BY CHIEF A E. ONWUKA
Come Thursday 14th September, 2024, all roads will lead to Benin, the Edo State capital as members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP would gather for the final lap of campaigns to drum up support for one of their own, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP candidate in the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election, Dr Asue Ighodalo.
As expected, party faithful must show support to their very own, but it takes greater grace to attract endorsement from political bigwigs whose impact can swing the pendulum infavorr of a candidate. This is why gladiators like the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, and GCON will remain indispensable in the political calculation to secure victory for the PDP in the forthcoming election It is no mistake that Atiku is supporting Ighodalo.
Apart from his impressive track record in the corporate world, Ighodalo shares a lot of things in common with the man, Atiku Abubakar. A sneak peek into his astonishing profile shows that just like Atiku, Ighodalo is a prominent Nigerian businessman, lawyer, and a reputable philanthropist who hails from a family with a strong academic and professional background, which undoubtedly influenced his pursuits.
That he has promised to personally grace the occasion shows him as a true Democrat in body, soul, and actions. Little wonder that he was recently conferred with the award of “Hero of Democracy” by the Hall of Grace Magazine.
The Waziri Adamawa has, till today, remained one of the very few individuals to be truly called a Democrat in Nigeria, having been privileged to be tutored quite early in life by western teachers, precisely from Britain and the United States of America. Following the departure of British teachers from his local schools then, he was again privileged to be taught by teachers deployed to the country on the auspices of the US Peace Corps, equivalent of Nigeria’s National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.
This early exposure to American-style of doing things, the democratic way, giving the people unhindered freedom to decide their fate all by themselves, may have influenced his decision to become a Democrat in the real sense, and perhaps instrumental to his’ naming his university American University of Nigeria.
As a man who never forgets a good deed done him he showed appreciation, when not long ago, he donated some money to supporr the National Peace Corps Association in the United States, “to fund a new initiative featuring global leaders who will discuss Peace Corps’s impact.
It was for this reason that while celebrating the 50th anniversary of the US Peace Corps, in 2011 the National Peace Corps Association – an independent, nonprofit organisation, separate from the Peace Corps, that serves as an alumni association for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers – honoured Abubakar with the Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award. At the presentation of the award, the National Peace Corps Association described Abubakar as one individual who contributed to the development of higher education on the continent of Africa.
Atiku Abubakar is not just a Democrat but one who strongly believes in Federalism and truly demonstrated this when he launched the True Federalism campaign in 2017. His conviction stems from the fact that Political decentralization apart from allowing states to have control over their resources, can equally help to deepen and strengthen the country’s democracy as well as encourage more accountability because the governments will be kept on their toes knowing that the citizens are more likely to demand accountability from them at all times.
Having been around the political scene even before the current democratic dispensation from 1999, the former Vice President has vast experience to save Nigeria from the current economic doom and bad governance thrust upon us by this clueless administration.
His entrepreneurial spirit and astute business acumen that has seen him succeed in finance, energy, real estate, agriculture and other diverse business interests that have contributed to the growth of this country without a doubt makes him eminently qualified and prepared to take Nigeria to the promised land.
Atiku Abubakar knows that the country’s resources should naturally be deployed for the good of his countrymen and women and therefore would stop at nothing less, than to ensure that the citizens get full value for the patriotism they have invested .
The ball now is in the court of Nigerians to choose either to remain in the catastrophic economic cum political dungeon or to stand up and say No to Bad Governance and vote for that government that is determined to bring succour and assuage the four years of trauma we are faced with. The year 2027 is fast approaching. Let us unanimously arise to end pains, sorrows, and anguish. The time to act is now.
Chief. A.E Onwuka
13/09/24
