Kindly permit a space on your widely read paper to respond to the above titled article published in Blueprint on January 1, 2023, as a new year gift to Nigerians by none other than the usual Femi Fani-Kayode, one time attacker of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as aviation minister. Let’s set the record straight, I am not a PDP card carrying member and neither working for the Waziri Atiku campaign. Both PDP and Atiku have their machinery to respond to Fani-Kayode at the appropriate time.
Fani-Kayode is supposed to be dealing with more serious issues of importance to his life rather than indulging in this reckless and senseless misadventure, that is only de-marketing his products (APC and Bola Ahmed Tinubu). As normal with Fani-Kayode, who always likes generating not only controversy in the country but cannot hide his dissent against his perceived enemies, this time around too, he took to the perceived enemy.
According to the Fani-Kayode, “A violation of the sacred covenant and betrayal of the honourable commitment of a power shift to the South in 2023 will take us back to the June 12, 1993 crisis and will have grave consequences for democracy and our national unity.” Thus, Fani-Kayode needs to come clean here. Where was the “sacred covenant” reached and by who? This is very critical, remembering what played out in 2014 when the same Fani-Kayode was in PDP. At the time some disgruntled elements of PDP rebelled, claiming that there was a “covenant” with President Goodluck Jonathan that, he will only serve the remaining term of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, and a northerner will continue. The same Fani-Kayode was calling those who insisted that President Jonathan should not contest in order to honour that “covenant” all sorts of unpredictable names.
Here we are today in 2023 with the same Fani-Kayode preaching the opposite of what he vehemently opposed in 2014. As General Buba Marwa of the NDLEA suggested having our politicians undergo psychiatric tests, I strongly support the idea, and inclusive of their aides.
Interestingly, politics and democracy are games of numbers and free choice devoid of coercion, which Fani-Kayode admitted himself by saying, “We are free to make our choices about who to support…” Unfortunate, he went further to become a real dictator saying “but let those choices be bound in equity, justice and fairness.” What Fani-Kayode forgot is that Nigeria today is practicing what is tagged multi-party democracy, but he seems to be confused as if the country is a one party democracy. Is he telling us that the 2023 elections will be on regional lines? If it is truly about free choices, then why is Fani-Kayode dictating to us where the pendulum swings during our election?
According to Fani-Kayode, “If Waziri Atiku Abubakar, a Northern Fulani man from Adamawa state, emerges as president in February, southerners would then be forced to ask themselves whether we are equal partakers in Nigeria and whether we really have a place and stake in the nation.” One question that needs answer here is, how would Waziri Atiku become president in February? For sure it is by vote, that is the wish of the majority of Nigerians, southerners inclusive. Thus, no one can change anything in that regard.
Still hope it is not lost as Fani-Kayode himself admitted that both politics and democracy are games of numbers, thus, the majority decides the outcomes. Fani-Kayode, the best you can do is to try and redeem the image of your so-called “progressive” party. The majority you’re referring to, would never vote for APC as they were deceived into that mantra of “change” in 2015. All what APC promised Nigerians in 2015/2019 nothing was achieved or solved, rather, the problems are more compounded than what they were. Hope you read the December 28, 2022, Daily Trust column by Nasir Amin, titled “Sustaining Buhari’s Legacy: Insecurity, Economy And Corruption”, as well as Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed’s WhatsApp viral article titled “Our Tired President”. If you did not read these pieces, kindly do please. This will help you understand why the najority in this country are tied with anything APC.
Fani-Kayode can’t hide his hatred of Hausa/Fulani in scheme, hear him “If it had been a non-Fulani from North that was contesting on the platform of the PDP it would have been easier to accept but to have a Fulani to Fulani succession is unacceptable…” However, it is not for any individual to tell Nigerians when a succession is acceptable or not. Once Nigerians decide that is what they (the Fulani to Fulani succession) want, nothing will stop it.
Fani-Kayode, rest assured that the majority will vote in February 2023 based on our conscience and our preferred choice, NOBODY will dictate our choice no matter his position in Nigeria or elsewhere. As you vividly admitted, politics and democracy are games of numbers, the majority are going to come out in our numbers to decide who to vote for, with no threat and intimidation of plunging our country into the crisis of the last decade of the 2oth century, that is unnecessary.
Still there is hope of moving our dear country forward if the writer is serious when he said, “let us, in peace, love and unity, rebuild the bridges of trust between our people and heal our land.” This is the kind of language as well as actions that the writer and his fellows are supposed to engage in rather than insulting others they are at the same time desperately looking for votes from for their so called candidates. You need to also remember that bridges are built by peace, trust, and harmony rather than threat and intimidation.
Abdullahi from Dallas, Texas, United States via [email protected]
