Politics

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari.

Nigeria’s Former President, Goodluck Jonathan, has taken to his official Facebook page to remember his former principal, Late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua.

Thursday, May 5, 2022, marks exactly twelve years since Yar’adua died, and Jonathan, who succeeded him as Nigeria’s President after his death, remembers him fondly on the anniversary.

He said although Yar’adua has left this world, the memories of his great works live with us.

“Twelve years ago, our nation lost a patriot, a selfless leader and a peacemaker who governed with sincerity and passion for the people. President Umaru Musa Yar’ Adua is no longer with us today, but his strides in public life continue to testify for him and keep his memory alive,” He wrote.

Jonathan also added in the third paragraph of his eulogy that Yar’adua is the kind of leader that is rare and hard to find

“He was a soldier of truth, committed to justice, equity and other democratic virtues. He was a servant leader and a good man, the type that is hard to find.” He stated

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has finally ended months of speculations and permutations with the endorsement of one of his long time allies, the incumbent senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Uba Sani, to succeed him as Governor in 2023 under the All Progressive Congress (APC).

This comes barely two months after Governor El-Rufai announced that his successor would be selected from the core team of his administration since 2015.

It was learnt that the former Commissioner of Budget and Planning, and a strong contender for the gubernatorial seat, Muhammad Sani Dattijo, had been asked to pick up the senatorial expression and nomination form for Kaduna Central.

Senator Uba Sani’s endorsement is bound to encounter some stiff resistance within APC in Kaduna State as other aspirants have already purchased the nomination forms.

By Dr Ibrahim Siraj

Apparently, no governorship election ever in Kano has drawn a larger number of aspirants than the forthcoming 2023 elections. From the two major parties to other newer and smaller parties, no fewer than a dozen people are vying to lead our great Kano State.

There is however a great deal of interest in what happens in APC owing to the obvious reason that it is the ruling party in the State and the fact of its factionalization and the intrigues that surround it even as parties in the party’s leadership legal tussle await the verdict of the Supreme Court expected to be delivered any moment from now.

This notwithstanding, the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) appears to have the largest number of aspirants many of whom have started mobilization through their support groups and the recalibration of their political structures throughout the State. Each of them though would hope to be Governor Ganduje’s ‘anointed’ candidate knowing full well the value and power of such ‘anointment’ in influencing the outcome of the primary election in Nigeria’s democracy. Other aspirants may not have the privilege of asking for more than just a level playing field.

While the search for Ganduje’s successor continues, some people are inclined to believe that The Kano State Commissioner for Local Government Affairs, Alhaji Murtala Sule Garo is the one going by some public utterances made by the Governor’s wife to that effect although the government was quick to issue a disclaimer to douse the tension generated by such outburst. There are others who feel the Governor would anoint his Deputy the same way he was anointed by Kwankwaso but in the hope that all will end well. And this brings me to my main topic.

For me, the farthest Murtala Sule Garo can go on a governorship ticket is the position of Deputy Governor due to reasons that are so obvious enough to be called common knowledge. Murtala Garo may be a tenacious, fearless, dependable and reliable political mobilizer in his own right but he appears to be lacking in so many qualities needed to govern a complex state like Kano: education (western and Islamic), administrative experience, exposure, charisma, urbaneness, etc. This is not to add the huge baggage of antagonists (I don’t want to call them enemies) that he has cultivated for himself either through his role as the most powerful Commissioner in Ganduje’s government or his role as “Commander” of the ruling party’s “militant wing”.

APC’s surest bet under the circumstances, therefore, is no other person than Nasiru Yusuf Gawuna. The Deputy Governor has all it takes to lead Kano in 2023. All that is lacking in Garo is present in Gawuna in sufficiently varying proportions. Gawuna is well educated and vastly experienced. He has the exposure, experience, sagacity, shrewdness, administrative acumen and humble mien to make a good governor. His cosmopolitan nature makes it easier for him to connect and relate well with the different strata of Kano society. His politeness coupled with his approach to politics makes him earn the respect of political gladiators across party divides. He abhors politics of bitterness and adversity. He, as a result, has the smallest number of antagonists possible for a politician of his calibre. Ultimately, he will be relatively an easy sell by a party suffering from a serious popularity crisis.

