By Seyi Gesinde
The good news is here! Our preferred leader for 2023, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, is emerging as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the coming presidential election.
The Lagos State turnout climaxing his tour of the 36 states in Nigeria, including Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), is overwhelming. What happened during his meeting with the delegates turned out to be the opposite of what his political foemen had anticipated, especially being the home base of his staunch rival, former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
They had anticipated a cold reception for Osinbajo in Lagos State, but it all resulted in fanfare, the Osinbajo’s entry into Ikeja became a festival for Lagosians who threw the state into a frenzy mood sighting the Vice President coming to town.
Hear what the elated Vice President said: As he put it: “I have come home to Lagos to thank God for all He has done and all He is yet to do.
“I am not here for a campaign or consultation, I just want to celebrate with my brothers and sisters in Lagos state.
“God will help us on Sunday and we will win. There is no doubt at all, we will win by the grace of God.
“And we will go on to win the general election for our party, the APC. I know that we will have massive support from all of our delegates.”
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Speaking on his qualifying experience, being in the saddle of national leadership in the past seven years, deputising for President Muhammadu Buhari, VP Osinbajo said he has acquired the needed experience, with exposure to everything about governing a complex and diverse country such as Nigeria.
“I have also acted as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at various times.”
A God-fearing leader, Osinbajo acknowledged divine providence that allowed him to serve, praising God who gave him those experiences for a purpose, which definitely was to serve the nation further.
Osinbajo said: “The truth of the matter is that God does not make a mistake. That is the reason why God gave me all the experiences and that time has come.
“I am sure that everyone knows that if you have seven years of experience on anything, you will be better than those who do not have any experience at all.”
So, we should not allow mischief-makers to misinform or confuse you with the narrative of saying since 12 governors signed for Asiwaju Tinubu, Osinbajo’s closest rival, he is sure to emerge the party’s candidate. Let’s be informed that, there is no exclusivity in signing, since some of the governors who signed for Asiwaju signed for Osinbajo too, even more. The summation of the governors who signed for Osinbajo is 14. And in simple arithmetics, 14 is bigger than 12.
For the record, 14 governors signed the recently submitted Expression of Interest and Nomination forms of APC for Osinbajo. He even got more than the statutory number of persons needed to sign and propose him to the party. Imagine, what the rule says is that, so far you are a party member, you are qualified to sign, but the governors for the seriousness attached to Osinbajo’s candidature decided to monitor the process on their own. This is fantastic!
In the choice of a successor, it is like the governors are now corroborating President Buhari, who has already given us the shadow of what is to come when he said he won’t hand over to a corrupt politician. It now suffices to say that of all the top gladiators interested in becoming Nigeria’s president in 2023, Osinbajo is the only incorruptible one. Kudos.
Everything has pointed to this. The coast is clear, Osinbajo is the choice of everyone in this struggle for national reinventing, a foundation for progress that President Muhammadu Buhari has laid.
Nigeria is getting it right now, and we must just get it right this time round completely and forever! After Osinbajo’s emergence, let’s rally support for him with our votes at the general elections to win overwhelmingly. Osinbajo represents the unity of Nigeria, the hope of a new Nigeria, and the general development of the country. He knows where they started, where it is now, and where to continue the work from — and that is the stability we need, that is the definition of what he meant, saying, he would hit the ground running.
Osinbajo knows the security architecture of Nigeria too, being a former Acting President, the only one who has ever attained this position among his rivals. This is a veritable credential distinguishing him. Osinbajo is the most qualified, we await his emergence on or before May 29, 2022, the date set for the primaries elections, if the party is not going for the consensus arrangement.
• Gesinde is a political scientist and public affairs analyst.
