With a simple trick, the humble spud can be made into a battery, so could potato powered homes catch on?Apps that answer crisis callsThe silent rise of BluetoothSmart cards that top-up healthHelping the deaf to ‘see’ sound
Mashed, boiled, baked or fried? You probably have a preference for your potatoes. Haim Rabinowitch, however, likes his spuds “hacked”.
For the past few years, researcher Rabinowitch and colleagues have been pushing the idea of “potato power” to deliver energy to people cut off from electricity grids. Hook up a spud to a couple of cheap metal plates, wires and LED bulbs, they argue, and it could provide lighting to remote towns and villages around the world.
They’ve also discovered a simple but ingenious trick to make potatoes particularly good at producing energy. “A single potato can power enough LED lamps for a room for 40 days,” claims Rabinowitch, who is based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The idea may seem absurd, yet it is rooted in sound science. Still, Rabinowitch and his team have discovered that actually launching potato power in the real world is much more complex than it first appears.
While Rabinowitch and team have found a way to make potatoes produce more power than usual, the basic principles are taught in high school science classes, to demonstrate how batteries work.
To make a battery from organic material, all you need is two metals – an anode, which is the negative electrode, such as zinc, and a cathode, the positively charged electrode, such as copper. The acid inside the potato forms a chemical reaction with the zinc and copper, and when the electrons flow from one material to another, energy is released.
This was discovered by Luigi Galvani in 1780 when he connected two metals to the legs of a frog, causing its muscles to twitch. But you can put many materials between these two electrodes to get the same effect. Alexander Volta, around the time of Galvani, used saltwater-soaked paper. Others have made “earth batteries” using two metal plates and a pile of dirt, or a bucket of water.
Super spuds
Potatoes are often the preferred vegetable of choice for teaching high school science students these principles. Yet to the surprise of Rabinowitch, no one had scientifically studied spuds as an energy source. So in 2010, he decided to give it a try, along with PhD student Alex Goldberg, and Boris Rubinsky of the University of California, Berkeley.
“We looked at 20 different types of potatoes,” explains Goldberg, “and we looked at their internal resistance, which allows us to understand how much energy was lost by heat.”
They found that by simply boiling the potatoes for eight minutes, it broke down the organic tissues inside the potatoes, reducing resistance and allowing for freer movement of electrons– thus producing more energy. They also increased the energy output by slicing the potato into four or five pieces, each sandwiched by a copper and zinc plate, to make a series. “We found we could improve the output 10 times, which made it interesting economically, because the cost of energy drops down,” says Goldberg.
“It’s low voltage energy,” says Rabinowitch, “but enough to construct a battery that could charge mobile phones or laptops in places where there is no grid, no power connection.”
Their cost analyses suggested that a single boiled potato battery with zinc and copper electrodes generates portable energy at an estimated $9 per kilowatt hour, which is 50-fold cheaper than a typical 1.5 volt AA alkaline cell or D cell battery, which can cost $49–84 per kilowatt hour. It’s also an estimated six times cheaper than standard kerosene lamps used in the developing world.
Which raises an important question – why isn’t the potato battery already a roaring success?
In 2010, the world produced a staggering 324,181,889 tonnes of potatoes. They are the world’s number one non-grain crop, in 130 countries, and a hefty source of starch for billions around the world. They are cheap, store easily, and last for a long time.
With 1.2 billion people in the world lacking access to electricity, a simple potato could be the answer– or so the researchers thought. “We thought organisations would be interested,” says Rabinowitch. “We thought politicians in India would give them out with their names inscribed on them. They cost less than a dollar.”
Yet three years on since their experiment, why haven’t governments, companies or organisations embraced potato batteries? “The simple answer is they don’t even know about it,” reasons Rabinowitch. But it may be more complicated than that.
First, there’s the issue of using a food for energy. Olivier Dubois, senior natural resources officer at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), says that using food for energy – like sugar cane for biofuels – must avoid depleting food stocks and competing with farmers.
“You first need to look at: are there enough potatoes to eat? Then, are we not competing with farmers making income from selling potatoes?” he explains. “So if eating potatoes is covered, selling potatoes is covered, and there’s some potatoes left, then yes, it can work”
In a country like Kenya, the potato is the second most important food for families after maize. Smallholder farmers produced around 10 million tonnes of potatoes this year, yet around 10-20% were lost in post-harvest waste due to lack of access to markets, poor storage conditions, and other issues, according to Elmar Schulte–Geldermann, potato science leader for sub–Saharan Africa at the International Potato Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The potatoes that don’t make it to the market could easily be turned into batteries.
Pithy answer
Yet in Sri Lanka, for instance, the locally available potatoes are rare and expensive. So a team of scientists at the University of Kelaniya recently decided to try the experiment with something more widely available, and free – plantain piths (stems).
Physicist KD Jayasuriya and his team found that the boiling technique produced a similar efficiency increase for plantains – and the best battery performance was obtained by chopping the plantain pith after boiling.
With the boiled piths, they found they could power a single LED for more than 500 hours, provided it is prevented from drying out. “I think the potato has slightly better current, but the plantain pith is free, it’s something we throw away,” says Jayasuriya.
Despite all this, some are sceptical of the feasibility of potato power. “In reality, the potato battery is essentially like a regular battery you’d buy at the store,” says Derek Lovley at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. “It’s just using a different matrix.” While the potato helps to prevent energy being lost to heat, it is not the source of the energy – that’s actually extracted via the corrosion of the zinc. “It’s sacrificial – the metal is degrading over time,” says Lovley. This means you’d have to replace the zinc – and of course the potato or plantain pith – over time.
Still, zinc is quite cheap in most developing countries. And Jayasuriya argues that it could still be more cost effective than a kerosene lamp. A zinc electrode that lasts about five months would cost about the same as a litre of kerosene, which fuels the average family home in Sri Lanka for two days. You could also use other electrodes, like magnesium or iron.
But potato advocates must surmount another problem before their idea catches on: consumer perception of potatoes. Compared with modern technologies like solar power, potatoes are perhaps less desirable as an energy source.
Gaurav Manchanda, founder of One Degree Solar, which sells micro-solar home systems in Kenya, says people buy their products for more reasons than efficiency and price. “These are all consumers at the end of the day. They need to see the value in it, not only in terms of performance, but status,” he explains. Basically, some people might not want to show off their potato battery to impress a neighbor.
Still, it cannot be denied that the potato battery idea works, and it appears cheap. Advocates
With a simple trick, the humble spud can be made into a battery, so could potato powered homes catch on?Apps that answer crisis callsThe silent rise of BluetoothSmart cards that top-up healthHelping the deaf to ‘see’ sound
Mashed, boiled, baked or fried? You probably have a preference for your potatoes. Haim Rabinowitch, however, likes his spuds “hacked”.
For the past few years, researcher Rabinowitch and colleagues have been pushing the idea of “potato power” to deliver energy to people cut off from electricity grids. Hook up a spud to a couple of cheap metal plates, wires and LED bulbs, they argue, and it could provide lighting to remote towns and villages around the world.
They’ve also discovered a simple but ingenious trick to make potatoes particularly good at producing energy. “A single potato can power enough LED lamps for a room for 40 days,” claims Rabinowitch, who is based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The idea may seem absurd, yet it is rooted in sound science. Still, Rabinowitch and his team have discovered that actually launching potato power in the real world is much more complex than it first appears.
While Rabinowitch and team have found a way to make potatoes produce more power than usual, the basic principles are taught in high school science classes, to demonstrate how batteries work.
To make a battery from organic material, all you need is two metals – an anode, which is the negative electrode, such as zinc, and a cathode, the positively charged electrode, such as copper. The acid inside the potato forms a chemical reaction with the zinc and copper, and when the electrons flow from one material to another, energy is released.
This was discovered by Luigi Galvani in 1780 when he connected two metals to the legs of a frog, causing its muscles to twitch. But you can put many materials between these two electrodes to get the same effect. Alexander Volta, around the time of Galvani, used saltwater-soaked paper. Others have made “earth batteries” using two metal plates and a pile of dirt, or a bucket of water.
Super spuds
Potatoes are often the preferred vegetable of choice for teaching high school science students these principles. Yet to the surprise of Rabinowitch, no one had scientifically studied spuds as an energy source. So in 2010, he decided to give it a try, along with PhD student Alex Goldberg, and Boris Rubinsky of the University of California, Berkeley.