His over seven years as Local Government Chairman, his decade-old experience as Commissioner (and member of the State Executive Council) as well as his five years as Deputy Governor have more than prepared him for the job. None of the aspirants can boast of leadership skills and training acquired through years of on-the-job experience like Gawuna.

As a beneficiary of financially autonomous Local Government administration, Gawuna understands what it means to have a functional local government system that is able to cater for the immediate needs of our masses in the realization of the noble objective of bringing government closer to the people. He will be expected therefore to end the obnoxious joint state-local government account that has paralyzed governance at the local level and is further pauperizing our local populations.

Should APC field Gawuna and other parties equally field their own best, the task of choosing a good leader for Kano will be made much easier for the people. It will be a matter of choosing the best among the best for our State. We must therefore encourage all political parties to present their best materials so that whoever wins our dear State will be better off for it. The opportunity to vote for good leaders is often missed at the level of the primary election.

May Allah make the best of choices for us, Ameen!

Dr Ibrahim Siraj writes from Kano and is a lecturer with the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University, Kano.

By Ali Tijjani Hassan

Lately, in the previous weeks, Adamu Garba, from Adamawa state, declared his interest in vying for the office of the President of Nigeria under the platform of the ruling party, the APC, in 2023. Adamu, a young entrepreneurial pedagogy with fervent learning ability, nestled the slogan of the Youth-4-Youth movement. He’s a source of motivation, inspiration, and encouragement to the young generation.

After watching his declaration of interest speech and reading his visionary parable, “This is my Nigerian vision for the Presidency”, I learnt that; bundles of courage and braveness are kept in this young man. He meant business-like to his ambition. If elected, Adamu vows to tackle national threats like corruption, unemployment and insecurity.

The young Adamu, in his 40s, held no public office before his declaration. He’s likely to be a corruption-free citizen, and he could make a good President if elected and be the ‘Mr. Integrity’ we were craving earlier. As he said, “we failed many experiments with individuals that know nothing but public service”. Adamu’s mind is not obsessed and dominated by lively greed.

Adamu dreams of lifting the country close to heaven by transforming it into 21st century Nigeria. So, we can compete globally in diplomacy, development and economic productivity.

The audacity of fundraising:

President Muhammadu Buhari bamboozled Nigerians to send their accumulative income to his ‘fes benk’ account when contesting in 2015. Numerous Nigerians see it as fraudulent and daylight robbery that the aspirants use to avoid bankruptcy. If they do, so they lose to make it in the primaries. Buhari used this beguiling technique twice during his democratic terms, becoming a modus-operandi among shining politicians. It’s one of Nigeria’s political cultures that many Nigerians hate.

If this fraud has to be put into practice amidst this life plight and economic hardship, no politician fits the kind of supportive gestures from his followers than two political idols; Sen. Shehu Sani of Kaduna state and Sen. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano state. But to all my pleasure, these humble men surreptitiously take their form of interest without coward ploy.

Adamu Garba ll has adapted this weapon and paved his way to national legendary. The matter arose and transmuted to night thunder not only to Adamu Garba ll but also to many deceitful cartoon-sketch candidates. But alas, he received the shocking response of his life, as most of the responders took his notion as a joke and responded with a kind of joke we’ve never witnessed.

The saddened part is that some people are busy promoting this delusional love to the spendthrift governor like one of Yobe state. In a saner clime, people to used their hard-earned money to sponsor any candidate is not a good idea. Still, with the kind of deception we witnessed from the previous candidate that went through the same system, the culture has to be stopped and allow people to deal with the incompetency of these politicians.

Ali Tijjani Hassan wrote from Potiskum, Yobe state via alitijjanihhassan@gmail.com.

