By James Orji
Olushola Adeyeye, a former Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate and leader of The New Nigerians Tribe, a group rooting for Vice president Yemi Osinbajo to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that Osinbajo is capable of steering the country in the right direction if elected president.
The former lawmaker spoke as supporters in the ruling APC in the south west are divided, on who among three presidential hopefuls, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Kayode Fayemi, Governor of Ekiti and Osinbajo should fly the party’s flag in next year’s presidential election.
Apart from Tinubu, a former Lagos state Governor who has declared his interest to contest the highest office in the country, Fayemi and Osinbajo have yet to make their intention public, though there are strong indications that they will contest.
Among the three, Tinubu seems to be having an upper hand among party supporters, particularly after informing President Muhammadu Buhari, in Aso Rock, Presidential Villa, Abuja, last week, of his intention to seek the presidential office.
In spite of the massive support for Tinubu, some elements in the APC are said to prefer an Osinbajo’s presidency based on the feeling that the APC needs to present a Christian presidential candidate to have an upper hand against the opposition in the 2023 presidential election. A Tinubu candidature, some party big wigs insist, will not fly because he’s Muslim, and as it seems, the former Lagos helmsman would want to pick another Muslim from the north as a running mate. “A muslim/ Muslim ticket will not fly because of the religious polarisation in the country. The APC will do everything not to give the opposition an advantage”, a source in the party said on Monday.
Speaking on the 2023 presidential election Adeyeye said, in a statement thT Osinbajo represents what Nigeria needs at the moment as a bridge builder to bring all interests together.
The statement reads in full: “for me, it is an easy choice to make. For millions of Nigerians, given a chance, it should equally be an easy choice to make except that many are mired in pessimism that arose from wanton betrayal by governments. For the new Tribe here gathered plus millions of our cohorts all over Nigeria, our choice is clear and simple!
“The moment has chosen for us a man that Providence has prepared for the task. The moment speaks to choosing a man who transcends all tribes, an embodiment of the new Tribe defined not by the cacophony of dialects but the symphony of our common humanity. The moment requires a man who is able to galvanise the ideals and ideas that will unfold the beckoning glory of a new Nigeria.
“My compatriots, history is encapsulated in moments. This moment of Nigerian history, has itself chosen a man and that man is Professor Oluyemi Oluleke Osinbajo, the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Yemi Osinbajo is the man of the moment for Nigeria. He is well-grounded and adequately prepared. A tested and trusted hand, with the right temperament, the intellectual fire power, and governance ethos best suited for this moment. Yemi Osinbajo is the man for the moment. Not for his own sake, but for the sake of our country, Nigeria.
“Let me confess to a fact that all of us here already know. No Nigerian, including Yemi Osinbajo, has all the answers. Professor Osinbajo’s uniqueness is the God-given capacity to ask the right questions the answers to which must come from all of us. We the people, guided by God and inspired by a leadership that has a wholesome character, yes, even in Nigeria, leadership with integrity, shall provide the answers to the problems that have beset us for far too long.
“Yemi Osinbajo’s rise to prominence is not a fluke or a national infatuation but the consequence of his remarkable skills — a keen intellect, noble intentions and the wit and grace to express them in ways that have inspired millions across the country. Osinbajo has a rare gift exactly suited to the fearful times — he knows the language of reassurance and hope. Whatever Osinbajo says is carefully considered, whether in private discourse or in public fora, Osinbajo has been the voice of moderation, combining common sense and compassion on issue after issue.
“Yemi Osinbajo is the man who will lead us in the right direction, with the help of God and millions of Nigerians, the new Tribe, that have been yearning for an opportunity to side-step all the forces that have been pulling us apart, so that Nigeria can truly emerge as the giant it long should have been.
“Big dreams, beautiful and noble, are the stuffs that propel heroes. Our country needs a Statesman who envisions Nigeria as a self-sufficient, self-sustaining, upper middle tier country in the shortest possible time. Such a person must be one with tall dreams and big ideas. That is Osinbajo.
“Yes, Nigeria needs a President with the grasp, depth, fecundity, confidence, grit, and fortitude to see beyond the frightening and seemingly intractable predilections that beset us. This moment has gifted us such a man: his name is Osinbajo. I believe that the moment is here. I believe that the new tribe has been prepared for this moment and that you will step up, in different parts of Nigeria, as enablers of this moment.
“It is a new day. It is a new dawn. May history be kind to the new tribe for the foresight in recognising this moment for what it is and rising up for the moment. May history be kind to the people of Nigeria. May history be kind to the chosen man of the moment, Yemi Osinbajo. He is a man who, at any crossroads, can be counted on to lead in the right direction”.
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