“We looked at 20 different types of potatoes,” explains Goldberg, “and we looked at their internal resistance, which allows us to understand how much energy was lost by heat.”
They found that by simply boiling the potatoes for eight minutes, it broke down the organic tissues inside the potatoes, reducing resistance and allowing for freer movement of electrons– thus producing more energy. They also increased the energy output by slicing the potato into four or five pieces, each sandwiched by a copper and zinc plate, to make a series. “We found we could improve the output 10 times, which made it interesting economically, because the cost of energy drops down,” says Goldberg.
“It’s low voltage energy,” says Rabinowitch, “but enough to construct a battery that could charge mobile phones or laptops in places where there is no grid, no power connection.”
Their cost analyses suggested that a single boiled potato battery with zinc and copper electrodes generates portable energy at an estimated $9 per kilowatt hour, which is 50-fold cheaper than a typical 1.5 volt AA alkaline cell or D cell battery, which can cost $49–84 per kilowatt hour. It’s also an estimated six times cheaper than standard kerosene lamps used in the developing world.
Which raises an important question – why isn’t the potato battery already a roaring success?
In 2010, the world produced a staggering 324,181,889 tonnes of potatoes. They are the world’s number one non-grain crop, in 130 countries, and a hefty source of starch for billions around the world. They are cheap, store easily, and last for a long time.
With 1.2 billion people in the world lacking access to electricity, a simple potato could be the answer– or so the researchers thought. “We thought organisations would be interested,” says Rabinowitch. “We thought politicians in India would give them out with their names inscribed on them. They cost less than a dollar.”
Yet three years on since their experiment, why haven’t governments, companies or organisations embraced potato batteries? “The simple answer is they don’t even know about it,” reasons Rabinowitch. But it may be more complicated than that.
First, there’s the issue of using a food for energy. Olivier Dubois, senior natural resources officer at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), says that using food for energy – like sugar cane for biofuels – must avoid depleting food stocks and competing with farmers.
“You first need to look at: are there enough potatoes to eat? Then, are we not competing with farmers making income from selling potatoes?” he explains. “So if eating potatoes is covered, selling potatoes is covered, and there’s some potatoes left, then yes, it can work”
In a country like Kenya, the potato is the second most important food for families after maize. Smallholder farmers produced around 10 million tonnes of potatoes this year, yet around 10-20% were lost in post-harvest waste due to lack of access to markets, poor storage conditions, and other issues, according to Elmar Schulte–Geldermann, potato science leader for sub–Saharan Africa at the International Potato Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The potatoes that don’t make it to the market could easily be turned into batteries.
Pithy answer
Yet in Sri Lanka, for instance, the locally available potatoes are rare and expensive. So a team of scientists at the University of Kelaniya recently decided to try the experiment with something more widely available, and free – plantain piths (stems).
Physicist KD Jayasuriya and his team found that the boiling technique produced a similar efficiency increase for plantains – and the best battery performance was obtained by chopping the plantain pith after boiling.
With the boiled piths, they found they
With a simple trick, the humble spud can be made into a battery, so could potato powered homes catch on?Apps that answer crisis callsThe silent rise of BluetoothSmart cards that top-up healthHelping the deaf to ‘see’ sound
Mashed, boiled, baked or fried? You probably have a preference for your potatoes. Haim Rabinowitch, however, likes his spuds “hacked”.
For the past few years, researcher Rabinowitch and colleagues have been pushing the idea of “potato power” to deliver energy to people cut off from electricity grids. Hook up a spud to a couple of cheap metal plates, wires and LED bulbs, they argue, and it could provide lighting to remote towns and villages around the world.
They’ve also discovered a simple but ingenious trick to make potatoes particularly good at producing energy. “A single potato can power enough LED lamps for a room for 40 days,” claims Rabinowitch, who is based at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The idea may seem absurd, yet it is rooted in sound science. Still, Rabinowitch and his team have discovered that actually launching potato power in the real world is much more complex than it first appears.
While Rabinowitch and team have found a way to make potatoes produce more power than usual, the basic principles are taught in high school science classes, to demonstrate how batteries work.
To make a battery from organic material, all you need is two metals – an anode, which is the negative electrode, such as zinc, and a cathode, the positively charged electrode, such as copper. The acid inside the potato forms a chemical reaction with the zinc and copper, and when the electrons flow from one material to another, energy is released.
This was discovered by Luigi Galvani in 1780 when he connected two metals to the legs of a frog, causing its muscles to twitch. But you can put many materials between these two electrodes to get the same effect. Alexander Volta, around the time of Galvani, used saltwater-soaked paper. Others have made “earth batteries” using two metal plates and a pile of dirt, or a bucket of water.
Super spuds
Potatoes are often the preferred vegetable of choice for teaching high school science students these principles. Yet to the surprise of Rabinowitch, no one had scientifically studied spuds as an energy source. So in 2010, he decided to give it a try, along with PhD student Alex Goldberg, and Boris Rubinsky of the University of California, Berkeley.
“We looked at 20 different types of potatoes,” explains Goldberg, “and we looked at their internal resistance, which allows us to understand how much energy was lost by heat.”
They found that by simply boiling the potatoes for eight minutes, it broke down the organic tissues inside the potatoes, reducing resistance and allowing for freer movement of electrons– thus producing more energy. They also increased the energy output by slicing the potato into four or five pieces, each sandwiched by a copper and zinc plate, to make a series. “We found we could improve the output 10 times, which made it interesting economically, because the cost of energy drops down,” says Goldberg.
“It’s low voltage energy,” says Rabinowitch, “but enough to construct a battery that could charge mobile phones or laptops in places where there is no grid, no power connection.”
Their cost analyses suggested that a single boiled potato battery with zinc and copper electrodes generates portable energy at an estimated $9 per kilowatt hour, which is 50-fold cheaper than a typical 1.5 volt AA alkaline cell or D cell battery, which can cost $49–84 per kilowatt hour. It’s also an estimated six times cheaper than standard kerosene lamps used in the developing world.
Which raises an important question – why isn’t the potato battery already a roaring success?
In 2010, the world produced a staggering 324,181,889 tonnes of potatoes. They are the world’s number one non-grain crop, in 130 countries, and a hefty source of starch for billions around the world. They are cheap, store easily, and last for a long time.
With 1.2 billion people in the world lacking access to electricity, a simple potato could be the answer– or so the researchers thought. “We thought organisations would be interested,” says Rabinowitch. “We thought politicians in India would give them out with their names inscribed on them. They cost less than a dollar.”
Yet three years on since their experiment, why haven’t governments, companies or organisations embraced potato batteries? “The simple answer is they don’t even know about it,” reasons Rabinowitch. But it may be more complicated than that.
First, there’s the issue of using a food for energy. Olivier Dubois, senior natural resources officer at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), says that using food for energy – like sugar cane for biofuels – must avoid depleting food stocks and competing with farmers.
“You first need to look at: are there enough potatoes to eat? Then, are we not competing with farmers making income from selling potatoes?” he explains. “So if eating potatoes is covered, selling potatoes is covered, and there’s some potatoes left, then yes, it can work”
In a country like Kenya, the potato is the second most important food for families after maize. Smallholder farmers produced around 10 million tonnes of potatoes this year, yet around 10-20% were lost in post-harvest waste due to lack of access to markets, poor storage conditions, and other issues, according to Elmar Schulte–Geldermann, potato science leader for sub–Saharan Africa at the International Potato Center in Nairobi, Kenya. The potatoes that don’t make it to the market could easily be turned into batteries.
Pithy answer
Yet in Sri Lanka, for instance, the locally available potatoes are rare and expensive. So a team of scientists at the University of Kelaniya recently decided to try the experiment with something more widely available, and free – plantain piths (stems).
Physicist KD Jayasuriya and his team found that the boiling technique produced a similar efficiency increase for plantains – and the best battery performance was obtained by chopping the plantain pith after boiling.
With the boiled piths, they found they could power a single LED for more than 500 hours, provided it is prevented from drying out. “I think the potato has slightly better current, but the plantain pith is free, it’s something we throw away,” says Jayasuriya.
Despite all this, some are sceptical of the feasibility of potato power. “In reality, the potato battery is essentially like a regular battery you’d buy at the store,” says Derek Lovley at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. “It’s just using a different matrix.” While the potato helps to prevent energy being lost to heat, it is not the source of the energy – that’s actually extracted via the corrosion of the zinc. “It’s sacrificial – the metal is degrading over time,” says Lovley. This means you’d have to replace the zinc – and of course the potato or plantain pith – over time.