By Muhammad Sabiu

Mehdi Hassan, a political journalist, author and show presenter at MSNBC TV has in a 6-minutes video news report exposed how the Indian government appears to be complicit with far-right fanatics in persecuting and bullying non-Hindi Indians.

This is coming amidst far-right movements in major world countries, including France, where Le Pen, the presidential candidate who contested in the recently concluded election, lost to her archrival, Emmanuel Macron, due to what many people attributed as her far-right political views against Muslims in France.

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who has been in office since 2014, has been accused of openly promoting Hindu Nationalist Supremacist Ideology, which aims at segregating Muslims, Christians and other non-Hindi faithful.

The ideology being championed by Narendra’s political party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) could, according to scholars and observers, lead to genocide.

According to the TV presenter, Mehdi Hasan, “minorities” in the Indian Muslim and Christian communities are facing the greatest threat since India became independent.

Mehdi recalled also that the great Mahatma Ghandi himself was assassinated by the so-called Hindu supremacists, who believe India belongs to them.

Recall that the Daily Reality has reported that, during the Hindu celebration of Ram Navmi early this month, Muslims in many Indian states were reportedly scared as crowds marched through their towns, shouting anti-Muslim slogans and destroying their property.

This is what prompted the forum of Nigerian Ulama to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to rescind his Neo-Nazi ideology and embrace democracy as envisioned by India’s founding fathers.

In a statement released by the Forum of Ulama, the preachers lamented: “India claims to be a democratic secular State, but in the actual sense it is an undemocratic Hindu supremacist State. There is no other modern state in the world today that oppresses over 200 million of its citizens solely on the basis of their religious beliefs, with brutal determination to strip them of their rights to exist as human beings.”

By Zayyad I. Muhammad

Godwin Emefiele, 60-year-old Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, is one of the presidential hopefuls whose ‘aspiration’ has become a surprise to some people, and admiration to some other people.

Some people were surprised when Emefiele’s name popped up among the presidential hopefuls. This class of people thought that as an experienced economist heading Nigeria’s apex bank, Emefiele should concentrate on his job of formulating monetary policies, controlling inflation, and managing other economic fluctuations, while championing innovation to ensure the nation’s economic and financial stability.

On the other hand, the people who see Emefiele as a strong candidate believe that with the remarkable successes of the programs and schemes initiated or being implemented by Emefiele; if as president of Nigeria he will not only expand them but will also apply his wealth of experience as a development finance expert to stimulate the economy via other economic programs that will reflect on local needs in line with global trends. This group of people always cite schemes like the anchor borrower program- which has successfully created economic linkages between smallholder farmers and reputable companies involved in the production and processing of key agricultural commodities and the COVID-19 intervention that has cushioned the adverse effects of COVID-19 on households and MSMEs.

In the last five years, the CBN under Emefiele has disbursed over N114.09 billion to support the fertilizer industry- Nigeria had seven Fertilizer blending plants in 2016, and only four were operational. As of today, there were 62 functioning blending plants. These and many economic policies and progress are the ladders these people stand on to cheer Emefiele on, as a strong aspirant. There are reports that many farmers in the north, especially rice farmers have termed their successes as ‘Emefiele’.

Furthermore, political pundits are of the view that Emefiele’s candidature can be a very important political balancer for the APC ahead of the 2023 presidency game. Firstly, no camp in the Southwest will feel cheated with the Emefiele candidature since he directly doesn’t belong to any of them; but can be incorporated into any camp seamlessly.

Secondly, Emefiele from Ika South, Agbor region of Delta State, SouthSouth Nigeria, can also be linked to the cousins of the Igbos in the Southeast. This will to some extent calm the nerves of the advocates of the Igbo presidency and achieve geopolitical equity. For example. Goodluck Jonathan’s presidency was a stabilizing force in the southeast’s politics and social order.  Some political pundits believe that Emefiele, as president can also play that role, now that the Southeast is in agitation for the presidential seat. 

