2023: Southern Youth Alliance rallies support for Atiku Abubakar
Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
The Southern Youth Alliance on Monday drummed support for the actualisation of 2023 presidential aspiration of the former Vice President of the country, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar saying that he is well endowed with requisite experience to help navigate the country out of its present predicaments.
The youths who turned out in their large numbers to demand that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar must heed the clarion call of Nigerians to run for 2023 presidential election were armed with various placards bearing messages such as ; ”Nigeria is safe in Atiku’s hand, ”Atiku has all it takes to fix Nigeria”, ”Age and competency are two different things” among others.
Addressing journalists at the Ogun State secretariat of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Abeokuta, the President of the socio-political group, Comr Ridwan Ismaheel disclosed that the group which comprises of the PDP youths across the six Southwest states having evaluated the situation of the country has decided to take its position as far as 2023 presidential election is concerned.
He said “we have observed with regrets that today, our country is at the brink of crisis in all facets of life. Insecurity has become rampant such that in some places in the country, residents have to pay protection levies to bandits for security. Food prices keep going up and, indeed, a vast majority of Nigerians wake up and go to bed with empty bellies.
“The universities are on strike as we speak and fuel queues are back at our petrol stations. Our debt as a nation is climbing into frightening proportions and bookmakers say that by the end of 2023, Nigeria’s debt portfolio would have reached a whooping 50 Trillion Naira.
“So, it is scary, very scary. And it is an unusual time that we are in, right now; we are faced with monumental challenges.
Comr Ismaheel revealed further that “we know that for every season, there are leaders that are cut out for the purpose of that season. Our unity as a country is at risk. The challenge before us as a nation requires that we search for a leader who, from his antecedents, we are sure that is fit for this particular situation that the country has found itself.
One leader who is not bigoted, someone who can pick up the pieces and mend the divisions in the country from North to South; West to the East. A leader who can bring everyone to the roundtable table and have a discussion around these issues that beset the nation.
The group stated further that “one man who fits into that call is someone that is widely known through the length and breadth of this country and that person is Atiku Abubakar. Atiku possesses the set skills to fix Nigeria and make Nigeria a great country again!”
Atiku is further described as a time tested politician who has the competencies and the skills to rework our national economy and make the country competitive again in the area of education and innovations.
The group said “for us in the Southwest, the ideas that Atiku Abubakar has espoused through the years reflect the aspirations of our people. He is one leader who has expressly committed to restructuring even when it was not politically popular to do so.
“Atiku believes that there is an over-concentration of power in the central government and advocates that more power and resources should be delegated to states. Is that not the ideal upon which this country was birthed? There was a time that the regions (now states) were the centers of development in this country and the people were the centerpiece of development”.
The group however noted that it was unfortunate that “some people are beginning to draw parallels between an older person and a younger person. We believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong in whether it is an old person or a younger person. What is important is the quality of ideas that the leader is bringing to the table.
“We, as youth groups of the PDP will not sit idly by where ideas are compromised for lesser values. What we need as a country is competent leadership. There could be other wants, but we believe that what we need should trump what we want!”.
The group said “it is therefore on this note that we wish to express our discomfort to the campaign of calumny against the candidature of His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar in the upcoming 2023 presidential election. In the same breath, we are also not comfortable with the seeming silence or reluctance of Atiku in declaring his intention to contest the presidential election.
“We are respectfully making a demand that His Excellency Atiku Abubakar breaks the air about his ambition to run for the 2023 presidential election and make a declaration in the affirmative.
“We are also using this opportunity to give a guarantee of our utmost support and the willingness to give our all in campaigning door to door to mobilize fellow youth to follow a leader who has the skill and competencies to salvage the country”.
