…calls on APC, Tinubu over Muslim-Muslim ticket
“Some of my friends who are in the third force today were backing Buhari even though I warned them, nobody listened. They said anything but Jonathan. I told them that I won’t support Jonathan nor would I vote for Buhari”
Social Democratic Party SDP standard bearer, Prince Adewole Adebayo has said the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi is not a third force that can change the tide of the Nigerian polity adding that he has good qualities though.
Mr Adebayo, who recalled that Obi was one of the governors who refused to pay minimum wage while in office insisted he will join in the ‘Obi jamboree’. He maintained that the LP presidential candidate was a staunch member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, until a few days before the major opposition party’s presidential primaries, hence, can’t be identified as a third force.
Adebayo who was on the Twitter platform conversation with hashtag #TalkingJobson, and #GettingitrightNig with Prince Adewole Adebayo, anchored by human rights lawyer, Segun Awosanya popularly known as Sega, advised the youths to be circumspect in the choice of who to be their president come 2023.
He said the trend presently going on Social media was not different from the euphoria that heralded the Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015 which is regrettable.
According to him, “Some of my friends who are in the third force today, were backing Buhari even though I warned them, nobody listened. They said anything but Jonathan. I told them that I won’t support Jonathan nor would I vote for Buhari. I have been laughing at them since then. PDP has committed sacrilege. APC is an abomination to the nation. Anybody can start a campaign online and create anything to trend or even pay firms to have thousands mentioning. A man of principle won’t be persuaded by that. As we go down the line, a lot of people will know better”.
He said the touted third force which he is spare heading, is a total break from the past. The third force is a coalition of many parties outside the two major parties. That third force, Adebayo said he doesn’t see Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, in it.
“We, the third force, are open to the coalition, working together, because it is the right thing to do. The Labour candidate, of course, isn’t a third force. That is why I am not joining any jamboree. The policies of the candidate were anti-labour when he was governor. Labour was on strike for more than one year when he was governor. He was one of the governors who refused to pay minimum wage. He is not a bad guy, because he has good qualities.
“He is PDP. He was the national coordinator of the Jonathan campaign for the South in 2011. He was the vice presidential candidate of the same party in 2015. He was also vying for the same party’s ticket, until four days before its primaries. He was in PDP until six weeks ago. You cannot say he is a third force.
“Would you say if Tinubu didn’t get the APC ticket and he crossed over to SDP as was being speculated, he automatically becomes third force? If Wike decides to leave PDP and join SDP, he is a third force?
“The armed forces cannot be holding meeting now and the fire service joins. They will tell them, no you are not a member. Yes, they all wear uniforms but it cannot be a member. If my mother is holding a meeting women’s Catholic meeting, I cannot join because I am not a woman”.
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The SDP standard bearer also advised the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC and its flag bearer, Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, to be careful in the choices made and would make so that unnecessary tension is not created in the country.
Adebayo said the choice of Tinubu’s vice presidential candidate portrayed him as insensitive.
He said a leader must be sensitive to the sensibilities of his people even if he is looking for competence to give him results, but knowing how diverse the country is, that sensibility must be taken into account.
“I am not working either Secretly or openly for the APC. But let us have politics of reasoning. I have never believed ethnicity and religion should be basis for politics. I know leadership is about accommodation and because the president of Nigeria is not like the Prime Minister of Britain, you must be sensitive to the sensibilities of the people, even if you are looking for competence to give you results, you must still remember the sensibilities of the people, especially knowing how diverse the country is.
“If you ask me about the person who made a Muslim/Muslim ticket choice, I will say he is not a sensitive leader and if he keeps making subsequent appointments like that, he will put the country under tension”, he stated.
He, however, said having the different two religions as one ticket isn’t a guarantee that good government. “So, Nigerians should not congratulate those who have the Christian/Muslim or Muslim/Christian ticket because a lot of Nigerians are neither Christians nor Muslims.
“If Nigerians have 100 Muslims and 100 Christians, why is the country like this? None of those who bear Christian or Muslim names has ruled according to the detect of their religions because there is nowhere in the two religions where it is stated that you steal your people blind, kill people indiscriminately”.