The time has come for Emefiele to officially declare whether he will contest or not. This is very important to clear the air- politics or CBN Governor.  If Emefiele will not contest- let him continue with his task as the driver of Nigeria’s monetary policies and other important roles of the CBN. However, if he decides to contest – this will be a big one in the field of the 2023 presidency game in the APC- already groups like the Emefiele Support Group and Arewa Alliance for the Presidency of Godwin Emefiele (AAPGE) have reached out to many quarters in the country campaigning for Emefiele.

So, what remains for Emefiele is political alliances, negotiation, and courting- this will be easy for him because of his privileged position. However, he also needs to understand that politics is not Development Finance. It is a game where a primary school dropout can teach or even ‘scold’ a Central Bank Governor!

Zayyad I. Muhammad writes from Abuja via zaymohd@yahoo.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam 

Bichi constituents have raised N28 million to purchase the APC House of Representatives Form for the member representing the constituency, Hon. Abubakar Kabir Bichi.

The gesture is meant to appreciate the dividends of democracy the lawmaker has brought to the constituency, especially in his resolve to make education accessible for all the local government indigenes. 

Individuals donated hugely at the fundraising ceremony organized by Hon. Abubakar Kabir Students Association (HAKASA) led by one Abubakar Mukhtar Ibrahim. The event took place Sunday at Haggagawa Primary School, Bichi Local Government Area.

Among the donors were a former SSG to the government of Kano State, Engr. Rabiu Suleiman Bichi, Sen. Barau I Jibril, the Chairman Bichi LGA, Prof. Yusuf Muhammad Sabo, Hon. Lawan Shehu Bichi, a lawmaker at Kano State House of Assembly.

Others were APC, chairman Kano North, Alh. Sani Mukaddas, Kano APC treasurer, Haj. Yardada Maikano, the 106 volunteer teachers he employed to teach science and mathematics at various secondary schools in the local government since 2020, and hundreds of streets sweepers he employed to keep Bichi streets clean, among others.  

According to some of the constituents who spoke at the event, the decision became necessary considering how the rep improved the living condition of the people of Bichi.

They said that from 2019 to date, Abubakar Kabir sponsored more than 5000 students of the local government to study at various universities and other high institutions of learning within and outside Kano State.

They added that the rep sponsored more than 500 indigenes of the local government to study in various science and technical schools in Kano State.

So far, more than N28 million was realized at the fundraising ceremony.

A few months back, the Federal College of Education Bichi conferred Fellow of Education on Hon. Abubakar Bichi in recognition of his scholarship programme.

– News Desk

The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday announced that the closing date of the registration exercise for the 2023 general elections is 30^th June 2022.

Reacting to this announcement, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has appealed to the electoral body to ensure that Nigerian Muslims are not disallowed from partaking in the exercise by overzealous Muslim-haters among INEC’s ad hoc and full staff who are in the habit of disallowing hijab, cap and turban-wearing Muslims from registration.

This was contained in a statement issued on Saturday, 23^rd April 2022, by the director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola.

The statement reads:

“The chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, yesterday announced that the deadline of the registration exercise for the 2023 general elections is 30^th June 2022.

“While we commend INEC for successfully carrying out its duties in the past few years, we sound a wake-up call to the electoral body to prevent the disenfranchisement of millions of Muslims in the coming 2023 general election.

“It is very common for Muslim haters among INEC’s full and ad hoc staff to harass hijab-wearing female Muslims as well as cap and turban-wearing male Muslims at the registration centers in a bid to frustrate and prevent them from registering for the election. They are ordered to remove their hijab, cap or turban during capture. Such orders are illegal, unlawful, illegitimate and unconstitutional.

“Only those who are ready to compromise their faith by obeying the illegal instruction are allowed to register while others are turned back. As a result of this intimidation, millions of Muslims are disenfranchised. The effect is a huge deficit in the numerical strength of Muslim voters. This will not be tolerated in the ongoing exercise.

“INEC is fully aware that it is illegal to disallow citizens from registering for election on the basis of religion. It is also a precursor to the rigging of elections in favour of Christian candidates all over the country. This practice is evil and provocative. It can lead to crisis before, during and after elections.

