The forthcoming 2023 presidential election, like other elections since 1999, has been characterised by endorsement of some presidential candidates by prominent individuals, especially influencers and socio-cultural organisations in the country.
On November 4, Nollywood actors under the auspices of The Progressive Coalition of Entertainers declared support for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The group, led by Saheed Balogun made their support public during a courtesy visit to the speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa on Friday at the assembly’s complex in Lagos.
A month earlier, Nollywood veterans, Patience Ozokwo, Mr Ibu, and Alex Osifo, announced their endorsement of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, in the 2023 general election.
The veterans, alongside a support group, 40Million Ballots Movement, unveiled a donation campaign to support Obi and his running mate, Baba-Ahmed Datti, ahead of the elections.
In September, the leader of Afenifere Ayo Adebanjo, announced in a press conference that the group has decided to back the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, for equity and inclusiveness.
Adebanjo, who spoke in Lagos said the Yoruba had taken the first turn of the zonal arrangement in 1999, which led to the emergence of President Olusegun Obasanjo.
“The current President is a Fulani from the Northwest and by virtue of the zoning arrangement that has governed Nigeria since 1999, power is supposed to return to the south imminently,” said Adebanjo.
“We cannot continue to demand that the Igbo people remain in Nigeria, while we at the same time continue to brutally marginalize and exclude them from the power dynamic. Peter Obi is the person of Igbo extraction that Afenifere has decided to support and back, he is the man we trust to restructure the country back to federalism on the assumption of office.”
Adebanjo position did not sit well with some other members of the body. In late October, some of Afenifere leaders opposed to Peter Obi’s endorsement endorsed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu had visited the national leader of the group, Pa Reuben Fasoranti and other leaders of the group at his country home in Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The endorsement and counter endorsement raised questions about who is the leader of Afenifere after the organising secretary of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Kole Omololu, said that Fasoranti’s endorsement of Tinubu, nullified Adebanjo’s endorsement of Obi.
Fasoranti, has however clarified that Adebanjo remains the acting leader of the group. In a statement issued through his personal assistant, Mr Adedapo Abiola, Fasoranti said some sections of the media had misinterpreted him on the matter.
The Middle Belt Forum also adopted Peter Obi as their preferred candidate. The forum said it was throwing its weight behind Obi’s candidature because of its belief in “fairness, equity and justice”.
This was disclosed by chairman of the Forum and Convener of Middle Belt for OBIDATTI 2023, Dr. Pogu Bitrus, while unveiling Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti as their candidate for the 2023 presidential election at the Rwang Pam Township Stadium, Jos, Plateau State Capital.
Bitrus said, “We are here to tell Nigerians that the Middle Belt is fully in support of Peter Obi for the 2023 presidency. We did not just arrive at this point because of sentiment, but it was after a serious consideration of issues in Nigeria in collaboration with the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Afenifere and the Niger Delta Forum, among other socio-cultural groups in the country.”
Similarly, no fewer than 121 pan-Yoruba groups have endorsed presidential ambition of Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu. The endorsement was announced at the end of the meeting of the groups held in Lagos with no fewer than 1,500 delegates representing various groups endorsing him.
The meeting was held under the auspices of the Alliance of Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM). The group’s position negates the stance of the Afenifere, which initially endorsed Peter Obi, as its preferred candidate and showed divisions among Yoruba leaders on who to support in 2023.
Similarly, Arewa Youth Progressives Alliance (AYPA), has endorsed former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Atiku Abubakar, for 2023 elections. Secretary general of the AYPA, Hamza Lawal, said following the recent interactive session with some presidential candidates in Kaduna, the group was convinced beyond doubts, that Atiku was the best for the presidency, considering his vision, experience and capacity.
What is really the value of endorsements that politicians and their supporters seem to crave for it? LEADERSHIP spoke with the founding national chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie to get some clarity on this.
He said, “Endorsement is a normal thing in a multiparty democracy. It is
expected that when credible organizations or people who are opinion leaders endorse any candidate it would help to shape the opinion of those who may be undecided. There are people who have followers and admirers that take their opinion very seriously. So, when those people go out of their way to endorse a candidate, their followers and even those they may not know admire their opinions, may likely say, because such a person has endorsed the candidate, they would follow that candidate. That is the extent endorsement can help.
“But the contributions such endorsements make often cannot be quickly measured. Sometimes those who are endorsing publicly, seem to over rate their importance believing they had the capacity to sway the mind of voters when they do not have. For example, in about two or three occasions the Northern Elders had endorsed Atiku Abubakar during presidential elections and it is only this time they have not endorsed
anyone like they did in two previous elections, still Atiku did not win. Those were prominent people like the late Adamu Ciroma, and so many others who are still alive even Tanko Yakassai and Prof Ango Abdullahi and so many others.
“In the case of the one coming from the South West which appears to be where endorsement is coming from right now, the average Yoruba person may not be swayed by those endorsements. The Igbo man is also highly republican person and generally independent in his thought and does not give much consideration to endorsement. It is not a major asset really but it massages the ego of the person being endorsed.
“Ohanaeze may not come outright to do the same thing because of the republican nature of the Igbo people. The Igbo land is occupied by three political parties right now; PDP, APC and APGA. If Ohanaeze tries a thing like that it may have a very serious repercussion, because in 1979 Ohanaeze tried a thing like that to support NPN, Dr Azikiwe, Dr Okpara, Chief Mbakwe, Chief RBK Okafor and all NPP leaders pulled out of Ohanaeze. So, that singular pronouncement by the then chairman of Ohanaeze, Igwe Ugochukwu caused Ohanaeze to immediately collapse. It was in 1983 that Ohanaeze was revived after that disastrous outing. So, if a group says it is endorsing it could come with repercussions.”
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