Nigerian voters appear to be
ready to try a new set of rulers in this year’s election but it is not
certain if ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the power
structure that supports it is ready to let go if it loses the upcoming
election, Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Media Trust Limited Malam
Kabiru Yusuf said in Abuja yesterday. He was delivering his welcome
address at the 12th Daily Trust Dialogue which took place at the
Congress Hall of the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.
He said since the return to competitive party politics in 1999, PDP has entrenched itself in power and replicated its successes across the country and looking set, as its officials boasted, to rule the country into the next generation. He added that like all long-running ruling parties, PDP is beginning to show signs of exhaustion. He said, “The PDP was also not creative or lucky in its leadership recruitment. Its first president was a crusty old General who listened to no-one. The second listened too much and was paralyzed by indecision and ill-health. The third and current occupant of the office has been described by some as ‘clueless’.”
Malam Kabiru Yusuf said it requires no special gift to perceive that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has galvanised the country for the first real challenge to PDP rule. “In three previous outings, General Buhari seems to assume that the country would embrace him based on his reputation and record. But in this campaign, he has climbed down from his high horse and is canvassing for votes all over the country.”
“The opposition was built around charismatic individuals without the reach and the resources to mount an overwhelming challenge,” he said, but that with the mass appeal of APC’s presidential candidate beginning to cross regional and religious borders, it is foiling coordinated attacks by a well-oiled PDP propaganda machine.
Yusuf also reflected on the 1994 elections in South Africa that saw to the end of apartheid, which he covered as a reporter. He said while it looked bleak from the beginning, election day was calm and peaceful with long queues of black, coloured and white voters standing patiently together to usher their country into a new era. “That’s my vision for Nigeria in 2015,” he said, adding that he has seen it happen in more difficult circumstances with his own eyes.
“Of course to get there, we must have credible elections in fact and as a matter of perception,” Yusuf said adding, “Unless we want hired hands to fill in the ballot boxes, we must all do our duty and stand up, under the sun, to be counted.” He also urged Nigerians to insist that everyone else, the government, INEC and security agencies also do theirs.
The Media Trust chairman said, “You have to feel for [INEC Chairman] Professor Attahiru Jega, the huge burden of expectations on him and the organization he leads.” He also quipped about his Permanent Voters’ Card, which he said he obtained only yesterday. He also said when all is said and done it is the ordinary voter who will decide “and this decision may well be fateful for this country.”
He said since the return to competitive party politics in 1999, PDP has entrenched itself in power and replicated its successes across the country and looking set, as its officials boasted, to rule the country into the next generation. He added that like all long-running ruling parties, PDP is beginning to show signs of exhaustion. He said, “The PDP was also not creative or lucky in its leadership recruitment. Its first president was a crusty old General who listened to no-one. The second listened too much and was paralyzed by indecision and ill-health. The third and current occupant of the office has been described by some as ‘clueless’.”
Malam Kabiru Yusuf said it requires no special gift to perceive that the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has galvanised the country for the first real challenge to PDP rule. “In three previous outings, General Buhari seems to assume that the country would embrace him based on his reputation and record. But in this campaign, he has climbed down from his high horse and is canvassing for votes all over the country.”
“The opposition was built around charismatic individuals without the reach and the resources to mount an overwhelming challenge,” he said, but that with the mass appeal of APC’s presidential candidate beginning to cross regional and religious borders, it is foiling coordinated attacks by a well-oiled PDP propaganda machine.
Yusuf also reflected on the 1994 elections in South Africa that saw to the end of apartheid, which he covered as a reporter. He said while it looked bleak from the beginning, election day was calm and peaceful with long queues of black, coloured and white voters standing patiently together to usher their country into a new era. “That’s my vision for Nigeria in 2015,” he said, adding that he has seen it happen in more difficult circumstances with his own eyes.
“Of course to get there, we must have credible elections in fact and as a matter of perception,” Yusuf said adding, “Unless we want hired hands to fill in the ballot boxes, we must all do our duty and stand up, under the sun, to be counted.” He also urged Nigerians to insist that everyone else, the government, INEC and security agencies also do theirs.
The Media Trust chairman said, “You have to feel for [INEC Chairman] Professor Attahiru Jega, the huge burden of expectations on him and the organization he leads.” He also quipped about his Permanent Voters’ Card, which he said he obtained only yesterday. He also said when all is said and done it is the ordinary voter who will decide “and this decision may well be fateful for this country.”
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