The Confederation of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Support Groups, which came into being in the run up to the 2023 presidential election as a conglomeration of all groups supporting whoever emerged as the candidate of the party, became visible after the victory of President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the candidate of the party.
The man behind this noble group, Engineer Kailani Mohammed, made no pretentions about the motive of the group. During an inaugural press conference, Mohammed, who is the director general of the groups, stated that its objective is to bring together the amalgam of all the support groups under one umbrella to ensure synergy and coordination of its activities without rancour.
Barely five months to the 2023 general elections and as most political parties and aspirants were still “consulting”, a new unique phenomenon called the Confederation of APC Support Groups had taken over the polity. What actually started as a mere rabble-rousing bunch of wanna-bes has now clearly amazed the nation by proving that they mean business.
In the run up to the presidential election, the groups transverse the nation’s hitherto confused political landscape, uniting, galvanising and educating citizens on the pedigree of the APC presidential candidate.
The groups’ work was perceived by men of good will as coming from men and women simply driven by zeal to highlight the numerous achievements of the then presidential candidate Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima who were seemingly under-reported, unappreciated or unconsciously unnoticed by the public and those whose duties is to do so.
Dr. Mohammed’s vision and tenacity of purpose became the face of the group, bringing to bear his leadership acumen and mobilisatio skills, which translated to the success of its noble objectives. His name, his long list of achievements and the rallies suddenly took over the media space including radio and television airwaves across the country during the campaigns for the presidential election; today, many will be happy to see him as a major beneficiary of this effort.
However, what appears not known to the public is that the success of this group did not come easily because the group was witch-hunted to undermine their objective. This was evidently made by the opposition both within the party and by opponents and enemies of Tinubu. From the barrage of open and clandestine attacks and brick-bats thrown at the group, it was clear that there were more enemies within than outside the APC.
But the group marched on with the belief that victory was despite the persecution it was facing. The revolution called the Confederation of APC Support Groups had been so maligned that if it was imbued with the grace to stave off the attacks it would have been messy for the party.
Without holding forth for the Confederation of APC Support Groups or others working with the group behind the scene, it is inconceivable that those who should have been defending the party and its presidential candidate were instead attacking those who took it upon themselves to showcase the party and its candidate to the world.
This group of opponents were clearly so incensed by the Confederation of APC Support Groups that they told anyone who cared to listen that they will marginalise it in order to deal a deadly blow on the party and its presidential candidate.
However the group played its role so effectively that they were able to, through well publicised scheduled national rallies systematically planned for each of the six geo-political zones of the nation, taken the message of the presidential candidate of the APC to every village and hamlet of Nigeria. This was the saving grace for the party. The presidential candidate’s positive perception and social ratings among the citizens of all class, gender and ages soared high to an unprecedented level, making his victory easier.
Today, after the elections, the group, which has come to stay in the party, has embarked on the task of constantly and regularly engaging the rank and file of the party in mutual dialogue to bridge all social and political gaps that could have existed in the party, making it the authentic support group within the APC.
The recent visit of the group to the APC new national chairman, Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, a former governor of Kano state, to congratulate and introduce the structure of the group to him, left no one in doubt that, indeed, it has come to stay within the matrix of the party and ready to work for all APC candidates in subsequent elections to ensure their victory and the consolidation of progress and development of Nigeria.
Moving forward, the group is also helping the party to overcome its challenges through an overview of electoral misfortune of the APC in parts of the country and its lack of internal democracy.
Wada writes from Abuja