Still, zinc is quite cheap in most developing countries. And Jayasuriya argues that it could still be more cost effective than a kerosene lamp. A zinc electrode that lasts about five months would cost about the same as a litre of kerosene, which fuels the average family home in Sri Lanka for two days. You could also use other electrodes, like magnesium or iron.
But potato advocates must surmount another problem before their idea catches on: consumer perception of potatoes. Compared with modern technologies like solar power, potatoes are perhaps less desirable as an energy source.
Gaurav Manchanda, founder of One Degree Solar, which sells micro-solar home systems in Kenya, says people buy their products for more reasons than efficiency and price. “These are all consumers at the end of the day. They need to see the value in it, not only in terms of performance, but status,” he explains. Basically, some people might not want to show off their potato battery to impress a neighbor.
Still, it cannot be denied that the potato battery idea works, and it appears cheap. Advocates
Sunday, 3 August 2014
Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, kindly accept my sincere apologies for disappearing from this page abruptly last week. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I had really over-flogged my body through marathon trips that left me totally knackered and brain-drained. I truly appreciate your concern and prayers. Many of you must have angered my perpetual cynics who used to complain weekly and endlessly about my column. Your messages, especially on Twitter, were eloquent endorsements of my modest efforts at writing Pendulum under stringent conditions most times.
Let me disabuse the minds of those who panicked about my column being rested by the Management of Thisday newspapers. No one can imagine the kind of freedom I have enjoyed since I took up this assignment. The Publisher of Thisday has never attempted to gag me in anyway and I’m mightily proud of our cordial relationship. Mr Nduka Obaigbena recognises the fact that a column is the personal opinion of the columnist and does not necessarily represent the editorial view of the newspaper. Those hoping and dreaming and preaching that my column should be scrapped should consider the interests of the majority who have come to accept Pendulum as their weekend tonic.?In my last piece of penultimate week, I had written copiously about my encounter with Dr Rilwan Lukman in Vienna about 15 years ago. I was shocked when news of his death reached me two days after that he has passed on. I doubt if he ever had time or enough consciousness to read what I wrote about him but that Pendulum has become my fitting tribute to the great man. May his soul Rest in Peace.?The title for this week was suggested or mandated by a reader, Favour Afolabi, on social media. He had tweeted after reading my piece, WHY I’M NOT A FAN OF PDP, that he expects me to write about my fascination for APC, perhaps, at a time many have chosen to write the obituary of that potentially great party. Let me state categorically that I’m not a member of APC but only a sympathiser and admirer for several reasons. I’m a proud member of opposition. It is unhealthy for a country with our myriad of intractable problems to operate a one party system.
I love the Yoruba proverb that says “we cannot all sleep and lie down facing the same direction.” As a member of opposition, it is my responsibility to work for the rescue of Nigeria from the ultra-conservative elements that have been in power almost forever in our country. Our types of conservatives have failed to yield positive results. They pretend to practise capitalism but without the commensurate capital. We love the American Presidential system of Government but lack the strength and might of America. We have spent too long a time and wasted so much of our resources on living senselessly and needlessly in denial. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Most of our institutional structures have collapsed and the country is virtually on auto-pilot. Those who can’t see the imminent danger ahead are the politicians and the toads of power. They never fought for the democracy we enjoy today and so can never seem to appreciate what we are bound to lose if this present experiment collapses again.?My sympathy for APC is not without a caveat. I’ve not issued them a blank cheque. I’m aware they have their own issues, plenty for that matter. I know many Nigerians claim they can’t see any difference between APC and PDP. I don’t exactly agree as I shall explain shortly. There are also the ethnic jingoists who don’t know the dictionary meaning of democracy. They are those who argue that the current President must govern the country for two terms WHICH IS OK BY ME. But I do not subscribe to the idea that it has to be done by force. What is the essence of holding the next Presidential election, if no one else would be able or allowed to win? Those who insist they won’t agree if the President is defeated in the election are only inviting anarchy. They are inflaming the polity and attracting public odium to the President by making the gentleman look like a man hell-bent on destroying his country on the altar of selfishness and avarice. For all you care, there are many Nigerians who may ordinarily wish to support the President but are now sufficiently nauseated by all the noise or threats of mayhem if opposition wins the election. I’m one of those who believe it is within the rights of the President to re-contest but there is nothing to suggest in our Constitution an automatic win for him. And the position is not hereditary. As a member of opposition, it is my belief that opposition groups must join forces to dislodge the PDP in a clean contest.?Let me now go to why I admire APC warts and all. One, by next year, PDP would have spent a total of 16 years in power. In those years, Nigeria would have moved effectively from a hopeful state to an almost hopeless nation. There is no citizen of Nigeria, except the few in the corridor of power, who’s not alarmed at the speed of our cataclysmic fall from grace to grass. In every sector, we have witnessed a downturn in the fortune of our dear beloved country. The very powerful leaders at the Federal level have squandered the vast resources of this great nation on frivolities to say the least. They have blatantly refused to declare an emergency rule on grinding poverty, infrastructural decay, mass ignorance, occasioned by the collapse of education, gross insecurity, atrocious corruption and extraordinary indiscipline, and so on.
Two, in any sane and sensible democracy, the PDP would have been sacked long before now. Governments are not sacked because there is a guarantee that the incoming would perform much better but because the mood of the people is such that they are totally tired and they want change or temporary reprieve from their slave masters. It does not matter if the next leader fails again, he would be changed for another.?Such a change favoured the ascension of Barack Obama. The people of Great Britain also kicked out their wiz kid Tony Blair because they were just tired of his many stunts and unholy romance with George Bush. Also, the ability to change a leader through the ballot box is the beauty of democracy. While no one can say with absolute certainty how APC would perform at the centre, I would rather risk trying them before knowing what they can do. At any rate, even if the argument that they won’t do better is valid, Nigeria practices Federal Character, so I ask why can’t we “quotalise” incompetence and corruption! Why must PDP be the sole beneficiary??Three, on a serious note, I’m reasonably convinced that a lot of APC states have given us much to cheer and a semblance of hope than most of the PDP states and certainly better than the government at the centre. I find most of the APC states to be potentially great despite not having the kind of resources available to the Federal and their states. Anyone who cannot see or acknowledge the modest efforts of APC Governors is not being honest about it. While people may say APC leaders have been enmeshed in their own mess, I still believe they have made better use of the resources available to them. I’ve always loved to say that nations are not run by saints but by performers. None of us is a saint and none is likely to be in our lifetimes but it behoves us to leave a legacy behind despite our imperfections as human beings.
Four, it is necessary to send a powerful message to those who think Nigeria can never change by first re-jiggling the principal actors. I believe it would most probably force the incoming government to know it is possible to be sacked like its predecessor if it fails to deliver on its promises. To keep PDP permanently in power is to keep Nigerians in perennial servitude. Every attempt to change democracy to monarchy should therefore be discouraged.?Five, the argument that the APC has become polluted because some PDP members crossed over is a spurious fallacy. How come PDP can welcome APC but APC can’t poach from PDP. At the end of the day, we are all human beings from the same country and what matters is to find more of sensible and forward-looking ones in one party than the irredeemable characters in the other. Let all those who oppose the PDP style come together and uplift our nation. PDP can no longer give what it has not possessed in nearly 16 years.?Six, it must be noted that both PDP and APC combined have fewer members than the floaters who don’t belong to either of them. I’m surprised at the seeming helplessness of the floaters who can’t see the sense and possibility of joining the opposition en masse so as to influence some of their decisions unlike PDP that has already become too big and incorrigibly set in its ways. Rather than regularly bemoan the many afflictions of our nation, I plead with those on the side-lines to engage in the torturous task of restoration. It will be more rewarding to all of us collectively. To voluntarily give up and say it is impossible is tantamount to committing mass suicide.
Seven, my definition of change is to move away from an existing disorder. PDP has been in the saddle since the return to our half-cooked, if not raw, democracy. The party has continued to wield the power of heaven and earth with nothing tangible to show for it. The only change possible is to move away from them and try something different and potentially refreshing. This would require the determination and courage of most Nigerians to accomplish, however.?Let me say categorically that I’m happy APC is facing critical challenges at this type. If its operatives are wise, it would give them enough time to put their house in order. What is needed on their part is not insurmountable. APC must stop playing Brazilian style of soccer in Brazil. Let them show us an original game many admirers like us know they are capable of playing. Let them bury their differences and bitter acrimonies urgently or perish together. Let them tap and recruit from the largest army in Africa, the unemployed masses of Nigeria and give them hope of a brighter future. It is too late for PDP to make such promises or offer such hopes but APC can still be given the benefit of the doubt.
