Tinubu, Atiku fight dirty
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar and All Progressives Congress, APC, National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu were at each other’s throats, yesterday, over allegations of wealth accumulation and political adventurism.
Tinubu fired the first salvo at a forum for President Muhammadu Buhari support groups in Abuja where he accused Atiku of merry-go-round in his politics and of having sought to sell half of Nigeria to himself as vice-president. Atiku promptly responded as he raised questions on the transfer of some Lagos monuments to private hands under Tinubu’s watch even as he taunted the former Lagos governor for changing parties four times. Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo also at the ceremony with Tinubu, blasted critics of President Muhammadu Buhari, saying that their fear of him had led them to spin crazy tales of him having been cloned.
Tinubu at the forum also gave a robust defence of President Buhari’s claim that the farmer’s and herders clashes in the country was a product of climate change which had now been transformed into an issue for political and religious acrimony. 2019: Agbaje, Sanwo-Olu, disagree over Lagos’ status Tinubu, speaking at the launching of the National Forum of the National Committee of Buhari Support Groups, said Buhari had to be re-elected on the claim that he had turned around the fortunes of the country for good. Why Buhari should be re-elected Tinubu said:
“He (Buhari) is committed to building the necessary foundation for a prosperous nation and diversified economy that will provide employment and fair opportunity for all. ‘’He has no tolerance for corruption and is vigorously ridding the nation of this blemish on our reputation. He fights the terrorists and is not afraid to tackle the hardest challenges of governance. “The PDP and their candidate had vast money at their disposal, and they did nothing with it during their 16-year reign of waste. They created no jobs, and the only opportunities they promoted were their plans for looting the national treasury. ‘’They failed to bring social welfare to the poor because they forgot all about the poor. There was no serious problem they resolved. Every national problem became a friend to them that they used as an excuse to take from the public purse. “So why are we here? To remind the people of the 16 years of cold-hearted neglect suffered at the hands of successive PDP governments.
To remind the people that in four years and with fewer resources, President Buhari has created a better foundation for Nigeria’s future than all the PDP governments combined. One Buhari is worth more than the three PDP presidents who preceded him. On Atiku “The PDP Standard bearer, Atiku Abubakar, has changed parties so many times and collected so many membership cards. He could build a house of the party membership cards he has accumulated. But one thing he should remember is that a man who builds a house of cards ought not to cast stones at a man who is building a house with a firm and true foundation. “He should also realise that such a feeble house will collapse as soon as the wind of truth blows on it. You, my friends, are that wind of truth. “Atiku was with the PDP, with us, with another party then back with the PDP.
He is a political merry go round and carnival all by himself. Ask him which party he belongs to, he must ask you what “year is it” before he dares answer. Ask him the direction he is going; he will answer “North, South, East, and West at the same time. “Any man who intends on going everywhere at the same time is a man intent on going nowhere. Atiku has every right to engage in such personal confusion. But he has no ethical right to try to substitute his personal confusion for our national mission. “Just look at his relationship with his former boss, Obasanjo. At one point, one despised the other. Obasanjo said he had asked God not to allow Atiku to become President. If Obasanjo once asked God to prevent Atiku, we are entitled to wonder into whose ear does Obasanjo now whisper his support for Atiku’s venal cause? “They want to live in a land of false opulence and true greed, one where the weight of all their waste and the impunity of their misconduct is borne on the backs of the common man and woman.
“This is what the coming election is about. They claim to be a “reformed PDP” then they select as their candidate, Obasanjo’s VP, who took the term “privatization” to its literal extreme. Through plotting contrived sales of national assets to himself, Atiku sought to turn half of Nigeria into his own private property. He sought to run off with the goose that laid the golden egg while simultaneously staying put in order to milk dry the national cow. If given a second chance at the national till, he will consume all he did not take the first go around.
“This is not reform. It is regression. Whosoever tells you the path to your better future is to return to your worst past is more dedicated to your demise than your development. Climate change “This is how a real government goes about the business of the people. President Buhari is the first president we have who has recognized the full impact climate change has throughout Nigeria. For the herder, crisis is not a story of religious conflict. The Quran is not fighting the Bible nor is the Bible fighting the Quran.
They are both manuals of peace and brotherly love. “Instead, this is a tale of too little water and fertile land. In such situations, love and peace are strained. This lack has pitted farmer and herder as never before. These people contend against each other to protect their endangered livelihoods. By incident of history, they happen to be of different faiths and ethnic groups. “While President Buhari worries himself daily about the plight of our people, Atiku and the PDP feast on their desire for power just for the sake of having power. “Thus, we have a decision to make. Do we sit still, allowing them to carry us backward into the past or do we stand in unified support of a leader and a man who loves this land and the people of it? Also speaking on the occasion, Osinbajo, said the expected election would be a historic “battle between those who want our country’s resources to be used for our country and her people, and those who want to privatize the commonwealth.”
He said: “The man who stands against the forces of retrogression but with the future of our children is the man called Muhammadu Buhari. He is not a perfect man, but he is an honest and truthful man.” He described Buhari as “a man who wants to use the resources of this country for the common man.” He added: “Between 2010 and 2014 our nation earned the highest amount ever in history from oil, the sum of US383 billion. Just to compare in the same period we have earned less than US112 billion.” Citing the records of the administration, he said Vanguard