“It is a major threat to a peaceful election, particularly in the 2023 exercise. Judging by the announcement of the leading Christian firebrand Pentecostal wing, namely, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) that it has formed political wings in all its parishes, it is clear that Nigerian Christians plan to hijack the 2023 exercise.

“While Muslims in the North are not likely to fall victims of the disenfranchisement, millions of Muslims in the South are definitely exposed to the danger because it is not a new phenomenon in the southern geo-political zones of the South West, South East and South-South. It occurred in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015 and 2019. MURIC documented these ugly events.

“We, therefore, urge INEC to give necessary instruction and training to all its staff. They should be warned against coercing Muslims on account of their manner of dressing. Apart from internal memoranda, INEC should issue public statements whose copies Muslims can use to defend their appearances in case of intimidation. In addition, INEC should discourage the opening of registration centers in places of worship.

“MURIC advises Muslims who face victimisation of any sort in registration centers to maintain their stand by insisting on being registered with their hijab, cap and turban. They should not obey illegal orders. Any refusal to register them should be reported to the Imam in the nearest mosque, Muslim leaders and officials of Islamic organisations.

“As a precaution, MURIC will document all cases of illegal prevention of Muslims from registration. Where possible, details of INEC officials involved in such unlawful prevention will be provided. We shall also institute lawsuits in courts of competent jurisdiction against perpetrators.

“All state commissioners of INEC in the three geo-political zones in Southern Nigeria are advised to ensure that no single Muslim is denied his or her Allah-given fundamental human right, including the right to partake in voting through the denial of voters’ cards. We will hold each commissioner responsible for any infraction that takes place in his or her state.

“While MURIC and the generality of Muslim voters in Nigeria seek a peaceful electoral exercise, we call on INEC not to ignore our advice in the interest of peace. Nigerian Muslims will not stomach any attempt to disenfranchise them during the 2023 general election. INEC should therefore take necessary steps to avoid the persecution of Muslim voters by its officials.”

By Aminu Adamu Naganye

In this second part of the special report, The Daily Reality reporter narrated how other business activities continue to suffer due to the strike in Nigeria’s public ivory towers. And it is now getting worse as other unions in the universities, such as SSANU, NASU, and NAAT, have since declared strikes following the government’s failure to honour agreements with the workers’ unions.

Okada, tri-cyclists and yellow bus

Commercial motorcycles, tricycles popularly known as Adai-daita and commercial shuttle buses, alias yellow buses (or taxis), are the major means of transportation in and around the universities for students’ daily movements.

With the suspension of academic activities in the universities, the commercial transporters discontinued their operations, rendering hundreds of them without their normal means of earning a living.

Although Okada/Acaɓa (commercial motorcycle ride) riders are still doing skeletal work with very few passengers, as they explained in their interaction with this reporter, tri-cycles and yellow buses have since moved elsewhere in search of respite.

Young Abdurrahman Usman, whose means of eking out a living is okada/acaɓa in BUK. He used to convey students to, in and outside of the university, cater for his family’s needs. He now faces challenges as a result of the strike. He said:

“It is quite saddening. The strike stifles our means of livelihood. There are no passengers now to carry. Students have vacated the campus, and the remaining ones have been served notice to leave since. We are pleading with the government to resolve the problem. Acaɓa riders, students and other business people suffer. Government should meet up with ASUU’s demands for activities to resume on campus.”

“It was unnerving when I first heard there will be a strike”, recalling when his friend told him about the strike as he had bitter experience in the past, adding that “before the strike, I used to make N1500 – N2000 a day but now hardly I make 200 -300 a day. I am in a very tense situation,” Usman concluded.

“Honestly, we can only say Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun! Because this isn’t a new thing to us. Whenever there is rumour of embarking on a strike, we will be praying that the issue gets resolved before the strike commences. But if the strike is declared… it is really usually terrible for us”, said Ado Umar, who serves as the Secretary of the BUK Riders (Acaɓa) Association.

