Foremost Nigerian youth leader and aviation expert, Comrade Isaac Balami, has dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Labour Party (LP).
Balami, who played a prominent role in the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 when he mobilised northern youths across the region, disclosed this in a statement title, “My Critical Junction” on Tuesday.
The former spokesperson of the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE) said he was dumping the APC and joining the Obi-Datti Movement because he shares in the pains of Nigerians, especially the Christians over the inequality and injustice they have suffered under the APC-led government.
The erstwhile chairman/CEO of 7-Star Hangar and Airlines alluded to the APC Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket as one of the major reasons he decided to dump the party, saying, “Looking back, Northern Muslims in Nigeria have for the past 24 years enjoyed and benefited hugely from the two highest positions being either the President or the Vice President, with the full support of Northern Christians.
“It is, therefore, unreasonable and unjust that when an opportunity for a Northern Christian to be given a chance, presented itself in the form of a running mate to the APC flag bearer, such a rare opportunity to reciprocate and heal open wounds, was missed in favour of disregard for the regional and nationwide unity we have continued to preach and demonstrate in our ways.
“To reconfirm my sanity, I had to evaluate to see if there was a qualified, fit and suitable Northern Christian with the right political carriage and gravitas to assume the position of the Vice Presidential Candidate for the APC or not and of course, there are far more than one could imagine.”
Speaking on why this decision was imperative at this point, Balami said: “But There comes a junction, … a critical Junction, in the life of everyone when the sternest of decisions become unavoidably compelling and incontrovertible! This is the point in time when men choose the critical right and stick to it no matter the cost.
“As a foremost youth, a leading light amongst my peers, and a significant actor in one of Nigeria’s most respectable industries and economic sectors, I have to this day exhibited the highest and most profound regard for the careful balance by which our society has operated.
“I am full of respect for our founding fathers and the national establishment of this country that they have so painstakingly engineered over the decades: I grew up embracing the singular maxim: Nigeria’s UNITY is non-negotiable! I found solace in this saying so much that, as I yearned to contribute my meager quota to national development, I would remain on solid grounds and weather every storm and tide of change in the most humane and understandable ways.”
Reflecting on his roles and contributions to the APC, Balami said that at the party’s most critical junction in the 2019 political dispensation, he alongside his team mobilised a gathering of about 3,000 high-ranking Christian clerics to lend support to the President Muhammadu Buhari cause and quest for the highest office in the land.
He addes: “My role and part in the APC – the ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS was a remarkable and praise-worthy one. At that party’s most critical junction in the 2019 political dispensation, my team and I mobilized a gathering of about 3000 high-ranking Christian clergies to lend support to the President Muhammadu Buhari course and quest for the highest office in the land. This feat was achieved in defiance of strong warnings from certain notable elders. Seeing however that the handwriting was already clear on the wall, I turned a deaf ear and went ahead to mobilize such resounding impactful Christian support in favor of President Buhari and the APC.”
The youth leader said that the happenings of the last seven years of the APC-led Federal Government and the consequence of those years on his life as well as the lives of every Nigerian has become a testament to the saying, “what the elders can see sitting down, the child would be unable to see even if he were on top a tall tree! To date, there is no longer any promise the APC Government has made to anyone in Nigeria, including its members that it has fulfilled: everyone has become a victim of unethical failures and every other immorality and godlessness of the APC and its Government.”
He consequently declared that he has sacrificed his entire investment by selling off his aircraft hangar in order to join in rescuing Nigeria.
“Furthermore, to contribute to confronting the leadership challenges we face as a country as my commitment to save our fatherland, I have decided to sacrifice my entire investment and life’s work, to join the teeming Nigerian youths and indeed all Nigerians yearning for good governance. I have sold my majority stake in my aircraft hangar as well as my airline, to join my fellow Nigerians in the Obidient movement, just so I can more dedicatedly fight this struggle to rescue the soul of this great nation. This is my sacrifice! What is yours?” Balami said.
Read the full statement below:
MY CRITICAL JUNCTION
Being an address by Engr Isaac David Balami, foremost Nigerian Youth Leader, Captain of Industry, Entrepreneur, and the erstwhile Chairman/CEO, 7STAR Hangar/Airlines; on the State of the Nigerian nation to signify his defection from the All Progressive Congress to the LABOUR PARTY and in the fullest support of HE., Mr. Peter Obi’s Presidential Candidacy; made this 25th day of September 2022 at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Maitama Abuja.
The youth are the posterity of a nation. The finest of people are molded in their youth. I have grown and come of age among the elders of our land, learning and demonstrating obedience, clarity of thought, and choices – some of which have been criticized, and a greater number thereof have, on the other hand, been accepted and commended.
But there comes a junction, …a critical Junction, in the life of everyone when the sternest of decisions become unavoidably compelling and incontrovertible! This is the point in time when men choose the critical right and stick to it no matter the cost.
As a foremost youth, a leading light amongst my peers, and a significant actor in one of Nigeria’s most respectable industries and economic sectors, I have to this day exhibited the highest and most profound regard for the careful balance by which our society has operated. I am full of respect for our founding fathers and the national establishment of this country that they have so painstakingly engineered over the decades: I grew up embracing the singular maxim: Nigeria’s UNITY is non-negotiable! I found solace in this saying so much that, as I yearned to contribute my meager quota to national development, I would remain on solid grounds and weather every storm and tide of change in the most humane and understandable ways.
