Less than a week to the conduct of the presidential poll, clouds of conspiracy theories are gradually gathering to cast doubt on the possibility of commencing election next Saturday. The All Progressives Congress (APC) is crying foul over what it described as the subterranean attempts by anti-party elements in the presidency to work against the victory of their party.
Chairman of the party, Senator Adamu Abdullahi, in an interview with BBC Hausa Service, made it clear that Tinubu’s criticism of the ruling party and the president was unacceptable and many members of the APC are not favourably disposed to his style.
Tinubu is not a stranger to toeing the unbeaten path of controversy that has always pitched him against the popular tide. When it seemed very obvious that he was about to be thrown under the bus by some powerful forces within his party, ahead of the primaries last year, the former Lagos governor reminded those plotting to undermine him to note that he, more than any politician in Nigerian, helped to ensure the election of General Muhammadu Buhari as president in 2015.
In a manner that made some Nigerians accuse the former governor of playing God, Tinubu further enraged citizens that it was his turn to rule. Having categorically declared that his presidential dream was his life ambition, some Nigerians accused Tinubu, also called the Jagaban, of desperation for political power. More worrisome, some analysts have raised doubts over the health status of the presidential candidate, including his source of wealth, parentage and age, among others, all in a bid to portray him as a man of doubtful personality.
Amidst allegations of suffering from crippling health challenges, Tinubu, whose influence in the affairs of Lagos has never waned since leaving power in 2007, proved bookmakers wrong when he snatched the presidential ticket on June 8, 2022, from political heavyweights that many believed had more chances to pick the ticket.
Among those that were forced to kiss the dust in the race for the party’s ticket included Vice President Yemi Osinbajo who refused to pull out for his godfather under whom he served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.
Tinubu’s emergence as presidential candidate of the APC was anchored on alleged financial inducements he deployed. Many other aspirants were not clean as they were also not left out in spraying dollars on delegates for votes. It was clear that Tinubu picked the ticket on account of paying more to defeat his competitors in the race.
A former minister, Emeka Nwajiuba, in collaboration with others on the platform of Incorporated Trustees of Rights for All international, headed for the courts to cancel primaries of both the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for vote-buying. Some of the presidential aspirants felt frustrated and overwhelmed by the sheer use of obscene bribes which the former Minister of Transportation, Hon Rotimi Amaechi, declared that the exercise was fraught with illegal deals of vote-buying.
Other APC aspirants, though distraught with what is happening in the party, have embraced silence. A vocal aspirant like Pastor Tunde Bakare has made it clear that he is opposed to a sense of entitlement as shown in Tinubu’s declaration of 2023 being ‘his turn’. Since the commencement of the campaigns, many of these aspirants have refused to be seen near the Tinubu camp.
As the poll draws near, the APC has been turned into a discordant platform. Instead of enjoying the advantage of being the party in the corridor of power, the Tinubu-led camp has enmeshed in the tale of ‘a house divided against itself.’ Those who should be the major strategists to plot victory for the party are at daggers drawn. Those close to the Tinubu camp are worried that their boat is not filled with loyal members but with snitches running with the hare and hunting with the hounds.
The distress signs that all is not well with the ruling party that comprise strange political fellows was when the APC presidential candidate declared in Abeokuta that the hoarding of fuel and new naira design as announced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under Mr. Godwin Emefiele, were aimed at making inciting members of the public against the ruling party.
If anyone is in doubt on the waning popularity of the Tinubu/Shettima ticket, the running mate of Tinubu, while on a visit to the Emir of Daura, Katsina State, accused some Northern states with predominant Hausa and Fulani population of not supporting the APC on account of being a Kanuri man. He called on Northerners to reject Atiku Abubakar who has never done anything for the North.
According to Shettima: “People are saying that I’m not Hausa. We have had people from the north who are not Hausa and they benefitted the north. Umar Musa Yar’adua, Buhari and others are examples. I’m not Hausa, but I am Fulani-blood related. I’m a Kanuri also, and I have benefited the north more than the other”.
Amidst violent clashes in various parts of Nigeria that have led to deaths, the expected resolution of the matter proved a mirage when President Buhari on Wednesday ordered the CBN to release the old N200 notes as legal tender to cushion the impact of the naira crunch. Those with N500, N1000 notes were directed to take their old notes to the CBN for redemption.
On Thursday, the crisis over the new currency dilemma widened when Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, in a broadcast disagreed with Buhari. The governor appealed to citizens of the state to continue accepting the old N500, N1000 notes as legal tender.
The governor’s broadcast has been labelled as an act of treason by the vice presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Senator Datti Baba Ahmed. The broadcast by the Kaduna governor is reflective of the rancour between forces fighting for the control of the party. Spokesman of the APC PCC, Barr Festus Keyamo has said that el-Rufa’s action is in line with the Federal arrangement. What the governor was attempting to do, Keyamo explained, was to ensure peace in his jurisdiction, using the Supreme Court position on the case.
As a man known for spilling beans, the former FCT Minister went further to open a can of worms by alleging that some presidency officials opposed to the APC candidate are sparing no effort to ensure the defeat of the APC in next week’s election. The governor went further to allege a sinister ploy to create chaos in order to facilitate the emergence of an Interim National Government to be headed by a retired general.
The Presidency has reacted to el-Rufai’s broadcast and debunked all the allegations of a plot to foist an interim government. In a statement signed by Mallam Garba Shehu, the presidency explained that those alleging that there are plans to foist an interim government were only plotting to create panic for members of the public.
Even the blind know that the 2023 polls are fraught with a threatening spectre of scaring magnitude. No thanks for the various conspiracy theories and poor management of the new naira notes. Getting the naira for daily expenses has become a difficult exercise. The poor network experienced during online transactions is an invitation for more troubles ahead. The difficulties daily being encountered in getting the naira for basic transactions requires an urgent attention and review by the government.
While it is essential that urgent measures are taken to bring succour to citizens, the Prof Mahmood Yakubu-led Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) must not be denied funds to ensure the elections are conducted next Saturday. Considering the rage of anger by Nigerians over the new naira crunch, what happens in the next five days will predict what becomes of our democracy that is still controlled by a group fiercely committed to the protection of their own interests.
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