Ado said with the current economic realities of Nigeria, “Federal Government and ASUU, for God’s sake and the plight of the hungry people around and students, should resolve their differences”, adding that “I don’t think any of them can get what he or she desires completely…they should have sympathy for us… businesses in Kano, not just BUK, suffer the consequences of the strike.”

Photographers, barbers decry

Abdulmuiz Ibrahim, with his largest photo studio at BUK, said he had already lost most of his customers, primarily students, due to the industrial disharmony between the government and teachers.

While students vacated the environment, he noted that he had been surviving from a few people who come from outside the university and wedding bookings from outside campus, “we’ve been surviving from one or few people who are coming from outside. And as you know, weddings happen, we get wedding bookings from outside campus. That is what we’ve been using to maintain …the strike hasn’t been fair at all.”

Resilient photographer, Abdulmuiz, who described the strike as less devastating ditto Corona lockdown, said he is determined to survive the strike as he “brushed through previous strikes and Corona lockdown”, adding that “That is part of what I did then because there weren’t outdoor events. There was no event to cover, and school wasn’t in session. So you live on savings from savings to taking money from family and friends.”

He acknowledged that ASUU is fighting a worthy cause but advised them to engage in alternative means of resolving the problem, saying, “The victims are the students, the business owners, the workers, neighbouring communities that sell to students, the markets …this affects everybody.”

He further advised the Federal Government to resolve the problem amicably to avoid forcing youths to be on the streets. “We have seen what happened during the EndSARS protest. If schools weren’t closed, EndSARS wouldn’t have been that successful. If students were in school doing one thing or the other, EndSARS wouldn’t have had that solidarity. I hope they learn any lesson”, he cautioned.

“The Federal Government often talk about self-reliance and entrepreneurship, but they are now destroying our self-reliant businesses …there are over 200 business people in BUK New Site alone, and each has at least ten people under him. So thousands of people are in trouble with this strike. Government should help those who create jobs, not to destroy them” emotionally laden Abdulkadir Suleiman chronicled the chain of employment their businesses provide to people, including students on the campus.

Approaching his photography shop, Abdulkadir was already parking some items, ready to move out of the BUK to find some work to cater for the needs of his wife and six children.

Due to his business’ nature, he shuttles between town and campus, arguing, “With the current economic situation in the country, even the outside is very difficult. Campus remains the best but strike…” stressing further that “we are now thinking of alternative if not one day we will turn to beggars!”

He reminded the Federal Government that people brought them to power, and God will hold them accountable. “They should resolve this conundrum. God give them trust, and He will question them on it.”

A barber, Aliyu Badamasi, noted that the least he could work on before the strike were 15 – 20 people daily, while currently, the average is 2.

Aliyu noted, “It is very, very horrible, that is what I would say… Life hasn’t been easy. If the school is on break, it isn’t funny, not to talk of a strike. It is not easy.”

With his barber’s shop as the only means of making ends meet, Aliyu urged the Government and ASUU to remember that “So many people rely on students’ presence to survive”, appealing to the government “to put education first. They should make it a priority.”

Some businesses are moving off Campus

Abdurrahman Shafiu, who doubles as a student and a POS operator, concluded his plan to move to the town pending the resumption of academic activities at the university.

Abdurrahman said his only option now is to move out of the university to survive the strike, “The strike is really affecting my study and my business concurrently. When students were around, I realised like 6k a day, but now I hardly make 1k. So I’m just coping by the grace of God. I’m moving out of the campus because I’m a family man. I need to feed my family!”

For Khamisu Alhassan Abubakar, the only phone repairer currently available in BUK, said only one-fifth of his customers patronise him presently as most of them have travelled.

With nonteaching staff also embarking on strike, as their unions recently announced, he noted that it is no longer possible to remain on campus.

NASU, SSANU embark on strike

Meanwhile, as ASUU’s strike entered its third month and with no visibly committed resolution efforts from the Federal Government, other unions of nonteaching staff in universities have mobilised their members to embark on an extended two-week warning strike after they exhausted earlier two weeks of warning.

