The Special Adviser on Media, Communications and Public Affairs for the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Mr Dele Alake, tells ADEBAYO FOLORUNSHO-FRANCIS what Nigerians should expect if the party’s presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, wins the election
This presidential election will be keenly contested, are you confident your candidate will defeat his major opponents, especially Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party?
Is it Atiku that doesn’t have a fixed position on anything that we should be talking about? He was in the PDP and left for the Action Congress. He has been in the Action Congress of Nigeria and he’s back to the PDP. So, he has been inconsistent in terms of policy. When Asiwaju cried out concerning the negative impact of the naira swap policy on behalf of Nigerians, he was the only person who had the courage to raise the alarm. Atiku supported the suffering of the masses. Obi, at first, was very silent but later supported that Nigerians should be made to suffer. This is who the misguided and misinformed youths are rooting for because of lack of power of analysis. When they noticed that Asiwaju was riding the crest of a wave and he was gaining the popularity of the masses over this policy, Atiku quickly made a volte face. But when President Muhammadu Buhari announced ‘no going back on the circulation of the old N500 and N1,000 notes’, he shifted again, saying it should not be extended. That is not an attribute of progressive leadership.
Your attention seems to be more on Atiku, does your principal not see Obi as a threat?
As you can see, Obi has even gone AWOL. That’s because he lacks the courage. Perhaps it is high time I asked this pertinent question. Please where did Obi hold his grand finale rally? Asiwaju had his in Lagos. Atiku had his in Adamawa. So, I ask again, where did Obi hold his grand finale? In Lagos, isn’t it? He couldn’t even go to Anambra, his own state. Is that the man you want to make president? He’s been giving fake statistics all over the place. Is that the man Nigerians want as leader?
What makes your candidate different from others?
There is no gainsaying the fact that Asiwaju remains the best man for the job. This is exemplified by his track record and performance in Lagos State. We will not stop referring to Lagos because it is archetypal in Africa. How can a state economy be larger than 30 African countries? It is not a fluke. Anambra arguably has the highest number of billionaires. Obi was governor there for eight years, how well did he harness that to make Anambra State a force to be reckoned with in Africa? They should point to an enduring legacy in his eight years. None. Let me ask Nigerians this question; Obi spent eight years as governor. He had commissioners, advisers, aides and retinue of officials. How many of them do you see moving around and campaigning vigorously to date? Compare that to many of us who have been with Asiwaju for more than 20 years and are with him till date. That is consistency and leadership par excellence. These are some of the criteria Nigerians should look out for. When Asiwaju who is notable for dexterity in public finance handles Nigeria’s revenue, he will block the leakages. Even without adding any extra tax, the revenue will start shooting up. He did it in Lagos. I wasn’t told; I was part of his cabinet and that is why I can speak with full conviction on the financial wizardry of this man.
In every contest, there is always one winner, what will happen if Tinubu loses the election?
God forbid Nigeria should lose him; it will be a great loss of opportunity. We need to exploit this man’s brain. I always tell him that his diminutive stature belies the prodigious intellect embedded in his brain. I think Nigeria should count itself lucky to have such a person to take over the helm of affairs at this period and move Nigeria to a higher level of stability and progress.
If your candidate wins, how long will it take to form his cabinet?
I believe Nigerians already know his pedigree. When he was governor, it took less than three weeks to form his cabinet. The first term was in 1999 and his second term was 2003. In both, it took him less than three weeks to do it and I was also there in the cabinet, so I should know. However, I can tell you that in the next 100 days, we will reduce whatever tension is occasioned by the current challenges facing the country. Tinubu will usher in an era of peace, tranquility, economic progress, prosperity, security and all those challenges that Nigerians are experiencing now will be resolved. The most important thing is the visionary leadership, knowledge and courage that Tinubu is noted for, which he will bring on board. These are critical attributes of progressive leadership. None of the other contestants have it. We all know Tinubu has the courage; he will push through hard policies and break all institutional and corporate barriers to achieve his goal for the greatest good.
Can Nigerians trust Tinubu, another APC candidate, given the reservations many Nigerians have about the current government?
Nigerians should trust our candidate. Atiku spent eight years as vice-president, how much of progress and development did he bring to bear on Adamawa, his home state, or the generality of Nigeria. In the case of Tinubu, we have said it several times that if somebody is looking for work, the first thing you ask is their curriculum vitae. Again, you will need to look at his track record and performance. If you look at those, Nigerians will trust Tinubu. He has done it. Take a look at Eko Atlantic and compare it to what it was 20 years ago. It used to be a situation of water washing away the road along Ahmadu Bello Way in Victoria Island. The values of the properties were going down forcing several people to move out. All the Federal Government could do was to keep pouring sand to fill them up every nine months. But Tinubu took his cabinet to South Africa, Netherlands and some other places to study waterlogged areas and how they were able to stop the ocean surge. Tinubu came back and started what later became Eko Atlantic City we are seeing today. It takes vision, knowledge and courage to push through. Now, the United States is building its largest and most expensive embassy in the world on Eko Atlantic City? That is direct foreign investment among so many others. This is also a demonstration of vision, knowledge and courage. There are just too many examples I could reel out.
