Modestus Umenzekwe
On February 15, 2019, I did write an article saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) would spring surprises. Some critics, propelled by sentiments, called me names. Not perturbed, on March 17, 2019, after the presidential election, I wrote describing President Muhammadu Buhari as a giant killer. I wrote out of conviction.
Before the election, the slogan of the opposition was that President Buhari would go back to Daura and continue with cattle rearing, while APC would cease to exist. When they lost the election, the chant changed. The slogan became that the election was rigged and the purported central server contained the election results. Some of them said the President was not educated and, therefore, not qualified to run. They forgot that APC won clearly in 2015, that Dr. Goodluck Jonathan honourably threw in the towel before the whole result was announced.
They also forgot that the President was head of state and had held many sensitive positions in the service of his fatherland. They forgot that Buhari’s pedigree and APC faithful all over the nation worked assiduously to make sure that the change mantra came into existence as a result of that 2015 credible election.
In the past years of Buhari’s service to the nation, they did not bring the issue of academic qualification but were singing his praise. All these unfounded allegations beclouded their sense of reasoning to the extent that they encouraged the revered former Vice President to institute a court action challenging the victory of APC and Buhari at the presidential poll. I want to thank Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and the PDP for instituting that case, because, if they didn’t the charge would have been that they were suppressed.
The verdict of the tribunal, to me, is the voice of Nigerians; it is a verdict for democracy; it is a verdict for men and women of good conscience. I thank the judges for the pain they took to treat all the issues raised in the petition one by one.
It is similar to the judgement given in 1979 involving Alhaji Shehu Shagari and Chief Obafemi Awolowo, a case that nearly shook this country to its foundation. And the judges at that time warned that instituting such case was not good for our democracy. Today, a similar case was instituted by the opposition PDP and her presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. One thing unique about the ruling of the tribunal is its openness and dependence on point of law and not technicalities. If the judges had wanted to depend on technicalities, certain pre-election matters that came up should have been thrown away but the judges took time to deal with them thoroughly.
It is very shameful that even the witnesses brought by the petitioner hinged their evidences on hearsay. The tribunal reminded them that the onus of proof of their allegations beyond all reasonable doubt was on them. How can a former minister stand in the witness box based on hearsay all in a bid to clinch power by any means? If the election is repeated, APC and Mr. President will win a landslide. I have travelled to all the northern states and discovered that APC and Buhari’s acceptability and popularity is unequalled.
The same thing is applicable in the South West where one of our national leaders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, remains a great political oracle. It is equally an area that produced legal icon, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and the silent but resourceful Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, SAN.
Even in the South East dominated by the PDP, APC still garnered considerable number of votes to prove her acceptability and popularity. The important polling units where Atiku, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Buba Galadima and Rabiu Kwankwaso voted, Buhari defeated Atiku with a great margin.
Thank God that the tribunal was thorough and cited Supreme Court cases for arriving at the conclusion that Buhari was eminently qualified to contest and at the same time won the election. Indeed, APC has sprung surprises and President Buhari remains a giant killer. Those things that some people thought APC would not get right, based on sentiments, are gradually being fixed. These armchair critics are now hiding their faces in shame.
The Buhari government, using the instrumentality of the CBN, has succeeded in signing the currency swap deal with China. We can now import directly from China at a cheaper rate without using American dollars. A cursory look at the global economic politics shows that Americans are gradually mending relations with Nigeria since the signing of this currency swap deal.
Talking security, Abuja is springing surprises that today Boko Haram has been decimated and the remaining battle-weary insurgents are treated like bandits. Herders/farmers’ crisis is being tackled headlong as well as kidnapping in various parts of the country. All these were there before APC and Buhari took over in 2015, with little or no effort made by the past administrations. Our electricity generation has improved greatly. The abandoned farming sector has been revived and our solid minerals being tapped as added source of income to our revenue where oil before now, appeared to be the only source.
Though the condition of living is hard, the President made it clear at his inaugural speech in 2015 that the task ahead was tough and for us to get it right we must tighten our belts. The quantum of corruption in the country is being seriously tackled despite the fact that corruption is fighting back.
I want to thank Mr. President for establishing the Ministry of Police Affairs and striving to put in place other stringent security measures to deal with all these distractions. Massive road construction and reconstruction is going on in almost all parts of the country, including the much-needed 2nd Niger Bridge in the South East. Our rail lines are coming up seriously, following the directive to the Minister of Transportation to link up the 36 states of the federation, including the Federal Capital, with rail lines within the timeline.
I want to advise the opposition and some Nigerians to stop the bandwagon attitude of attacking or casting aspersions on somebody who has not been attacked or condemned by God.
It is surprising from the magnitude of attack on APC and the government of Buhari that the party and the government would still be in existence till today. God is wonderful.
The APC, by the grace of God, will continue to expand, including in the South East. We expect that the APC will take over the government of Anambra State in a very clear, clean and credible election. I, therefore, call on all well-meaning Nigerians to support APC and the government of President Buhari.
•Umunzekwe writes via email: [email protected].