My role and part in the APC – the ALL PROGRESSIVE CONGRESS was a remarkable and praise-worthy one. At that party’s most critical junction in the 2019 political dispensation, my team and I mobilized a gathering of about 3000 high-ranking Christian clergies to lend support to the President Muhammadu Buhari course and quest for the highest office in the land. This feat was achieved in defiance of strong warnings from certain notable elders. Seeing however that the handwriting was already clear on the wall, I turned a deaf ear and went ahead to mobilize such resounding impactful Christian support in favor of President Buhari and the APC.
The unraveling of the last 7 years of the APC-led Federal Government and the consequence of these years on my life as well as the lives of every Nigerian has become a testament to the saying, ‘what the elders can see sitting down, the child would be unable to see even if he were on top a tall tree! To date, there is no longer any promise the APC Government has made to anyone in Nigeria, including its members that it has fulfilled: everyone has become a victim of unethical failures and every other immorality and godlessness of the APC and its Government.
I will never deny my faith and neither will I step even one foot in any direction that confounds it. Now I must state most categorically that there has never been a time in memorable history when such stark effrontery, challenge, and disdain has been thrown in the faces of those who wish for Nigeria to maintain good cohesion and harmony across all fault lines, especially the Christian population and the peace-loving Non-Christians, who uphold objectivity and the quest for equitable representation of our diversity as citizens of this great country.
At this juncture, I want to thank the APC-led government for awakening the consciousness of well-meaning Nigerians. Without them, we would have still been carried away with the deep deception that has mismanaged and caused doubts concerning our beliefs and perceived ones in Nigeria.
I have awoken to the fact that the APC as a party and its presidential flag-bearer, have unequivocally decided to undermine the relevance of Nigerian Christians, and Non-Christian good-wishers that understand the importance of managing our diversity at this very critical point in our nationhood.
Without a doubt, the Northern Muslims have held sway and enjoyed the full support of the Northern Christians from the inception of our nascent democratic existence. It is therefore imperative to recall the 8 years of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as Vice President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo’s six years also as Vice President, and the eventual full 8 years that President Muhammadu Buhari will be completing next year. This is not to even mention the tenure of late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, which was cut short by nature.
Looking back, Northern Muslims in Nigeria have for the past 24 years enjoyed and benefited hugely from the two highest positions being either the President or the Vice President, with the full support of Northern Christians.
It is, therefore, unreasonable and unjust that when an opportunity for a Northern Christian to be given a chance, presented itself in the form of a running mate to the APC flag bearer, such a rare opportunity to reciprocate and heal open wounds, was missed in favor of disregard for the regional and nationwide unity we have continued to preach and demonstrate in our ways. To reconfirm my sanity, I had to evaluate to see if there was a qualified, fit and suitable Northern Christian with the right political carriage and gravitas to assume the position of the Vice Presidential Candidate for the APC or not and of course, there are far more than one could imagine.
Now, I wish to assure everyone, including the APC, its flag bearer, Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and his advisers that even if our parents and grandparents tolerated these types of intolerable political misjudgments, Nigeria is presently in a very fragile state marred by all manner of mistrust and imbalances, arising from bad judgment. It is therefore pertinent to state that no sane society will accept such a level of subjugation and outright disregard. Not the Christians or even the Non-Christians, if it were the other way around, will receive such a decision with open arms because it is devoid of inclusivity and extremely capable of further disuniting and destabilizing this country.
It is for our peaceful disposition, calm and love for this country that we are today being so blatantly intimidated, harassed, suppressed, blackmailed, decimated, and demoralized in the most disheartening and openly inglorious ways! Therefore, it is in the spirit of freely expressing my dissatisfaction that I hereby announce my resignation from the All Progressives Congress, APC, and immediately transition to the ‘obidient’ movement and the Labour Party (LP) to satisfy my good conscience.
Furthermore, to contribute to confronting the leadership challenges we face as a country as my commitment to save our fatherland, I have decided to sacrifice my entire investment and life’s work, to join the teeming Nigerian youths and indeed all Nigerians yearning for good governance. I have sold my majority stake in my aircraft hangar as well as my airline, to join my fellow Nigerians in the Obidient movement, just so I can more dedicatedly fight this struggle to rescue the soul of this great nation. This is my sacrifice! What is yours?
I must very categorically and more emphatically assure the Government, and the various or relevant authorities managing the impending General Elections in 2023, that ANY attempt – no matter its scale, bearing, or quality, designed to truncate the popular wishes and decisions of the people of this nation – Male or Female; Christians, Muslims or Traditionalists; Northerners or Southerners; the Obidients and the yet to become Obidient; such attempts would be met with the most vehement and legally acceptable resistance.
As a former elected national president of the AREWA Consultative Forum, Youths Congress, former National Spokesperson for the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, and the immediate past National President of the Aircraft Pilots and Engineers of Nigeria, to mention but a few, I want to call on all Christians, the Muslim Ummah, the Traditionalists and every peaceful citizen of this country to remain law-abiding, cheerful, and calm: we shall utilize the upcoming elections to change the seemingly absurd destiny of this great country through the polls: we deserve far much better and we shall indeed become better!
I, therefore, leave you with this verse. Isaiah Chapter 1: 19, and I quote, “ If we are willing and obedient, we shall eat the fruit of the land(GNV).”
The choice is yours. I have made mine!
Yours in struggle,
Comrade Isaac Balami.