I can’t see PDP doing as well as it did last time in the North West and North East the way those zones have become ravaged by terrorism. Most people from those parts may want to blame the President rightly or wrongly for their terrible woes and seek their pounds of flesh. PDP might sweep the South East and South South naturally and even do reasonably well in the North Central, especially the traditional Middle-Belt. But the battle ground remains the South West where APC needs to stand firm. It should be obvious to APC that PDP would do everything possible to control the South West ahead of the general elections. But what I like about the South West is the sophistication of its electorates who are already seeing through the smokescreen of “Operation Capture the West by all means.” The strategy is not new. It was tried in 1983 when NPN went on a binge and captured Oyo State but found Ondo State too hot to handle. The people of the South West naturally detest any form of intimidation or oppression. If the PDP continues to harass them, it would eventually backfire.?It is up to the APC to remain strong and steadfast in its quest for power. Its leaders would have to reach urgent consensus on who and who to field for what and prune their Presidential aspirants to barest minimum. I expect them to field a Northern candidate against the Southern incumbent President. Fortunately for APC, the President is generally believed to have marginalised the South West that gave him victory over Buhari the last time.
I don’t see more than three powerful contenders right now from the North but Buhari, like him or hate him, is one candidate PDP would hate to face despite the bravado that he can be easily defeated by them. He enjoys a cult-followership that seems to have increased in the last few weeks. In the South, APC would have to decide on a Christian to pick as Vice Presidential candidate between Governors Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha and Rotimi Amaechi, if none of them defects to PDP before D-Day; or risk a Muslim-Muslim ticket through a choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Some of these leaders would have to bury personal ambitions for the sake of Nigeria. If they refuse and go ahead to kill the dreams of millions of Nigerians, the shrieking cries of suffering citizens will keep them awake till kingdom come…Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, kindly accept my sincere apologies for disappearing from this page abruptly last week. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I had really over-flogged my body through marathon trips that left me totally knackered and brain-drained. I truly appreciate your concern and prayers. Many of you must have angered my perpetual cynics who used to complain weekly and endlessly about my column. Your messages, especially on Twitter, were eloquent endorsements of my modest efforts at writing Pendulum under stringent conditions most times.
Let me disabuse the minds of those who panicked about my column being rested by the Management of Thisday newspapers. No one can imagine the kind of freedom I have enjoyed since I took up this assignment. The Publisher of Thisday has never attempted to gag me in anyway and I’m mightily proud of our cordial relationship. Mr Nduka Obaigbena recognises the fact that a column is the personal opinion of the columnist and does not necessarily represent the editorial view of the newspaper. Those hoping and dreaming and preaching that my column should be scrapped should consider the interests of the majority who have come to accept Pendulum as their weekend tonic.?In my last piece of penultimate week, I had written copiously about my encounter with Dr Rilwan Lukman in Vienna about 15 years ago. I was shocked when news of his death reached me two days after that he has passed on. I doubt if he ever had time or enough consciousness to read what I wrote about him but that Pendulum has become my fitting tribute to the great man. May his soul Rest in Peace.?The title for this week was suggested or mandated by a reader, Favour Afolabi, on social media. He had tweeted after reading my piece, WHY I’M NOT A FAN OF PDP, that he expects me to write about my fascination for APC, perhaps, at a time many have chosen to write the obituary of that potentially great party. Let me state categorically that I’m not a member of APC but only a sympathiser and admirer for several reasons. I’m a proud member of opposition. It is unhealthy for a country with our myriad of intractable problems to operate a one party system.
I love the Yoruba proverb that says “we cannot all sleep and lie down facing the same direction.” As a member of opposition, it is my responsibility to work for the rescue of Nigeria from the ultra-conservative elements that have been in power almost forever in our country. Our types of conservatives have failed to yield positive results. They pretend to practise capitalism but without the commensurate capital. We love the American Presidential system of Government but lack the strength and might of America. We have spent too long a time and wasted so much of our resources on living senselessly and needlessly in denial. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Most of our institutional structures have collapsed and the country is virtually on auto-pilot. Those who can’t see the imminent danger ahead are the politicians and the toads of power. They never fought for the democracy we enjoy today and so can never seem to appreciate what we are bound to lose if this present experiment collapses again.?My sympathy for APC is not without a caveat. I’ve not issued them a blank cheque. I’m aware they have their own issues, plenty for that matter. I know many Nigerians claim they can’t see any difference between APC and PDP. I don’t exactly agree as I shall explain shortly. There are also the ethnic jingoists who don’t know the dictionary meaning of democracy. They are those who argue that the current President must govern the country for two terms WHICH IS OK BY ME. But I do not subscribe to the idea that it has to be done by force. What is the essence of holding the next Presidential election, if no one else would be able or allowed to win? Those who insist they won’t agree if the President is defeated in the election are only inviting anarchy. They are inflaming the polity and attracting public odium to the President by making the gentleman look like a man hell-bent on destroying his country on the altar of selfishness and avarice. For all you care, there are many Nigerians who may ordinarily wish to support the President but are now sufficiently nauseated by all the noise or threats of mayhem if opposition wins the election. I’m one of those who believe it is within the rights of the President to re-contest but there is nothing to suggest in our Constitution an automatic win for him. And the position is not hereditary. As a member of opposition, it is my belief that opposition groups must join forces to dislodge the PDP in a clean contest.?Let me now go to why I admire APC warts and all. One, by next year, PDP would have spent a total of 16 years in power. In those years, Nigeria would have moved effectively from a hopeful state to an almost hopeless nation. There is no citizen of Nigeria, except the few in the corridor of power, who’s not alarmed at the speed of our cataclysmic fall from grace to grass. In every sector, we have witnessed a downturn in the fortune of our dear beloved country. The very powerful leaders at the Federal level have squandered the vast resources of this great nation on frivolities to say the least. They have blatantly refused to declare an emergency rule on grinding poverty, infrastructural decay, mass ignorance, occasioned by the collapse of education, gross insecurity, atrocious corruption and extraordinary indiscipline, and so on.
Two, in any sane and sensible democracy, the PDP would have been sacked long before now. Governments are not sacked because there is a guarantee that the incoming would perform much better but because the mood of the people is such that they are totally tired and they want change or temporary reprieve from their slave masters. It does not matter if the next leader fails again, he would be changed for another.?Such a change favoured the ascension of Barack Obama. The people of Great Britain also kicked out their wiz kid Tony Blair because they were just tired of his many stunts and unholy romance with George Bush. Also, the ability to change a leader through the ballot box is the beauty of democracy. While no one can say with absolute certainty how APC would perform at the centre, I would rather risk trying them before knowing what they can do. At any rate, even if the argument that they won’t do better is valid, Nigeria practices Federal Character, so I ask why can’t we “quotalise” incompetence and corruption! Why must PDP be the sole beneficiary??Three, on a serious note, I’m reasonably convinced that a lot of APC states have given us much to cheer and a semblance of hope than most of the PDP states and certainly better than the government at the centre. I find most of the APC states to be potentially great despite not having the kind of resources available to the Federal and their states. Anyone who cannot see or acknowledge the modest efforts of APC Governors is not being honest about it. While people may say APC leaders have been enmeshed in their own mess, I still believe they have made better use of the resources available to them. I’ve always loved to say that nations are not run by saints but by performers. None of us is a saint and none is likely to be in our lifetimes but it behoves us to leave a legacy behind despite our imperfections as human beings.
