2019: South West And The Alliances

Having played a crucial role in the historic ousting of a ruling president in the 2015 general elections that ushered in the incumbent, President Muhammadu Buhari, the South West region is up for it again. With the rally of the opposition party and the launching of the Buhari Support Organisation, in Ibadan (South West) last week, it has shown  how the alliance with the zone may go a long way to decide who wins come February 2019, writes SOLOMON ODENIYI.

The collaboration effort among dominant northern parties, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria Peoples Party, the largely accepted party in the Western region, Action Congress of Nigeria and a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, which coalesced into the All Progressives Congress (APC) was all that was needed to thwart the 16 years dominance of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which was against the run of play in this part of the world.

According to a report, of the total 15million votes garnered by the incumbent, 2,433,193 came from South west. After the North east and North west where the president got highest number of votes in 2015, the South West was the next. Considering the fact that the states in the region are now controlled by the ruling party, the digit is expected to rise.

However, the importance of the region in deciding the outcome of the 2019 presidential poll cannot be over-emphasised and this is evident in the statement by the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar’s Campaign Organization who was befuddled with the crowd seen at their rally in the ancient city of Ibadan said, it was an undisputable pointer that the region has abandoned President Muhammadu Buhari and his vice, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, ahead of the 2019 general elections.

The PDP said that people of South-West had demonstrated their readiness to align with other parts of the country to rescue the country “from the stranglehold of the incompetent, corrupt and anti-people Buhari administration.”

It added that “As a geopolitical zone that plays leading role in most of the critical sectors of our national life and which has the highest convergence of all sections and interests across our nation, the decision to align with Atiku Abubakar signals the consolidation of the national consensus to vote him as the next president of Nigeria, come 2019.

“By this, Nigerians in the South West have reinforced the quit notice which the North-West, North-Central and other zones had already served on President Buhari.”

The National Chairman of the BSO, Abubakar Mahmud also identified the significance of the South west Region, when he told journalists in an interview at the launch of the Buhari Support Organisation in Ibadan that “The Southwest people voted for Buhari in 2015 and I believe that the same Southwest is willing and ready to vote him again. They are business people and they are people with strong unity. They also understand what progress is. The south westerners will go again for APC. They understand that we have to contain continuity and entrench a system that people after him will not accept anything less”.

Although, National Leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has severally stated the direction the states in the west would go in the February 2019 elections, defying the decisions of Afenifere.

The APC National Leader also assured president of the support of the west, saying there is no party other than APC in the region.

He added, “No going back to the greedy, selfish, and corruption of the past that held the nation’s progress. We are not going back to old foxes, scavengers and old greed in the country. Look back at the last 16 years, if they laid any foundation, much wouldn’t have been done by Buhari, they did not lay any foundation. Instead of privatization, the personalization theory of greed was the order of the day.

Article 134 (2) of the Nigerian Constitution stipulates that a presidential candidate must attain both the highest number of votes cast as well as receive, at least, a quarter of votes at each of at least two-thirds of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). However, as the February presidential election draws nearer, it is clear that for any winner to emerge, votes from the 6 states making up the South west cannot be wished away.

The Southwest Chairman for Buhari Support Organization, Prince Felix Awofisayo noted that it became a matter of necessity to consolidate progressive change in the Southwest zone and include Yorubaland as a vital ingredient to move on to the next level.

The zone, the former Oranmiyan President said, has always been at the forefront of enlightenment, progressive change and democratic inclusiveness in Nigeria, adding that, “For this reason, our decision to support the re-election of President Buhari is within the historical current of thought and political action in Yorubaland”.

“From the publication of the pivotal manifesto of the Action Group “Life more abundant” in 1950, the predominant political position in Yorubaland has always been progressive, as well as social democratic.

In many ways, this in itself is a reflection of the culture of Yorubaland which emphasises the concept of community, neighbourhood as well as social solidarity which means that no one should be left behind. This was reflected in the position of the Action Group government led by avatars Chief Obafemi Awolowo that no one, no matter how debilitated by the circumstances of birth, should be left behind. They walked the talk.

