National Issues
FIFTEEN Takeaways from President-elect, Bola Tinubu’s Speech
Remodeling our precious national home requires the harmonious efforts of all of us, especially the youth. Working together, we shall move this nation as never before.
The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has extended an olive branch to his opponents, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, after the contentious presidential election in which he was declared the winner on Wednesday. President-elect, Bola Tinubu said political competition must now give way to conciliation and inclusive governance.
Again, Bola Tinubu has also set up Reconciliation Committees To meet with Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, and other aggrieved Contestants –Governor Akeredolu. According to Akeredolu, the committees comprise elders of their party, APC, who “would soon begin to meet with co-contestants of the President-elect in a bid to assuage their loss in the just concluded Presidential Election”.
Below are FIFTEEN takeaways from President-elect, Bola Tinubu’s speech:
1. I am profoundly humbled that you have elected me to serve as the 16th president of our beloved republic. This is a shining moment in the life of any man and affirmation of our democratic existence. From my heart, I say thank you.
2. Whether you are Batified, Atikulated, Obidient, Kwankwasiyya, or have any other political affiliation, you voted for a better, more hopeful nation and I thank you for your participation and dedication to our democracy.
3. You decided to place your trust in the democratic vision of a Nigeria founded on shared prosperity and one nurtured by the ideals of unity, justice, peace and tolerance. Renewed hope has dawned in Nigeria.
4. We commend INEC for running a free and fair election. The lapses that did occur were relatively few in number and were immaterial to the final outcome. With each cycle of elections, we steadily perfect this process so vital to our democratic life.
5. Today, Nigeria stands tall as the giant of Africa. It shines even brighter as the continent’s biggest democracy.
6. To my fellow candidates, former VP Atiku, former governor Kwankwaso, former governor Obi and all others, I extend the hand of friendship. This was a competitive, high-spirited campaign.
You have my utmost respect.
7. During the election, you may have been my opponent but you were never my enemy. In my heart, you are my brothers … What is neither right nor defensible is for anybody to resort to violence.
8. I also ask my supporters to let peace reign and tensions fade…Yes, there are divisions amongst us that should not exist. I hereby reach out to every one of you. Let the better aspects of our humanity step forward at this fateful moment. Let us begin to heal and bring calm to our nation.
9. To you, the young people of this country, I hear you loud and clear. I understand your pains, your yearnings for good governance, a functional economy and a safe nation that protects you and your future.
10. Remodeling our precious national home requires the harmonious efforts of all of us, especially the youth. Working together, we shall move this nation as never before.
11. My running mate, Vice President-elect Shettima, and I understand the challenges ahead. More importantly, we also understand and deeply value the talent and innate goodness of you, the Nigerian people.
12. We pledge to listen and to do the difficult things, the big deeds, that put us on the path of irreversible progress. Hold us firmly to account, but please give us a chance first.
13. Together, we shall build a brighter and more productive society for today, tomorrow and for years to come. I will give you my ultimate best, as your next president and commander-in-chief. Peace, unity and prosperity shall be the cornerstones of the society we intend to build.
14. When you gaze upon what we shall accomplish in the coming years, you shall speak with pride at being a Nigerian; and may the Almighty God grant me the wisdom and courage to lead the nation to the greatness He alone has destined for it.
15. I thank you all and I am grateful to Almighty God by Whose mercy, I was born a son of Nigeria and through His sublime purpose, I find myself the victor of this election.
MOREOVER, DO FOLLOW THE LOGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE 2023 ELECTION BY PROF. M. JEGA (4TH CHAIRMAN INEC)
*Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, got only 37% of the vote, down from the 56% that Buhari got in 2019.
* In 2019 was a two-horse race between the APC and PDP candidates, 2023 was at least a four-horse race between APC, PDP, LP and NNPP candidates.
* It was the first time since 2007 that we had more than two major candidates in a presidential election and the first time since 1983 that we had up to four major candidates in such a race.
* The top four candidates in this election got 37%, 29%, 25% and 6% respectively. This compares closely with 1979 when Shagari got 34%, Awo got 29%, Zik got 16%, Aminu Kano got 10.28 and Waziri Ibrahim got 10%.
* The top three runners up in this race got a combined 60% of the vote.