Four, it is necessary to send a powerful message to those who think Nigeria can never change by first re-jiggling the principal actors. I believe it would most probably force the incoming government to know it is possible to be sacked like its predecessor if it fails to deliver on its promises. To keep PDP permanently in power is to keep Nigerians in perennial servitude. Every attempt to change democracy to monarchy should therefore be discouraged.?Five, the argument that the APC has become polluted because some PDP members crossed over is a spurious fallacy. How come PDP can welcome APC but APC can’t poach from PDP. At the end of the day, we are all human beings from the same country and what matters is to find more of sensible and forward-looking ones in one party than the irredeemable characters in the other. Let all those who oppose the PDP style come together and uplift our nation. PDP can no longer give what it has not possessed in nearly 16 years.?Six, it must be noted that both PDP and APC combined have fewer members than the floaters who don’t belong to either of them. I’m surprised at the seeming helplessness of the floaters who can’t see the sense and possibility of joining the opposition en masse so as to influence some of their decisions unlike PDP that has already become too big and incorrigibly set in its ways. Rather than regularly bemoan the many afflictions of our nation, I plead with those on the side-lines to engage in the torturous task of restoration. It will be more rewarding to all of us collectively. To voluntarily give up and say it is impossible is tantamount to committing mass suicide.
Seven, my definition of change is to move away from an existing disorder. PDP has been in the saddle since the return to our half-cooked, if not raw, democracy. The party has continued to wield the power of heaven and earth with nothing tangible to show for it. The only change possible is to move away from them and try something different and potentially refreshing. This would require the determination and courage of most Nigerians to accomplish, however.?Let me say categorically that I’m happy APC is facing critical challenges at this type. If its operatives are wise, it would give them enough time to put their house in order. What is needed on their part is not insurmountable. APC must stop playing Brazilian style of soccer in Brazil. Let them show us an original game many admirers like us know they are capable of playing. Let them bury their differences and bitter acrimonies urgently or perish together. Let them tap and recruit from the largest army in Africa, the unemployed masses of Nigeria and give them hope of a brighter future. It is too late for PDP to make such promises or offer such hopes but APC can still be given the benefit of the doubt.
I can’t see PDP doing as well as it did last time in the North West and North East the way those zones have become ravaged by terrorism. Most people from those parts may want to blame the President rightly or wrongly for their terrible woes and seek their pounds of flesh. PDP might sweep the South East and South South naturally and even do reasonably well in the North Central, especially the traditional Middle-Belt. But the battle ground remains the South West where APC needs to stand firm. It should be obvious to APC that PDP would do everything possible to control the South West ahead of the general elections. But what I like about the South West is the sophistication of its electorates who are already seeing through the smokescreen of “Operation Capture the West by all means.” The strategy is not new. It was tried in 1983 when NPN went on a binge and captured Oyo State but found Ondo State too hot to handle. The people of the South West naturally detest any form of intimidation or oppression. If the PDP continues to harass them, it would eventually backfire.?It is up to the APC to remain strong and steadfast in its quest for power. Its leaders would have to reach urgent consensus on who and who to field for what and prune their Presidential aspirants to barest minimum. I expect them to field a Northern candidate against the Southern incumbent President. Fortunately for APC, the President is generally believed to have marginalised the South West that gave him victory over Buhari the last time.
I don’t see more than three powerful contenders right now from the North but Buhari, like him or hate him, is one candidate PDP would hate to face despite the bravado that he can be easily defeated by them. He enjoys a cult-followership that seems to have increased in the last few weeks. In the South, APC would have to decide on a Christian to pick as Vice Presidential candidate between Governors Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha and Rotimi Amaechi, if none of them defects to PDP before D-Day; or risk a Muslim-Muslim ticket through a choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Some of these leaders would have to bury personal ambitions for the sake of Nigeria. If they refuse and go ahead to kill the dreams of millions of Nigerians, the shrieking cries of suffering citizens will keep them awake till kingdom come…Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, kindly accept my sincere apologies for disappearing from this page abruptly last week. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I had really over-flogged my body through marathon trips that left me totally knackered and brain-drained. I truly appreciate your concern and prayers. Many of you must have angered my perpetual cynics who used to complain weekly and endlessly about my column. Your messages, especially on Twitter, were eloquent endorsements of my modest efforts at writing Pendulum under stringent conditions most times.
Let me disabuse the minds of those who panicked about my column being rested by the Management of Thisday newspapers. No one can imagine the kind of freedom I have enjoyed since I took up this assignment. The Publisher of Thisday has never attempted to gag me in anyway and I’m mightily proud of our cordial relationship. Mr Nduka Obaigbena recognises the fact that a column is the personal opinion of the columnist and does not necessarily represent the editorial view of the newspaper. Those hoping and dreaming and preaching that my column should be scrapped should consider the interests of the majority who have come to accept Pendulum as their weekend tonic.?In my last piece of penultimate week, I had written copiously about my encounter with Dr Rilwan Lukman in Vienna about 15 years ago. I was shocked when news of his death reached me two days after that he has passed on. I doubt if he ever had time or enough consciousness to read what I wrote about him but that Pendulum has become my fitting tribute to the great man. May his soul Rest in Peace.?The title for this week was suggested or mandated by a reader, Favour Afolabi, on social media. He had tweeted after reading my piece, WHY I’M NOT A FAN OF PDP, that he expects me to write about my fascination for APC, perhaps, at a time many have chosen to write the obituary of that potentially great party. Let me state categorically that I’m not a member of APC but only a sympathiser and admirer for several reasons. I’m a proud member of opposition. It is unhealthy for a country with our myriad of intractable problems to operate a one party system.
I love the Yoruba proverb that says “we cannot all sleep and lie down facing the same direction.” As a member of opposition, it is my responsibility to work for the rescue of Nigeria from the ultra-conservative elements that have been in power almost forever in our country. Our types of conservatives have failed to yield positive results. They pretend to practise capitalism but without the commensurate capital. We love the American Presidential system of Government but lack the strength and might of America. We have spent too long a time and wasted so much of our resources on living senselessly and needlessly in denial. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Most of our institutional structures have collapsed and the country is virtually on auto-pilot. Those who can’t see the imminent danger ahead are the politicians and the toads of power. They never fought for the democracy we enjoy today and so can never seem to appreciate what we are bound to lose if this present experiment collapses again.?My sympathy for APC is not without a caveat. I’ve not issued them a blank cheque. I’m aware they have their own issues, plenty for that matter. I know many Nigerians claim they can’t see any difference between APC and PDP. I don’t exactly agree as I shall explain shortly. There are also the ethnic jingoists who don’t know the dictionary meaning of democracy. They are those who argue that the current President must govern the country for two terms WHICH IS OK BY ME. But I do not subscribe to the idea that it has to be done by force. What is the essence of holding the next Presidential election, if no one else would be able or allowed to win? Those who insist they won’t agree if the President is defeated in the election are only inviting anarchy. They are inflaming the polity and attracting public odium to the President by making the gentleman look like a man hell-bent on destroying his country on the altar of selfishness and avarice. For all you care, there are many Nigerians who may ordinarily wish to support the President but are now sufficiently nauseated by all the noise or threats of mayhem if opposition wins the election. I’m one of those who believe it is within the rights of the President to re-contest but there is nothing to suggest in our Constitution an automatic win for him. And the position is not hereditary. As a member of opposition, it is my belief that opposition groups must join forces to dislodge the PDP in a clean contest.?Let me now go to why I admire APC warts and all. One, by next year, PDP would have spent a total of 16 years in power. In those years, Nigeria would have moved effectively from a hopeful state to an almost hopeless nation. There is no citizen of Nigeria, except the few in the corridor of power, who’s not alarmed at the speed of our cataclysmic fall from grace to grass. In every sector, we have witnessed a downturn in the fortune of our dear beloved country. The very powerful leaders at the Federal level have squandered the vast resources of this great nation on frivolities to say the least. They have blatantly refused to declare an emergency rule on grinding poverty, infrastructural decay, mass ignorance, occasioned by the collapse of education, gross insecurity, atrocious corruption and extraordinary indiscipline, and so on.
Two, in any sane and sensible democracy, the PDP would have been sacked long before now. Governments are not sacked because there is a guarantee that the incoming would perform much better but because the mood of the people is such that they are totally tired and they want change or temporary reprieve from their slave masters. It does not matter if the next leader fails again, he would be changed for another.?Such a change favoured the ascension of Barack Obama. The people of Great Britain also kicked out their wiz kid Tony Blair because they were just tired of his many stunts and unholy romance with George Bush. Also, the ability to change a leader through the ballot box is the beauty of democracy. While no one can say with absolute certainty how APC would perform at the centre, I would rather risk trying them before knowing what they can do. At any rate, even if the argument that they won’t do better is valid, Nigeria practices Federal Character, so I ask why can’t we “quotalise” incompetence and corruption! Why must PDP be the sole beneficiary??Three, on a serious note, I’m reasonably convinced that a lot of APC states have given us much to cheer and a semblance of hope than most of the PDP states and certainly better than the government at the centre. I find most of the APC states to be potentially great despite not having the kind of resources available to the Federal and their states. Anyone who cannot see or acknowledge the modest efforts of APC Governors is not being honest about it. While people may say APC leaders have been enmeshed in their own mess, I still believe they have made better use of the resources available to them. I’ve always loved to say that nations are not run by saints but by performers. None of us is a saint and none is likely to be in our lifetimes but it behoves us to leave a legacy behind despite our imperfections as human beings.
