By Umar Bayo Abdulwahab
Ilorin
A professor of Language and Communication Arts at the Rivers state University of Education, Olufumilayo Adesanya-Davies, has declared her intention to contest the 2019 presidential election.
Adesanya- Davies, who made her intention public yesterday while addressing newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara state, said she made decision after wide consultation across the general public.
She added that decision of the federal government to make the forms free for women aspirants also boosted her interest in the race.
“I am aspiring to be the next president of Nigeria. I am out to put laughter of joy in the mouth of all. I have discussed this with the former presidential candidate, Sarah Jubril, who incidentally is from Kwara state. Her reaction was that ‘if a miracle like this will ever happen, we have paid the price in Kwara state and it is going to happen in the state.
“She said that Nigeria has opened the ground for Nigerian women, adding that my ticket is that of Nigeria, as the presidential form is free for women.
“Historically, we will recall in 2015 another woman presidential candidate came. She floated a party called the KOWA party. Her name is Prof Remi Sonaya, she was my lecturer at the Obafemi Awolowo Univerity (OAU).
“2015 was when I first thought about being a presidential aspirant. This is for the main reason that I was born October 15th and I got married at October 15th. That time I said with President Goodluck Jonathan in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) I was going to be his running mate. I was sending text messages to him. I told him to let Vice President, Nnamadi Sambo, step down for him to be successful but he did not listen to me.
“But delay is not denial that is why I am staging a comeback. I have done some consultations. The first person to put a call through was Patience Jonathan. I told her that I am picking the presidential form this time around and she endorsed my decision.
“Our first thanks will go to the nation- Nigeria that says the ladies could pick our forms politically at every level. Nigeria is confident that the current challenges in the country can only be tackled by the women.
“However, we are still keeping the party under which place we will aspire under close wraps. Later I on will be announcing that through the press. We don’t have a platform yet. We are just saying that officially, this is a presidential aspirant for 2019 and later we will take it to the next level.
“As time goes on and we are taking counsel from the youths, the family, mothers and the children we will declare on which platform the next first female president will be coming from.”
Speaking on President Buhari she urged Nigerians to be patient and allow the president to effect the changes he had promised to bring about in the country.
“I will advise Nigerians to calm down for President Muhammadu Buhari. Also the man too is not sleeping. He is not resting. Age too is not on his side. We did all the mathematics and we saw it and opted for it. So that he had to travel for 100 days to take care of his health is not his fault. It is age and we said we believe in him.
“The major problem with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is that it does not want to do literature review. We in the academics always build from where we are coming from for finished and unfinished projects.
“Buhari’s governance had to take positive reminiscences to Goodluck Jonathan. An old man cannot combine the minister for petroleum ministry job with the presidency, it won’t work. We need them to work hard and get the technocrats to do their jobs again.”