* That is impressive, but then, they only have themselves to blame that they did not present a united front before the election. They only tried to present a united front to contest the results.
* It is a case of locking the stables after the horses have bolted. Would they have made 60% of the vote if they had united behind a single candidate? Anybody’s guess.
* Tinubu’s party went into this election controlling the Federal and 21 state governments. In the event, he won only 12 states outright.
*PDP’s Atiku Abubakar also won 12 states,
* LP’s Peter Obi won 12 states outright [FCT included]* NNPP’s Kwankwaso won outright in one state.
So how did Tinubu win the race? Simple.
* The number of states that a candidate wins outright is important. Equally important is the number of states in which he came second. *Also very important is, if he came second with only a narrow margin in most of them.
*Tinubu won 12 states outright [Zamfara, Jigawa, Borno, Niger, Kwara, Kogi, Benue, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Rivers]. He came second in 19 states [Kebbi, Sokoto, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Gombe, Bauchi, Yobe, Taraba, Nasarawa, Plateau, Adamawa, Osun, Lagos, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Imo and Ebonyi].
*In many cases the margins of loss were very small, only 3,000 votes in Sokoto, 12,000 in Katsina and equally narrow margins in Osun and Lagos.
*Tinubu came second to Kwankwaso in Kano, second to Atiku in most of the states the latter won and second to Obi in Lagos, Ebonyi, Imo and Edo.
* This was exactly how Alhaji Shehu Shagari won the presidency in 1979. He won outright in nine states out of 19 [Sokoto, Kaduna, Niger, Bauchi, Gongola, Benue, Kwara, Rivers and Cross River.] He won in Kaduna and Gongola even though his party lost the governorship elections there two weeks earlier, what in those days was called “the bandwagon effect.” Of the remaining ten states in Nigeria at the time, Shagari came second in 9 [Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Bendel, Anambra, Imo, Borno, Plateau and Kano]. Shagari came third only in Lagos, after Awo and Zik.
* Like Shagari, like Tinubu; you are victorious if your party is either first or second in almost every state.
Allegations that APC rigged the election also falls flat because it lost the biggest states, namely Lagos, Kaduna, Kano and Katsina, even though all of them have APC state governors, all of whom are staunchly loyal to Tinubu.
* In terms of vote banks, what is Imo, Edo or Adamawa to these states? Why should anyone go rigging elections in some small states when he could rig up figures in the biggest ones and win by a large margin?
* If they could help it, why should ten APC governors, APC National Chairman and Director General of the APC campaign suffer the embarrassment of failing to deliver their states?
*Why should Tinubu himself suffer the embarrassment of failing to win outright in Lagos, long alleged to be his political fiefdom?
*Allegations that APC rigged these polls do not hold the water of logic. *But those making them still have the chance to prove them at the election tribunals.
To conclude, in an article published on March 6, 2023 titled, “Tinubu: Surmounting the odds and healing the wound” by Abdullazeez Abdullazeez, He writes: “For a hurdler who laboriously surmounted many hurdles on his way to the finish line, there could be the temptation for chest-beating and gloating. The victory was well earned. He worked for it and it came as a vindication that through acts of providence and hard work destiny could be fulfilled in spite of mountainous challenges. But for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s president-elect, victory is a moment for humility and magnanimity.
Immediately he was announced as the winner of the presidential election in the early hours of Wednesday, March 1, 2023, Asiwaju Tinubu changed from that political gladiator who fought his way to victory to a unifying statesman.”
Adesanya-Davies adds, we hope ASHIWAJU Tinubu like all others, will only over-promise and under-deliever but face squarely the fixing of the structural and constitutional deformity of Nigeria and tackle it head long.
Lastly, we would recall that, “Nigeria’s Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday said that the next administration will inherit a public debt of N77 trillion if the N23 trillion loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) are securitised. The Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha, made this known in a statement on Thursday. This the incoming government would have grapple with.
FULL TEXT: ‘Renewed Hope has Landed in Nigeria’ — Tinubu’s speech as president-elect
President-Elect Bola Tinubu Acceptance Speech
TheCable
MARCH 1, 2023 7:45 AM
Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, delivered an acceptance speech in the early hours of Wednesday after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him the winner of the presidential election.
Read the full speech below.
