By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti
As the race to the 2019 Presidential elections appear to have commenced, there was mikd drama as the duo of Presidential hopefuls, Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State and the former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido on Tuesday endorsed each other’s presidential ambitions.
Lamido,however lamented that Nigerians made a grievous mistake by electing President MuhammaduBuhari in the 2015 presidential poll.
Lamido, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and
presidential aspirant, said Nigeria has never witnessed hatred and
bloodshed across ethnic and religious divides since independence as being witnessed under Buhari.
Lamido called on party leaders to form a strong alliance against the
All Progressives Congress(APC) in 2019, saying : “We can defeat them
easily if we all share the same thought and pains as Nigerians are
feeling now”.
The former governor said this in Ado-Ekiti,the Ekiti state capital on Tuesday during a visit to governor Ayodele Fayose to confer with him on his presidential aspiration.
Lamido lauded Fayose for his courage and criticism of the Buhari’s government, describing the governor’s bravery as an impetus to the country’s fledging democracy and tonic that has been spurring the opposition party ahead of the next year’s general election.
“You are a man of courage and a man of character who is able to stand up for the people in spite of intimidation. I respect you, I admire you and like you a lot.
“In PDP,we were in power for 16 years, somehow we lost out, we
should ask the question, where was Nigeria before PDP? The vision of
our founding fathers, like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Aminu Kano , Ahmadu Bello and Tafawa Balewa had been that there should be a Nigeria populated by human beings first not tribes, regions or zones.
“We cannot forge ahead if we are governed by culture of hate. We are
failing today because we have people who are alien to democracy on board . They are exploiting our differences, manipulate our emotions and divided us and gradually turned us into a country where we hate one another .
“Fulani, Tiv and Hausa are now killing each other, blood flowing all
over Nigeria. God is angry with us in Nigeria. What do we do, the
party in power has no political history, only come to divide us,
impose culture of hate as intimidation blackmail is the order of the day
“If you say your mind, you would be mocked, democracy is freedom of
exposure, his govt is for few individuals without political history,our economy is bastardised”, he said.
Expressing disgust at the Buhari’s government for failing Nigeria, Lamido added:“I have come to discuss with you about our party and look at Nigeria in 2019. APC is stealing under the cover of anti corruption fight. In Nigeria, the only hope in 2019 is PDP, because APC is a contraption”,
he said.
Responding,Fayose described Lamido as eminently qualified to be
president of Nigeria, saying he remains one of the few detrabilised
Fulani leaders with capacity and exposure to deliver.
“ I am among those that would continue to celebrate your contributions to our country. I believe in Fulani people, every tribe has the good and the bad. You are one of the Fulani men that I know have the abilities to perform”.
Fayose advised Nigerians not to vote for any retired military man as
president, saying the current experience was suffice to teach a strong lesson that only a democrat can deliver.
“The military bastardised the system, they destroyed this country this is why Nigerians should stop voting military men, they are not
politicians.
“We lived in this country and grew up to know that everyone from any
tribe is our brother but when the government fails, the nation fails .
APC have no capacity to lead our country.
“Some people say APC will rig election,but I tell them, God rules in the affairs of man. Power belongs only to God almighty.
“Whether you call it Presidential or Vice presidential aspiration, all
I know that you will come to visit me in Aso Rock in 2019”, Fayose
maintained.