Four, it is necessary to send a powerful message to those who think Nigeria can never change by first re-jiggling the principal actors. I believe it would most probably force the incoming government to know it is possible to be sacked like its predecessor if it fails to deliver on its promises. To keep PDP permanently in power is to keep Nigerians in perennial servitude. Every attempt to change democracy to monarchy should therefore be discouraged.?Five, the argument that the APC has become polluted because some PDP members crossed over is a spurious fallacy. How come PDP can welcome APC but APC can’t poach from PDP. At the end of the day, we are all human beings from the same country and what matters is to find more of sensible and forward-looking ones in one party than the irredeemable characters in the other. Let all those who oppose the PDP style come together and uplift our nation. PDP can no longer give what it has not possessed in nearly 16 years.?Six, it must be noted that both PDP and APC combined have fewer members than the floaters who don’t belong to either of them. I’m surprised at the seeming helplessness of the floaters who can’t see the sense and possibility of joining the opposition en masse so as to influence some of their decisions unlike PDP that has already become too big and incorrigibly set in its ways. Rather than regularly bemoan the many afflictions of our nation, I plead with those on the side-lines to engage in the torturous task of restoration. It will be more rewarding to all of us collectively. To voluntarily give up and say it is impossible is tantamount to committing mass suicide.
Seven, my definition of change is to move away from an existing disorder. PDP has been in the saddle since the return to our half-cooked, if not raw, democracy. The party has continued to wield the power of heaven and earth with nothing tangible to show for it. The only change possible is to move away from them and try something different and potentially refreshing. This would require the determination and courage of most Nigerians to accomplish, however.?Let me say categorically that I’m happy APC is facing critical challenges at this type. If its operatives are wise, it would give them enough time to put their house in order. What is needed on their part is not insurmountable. APC must stop playing Brazilian style of soccer in Brazil. Let them show us an original game many admirers like us know they are capable of playing. Let them bury their differences and bitter acrimonies urgently or perish together. Let them tap and recruit from the largest army in Africa, the unemployed masses of Nigeria and give them hope of a brighter future. It is too late for PDP to make such promises or offer such hopes but APC can still be given the benefit of the doubt.
I can’t see PDP doing as well as it did last time in the North West and North East the way those zones have become ravaged by terrorism. Most people from those parts may want to blame the President rightly or wrongly for their terrible woes and seek their pounds of flesh. PDP might sweep the South East and South South naturally and even do reasonably well in the North Central, especially the traditional Middle-Belt. But the battle ground remains the South West where APC needs to stand firm. It should be obvious to APC that PDP would do everything possible to control the South West ahead of the general elections. But what I like about the South West is the sophistication of its electorates who are already seeing through the smokescreen of “Operation Capture the West by all means.” The strategy is not new. It was tried in 1983 when NPN went on a binge and captured Oyo State but found Ondo State too hot to handle. The people of the South West naturally detest any form of intimidation or oppression. If the PDP continues to harass them, it would eventually backfire.?It is up to the APC to remain strong and steadfast in its quest for power. Its leaders would have to reach urgent consensus on who and who to field for what and prune their Presidential aspirants to barest minimum. I expect them to field a Northern candidate against the Southern incumbent President. Fortunately for APC, the President is generally believed to have marginalised the South West that gave him victory over Buhari the last time.
I don’t see more than three powerful contenders right now from the North but Buhari, like him or hate him, is one candidate PDP would hate to face despite the bravado that he can be easily defeated by them. He enjoys a cult-followership that seems to have increased in the last few weeks. In the South, APC would have to decide on a Christian to pick as Vice Presidential candidate between Governors Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha and Rotimi Amaechi, if none of them defects to PDP before D-Day; or risk a Muslim-Muslim ticket through a choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Some of these leaders would have to bury personal ambitions for the sake of Nigeria. If they refuse and go ahead to kill the dreams of millions of Nigerians, the shrieking cries of suffering citizens will keep them awake till kingdom come…
Let me disabuse the minds of those who panicked about my column being rested by the Management of Thisday newspapers. No one can imagine the kind of freedom I have enjoyed since I took up this assignment. The Publisher of Thisday has never attempted to gag me in anyway and I’m mightily proud of our cordial relationship. Mr Nduka Obaigbena recognises the fact that a column is the personal opinion of the columnist and does not necessarily represent the editorial view of the newspaper. Those hoping and dreaming and preaching that my column should be scrapped should consider the interests of the majority who have come to accept Pendulum as their weekend tonic.?In my last piece of penultimate week, I had written copiously about my encounter with Dr Rilwan Lukman in Vienna about 15 years ago. I was shocked when news of his death reached me two days after that he has passed on. I doubt if he ever had time or enough consciousness to read what I wrote about him but that Pendulum has become my fitting tribute to the great man. May his soul Rest in Peace.?The title for this week was suggested or mandated by a reader, Favour Afolabi, on social media. He had tweeted after reading my piece, WHY I’M NOT A FAN OF PDP, that he expects me to write about my fascination for APC, perhaps, at a time many have chosen to write the obituary of that potentially great party. Let me state categorically that I’m not a member of APC but only a sympathiser and admirer for several reasons. I’m a proud member of opposition. It is unhealthy for a country with our myriad of intractable problems to operate a one party system.
I love the Yoruba proverb that says “we cannot all sleep and lie down facing the same direction.” As a member of opposition, it is my responsibility to work for the rescue of Nigeria from the ultra-conservative elements that have been in power almost forever in our country. Our types of conservatives have failed to yield positive results. They pretend to practise capitalism but without the commensurate capital. We love the American Presidential system of Government but lack the strength and might of America. We have spent too long a time and wasted so much of our resources on living senselessly and needlessly in denial. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Most of our institutional structures have collapsed and the country is virtually on auto-pilot. Those who can’t see the imminent danger ahead are the politicians and the toads of power. They never fought for the democracy we enjoy today and so can never seem to appreciate what we are bound to lose if this present experiment collapses again.?My sympathy for APC is not without a caveat. I’ve not issued them a blank cheque. I’m aware they have their own issues, plenty for that matter. I know many Nigerians claim they can’t see any difference between APC and PDP. I don’t exactly agree as I shall explain shortly. There are also the ethnic jingoists who don’t know the dictionary meaning of democracy. They are those who argue that the current President must govern the country for two terms WHICH IS OK BY ME. But I do not subscribe to the idea that it has to be done by force. What is the essence of holding the next Presidential election, if no one else would be able or allowed to win? Those who insist they won’t agree if the President is defeated in the election are only inviting anarchy. They are inflaming the polity and attracting public odium to the President by making the gentleman look like a man hell-bent on destroying his country on the altar of selfishness and avarice. For all you care, there are many Nigerians who may ordinarily wish to support the President but are now sufficiently nauseated by all the noise or threats of mayhem if opposition wins the election. I’m one of those who believe it is within the rights of the President to re-contest but there is nothing to suggest in our Constitution an automatic win for him. And the position is not hereditary. As a member of opposition, it is my belief that opposition groups must join forces to dislodge the PDP in a clean contest.?Let me now go to why I admire APC warts and all. One, by next year, PDP would have spent a total of 16 years in power. In those years, Nigeria would have moved effectively from a hopeful state to an almost hopeless nation. There is no citizen of Nigeria, except the few in the corridor of power, who’s not alarmed at the speed of our cataclysmic fall from grace to grass. In every sector, we have witnessed a downturn in the fortune of our dear beloved country. The very powerful leaders at the Federal level have squandered the vast resources of this great nation on frivolities to say the least. They have blatantly refused to declare an emergency rule on grinding poverty, infrastructural decay, mass ignorance, occasioned by the collapse of education, gross insecurity, atrocious corruption and extraordinary indiscipline, and so on.