“This resulted in one of the most audacious leaps of social engineering in contemporary political history, life indeed became more abundant. This position was also reflected in the stellar performance of the administrations of the governments of the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) in the second republic between 1979 and the demise of the Second Republic in 1983. The achievements of those progressive governments can never perish. Same thing goes for the interventions led by Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Lam Adesina who governed from this great city, the indomitable Rauf Aregbesola, Kayode Fayemi and so many others. In our considered opinion, the government headed by Muhammadu Buhari is a continuation of this tradition, a tradition that has benefited the majority as opposed to minority. We have an historical necessity as well as a moral obligation to defend”, he said.

Awofisayo stressed that the Southwest has benefited immensely from the various programmes of the current administration, stating that progressive intervention programmes such as the home grown school feeding programme was in line with the Yoruba tradition.

According to him, the programme has not just led to an increase in the school enrolment but it is leading vitally to the development of human capacity and ensuring that no child is left behind both in zone and the country at large.

He added that, “With the emphasis on “home grown” this programme has had a beneficial effect on the rural economy. It is our own farmers here who are supplying the purchasers and the vendors feeding our children, it is a tremendous advance.

“Also, a good attack on the causes of poverty can be seen from schemes such as the Tradermoney. The intrinsic link between poverty and the lack of capital is well known. This is why Chief Obafemi Awolowo ‘s government established the Cooperative Bank in 1953.

“The intention then as at today, remains the same, to ensure financial inclusiveness and provide capital to those excluded. The southwest has benefited and will continue to benefit, this is within our established political tradition. We will not allow them to deny the people access to the money they need to develop and expand their trades.”

He enjoined those in the zone to ensure they protect the gains recorded by the present administration from the ravages of those who want to scrap them.

Awofisayo stressed that the attack on the root causes of poverty must be taking to the next level which according to him, vigorously lies in supporting the re-election of the president which must be emphasised to the people.

He said, the organization in the zone would adopt the door to door method of campaign just like the Vice – President Yemi Osinbajo was already doing to achieve its aims.

Awofisayo who described the 2019 election as a contest between the forces of retrogression and those of progress pledged that members of the BSO in the Southwest are battle ready to deliver in the southwest for President Buhari.

The National Coordinator of Buhari Support Organization, Dr Mahmood Abubakar called on Nigerians to give their supports to the reelection bid of the president, saying things would be better than it is.

He said Nigerians must juxtapose between where the nation was, prior to 2015 and the current state of the nation before casting their ballots, noting that the nation was more better today than it were in the past 16 years under the PDP.

Mahmood noted that despite recording high oil prices during the era of PDP at the centre, no significant investment was recorded in the areas of infrastructure, health, education, social investment, power and other critical aspects of the economy.

According to him, major problems confronted by the current administration were inherited, commending President Buhari for turning around things in the country.

“If you objectively analyse the state of the nation before the advent of Buhari, you would know that the president has achieved a lot. The major problems confronting the state were all inherited. People talk about recession not knowing that our country has been plunged into recession before Buhari came on board. He did all he could and now we are out of it. We must understand that nothing comes easy. A house destroyed in hours can’t be built in hours. We must understand that it will take time to get Nigeria to where it ought to.

“This administration has fought the menace of corruption which has made the country a fertile ground for people to come and invest. What we now have is an improved health care, Infrastructure and foreign reserve has increased. What we have now is a better country than we had”, he said.

Reacting to the Atiku’s promise on restructuring, he described it as deceitful, the promise by the presidential candidate of the opposition PDP to restructure the country in six months.

Abubakar who described the BSO as the harmonising center for all other pro Buhari groups promised that the organisation would not relent in  its  bid to get the president  reelected come 2019.

Abimbade Oyemakinde, the Oyo state chairman of BSO, gauging the mood in the South west said the mood was positive and the regions decision to support the president was certain.

He attributed this to his dynamic leadership style as well as the various programmes of the government which has touched every lives irrespective of religion and region.