consideration for the APC Vice- Presidential
Position.
I am a Nigerian who loves his country and am
hopeful about what it can become. I have seen and conducted myself as a patriot long before I
thought of myself as a politician. I shall always
walk this line and no other.
After all the political calculations are made and the dust of competition has settled, it must be this nation and its people who stand first and
foremost. The question becomes whether we
stand strong, able to shape ourselves into our best future or will we stand frail and trembling,
burdened by the abject failure to surmount the
multiple problems confronting us.
It against this backdrop that I assess any action I
take. Here I come to my name being placed in consideration as the Vice Presidential candidate
for our party, the APC. I have labored hard to
move this party from being merely an idea in the
minds of a few into being a political organization that might win this election and govern the nation in way that gives the people the hope and opportunity they seek. Nothing is more important to me than to realize this dream not for myself but for the people of this land I so love.
I helped to build this party, giving no thought to
seeking an elected office because of it. My contribution to the party was never based on the
expectation of a later political handout. Nigeria is in trouble and we are well past the moment for
such narrow, selfish games.
There came a time during the course of the
events when our Presidential candidate,
General Muhammadu Buhari offered the Vice
Presidential slot to me. Being a normal human
being, I was deeply moved and honored that
he would consider me for the position. Being a
patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy
in all of its dimensions.
I have concluded that the interest of the party,
our campaign and of the nation are better
served if I retain my position as the National
leader of the APC, allowing me to be a bridge
builder across all divides. Although, I declined
the position, I want to thank General Buhari
for extending the honor to me. Despite all the
noise and opposition around my possible selection, he stood firm and steadfast. He
showed the traits of a leader in holding to a
decision he believed was right despite the
errant plots against it.
When my name was raised, the political hatchet
men tried to chop it down with rumor and lies.
Over the years, I have developed a thick skin. The personal attacks did not bother me. I am used to them. While I have a thick skin, I don't have a thick mind. There has been one form of attack that has troubled me. That is the attack based on religion.
The PDP and others have stoked fear of a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
I have removed myself from consideration so
what I now say cannot be seen as self-serving. I
plead with the people of this nation to never
allow the power lust of cynical politicians to
set brother against brother, neighbor against
neighbor. If you look at those politicians who
raise this issue the most, they are the least devout and faithful to any religion other their self-interests.
Nigeria has too many secular problems –insecurity, economic collapse, poverty , corruption and misgovernance – to allow inept people to use religion to keep us from solving these challenges for the benefit of all.
Those who exploit religion should be wary. For
there really is a God and he does not like it when
you play with his people or use His name to do the opposite of what He intends.
I ask the people to remove religion from the
electoral equation now that the tickets of both
parties are mixed. I ask you to select the ticket
best able to end the downward slide that Nigeria has endured since this government took over. I ask you to remember that too many Christians and Muslims are poor. Most of all, I ask you to remember that the true religion of the PDP is poverty, APC come to bring prosperity to the people. Please vote for that.
The Nigeria I see is a nation that shall overcome.
The Nigeria I see is a nation ready to sweep aside the broken ways of our recent past and the
government and politicians who impose distress
upon us. The Nigeria I see and seek is one where each person, every man, woman and child may live free of terrorism, free of the despair of
poverty and free of the fear that the government
meant to serve and protect them has turned its
back to them in cold and utter indifference.
I see and seek a Nigeria where progressive
democratic governance creates the political and
economic space needed for each of us to
contribute to rescuing and retooling this nation.
And, in the process of this benign endeavor, may each and every one of us share in the sound
promise and good prosperity that shall describe
the architecture of our national revival.
However, not everyone that shouts the name of
Nigeria believes in this vision. There are many
who would have you laid low and our future
tossed asunder that they may persist in reaping
the unjust reward of their selfish ways. There are
wolves in sheep clothing and even jackals in wolf's clothing. I have seen them but not as residents in some strange zoo. They populate the halls of this diminished government and the party from which this government was born.
We have come to the field of fateful choice. We
have been brought to test the scales of weighty
decision. Shall we lift this nation upward so that
from its higher vantage point we may clearly see
the road to our better destiny? Or shall we
continue to march the march of fools into the dark of darkness. The current path has but one end. It shall take us into the den of national collapse. We have gone far enough down this wicked avenue to be aware of what its continuance portends.
We must awaken of our own accord, my dear
people, before the bell of doom rings upon us. If
we wait until that moment, we would have waited too long. Our future, our fate, our destiny would have been cast into the snare of utter misfortune.
This is not the song of greatness. It is the poetics
of ruin. For me, political ambition will never triumph over patriotic conviction. This delicate moment affords no space for emotion to intrude to blind us from what is best. The APC is the best and only vehicle to enact the progressive and broad change this nation cries for. I eagerly
lend myself to this fine cause without me having to be on the ticket.
This is a time for cohesion and an overriding
sense of mission. We must defeat the foe before
us and resist all temptations intended to entice us
to fight among ourselves.
I sincerely commit myself to the rescue agenda
of General Buhari and Professor Osinbajo.
I declare to you, I will work and dedicate
myself so that our ticket succeeds and wins the 2015 election -- not for his good, not for my
good, not even for the party's good but for the
good of the nation we inhabit.
Some may call what I have done a sacrifice. I
call it otherwise. It is my patriotic contribution
and duty. I do so with a happy and uplifted
heart and clear conscience because I have
committed myself to seeking the best for this
nation before seeking what is good for myself.
This is the creed of statesmanship I chose to
follow. May this be the creed of our party as
General Buhari leads us to historic victory in
the 2015 elections.
May the light of a bright future always shine on
you and on our beloved nation, the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. -Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
December 17th, 2014
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