Two, in any sane and sensible democracy, the PDP would have been sacked long before now. Governments are not sacked because there is a guarantee that the incoming would perform much better but because the mood of the people is such that they are totally tired and they want change or temporary reprieve from their slave masters. It does not matter if the next leader fails again, he would be changed for another.?Such a change favoured the ascension of Barack Obama. The people of Great Britain also kicked out their wiz kid Tony Blair because they were just tired of his many stunts and unholy romance with George Bush. Also, the ability to change a leader through the ballot box is the beauty of democracy. While no one can say with absolute certainty how APC would perform at the centre, I would rather risk trying them before knowing what they can do. At any rate, even if the argument that they won’t do better is valid, Nigeria practices Federal Character, so I ask why can’t we “quotalise” incompetence and corruption! Why must PDP be the sole beneficiary??Three, on a serious note, I’m reasonably convinced that a lot of APC states have given us much to cheer and a semblance of hope than most of the PDP states and certainly better than the government at the centre. I find most of the APC states to be potentially great despite not having the kind of resources available to the Federal and their states. Anyone who cannot see or acknowledge the modest efforts of APC Governors is not being honest about it. While people may say APC leaders have been enmeshed in their own mess, I still believe they have made better use of the resources available to them. I’ve always loved to say that nations are not run by saints but by performers. None of us is a saint and none is likely to be in our lifetimes but it behoves us to leave a legacy behind despite our imperfections as human beings.
Four, it is necessary to send a powerful message to those who think Nigeria can never change by first re-jiggling the principal actors. I believe it would most probably force the incoming government to know it is possible to be sacked like its predecessor if it fails to deliver on its promises. To keep PDP permanently in power is to keep Nigerians in perennial servitude. Every attempt to change democracy to monarchy should therefore be discouraged.?Five, the argument that the APC has become polluted because some PDP members crossed over is a spurious fallacy. How come PDP can welcome APC but APC can’t poach from PDP. At the end of the day, we are all human beings from the same country and what matters is to find more of sensible and forward-looking ones in one party than the irredeemable characters in the other. Let all those who oppose the PDP style come together and uplift our nation. PDP can no longer give what it has not possessed in nearly 16 years.?Six, it must be noted that both PDP and APC combined have fewer members than the floaters who don’t belong to either of them. I’m surprised at the seeming helplessness of the floaters who can’t see the sense and possibility of joining the opposition en masse so as to influence some of their decisions unlike PDP that has already become too big and incorrigibly set in its ways. Rather than regularly bemoan the many afflictions of our nation, I plead with those on the side-lines to engage in the torturous task of restoration. It will be more rewarding to all of us collectively. To voluntarily give up and say it is impossible is tantamount to committing mass suicide.
Seven, my definition of change is to move away from an existing disorder. PDP has been in the saddle since the return to our half-cooked, if not raw, democracy. The party has continued to wield the power of heaven and earth with nothing tangible to show for it. The only change possible is to move away from them and try something different and potentially refreshing. This would require the determination and courage of most Nigerians to accomplish, however.?Let me say categorically that I’m happy APC is facing critical challenges at this type. If its operatives are wise, it would give them enough time to put their house in order. What is needed on their part is not insurmountable. APC must stop playing Brazilian style of soccer in Brazil. Let them show us an original game many admirers like us know they are capable of playing. Let them bury their differences and bitter acrimonies urgently or perish together. Let them tap and recruit from the largest army in Africa, the unemployed masses of Nigeria and give them hope of a brighter future. It is too late for PDP to make such promises or offer such hopes but APC can still be given the benefit of the doubt.
I can’t see PDP doing as well as it did last time in the North West and North East the way those zones have become ravaged by terrorism. Most people from those parts may want to blame the President rightly or wrongly for their terrible woes and seek their pounds of flesh. PDP might sweep the South East and South South naturally and even do reasonably well in the North Central, especially the traditional Middle-Belt. But the battle ground remains the South West where APC needs to stand firm. It should be obvious to APC that PDP would do everything possible to control the South West ahead of the general elections. But what I like about the South West is the sophistication of its electorates who are already seeing through the smokescreen of “Operation Capture the West by all means.” The strategy is not new. It was tried in 1983 when NPN went on a binge and captured Oyo State but found Ondo State too hot to handle. The people of the South West naturally detest any form of intimidation or oppression. If the PDP continues to harass them, it would eventually backfire.?It is up to the APC to remain strong and steadfast in its quest for power. Its leaders would have to reach urgent consensus on who and who to field for what and prune their Presidential aspirants to barest minimum. I expect them to field a Northern candidate against the Southern incumbent President. Fortunately for APC, the President is generally believed to have marginalised the South West that gave him victory over Buhari the last time.
I don’t see more than three powerful contenders right now from the North but Buhari, like him or hate him, is one candidate PDP would hate to face despite the bravado that he can be easily defeated by them. He enjoys a cult-followership that seems to have increased in the last few weeks. In the South, APC would have to decide on a Christian to pick as Vice Presidential candidate between Governors Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha and Rotimi Amaechi, if none of them defects to PDP before D-Day; or risk a Muslim-Muslim ticket through a choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Some of these leaders would have to bury personal ambitions for the sake of Nigeria. If they refuse and go ahead to kill the dreams of millions of Nigerians, the shrieking cries of suffering citizens will keep them awake till kingdom come…Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, kindly accept my sincere apologies for disappearing from this page abruptly last week. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I had really over-flogged my body through marathon trips that left me totally knackered and brain-drained. I truly appreciate your concern and prayers. Many of you must have angered my perpetual cynics who used to complain weekly and endlessly about my column. Your messages, especially on Twitter, were eloquent endorsements of my modest efforts at writing Pendulum under stringent conditions most times.
Let me disabuse the minds of those who panicked about my column being rested by the Management of Thisday newspapers. No one can imagine the kind of freedom I have enjoyed since I took up this assignment. The Publisher of Thisday has never attempted to gag me in anyway and I’m mightily proud of our cordial relationship. Mr Nduka Obaigbena recognises the fact that a column is the personal opinion of the columnist and does not necessarily represent the editorial view of the newspaper. Those hoping and dreaming and preaching that my column should be scrapped should consider the interests of the majority who have come to accept Pendulum as their weekend tonic.?In my last piece of penultimate week, I had written copiously about my encounter with Dr Rilwan Lukman in Vienna about 15 years ago. I was shocked when news of his death reached me two days after that he has passed on. I doubt if he ever had time or enough consciousness to read what I wrote about him but that Pendulum has become my fitting tribute to the great man. May his soul Rest in Peace.?The title for this week was suggested or mandated by a reader, Favour Afolabi, on social media. He had tweeted after reading my piece, WHY I’M NOT A FAN OF PDP, that he expects me to write about my fascination for APC, perhaps, at a time many have chosen to write the obituary of that potentially great party. Let me state categorically that I’m not a member of APC but only a sympathiser and admirer for several reasons. I’m a proud member of opposition. It is unhealthy for a country with our myriad of intractable problems to operate a one party system.
I love the Yoruba proverb that says “we cannot all sleep and lie down facing the same direction.” As a member of opposition, it is my responsibility to work for the rescue of Nigeria from the ultra-conservative elements that have been in power almost forever in our country. Our types of conservatives have failed to yield positive results. They pretend to practise capitalism but without the commensurate capital. We love the American Presidential system of Government but lack the strength and might of America. We have spent too long a time and wasted so much of our resources on living senselessly and needlessly in denial. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Most of our institutional structures have collapsed and the country is virtually on auto-pilot. Those who can’t see the imminent danger ahead are the politicians and the toads of power. They never fought for the democracy we enjoy today and so can never seem to appreciate what we are bound to lose if this present experiment collapses again.?My sympathy for APC is not without a caveat. I’ve not issued them a blank cheque. I’m aware they have their own issues, plenty for that matter. I know many Nigerians claim they can’t see any difference between APC and PDP. I don’t exactly agree as I shall explain shortly. There are also the ethnic jingoists who don’t know the dictionary meaning of democracy. They are those who argue that the current President must govern the country for two terms WHICH IS OK BY ME. But I do not subscribe to the idea that it has to be done by force. What is the essence of holding the next Presidential election, if no one else would be able or allowed to win? Those who insist they won’t agree if the President is defeated in the election are only inviting anarchy. They are inflaming the polity and attracting public odium to the President by making the gentleman look like a man hell-bent on destroying his country on the altar of selfishness and avarice. For all you care, there are many Nigerians who may ordinarily wish to support the President but are now sufficiently nauseated by all the noise or threats of mayhem if opposition wins the election. I’m one of those who believe it is within the rights of the President to re-contest but there is nothing to suggest in our Constitution an automatic win for him. And the position is not hereditary. As a member of opposition, it is my belief that opposition groups must join forces to dislodge the PDP in a clean contest.?Let me now go to why I admire APC warts and all. One, by next year, PDP would have spent a total of 16 years in power. In those years, Nigeria would have moved effectively from a hopeful state to an almost hopeless nation. There is no citizen of Nigeria, except the few in the corridor of power, who’s not alarmed at the speed of our cataclysmic fall from grace to grass. In every sector, we have witnessed a downturn in the fortune of our dear beloved country. The very powerful leaders at the Federal level have squandered the vast resources of this great nation on frivolities to say the least. They have blatantly refused to declare an emergency rule on grinding poverty, infrastructural decay, mass ignorance, occasioned by the collapse of education, gross insecurity, atrocious corruption and extraordinary indiscipline, and so on.
