APC’s Sociological Imperatives, PDP’s Political Corridor dominated Buhari, Atiku’s inaugural campaigns for 2019.
Human contests for fame, power, authority, influence and pecuniary over the ages are on one hand exciting, entertaining or productive. At other times, it could be turbulent, nihilistic and fatal.
Advancement in technology culminating in raised industrial production of goods and services as well as balance in the spread of weapons of mutual destruction and the consequential realization of consensus (democracy) as a sustainable way for peaceful mass human organizations have largely combined to tame man into positive attitude to contests.
It’s now about 60 days to the 2019 General Elections which consist of Presidential, Senate, and Federal House of Representatives elections at the Federal level of contests. At the States level, the electoral contests consist of Governorships and States Houses of Assembly elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the umpire of the electoral processes has blown the whistle for political parties to begin their campaigns for the Elections. And within 24 hours of the permit, both the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Alhaji Abubakar Atiku of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) deposed in previous election came up Monday 19th November 2018 with varied approach at placing their Parties’ Policies, Programs and Promises before the Nigerian electorates.
Calmly, gracefully and confidently Muhammadu Buhari at the State house told the large elite audience drawn from all over the country that in the past three and halve years the governing APC has laid the foundation for a stable, strong and prosperous Nigeria. He told the audience that although the foundational work is neither glamorous nor often visible but given the depth of decay, deterioration and despair that Nigerian had sunk into, such foundation works are vital at achieving the kind of country everyone would desire. President Buhari said; “we are certain that these last 3 years have put us in good stead to press on to the next level of building an even stronger nation for our people.”
The APC he said has clearly delivered on his pre-election promise of securing the country, fighting corruption and resuscitating the economy through diversification.
He said; “we implemented a responsible and transparent fiscal plan for the challenging economic times that see us doing more even with lesser oil revenue. Grand scale corruption perpetrated at the highest level of government is now a thing of the past.
The nation’s wealth is now being invested in capital projects to expand infrastructures and connect peoples, goods and opportunities by rail. road and air. Through the nation’s social investment programs we have provide direct support to over 13million Nigerians who need.”
Despite these achievements, Buhari acknowledged that there is still much to do and the next level of efforts will focus on job creation across the various sectors and the people that are still in poverty will have a direct way out and up through the expanded social investment programs as well as an end to the farmers-herders conflict being cynically manipulated by political actors.
Human contests for fame, power, authority, influence and pecuniary over the ages are on one hand exciting, entertaining or productive. At other times, it could be turbulent, nihilistic and fatal.
Advancement in technology culminating in raised industrial production of goods and services as well as balance in the spread of weapons of mutual destruction and the consequential realization of consensus (democracy) as a sustainable way for peaceful mass human organizations have largely combined to tame man into positive attitude to contests.
It’s now about 60 days to the 2019 General Elections which consist of Presidential, Senate, and Federal House of Representatives elections at the Federal level of contests. At the States level, the electoral contests consist of Governorships and States Houses of Assembly elections.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) the umpire of the electoral processes has blown the whistle for political parties to begin their campaigns for the Elections. And within 24 hours of the permit, both the incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Vice President Alhaji Abubakar Atiku of Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) deposed in previous election came up Monday 19th November 2018 with varied approach at placing their Parties’ Policies, Programs and Promises before the Nigerian electorates.
Calmly, gracefully and confidently Muhammadu Buhari at the State house told the large elite audience drawn from all over the country that in the past three and halve years the governing APC has laid the foundation for a stable, strong and prosperous Nigeria. He told the audience that although the foundational work is neither glamorous nor often visible but given the depth of decay, deterioration and despair that Nigerian had sunk into, such foundation works are vital at achieving the kind of country everyone would desire. President Buhari said; “we are certain that these last 3 years have put us in good stead to press on to the next level of building an even stronger nation for our people.”
The APC he said has clearly delivered on his pre-election promise of securing the country, fighting corruption and resuscitating the economy through diversification.
He said; “we implemented a responsible and transparent fiscal plan for the challenging economic times that see us doing more even with lesser oil revenue. Grand scale corruption perpetrated at the highest level of government is now a thing of the past.
The nation’s wealth is now being invested in capital projects to expand infrastructures and connect peoples, goods and opportunities by rail. road and air. Through the nation’s social investment programs we have provide direct support to over 13million Nigerians who need.”
Despite these achievements, Buhari acknowledged that there is still much to do and the next level of efforts will focus on job creation across the various sectors and the people that are still in poverty will have a direct way out and up through the expanded social investment programs as well as an end to the farmers-herders conflict being cynically manipulated by political actors.
APC’s Sociological Imperatives, PDP’s Political Corridor dominated Buhari, Atiku’s inaugural campaigns for 2019.
Identifying one of his party’s big challenges that lie ahead, he said “Perhaps our biggest thing yet is the overhaul of our education sector. When the time comes, we will remodel 10,000 schools every year.”
