BY BENEDICT NWACHUKWU, ABUJA
The nation’s capital city, Abuja stood still on Wednesday as the Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, unveiled his running mate, KashimShettima for the 2023 general elections.
The former governor of Lagos State and his running mate stormed the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre to the rousing ovation from followers that came from different parts of the country to give support to the team.
The event attracted many dignitaries and party chieftains including the National Chairman of the party, AbdulahiAdamu, state governors, members of the legislative arm of government, ministers and other invited guests from across the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Tinubu who was full of excitement said he was ready to offer a selfless service to the nation adding that the APC is poised to win the election so as to provide jobs and other social amenities to the citizenry.
Tinubu further stated that he settled for Shettima as his running mate because of his conviction that both of them will work together to deliver the dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
“We must win this election so that we can bring jobs, education, food, medicine, hope and belief in a better life to the people of this country.
“I stand ready to make this journey and, today, I am delighted to stand shoulder to shoulder with my good friend, brother and running mate; His Excellency, Senator KashimShettima.
“Much has been said and written about my decision to select Senator Shettima to partner me on this journey. As a committed democrat and progressive, I have read and listened to all that has been written and said. It has been an emotional and moving period. I understand the strength of feeling that has been displayed by some within our party and I cherish and respect the views of all.
“Yet, I remain steadfast in my belief in the selection of Senator Shettima. I am unwavering in my belief that he is the very best person to run for office and to, hopefully, govern by my side.
“I believe in the project this party embarked on at the moment of its foundation. I believe our diversity is our strength and I believe that we must be victorious in order to achieve the greatness of which this country is capable.
“All my life, my decisions regarding the team around and supporting me have always been guided by the principles of competence, innovation, compassion, integrity, fairness, and adherence to excellence.
“In politics, these principles are sacrosanct. Without them there can be neither victory nor good governance”.
According to him, the era demands a bold and pragmatic approach to leadership adding that he made the hard choice because of his conviction that it is the best for the country at the moment.
“This chapter in our nation’s history demands a bold yet pragmatic approach. In selecting Senator Shettima I have committed myself to this path. I have made the hard choice because I believe it is the best choice.
“This is where politics must end and leadership must begin. True Leadership is not grounded in religion, populism or sentiment. To forge ahead as a nation toward development and prosperity, we must break free of old binds.”
In his acceptance speech, Shettima began by extolling the leadership qualities of Tinubu whom he described as a lease with incredible vision and strength.
He also pledged his loyalty and unflinching support to Tinubu and will be ready to carefully protect the trust he has bestowed on him.
“There’s no weight I carry very carefully, as much as the burden of trust, and learning from public servants, who never take the expectations of the public for granted. I’m standing here today because of the benign testaments of
those who believe in me—those who crawled so that some of us could walk, and those who walked, for others to run,” he said.
Apparently, reacting to the series of arguments that have greeted the Muslim-Muslim ticket of the APC, Shettima said he emerged through a democratic process devoid of any imposition.
“This ticket isn’t an imposition; it’s an outcome of democracy at its practical best, and based on the aggregation of the ideas and insights of our great party’s stakeholders. If this were an unpopular option, as the cast of partisan provocateurs has attempted to paint, there wouldn’t have been the tonnes of goodwill messages, especially from distinguished Christians, from all over the country. This ticket is a Nigerian project, not a sectional agenda that the frightened camps have been struggling to sensationalize.”
He further noted that this is not the first time the country was witnessing the same faith ticket in a presidential election.
“This reincarnation of the 30-year-old hope that produced the late MKO Abiola and BabaganaKingibe, came at a time the country is being pushed to the edge of anarchy, by conflict entrepreneurs, in gaudy suits and babanriga.
“We all witnessed the decisive blows dealt by the bigotry dispensed by a hopeless minority, ahead of the APC presidential primaries, last June. The futility of their propaganda, showed that Nigerians aren’t the unthinking robots some are quick to call them. Nigerians are rational beings, with the capability to tell an invidious agenda apart from sincere concern for them. They are not the uncritical consumers of click bait and falsehoods, as some of us think they are. They see through the bigots, masquerading as patriots and, very importantly, they know those who represent their interests, even in the quietest and darkest of meeting rooms.
“The successes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the past two presidential elections were not magic shows.
They were rewards for our foresighted and pragmatic decisions, to sacrifice our personal interests and sectional sentiments, for the overriding prospects of our Great Party. We are again on the cusp of history, and left with no option, other than collaborating assiduously again, to pursue the collective interest of APC’s stakeholders, across ethnic, religious, and regional stations.”
Earlier in his welcome address, Adamu said the party in settling for Tinubu and Shettima has put forward some of its best for Nigerians to elect as the next president and vice president respectively.
“Those of you who are students of our recent political history will note that in choosing Shettima as his running mate, Jagaban chose also to walk along the path that that other great son of this country, Aare Onakakanfo, the late Chief M.K.O. Abiola, did. He chose a Kanuri, Alhaji Baba GanaKingibe from the North-East geo-political zone, as his running mate in the 1993 presidential election. We are beginning to suspect there must be some synergy between the Yoruba and the Kanuri. Maybe there is a mutual attraction between them that the rest of us do not know. Never mind, we will put the searchlight on them.”
