News Editor
A senior citizen of Plateau cried out in utter consternation at what happened at the Jos stadium on Tuesday, November 15, “ *Never never again GOD. This calamity on us is enough, they are sinking, confusing left, right and center. Classless, shameless…we are counting.”*
The patch-patch work they hurriedly did on selected roads all showed up in the over-decorated stadium in Jos. They stood in stupefaction and their composure was gone as every step of the way was marked by more confusion.
The DG who persuaded them to come to Jos for the ‘crowning’ of their candidate as the next president of Nigeria was renamed SOLOMON LALONG. Lalong looked at his boss in utter embarrassment!
Sen Tinubu was somehow right. He might have had a better sense of history and remembered that the name of the first national Chairman of the PDP was SOLOMON – Chief SOLOMON Daushep Lar. He it was who fought off the presidential antics of the NPN to hold back the former larger Plateau for the NPP in 1983. And the then NPN State Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu was right there in the stadium on the same row of seats with Tinubu.
But even more, the last outing of Chief SOLOMON Lar was in this very stadium when on December 13, 2013, his casket was brought in and Nigerians across the nation all trooped here to give their last respects. So, Tinubu appeared to be teaching some people history. And the import was: This Stadium cannot be taken over by anyone that battles the soul of SOLOMON Lar and the patriots of Plateau!
APC’s expensive attempt to mock the suffering people of Plateau State in particular, and Nigeria in general was mired in trepidation on Monday partly with Tinubu’s straight-from-the heart prayer:
“GOD BLESS PD…”
Tinubu couldn’t help it; couldn’t hold it back.
A Plateau youth who saw it all said, “FINALLY TINUBU SAW THE VISION AND DECLARED PDP WINNER OF 2023.”
The national spokesperson of the PDP Hon. Debo Ologunagba rightly put it when he wrote in a statement that, “The prayer by the embattled Presidential Candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for God’s blessing on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) further confirms his innermost conviction that the PDP represents the hope and aspiration of majority of Nigerians for a secure, prosperous future under a united country.”
The Director-General of the Atiku-Mutfwang Campaign Council in Plateau , Chief Letep Dabang, also wrote,
“Bola Tinubu in Jos, like Balak and Balam, went out to curse Israel but God made them to bless Israel instead. Thanks Mr. BAT.”
Within hours, a song was released applauding how APC’s Tinubu has also favoured PDP with “God bless PD/APC.” And he had never been a card‐carrying member of the PDP! But like many other Nigerians, Tinubu’s heart is filled with the good abundance of PDP and he freely advertised the party to his party officials and members.
But what provided the bigger drama was when APC members threw caution to the wind and engaged the security personnel in a show of violent frustration. They were tired of being lied to. They threw objects freely into the dusty sky. A party supporter desperately kept shouting,
“Please security forces I beg you to stop beating these people. Stop it. _Ku daina. Ku daina. A yi hakuri. Jama’a mun zo harkan siyasa ne. Jama’a muke nema_ .”
The President’s military ADC rose to his full height. Nearby, Tinubu looked transfixed. The Senate President looked unimpressed.
It was the clearest statement yet that even APC supporters were as disenchanted as are other Nigerians at the unparalleled suffering that has become the legacy of APC.
Yes, Chief MKO Abiola had gone through the Jos Stadium to become the elected president of Nigeria.
And yes, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo had also gone through this facility to get elected as president of Nigeria.
But Chief Bola Tinubu has not received the blessing of the people of Plateau to pass through this stadium to be Nigeria’s next president. They have roundly rejected him.
Atiku for President and Mutfwang for the Governor of Plateau will continue to be the leading names in uniting the country and providing the leadership that ushers in peace and prosperity for Nigerians.
Jos has made the clearest statement that it rejects the politics and governance of mediocrity and deception and that this is the time for Nigerians to remain committed to changing their destiny for good at the 2023 polls. Nigeria requires leaders who builders and not mediocre who are mockers.
Yiljap Abraham
Director,
Directorate of Media and Publicity
Atiku-Mutfwang Campaign Council,
Plateau State,
Jos.
15.11.2022
