North vs South presidency, having manipulated the PDP congress to bring in a Northern candidate.

From all appearances, Adamu had everything planned out; recall that the withdrawal clause to be signed by aspirants was only visible on the Presidential forms; I expressed my concerns at the time, but was assured that it was an optional condition.

I’ve never seen a withdrawal clause in any other form, Senate, Representatives, or House of Assembly. Only recently, the Oyegun-led screening panel required aspirants to subscribe to a consensus agreement, and I was told that only Asiwaju refused to commit or sign the agreement.

These schemes have been in the works since the day it was discovered that Jonathan’s presidency might not work out. This cabal is formidable, and it will do all it can to sabotage the South’s prospects of electing the next president.

Please tell us who among these Southern Gladiators can STAND this vicious clique in the APC bent on ruining the party and taking it backwards just to abandon the party for the PDP. It was done in 2015, when the PDP’s northern governors, led by PEOPLE like Abdullahi, abandoned their party and betrayed Jonathan, joining the APC as if they were content with the arrangement.

To these people, it is not about party interests, but about selfishness, which they conceal under the guise of Northern Interest. Please examine the following five candidates and tell me who can garner bloc votes from the North to beat Atiku?

I won’t name names, but only Tinubu has the capacity and competency to fight and defeat their selfish intentions; only the Jagaban has the money and human resources to take on the PDP and Atiku; and only Tinubu can strike out all of Atiku’s advantages.

Let us not jeopardize the possibilities of restoring power to the South; instead, we must set aside our egos and rally behind Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidency, for the threats are real, and the consequences might be disastrous if we fail to understand the bigger picture.

Apart from the Vice President, all of the nominated aspirants have been or are serving as Governors, in terms of infrastructure development and economic stability, Tinubu is still the best bet for a stable government.

Please let us join hands and make our Northern Governors proud , they have stood with us in these tough times; let us reciprocate their olive branch by standing together against this cabal that is both entrenched in the APC and the PDP.

Please keep in mind that Tinubu is our only option; we must enter this struggle with only one house.

Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah writes in from Abuja.

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