by Chinwe Okafor

On Monday, January 12, the National Presidential Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was inaugurated.

Below are ten quotes from the address by the presidential aspirant of the party, General Muhammadu Buhari.

1. “With your support, I intend to offer myself for the position of the president of the republic on the platform of our great party. I intend to make a formal announcement on October 8, and I hope I can count on your continuing support and sacrifice. However, I would like to point out to you that, to be more meaningful, your support must extend beyond my person and always be available to the party and all those the party puts forward; because it is the party that is the platform.”

2. “You must at all times remember that the APC is a party with several qualified people for each and all the positions that will be contested, including that of the president. It is the primaries that will determine who eventually represents the party in which capacity. If I get the party nomination, I expect you will redouble your effort and commitment until we clinch the presidency. But in the event that it happens to be one of the other aspirants who wins, I will expect you as good party men to extend to him your total support. We are a united party, and united we shall remain, because our strength lies in our unity.”

3. “For this and for other reasons, I must warn all my supporters, volunteers and other well-wishers within the party or even out of it not to insult or be rude to any other aspirant or party leader on my behalf. My supporters must not engage in any kind of behaviour or conduct that will tarnish the image of any leader or promote division and rancour within the ranks of the party. Whoever does that should know he or she is working for the enemy.”

4. “At the same time, I would like to appeal and urge you to be good ambassadors of the opposition. As a body, the opposition is committed to the rule of law; and as members of the parties in the opposition, you must learn to do the same at all times. In particular, you must learn to be vigilant especially just before, during and immediately after elections, whether these are rigged or not, so that sponsored hoodlums do not commit illegalities that are in the end blamed on you. Not only must you not take the law into your hands, no matter the level of provocation, you must be able to expose those planning to do so before they act.”

5. “I know it is all too painful for you to see votes you cast being disregarded and votes illegally thumb printed being counted to rig out the choice that you have legitimately and conclusively made. And it is even more painful when you know that the road to remedy has been firmly shut in your face; for, you are always called on to accept a judgment whose justice you cannot see, whose logic is flawed and whose facts speak against itself.”

6. “All the same, I urge you to take to patience. I wish to assure you that the leadership of the opposition is not unmindful of this sad and frustrating situation, and has accordingly put in place a mechanism that will permanently put an end to rigging in this country.”

7. We intend to prosecute this campaign to win and we shall win. We undertake to end the impunity of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, a party that has proved clueless in every material particular. It has failed to address any of the important concerns of the people of this country. It has failed to deal squarely with the great security challenge that has faced this nation within these last five years. And it has remained touchy and impervious to all constructive criticism, and without concern for human life and for the suffering going on in the land.

8. As we campaigned, Boko Haram attacked Baga town in Borno State, reportedly killing 2,000 people; but to this clueless government, this toll is just a number, a statistic that adds up to the litany that has gone before it. And worst of all, this PDP government has split the country along all known fault lines. It is time to send them into deserved retirement; which, in the normal cause of events, it will have done nothing to deserve.

9. On our part, we have solemnly promised this nation that we are going to secure it against all threats, manage its resources efficiently and with demonstrable transparency, and then fix whatever is amiss in it. Under an APC government, no one will go to bed hungry, angry with the government or with the fear of insurgents or nocturnal visitors. We shall secure the government for the people and fix it. And, verily, we shall deliver on every of our promises.

10. Needless to add, Chief Amaechi is a fighter who has never failed in any assignment, and every member of the presidential campaign council has been chosen on account of experience and expertise and proven track record. With such a team and with the unprecedented acceptance that the APC enjoys in all parts of the country, the question is not whether the party will defeat the PDP. The question is the nature of the la

Ada Igboanugo