*Tells why none of Atiku, Obi will win
A former Commissioner for Information in Edo State, Prince Kassim Afegbua, on Saturday said Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, presidential candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has the best qualities to lead Nigeria among all other candidates that have shown interest in the 2023 presidential election.
Addressing some cross-section of Nigerians in London, United Kingdom (UK), Afegbua said he is in the country to “promote the candidacy of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who in my estimation fits into the bill of 2023 presidency than any other candidate”.
While admitting that the 2023 presidential election is a three-horse race, Afegbua said Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has through his actions shown that he is not interested in the unity of Nigeria by seeking to become president after President Muhammadu Buhari, another Northerner is completing eight years in office.
“Nigeria needs Tinubu to lead this country from May 29, 2023 because he is the best among those who have so far shown interest with all sense of responsibility and experience in political management, in my advocacy experience and my understanding of the intricate logic of the Nigerian Federation.
“I have continued to say it relentlessly that under a plural society that Nigeria is, with our diversities, it is a requirement for you to balance all the algorithms of power between the Northern and Southern protectorate, tracing our history from 1914 till date.
“So if a President Buhari is finishing eight years as a president of Nigeria of Northern extraction, the law of natural justice prescribes that it should be the turn of the Southern protectorate. Except you want to hurt the unity of Nigeria or you want to further deepen the crisis, that is when you begin to canvass for another Northerner succeeding Buhari.
“We don’t need to beggar the issue. We need to state it as succinctly as it should be that Nigeria is a heterogeneous country that is sitting on a tripod. If the tripod is not working as a function of the disparities, at least the North and South must work.
“Of course, you are all aware that I have left the PDP formally as a result of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar’s emergence against the run of play at the PDP convention. I am supporting Asiwaju Tinubu’s aspiration by my own estimation that he has better qualities and better understanding of the dominant issues in the country with a view to uniting us than a Peter Obi or Atiku Abubakar.
“They call Atiku a unifier but I am not sure he has been able to unify his home. So, all of that rhetorics can’t sit well with me based on my understanding of Nigerian political dynamics.”
Speaking about Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate, Afegbua said Obi will divide PDP’s votes in the South East but will find it difficult to get votes in some key Northern states.
“Take a Peter Obi for example. He is the rave of the moment youths are following him and all of that. Truth is, he can’t break into the political structures of some dominant states in the North.
“He may be popular in the South, particularly in the South East but he won’t be able to muster the required votes that will get him the presidency. At any rate, I haven’t seen any of the qualities that are being touted about him across board”.
“I watched his interview on CNN. It was very drab, bland, no depth. I say this with all sense of responsibility, as a presidential candidate, you can’t be telling me you are coming to solve Nigeria’s security problems. No! You should be telling me what you intend to do to solve the problem not by making general statements that can be said by even a kindergarten pupil” .
