Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, a presidential candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress, has garnered popularity by claiming that he is a grassroots politician who is aware of the hopes and goals of young people in Nigeria.
The APC’s deputy national publicity secretary, Yakubu Ajaka, provided the clarification during a town hall gathering with young Nigerians living abroad on Saturday night in London.
Ajaka’s assertion runs somewhat counter to the widely held belief among political pundits that the typical Nigerian youth prefers the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi, who they claim has a more robust youth-oriented ideology.
The APC deputy spokesman, however, holds a different opinion, claiming that Obi’s controversy is confined to the world of social media.
He said, “I am convinced beyond every reasonable doubt that it is only Tinubu, who understands the youths better, that can give our youths and indeed, the young men in the diaspora, the opportunity to participate and contribute to the rebirth of a new Nigeria.
“He has the advantage of combining both the legislative and executive experiences for a more united and prosperous Nigeria which other candidates do not have. As a governor in South West Nigeria, Tinubu had equalled to none and employed the services of young Nigerians from other states to serve in his cabinet.”
In a statement issued on Sunday, Ajaka encouraged the youths, especially those in Diaspora, to work toward changing the narratives of corruption and doomsday slammed on Nigeria in the interest of national unity and speedy development.
This was as he stated that with the 2023 general election less than seven months away, the real contenders would be separated from the pretenders.
The statement partly read, “We have several candidates contesting the Presidency, however, we have three strong frontline candidates namely Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the APC, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and Peter Obi of the Labour Party. They are referred to as frontline candidates because of their experience in the public service having served as Vice President and State Governors giving them an edge over others. The three candidates also have the largest spread of political structures and offices across the country.
“As it is common with developing democracies such as ours, the selection of candidates for the parties always comes with various challenges, mostly bordering on sentiments such as religion, ethnicity, and geo-political arrangements. The cry of marginalisation has also become a common and popular feature among politicians and the electorate.
“These sentiments had been into play all our political life for quite a long time. Unfortunately, we seem to throw away competence, capacity, and qualification to these sentiments. This is partly responsible for our present predicament with no benefit to even the agitators of such sentiments.”
