Victory despite a Setback

The results of the Presidential elections have been provincially released and the incumbent, President Goodluck Jonathan is set to be declared a winner of the election. On the eve of the elections I had written what I termed my last stand wherein I urged Nigerians to rise to the occasion that the hour presented us.

The election turned on the planks of who were promise makers and promise breakers, the straight and the not so straight, those who said all they believed publicly and those who said politically correct things publicly but were most vicious in private.

I played my role to win votes for the CPC. I made phone calls, sent SMS, had face to face discussions persuading men and women and appealing to them to resist passivity at this election. All I promised was that the change we had always been praying for would not come by electing the incumbent but by those whose greatest crime is their integrity and directness in saying what exactly they would do and promise nothing more.

I was not alone, there were so many volunteers who did the same and so much more – Kayode Ogundamisi, Deolu Akinyemi, Aminu Mohameed Ofis, Christian Love, Oby Ezekwesili, Nasir El Rufai, Adetayo Bamiduro, Chimezie Uguru and so many other known and unknown heroes. This was our finest hour. I respect your courage like the 300 men who marched with Leonidas against Xerxes.

These 300 marched and seemed to fail under the rain of arrows of Xerxes. Yet their courage and victories up till the final battle where they all died inspired the rallying of the whole of Greece to fight for their freedom which they eventually won.

The volunteers of the BB campaign and those who voted CPC all across Nigeria are “the 300”.

In the South east and South south we see results that say 99.4% of registered voters voted for PDP yet we all got the reports of low voter turnout on Saturday in all these areas. Those votes are totally questionable and I hand them over to Prof. Jega and his conscience as the Chief Returning Officer. No one is telling the stories of people being forced at gun point to vote for PDP in warri, of those chased from the polling units in Bayelsa because they wanted to vote for CPC.

The question remains though: would CPC have won in those states? I doubt it but the margins created by “magic voting” have tipped the scales in PDP favor. How about the South West? At my Polling unit in Lagos I spoke with youths and they said they would vote PDP because they believed Goodluck Jonathan was favored by God and so they would support him. The “Goodluck” Narrative clearly worked like a charm. I can say that a lot of votes genuinely went to PDP in the south west.

The A.C.N stepped aside to ensure the PDP victory. History will still reveal how this happened. I commend the margin of victory of PDP to the conscience of the Asiwaju of Bourdillion, may he enjoy all the fruits of his labor.

I commend those who stood on the side of the people of Nigeria in these times. The people in the core north will be accused of voting along regional lines….no one will remember that the masses cried “ Sai Gaskiya” – man of truth- not Sai Hausawa.

They proclaimed their love for truth over religion and ethnicity. These same people voted Obasanjo in 1999 and 2003 but no one remembers that now. They are accused for being ethnic jingoists. I commend their love for truth to the God of all Truth. Their desires will not be cut off.

For all people desiring real change and truth , north, south, east west I commend you to strengthen your hand at the plow. They want us to retreat in shame but we will not. We will continue praying for the present government to succeed as we are enjoined by our faiths to do but we know leopards hardly change their spots.

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan will in the next few months reveal who his friends are – we will confirm it via appointments, contracts and rewards. He will then show his faithful voters how much he loves them soon when he increases the price of fuel so the oil marketers can continue brisk business.

Be of good cheer friends, we did not lose. We won. Organize, Agitate, Persevere.

Do not break ranks and disperse like we lost for we indeed discovered that people could campaign without funds, that we could hold meetings of xtians and muslims in churches and mosques to move our nation forward. We discovered that some people would change their minds if we persist in speaking truth.

We must swell the numbers of those who desire truth before 2015. I will be available for this task.

Will you?