My fellow Nigerians,
I am profoundly humbled that you have elected me to serve as the 16th president of our beloved republic. This is a shining moment in the life of any man and affirmation of our democratic existence. From my heart, I say thank you.
Whether you are Batified, Atikulated, Obidient, Kwankwasiyya, or have any other political affiliation, you voted for a better, more hopeful nation and I thank you for your participation and dedication to our democracy.
You decided to place your trust in the democratic vision of a Nigeria founded on shared prosperity and one nurtured by the ideals of unity, justice, peace and tolerance. Renewed hope has dawned in Nigeria.
We commend INEC for running a free and fair election. The lapses that did occur were relatively few in number and were immaterial to the final outcome. With each cycle of elections, we steadily perfect this process so vital to our democratic life.
Today, Nigeria stands tall as the giant of Africa. It shines even brighter as the continent’s biggest democracy.
I thank all who supported my campaign. From President Buhari who adeptly led my campaign as its chairman, to my Vice Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima.
To the progressive governors of our party and this nation, to the party leadership, to our loyal party members. I owe you a debt of gratitude. To the entire campaign organization, I thank you sincerely.
I thank my loving wife and dear family whose support was ceaseless and inspiring. Without you, this victory would not be possible.
I am grateful to Almighty God. By His mercy, I was born a son of Nigeria and through His sublime purpose I find myself the victor of this election. May He grant me the wisdom and courage to lead the nation to the greatness He alone has destined for it.
Finally, I thank the Nigerian people for their abiding belief in our democracy. I shall be a fair leader to all Nigerians. I will be in tune with your aspirations, charge up your energies and harness your talents to deliver a nation that we can be proud of.
To my fellow candidates, former VP Atiku, former governor Kwankwaso, former governor Obi and all others, I extend the hand of friendship. This was a competitive, high-spirited campaign.
You have my utmost respect.
Political competition must now give way to political conciliation and inclusive governance.
During the election, you may have been my opponent but you were never my enemy. In my heart, you are my brothers.
Still, I know some candidates will be hard put to accept the election results. It is your right to seek legal recourse. What is neither right nor defensible is for anybody to resort to violence. Any challenge to the electoral outcome should be made in a court of law, and not in the streets.
I also ask my supporters to let peace reign and tensions fade. We ran a principled, peaceful and progressive campaign. The aftermath of our campaign must be as benign.
Yes, there are divisions amongst us that should not exist. Many people are uncertain, angry and hurt; I reach out to every one of you. Let the better aspects of our humanity step forward at this fateful moment. Let us begin to heal and bring calm to our nation.
Now, to you, the young people of this country, I hear you loud and clear. I understand your pains, your yearnings for good governance, a functional economy and a safe nation that protects you and your future.
I am aware that for many of you Nigeria has become a place of abiding challenges limiting your ability to see a bright future for yourselves.
Remodeling our precious national home requires the harmonious efforts of all of us, especially the youth. Working together, we shall move this nation as never before.
My running mate, Vice President-elect Shettima, and I understand the challenges ahead. More importantly, we also understand and deeply value the talent and innate goodness of you, the Nigerian people. We pledge to listen and to do the difficult things, the big deeds, that put us on the path of irreversible progress. Hold us firmly to account, but please give us a chance first.
Together, we shall build a brighter and more productive society for today, tomorrow and for years to come.
Today, you have given me the greatest honor you can bestow on one man.
In return, I will give you my utmost as your next president and commander-in-chief. Peace, unity and prosperity shall be the cornerstones of the society we intend to build. When you gaze upon what we shall accomplish in the coming years, you shall speak with pride at being a Nigerian.
I thank you all.
God bless you all.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Read more
Tinubu: Surmounting the odds and healing the wounds https://politicsdigest.ng/tinubu-surmounting-odds/
N869bn Census: “We as Nigerians don’t wish to be counted at the rate of.869,000k per head’ – Adesanya-Davies Speaks out https://newsmediang.com/n869bn-census-we-as-nigerians-dont-wish-to-be-counted-at-the-rate-of-869000k-per-head-adesanya-davies-speaks-out/
2023 PRESIDENCY: NSCEA MAKES DEMANDS AND GIVES CONDITIONS https://newsmediang.com/2023-presidency-nscea-makes-demands-and-gives-conditions/