Joint Action Committee of Non-academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) conveyed the message of the strike to their branches in a letter/memo signed by the SSANU President and NASU Secretary-General.

The letter, in part, reads: “In view of the nonchalant attitude of the Government to our demands, this is to direct our members in all Universities and Inter-University Centres throughout the country to commence a two-week warning strike by midnight of Sunday, 27^th March, 2022 in the first instance as earlier conveyed in the Federal Government in our letter.”

The unions said the strike would be comprehensive with no concession.

With this latest strike pronouncement, the public universities in Nigeria will be completely grounded as teaching and administrative activities, as well as any other activities by the members of the trio of ASUU, NASU and SSANU, will be brought to a complete halt.

Incessant strikes may hamper the 2030 agenda

As one of the signatories that ratified and adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Nigeria is committed to implementing the goals, especially in the current decade of action.

However, with incessant strikes in universities, attainment of the global set targets may elude Nigeria. This is in view of the fact that abrupt termination or suspension of academic activities in institutions is likely to have a direct and indirect negative impact on the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

By Ahmad Abdullahi

About eight years ago, the All Progressives Congress (APC) appeared to be in a huge dilemma over the selection of a Presidential Running Mate who will fly the flag of the party alongside its candidate General Muhammadu Buhari who just won the party’s primary election. APC’s dilemma was justifiable as they were trying to bring on someone credible that will balance the ticket and make it acceptable enough to stand a strong chance against the mighty PDP.

After so much intrigue within some intense and eventful 48 hours, Professor Yemi Osinbajo got the Vice-presidential ticket to the surprise of many Nigerians. Many expressed fears about whether he carries the political capital strong enough to help the ticket deliver. Little did many know of the Professors’ charming simplicity and intelligent technicality alongside his mass appeal that saw the ticket going all the way. The rest is now history.

Like in 2015, today, we are again witnessing a period when Presidential candidates are being profiled based on their ethnic affiliations instead of their pedigrees. We are having candidates getting attacked desperately on sentiments and arguments that bring nothing to the table except confusion and division. Being a front-runner for Nigeria’s number one job, the Vice President is one of the most prominent victims of these ethnoreligious motivated attacks

As expected, the build-up to Osinbajo’s presidential declaration has been greeted by so many criticisms, many of whom are targeted towards tarnishing his image and rubbishing his candidacy through lies, character assassination and carefully tailored misinformation. Osinbajo’s attackers are hell-bent on bringing down his candidacy even before it gets started. This goes to tell how significant he is in the political equation of 2023 despite many trying hard to dismiss his impacts over the last seven years.

The Vice President has been accused of being a religious and ethnic bigot. Some have gone as far back as his pre-political life to try to convince people of what many facts have proven him not to be. If we are to be fair to Osinbajo, the man is solely building his presidential campaign on the strength of his adventures of the last seven years in which opportunity has entrusted him with a national assignment that requires him to be fair to all Nigerians. As such you cannot use any other criteria to judge him.

In his first five years in office, he has supervised and presided over the initiation and implementation of the largest Social Investment Programme in the history of Contemporary Africa. A program that has been transparent, just and detribalized. Nobody can prove that he has used his position to skew the benefits of the social investment programme towards favouring any religion or region. It is one of the rarest programmes that tricked down to the doorsteps of the poor and downtrodden across all states of the federation.

In mid-2017, Nigeria almost plunged into a national ethno-religious crisis when the Biafran agitators were at the peak of their renewed call for separation. The Federal Government under the wisdom and initiative of the then Acting President Professor Yemi Osinbajo conducted a series of consultative meetings with various groups of leaders and people of societal influence across the country to make sure that the situation is tamed and controlled. Osinbajo tirelessly interacted separately with leaders of thought from the North and the South East, traditional and religious leaders from the same regions as well as all 36 state governors. This was no doubt a big positive step that even the opposition Peoples Democratic Party commended.

