Excuses, lamentations over power epilepsy, banditry is enough, let’s fix Nigeria – Tinubu
…Calls Youths to team-up in Nigeria’s reform agenda
By Moses Adeniyi
Fore front 2023 Presidential Aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has said continuous resort to excuses and lamentations over Nigeria’s epileptic power supply, the scourge of banditry, among other challenges troubling the Country is enough.
The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), moreover, said it was high time the Country’s challenges were fixed without continuous expression of excuses.
In his view, the former Lagos State Governor who spoke at a grand rally organised by youths under the aegis of Progressive Youth of South-West to declare their support for his presidential aspiration in Lagos, rather believes such excuses were not tenable, as the Country has all potentials to viably feed her population conveniently, through creative, visionary and committed leadership.
According to him, Nigerians were tired of excuses and lamentations of the past over the numerous challenges, particularly epileptic power supply and banditry bedeviling the country, saying a united and banditry free Nigeria is possible.
Youths from the States in the South-West region, including Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo States converged in Lagos on Saturday in their large numbers to drum support for the aspiration of the APC National Leader.
Tinubu who described the teeming youths that filled the arena, as “bright and brilliant”, urged them to team up with him in his bid to change the narratives of Nigeria for the future which they represent.
He said: ‘’All you need is courage, determination and perseverance. If the YouTube alone has 2.9 billion people following it, including you all standing here, then Nigeria can excel. We can do it, you must develop the can-do-attitude.
“You must believe that this country is yours and you want to change the story. You must change the story of power, the story of banditry, you must change the story of tribalism.
‘’We as a nation can conveniently feed ourselves by being creative, visionary and committed; anybody who says we cannot, they can get out because it is voluntary.
“We cannot continue the lamentation of the past. We cannot continue with excuses of power failure. There is no nation that made rapid development without electricity. Give us light, and if we cannot be successful then you can abuse us. You cannot give us erratic light that is undependable and then blame us again that we are lazy.
‘’Nigeria, it is about time, we have enough gas to fire up electricity and supply the rest of Europe and make money, long term from it. You know it. We don’t want to bore you with it. When I started (as a governor), we used to pick dead bodies on the streets, but today Lagos is one of the cleanest, most progressive states in the Country.’’
He urged the youths to revalidate their Permanent Voters Cards and be ready to vote in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
In his keynote address, Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who appreciated the grand support for Tinubu, noted that youths will continue to be identified as critical stakeholders, just as he enjoined all delegates to the APC Primary to exercise their franchise wisely.
The South-West youth leaders at the event took their turns to speak on why the youths were promoting the APC National Leader, Tinubu, to become the next president of Nigeria, come 2023.
Speaking, Dr. Muritala Seriki, Dayo Israel, Muhammed Sulaiman, among others applauded the achievements of Tinubu in infrastructure, education, and in raising the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of Lagos, while he served as governor of the State, acknowledging their stride were a product of his tutelage.
This was just as they described the APC national leader as a detribalised Nigerian, who would take the Country to greater heights, if voted as president of the Country in 2023.
Seriki, in his speech, itemised the achievements of Tinubu as Lagos State Governor to include increase in the State’s IGR that brought about growth and development in all sectors of the economy.
According to him, Tinubu is a detribalised Nigerian who would replicate his achievements in Lagos at the national level, if elected the Country’s next president.
Israel, who also spoke in the same vein, charged the youth to go for their voters’ cards and be prepared to vote in the coming general elections, saying that they should be prepared to speak with their votes by electing Tinubu as next president of the country.
Sulaimon, who also acknowledged Tinubu’s leadership quality as well as his closeness to the youth, assured that all the youths in the North-Central were behind the APC national leader on his ambition to become Nigeria’s president in 2023, even as he prayed for him for the fulfilment of the dream.
Stakeholders in South-West State Assemblies also threw their support at the event, supporting the youths campaign for Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
A member of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Desmond Elliot representing Surulere Constituency 1, in his short remark, said the State Assemblies in the zone were unanimous in their support for Tinubu’s presidential ambition.
Since declaration of aspirations for the 2023 elections began to gather cloud, the Nigerian political landscape has taken a dynamic turn, as Tinubu remains at the fore front of discourse in the Country’s political climate.
