My very dear Party Delegates, I’m honoured to send you this special message today. Let me emphasize how privileged I feel being one of the final 15 PDP Presidential aspirants that will contest to be our Party’s Presidential candidate during our Party Primary next week, from May 28-29, 2022. An event that will produce our Party’s candidate for the 2023 Presidential election is obviously a momentous and monumental event.
The time has therefore come for us to tell ourselves the home truth. I have never been known to shy away from speaking truth to power or anybody for that matter, how much more a political party that I sincerely believe has the capacity to dislodge the terribly incompetent ruling Party, APC, and its narcoleptic leadership, which most Nigerians would wish could just disappear in order to end the anguish and agony we’ve had to endure in the past seven years. However, if the truth must be told, this is not going to be an easy task except PDP decides to play a game APC would never understand. Our Party needs a change of style if it is to succeed at the national polls (you can’t afford to play Brazilian style when playing Brazil). Our Party needs a major revolution and a volcanic eruption to defeat APC. What would determine our preparation and preparedness for that task, or not, would be the candidate that you the Delegates pick next week. Let me now paint the scenario I envisage.
MONEY POLITICS: It is not a secret that two of our gladiators are poised to fight themselves to standstill in a battle of humongous, but highest bidder, and not of ideas or accomplishments. They are former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and the Rivers State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike. The first is from the North Eastern part and the latter is from the South South. Either of the two is capable of winning the Party ticket based on the financial resources that they ostensibly command, but I’m convinced that it would be pretty difficult for them to repeat the same feat during the general election next year. Their financial clout would certainly be eclipsed by the ruling APC, so the attraction for the PDP Party delegates must be more than money. My question then is, what shall it profit a political party that hands its Presidential ticket to the highest bidder but fails ultimately to win the main election. Therefore, PDP elders must step in, like they’ve always done at critical moments, to intervene positively in educating and ensuring that PDP does not fall into the APC trap.
THE ODDS AGAINST ATIKU and WIKE: Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is certainly the most experienced politician in the race. He comes with intimidating political credentials and larger than life personality which, ordinarily, should work in his favour, but, unfortunately not this time when Nigerians are more discerning. Atiku who turns 76 this year is nearer 80 than 70. I supported him in the last election because I felt he was still relatively manageable, but that is not the case today. I’m sure his diehard fans would be quick to say age does not matter and use the American President Joe Biden as a veritable example, but they would have totally missed the point. America does not have the challenges Nigeria carries today. America has sufficient strong and viable institutions and substantial infrastructure even if it can still make do with more, like any other country. The next President of Nigeria must be fully ready to run a blistering schedule which would require all the stamina in the world. It would be most horrendously unfair to unleash another old leader on us immediately after the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari. We have already seen and suffered the disastrous effect of our misadventures on President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and Buhari whose health challenges affected the work of State and the polity calamitously. It is a risk not worth taking any longer. At Atiku’s age and with his status, Nigeria may have an Emperor in power and the resources that would be required to maintain him would be hugely significant. Examples of such abound in Africa. We cannot afford to be another, yet again.
On Wike’s part, he is much younger at 59 and extremely energetic and hardworking. He is one of the best Governors in terms of infrastructural development and this alone should have worked in his favour. However, his major shortcoming is his short fuse, very volatile temper, vituperations and intolerance. These are not the attributes that the President of a developing nation like Nigeria should possess. Many of those goading him on today mostly have reservations about these dismal qualities but are unable to tell him to his face. He himself knows this fact and says it regularly. However, he also believes with little humility that those ganging up against him will suffer a crushing defeat because of the undeniable State wealth at his disposal. I’m not so sure. As one of his biggest admirers, I have written to him that he should watch out for a grand conspiracy at the last minute and copied our mutual friends, Mohammed Adoke (SAN) and Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN). While it is commendable that Wike has worked assiduously for the survival of PDP and is also campaigning hard for power to shift to the South, Wike may find it impossible, on this occasion to be the kingmaker as well as the king simultaneously.
THE TAMBUWAL MAGIC: At 56, the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal is one of the most experienced and exceptionally influential politicians in Nigeria today. His meteoric rise is a stuff of fiction and fairytales. He has been a trained teacher, legal practitioner, federal legislator (rising to become Speaker of the House of Representatives), and now second term Governor. He has also handsomely developed Sokoto State given the meagre resources at his disposal.
PETER OBI THE ROCK: He is one of my favourite Nigerian politicians, for his passion for education and frugal disposition to managing government resources. Parsimony in government, especially in a developing economy, is counterproductive. Our country does not need savings at the kind of level that Obi posits. A lot of investment is required if the country is to progress. The kind of savings that Obi talks about may be good in a poor State but is minimal and does not do anything for the country. What both of us agree with is that profligacy and corruption need to be eliminated. At 60, age is still on his side. He enjoys cult following from his fans and supporters who want him to be President by fire by force, even though as I have inferred, his limitations are clear for all to see. Peter’s major headache comes from his own people! None of the other Igbo aspirants is willing to step down for him, even though he towers above them in public perception and opinion.