In their first tenure, Osinbajo’s same Christian constituency which some believe he is favouring accused him of working with President Buhari to Islamize Nigeria. The outcries became so worrisome that Osinbajo made a public clarification. He said that one day, he woke up around 6:00 am in the morning and saw a text message on his phone sent by a renowned Christian leader who said to him that one day he will account for his actions of allowing Muslims to dominate and take over the government of Nigeria. The Vice President has passed through all this only now to be labelled a Christian bigot.

He further said that he wondered what informed that sort of message while statistics show that there are two more Christians than Muslims in Buhari’s cabinet as of then. He cited an example of a time when a Northern Senator visited President Buhari in his presence and complained bitterly about the marginalization of his people. He however left with the embarrassing information that North West, his zone was leading in the number of heads of government parastatals with 47, followed by South West, South-South, South East, North East and then North Central. Why didn’t this senator do his homework before complaining? Misinformation.

I remember in one of our interactions with him in the last two years, he said if Nigeria disintegrates into smaller countries that can be run over at will by powerful ones, every region will be disadvantaged in different proportions. He, therefore, said our strengths lie in our diversities, number and size. He gave the example of Lagos State’s economy being six times bigger than that of Rwanda despite all the so-called giant strides recorded by Paul Kagame over the years. He emphasized that the country needs not to disintegrate into smaller parts for people to have the opportunity of holding public office and if it is his face or that of President Buhari you dislike that you want secession, then know that, their days in office are numbered but Nigeria can live forever.

As Acting President, he made one of the most diplomatic and yet authoritative efforts to save Nigeria from untimely disintegration in 2017. He brought together all political, traditional and professional stakeholders in Aso Rock to further boost their confidence in the Nigerian Project. Therefore, no one can question his resolve for national unity and integration.

I think the Vice President can be accused of anything but not religious, regional or ethnic bigotry. If anything, he is perhaps the most qualified Nigerian among those seeking the Presidency. He is the first and only Professor to become President or Vice President in Nigeria and has so far adequately demonstrated why the most educated among us need to be allowed to serve at the highest level. He is the most adequately educated and professionally inclined Presidential hopeful among the very top living Nigerians today.

The Vice President has delivered within the limit of authority, opportunity and responsibility at his disposal. He has spent seven solid years serving Nigerians and the President with uncommon patience, dedication and humility. He has never been disappointed in any task assigned to him. Unlike many Presidential hopefuls who are planning to run from regional, religious, political and selfish motivations, the VP plans to become a true Nigerian candidate and a president for all Nigerians.

That he has been to almost every Local Government in Nigeria is not and cannot be an exaggeration. His long-life push for justice reform in Nigeria has taken him to so many nooks and crannies in the country, The trader and market Moni social investment programmes have seen him monitor and visit rural and remote areas that even ward councillors may not fancy going. The same people who accused him of show-off and pretence when he was making such visits are now the ones denying he ever embarked on such visits.

That he has declared to continue from where the President Buhari has stopped is a diplomatic way of saying that he is the man who understands all the successes of this administration and is in a better position to build on them, and also the man who understands all its shortcomings and is in a better position to make up for them. However, some are hell-bent on twisting the narrative.

Those accusing him of political betrayal are tactically telling Nigerians that the Presidency is the birthright of some mighty individuals and it is, therefore, a crime for ordinary people like Osinbajo to make an attempt on it. What some people are having very difficulty swallowing is why will an ordinary teacher and lawyer who is not even a former governor or ex-minister and has become Vice president just become President? Who is he? But they forget, that power belongs to God.

The 2023 presidential election would have been won and lost by this time next year. It may be Osinbajo or anyone else. However, it is clear even to his worst enemies that the Vice President has all the required credentials to make a good President. Deploying arsenals of calumny campaigns to stop him will not work, only divine destiny can do that.

The writer is the Team Lead of the Osinbajo-Face of Hope Project. He can be contacted via info@ofaceofhope.com.