In what suggest that his party consider human factors in ensuring that goods are delivered to direct beneficiaries and not hijacked along delivery path by corruption and recorded in statistics as delivered, he said; “We know that to succeed, moral integrity and conscience must continue to form the dominating character of our nation and its leadership.” He promised an end to Herders, Farmers’ conflicts across the country.
With a mindset for stable polity, prosperity and building high spirit for Nigerians, the APC candidate said that more than ever before Nigeria need a stable and focused government to move the development of the country forward. At that juncture and amidst thunderous applause he called the electorates; “join us on this journey therefore to the next level to a prosperous, strong and stable Nigeria.”
Candidate Buhari calmly with a measured tone and in his usual mode of demonstrating sincere humility, compressed his speech that; “the achievement and projection enumerated above are just a summary of what we have done and what we intend to do in our next term if Nigerians graciously give us a second term.”
Holding two roles; one, as a sitting President and the other as a Presidential candidate of his political party for next election, Buhari temporarily swung role to speak to the nation as the custodian of national security when he pleaded; “I urge all candidates and supporters of all political parties to go about the campaigns peacefully and decently, we have no other country but Nigeria, let us not set it ablaze because of politics or sectional interest” And as he swung back to APC candidate’s role to the admiration of the excited audience, he launched the APC 2019 campaign manual.
At a different venue, the Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic party, Alhaji Abubakar Atiku launched the campaign of his party with the slogan; “Let’s Get Nigeria Working Again.” He said it can only be possible with the cooperation of Nigerians. His policy statement is basically centered on three key tasks area, namely; job creation, restructuring the polity and getting the Country working. He said if elected he will attract investment and millions of small scale businesses across the country. He said his investment act will create a minimum of 2.5million jobs annually. He recalled; “when I was vice President of Federal Republic of Nigeria from 1999 to 2007, I chaired the National Economic Council that gave Nigeria her highest and most consistent GDP growth of over six percent per annum. He detailed a seven-year time line to deliver on his campaign promises. He promised to privatize the NNPC and all four nation’s refineries. His promises on other areas of infrastructures include the construction of 5,000 kilometers of roads and 5,000 kilometers of modern railways and lift 50million Nigerians out of poverty by 2025. Atikur told the electorates that; “the most important questions in this election are: Are you better off now or in 2015? Are you richer or poorer? “That is why our primary focus is to get Nigeria working again” he emphasized. He said to get Nigeria working, he will restructure the polity. It is doable, he asserted.
Assessing the take-off of the two first line presidential runners, Buhari’s campaign speech suggests that he believes that Nigeria’s problem lies in its faulty human attitude i.e. impunity, greed and corruption. Related to this are situations where money earmarked to pay workers are cornered by a few privileged persons and carted away elsewhere to be stored in graves, overhead tanks and personal overseas banks thereby depriving useful circulation of money to promote citizen’s engagement at contributing to building the nation’s Gross Domestic Products (GDP).
The APC mindset that money, privileges, and opportunities should be spread to the citizens without being cornered by a few officials may have underpinned the online recruitment and payment of University graduates under the nPower scheme, street payments of ‘tradermoni’ to market traders and such other financial empowerment schemes directly to beneficiaries. Hear candidate Buhari; “…in the past three and halve years the governing APC has laid the foundation for a stable, strong and prosperous Nigeria…that although the foundational work is neither glamorous nor often visible but given the depth of decay, deterioration and despair that Nigerian had sunk into, such foundation works are vital at achieving the kind of country everyone would desire…” Satisfied with the foundation APC has laid in the human angle attitude to development, he solicits the electorates for votes for the APC for NEXT LEVEL of the nation’s development.
An assessment of PDP on the other hand through it’s presidential candidate suggest that like a typical financial developmental guru, Alhaji Atiku in the inaugural campaign speech emphasized the use of political rearrangement to “getting Nigeria working” so as to place Nigeria’s into fast economic development trajectory. Perhaps with the mindset that Government cannot efficiently manage business without a creep-in of corruption, Atiku economic stance is to stay off corruption through more efficient alternative way. He thus promised to privatize the NNPC and sell off all four nation’s refineries. He promised infrastructures outlays including the construction of 5,000 kilometers of roads and 5,000 kilometers of modern railways. Alhaji Abubakar Atiku said he will lift 50million Nigerians out of poverty by 2025. He released data and economic goals in measurable terms and timeframe. He told the Nigerian citizens that this economic approach at getting Nigeria working will rest on a restructured Nigeria.
The preceding is an examination of the inaugural campaign speeches of the frontline Presidential candidates to the 2019 Nigeria’s general elections. It is a struggle between Sociological imperatives of Buhari’s APC and the Political inevitabilities of Atiku’s PDP at developing Nigeria. But do the largely sentimental electorates really know this?