DELE MOMODU THE UNDERDOG TO WATCH: I have always been underrated. Even before my birth, my Mum was taunted as someone incapable of given birth to a baby at her age, but she did, and here I am. I had a poor grade 3 in my first WAEC school leaving certificate examination attempt in 1976. An uncle told my Mum I was too empty brained to make it in life but here we are still. At a point in my life, of all my friends, I was the only jobless one, and I almost gave up. When I eventually got a job in Lagos, in 1988, at Concord Newspapers, I was homeless and had to be a squatter for about two years. When I was forced into exile in 1995, I was derided as an outsider crying louder than the bereaved because of my almost fanatical support for Chief M.K.O Abiola. But the experience compensated me with the birth of Ovation International in the city of London. I have gone through this preamble because of those who have wrongly written me off in this race for our Party’s Presidential ticket. I will explain in a jiffy why I believe I’m the best in this race and why you should, very seriously, vote for me next week. Without being immodest and with all sense of humility, I am a totally fresh aspirant with global experience and exposure to entrepreneurship, entertainment, technology, tourism and hospitality, diplomacy, philanthropy, education, job creation, traditional and social media, nationalities, politics and security.
I have only mentioned five of the 15 aspirants for specific reasons that you will appreciate below.
THE DISCARDED ZONING FORMULA: Zoning was in the Constitution of our Party, PDP, for obvious reasons. Just like the Federal character, it was meant to make life bearable for Nigerians from all parts of the country and give us all a sense of belonging. My view has always been that the best candidate should be fielded irrespective of where he comes from, but it is unfair to change the rules of a game midway through the game. That is history now though, and we must all live by the rules that we are now presented with. Now that zoning has been jettisoned, the race has become a free for all. And since the excuse is for our Party to be able to find and field the best candidate, then we must get our Arithmetic right. I shall return to this after the next paragraph.
EXPECTATIONS OF NIGERIANS: Everywhere I have been, Nigerians have not minced words about why they are tired of all career politicians, particularly those in the PDP and APC. PDP would do well to fulfil the hopes , dreams and wishes of frustrated Nigerians who want to retire our politicians of yesteryears, especially at the Presidential level since it is practically impossible to sack all politicians. We can identify the good ones.
Why would PDP want to bring back an inglorious past that most Nigerians are ashamed about, unquestionably reject and are seriously trying to distance themselves from? It is like insulting their intelligence, capabilities and perception.
ATTRIBUTES OF THE NEXT PRESIDENT: The PDP candidate would most probably slug it out with one of the most formidable technocrats and more youthful candidates APC has to offer. Our Party cannot afford to field recycled, ancient and controversial politicians at this time and age. The next President of Nigeria must be youthful, technologically savvy, well-educated and fully apprised of 21st century developments and life. The new Nigerian President must be charismatic, urbane, cosmopolitan, level-headed and globally recognised and respected.
HOW TO WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Sentiment and emotion alone can’t win elections. Since we have explained why we abandoned zoning, no zone can request that power be zoned to it again. Thus, we want the best Presidential/Vice Presidential team that can defeat APC. It is now a game of Mathematics, logic and personal attributes. The first question is where are the votes? The answer is that the largest votes come from the North West, South West, North East, South South, North Central and South East in that order.
I will recommend that PDP should get its team from South West/North West or Vice Versa. Naturally, I favour the first combination rather than the second because equity and justice dictates that the President should come from the South since the North has had eight years bite at the cherry. It is a fact that the North has failed with the President Buhari administration despite Buhari being seen as the only alternative to President Goodluck Jonathan at the time.
No individual can lay claims to being the only omnipotent one who can win for us. The Party maketh a man and not the other way round. The Constitution recognises this. That is why the Parties are more relevant than any individual. In terms of age, integrity, personal accomplishment, global popularity, freshness of ideas and ideals, as at today, our Party is well poised to deliver with a Dele Momodu who stands head and shoulders in this regard, and incidentally automatically combines two Southern regions of South South (father) and South West (Mother) with extensive networks everywhere. From the North, I will consider a Governor Tambuwal as my runningmate, against other Northern aspirants like Mohammed Hayatu-deen, Bala Mohammed and Bukola Saraki.
PDP is blessed with many leaders like Governor Wike who will be the first to get my Ministerial appointment in Works or Power. He has the capacity and courage to handle both effectively. Former Governor Peter Obi will do fantastically well as Secretary to Federal Government, which is the engine room, in order to clean up the Augean stable called the civil service once and for all. A Bukola Saraki will do very well in Foreign Affairs with his upper-crust education and Queens English combined with silver spoon pedigree. I love what Governor Udom Emmanuel has done with Ibom Air and he will be considered for trade and investments. A Mike Ozekhome with his dazzling brilliance as Minister of Justice will shake up the judiciary. What I am doing here is only to give a sneak preview of my dream cabinet and assure Nigerians that ours will be a government of national unity, with a star-studded cabinet of brilliant and accomplished Nigerians from every part of Nigeria and the entire world.
To be continued next week…