Two, in any sane and sensible democracy, the PDP would have been sacked long before now. Governments are not sacked because there is a guarantee that the incoming would perform much better but because the mood of the people is such that they are totally tired and they want change or temporary reprieve from their slave masters. It does not matter if the next leader fails again, he would be changed for another.?Such a change favoured the ascension of Barack Obama. The people of Great Britain also kicked out their wiz kid Tony Blair because they were just tired of his many stunts and unholy romance with George Bush. Also, the ability to change a leader through the ballot box is the beauty of democracy. While no one can say with absolute certainty how APC would perform at the centre, I would rather risk trying them before knowing what they can do. At any rate, even if the argument that they won’t do better is valid, Nigeria practices Federal Character, so I ask why can’t we “quotalise” incompetence and corruption! Why must PDP be the sole beneficiary??Three, on a serious note, I’m reasonably convinced that a lot of APC states have given us much to cheer and a semblance of hope than most of the PDP states and certainly better than the government at the centre. I find most of the APC states to be potentially great despite not having the kind of resources available to the Federal and their states. Anyone who cannot see or acknowledge the modest efforts of APC Governors is not being honest about it. While people may say APC leaders have been enmeshed in their own mess, I still believe they have made better use of the resources available to them. I’ve always loved to say that nations are not run by saints but by performers. None of us is a saint and none is likely to be in our lifetimes but it behoves us to leave a legacy behind despite our imperfections as human beings.
Four, it is necessary to send a powerful message to those who think Nigeria can never change by first re-jiggling the principal actors. I believe it would most probably force the incoming government to know it is possible to be sacked like its predecessor if it fails to deliver on its promises. To keep PDP permanently in power is to keep Nigerians in perennial servitude. Every attempt to change democracy to monarchy should therefore be discouraged.?Five, the argument that the APC has become polluted because some PDP members crossed over is a spurious fallacy. How come PDP can welcome APC but APC can’t poach from PDP. At the end of the day, we are all human beings from the same country and what matters is to find more of sensible and forward-looking ones in one party than the irredeemable characters in the other. Let all those who oppose the PDP style come together and uplift our nation. PDP can no longer give what it has not possessed in nearly 16 years.?Six, it must be noted that both PDP and APC combined have fewer members than the floaters who don’t belong to either of them. I’m surprised at the seeming helplessness of the floaters who can’t see the sense and possibility of joining the opposition en masse so as to influence some of their decisions unlike PDP that has already become too big and incorrigibly set in its ways. Rather than regularly bemoan the many afflictions of our nation, I plead with those on the side-lines to engage in the torturous task of restoration. It will be more rewarding to all of us collectively. To voluntarily give up and say it is impossible is tantamount to committing mass suicide.
Seven, my definition of change is to move away from an existing disorder. PDP has been in the saddle since the return to our half-cooked, if not raw, democracy. The party has continued to wield the power of heaven and earth with nothing tangible to show for it. The only change possible is to move away from them and try something different and potentially refreshing. This would require the determination and courage of most Nigerians to accomplish, however.?Let me say categorically that I’m happy APC is facing critical challenges at this type. If its operatives are wise, it would give them enough time to put their house in order. What is needed on their part is not insurmountable. APC must stop playing Brazilian style of soccer in Brazil. Let them show us an original game many admirers like us know they are capable of playing. Let them bury their differences and bitter acrimonies urgently or perish together. Let them tap and recruit from the largest army in Africa, the unemployed masses of Nigeria and give them hope of a brighter future. It is too late for PDP to make such promises or offer such hopes but APC can still be given the benefit of the doubt.
I can’t see PDP doing as well as it did last time in the North West and North East the way those zones have become ravaged by terrorism. Most people from those parts may want to blame the President rightly or wrongly for their terrible woes and seek their pounds of flesh. PDP might sweep the South East and South South naturally and even do reasonably well in the North Central, especially the traditional Middle-Belt. But the battle ground remains the South West where APC needs to stand firm. It should be obvious to APC that PDP would do everything possible to control the South West ahead of the general elections. But what I like about the South West is the sophistication of its electorates who are already seeing through the smokescreen of “Operation Capture the West by all means.” The strategy is not new. It was tried in 1983 when NPN went on a binge and captured Oyo State but found Ondo State too hot to handle. The people of the South West naturally detest any form of intimidation or oppression. If the PDP continues to harass them, it would eventually backfire.?It is up to the APC to remain strong and steadfast in its quest for power. Its leaders would have to reach urgent consensus on who and who to field for what and prune their Presidential aspirants to barest minimum. I expect them to field a Northern candidate against the Southern incumbent President. Fortunately for APC, the President is generally believed to have marginalised the South West that gave him victory over Buhari the last time.
I don’t see more than three powerful contenders right now from the North but Buhari, like him or hate him, is one candidate PDP would hate to face despite the bravado that he can be easily defeated by them. He enjoys a cult-followership that seems to have increased in the last few weeks. In the South, APC would have to decide on a Christian to pick as Vice Presidential candidate between Governors Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha and Rotimi Amaechi, if none of them defects to PDP before D-Day; or risk a Muslim-Muslim ticket through a choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Some of these leaders would have to bury personal ambitions for the sake of Nigeria. If they refuse and go ahead to kill the dreams of millions of Nigerians, the shrieking cries of suffering citizens will keep them awake till kingdom come…Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Why I’m A Fan Of The APC – Dele Momodu
Fellow Nigerians, kindly accept my sincere apologies for disappearing from this page abruptly last week. It was due to circumstances beyond my control. I had really over-flogged my body through marathon trips that left me totally knackered and brain-drained. I truly appreciate your concern and prayers. Many of you must have angered my perpetual cynics who used to complain weekly and endlessly about my column. Your messages, especially on Twitter, were eloquent endorsements of my modest efforts at writing Pendulum under stringent conditions most times.
Let me disabuse the minds of those who panicked about my column being rested by the Management of Thisday newspapers. No one can imagine the kind of freedom I have enjoyed since I took up this assignment. The Publisher of Thisday has never attempted to gag me in anyway and I’m mightily proud of our cordial relationship. Mr Nduka Obaigbena recognises the fact that a column is the personal opinion of the columnist and does not necessarily represent the editorial view of the newspaper. Those hoping and dreaming and preaching that my column should be scrapped should consider the interests of the majority who have come to accept Pendulum as their weekend tonic.?In my last piece of penultimate week, I had written copiously about my encounter with Dr Rilwan Lukman in Vienna about 15 years ago. I was shocked when news of his death reached me two days after that he has passed on. I doubt if he ever had time or enough consciousness to read what I wrote about him but that Pendulum has become my fitting tribute to the great man. May his soul Rest in Peace.?The title for this week was suggested or mandated by a reader, Favour Afolabi, on social media. He had tweeted after reading my piece, WHY I’M NOT A FAN OF PDP, that he expects me to write about my fascination for APC, perhaps, at a time many have chosen to write the obituary of that potentially great party. Let me state categorically that I’m not a member of APC but only a sympathiser and admirer for several reasons. I’m a proud member of opposition. It is unhealthy for a country with our myriad of intractable problems to operate a one party system.
I love the Yoruba proverb that says “we cannot all sleep and lie down facing the same direction.” As a member of opposition, it is my responsibility to work for the rescue of Nigeria from the ultra-conservative elements that have been in power almost forever in our country. Our types of conservatives have failed to yield positive results. They pretend to practise capitalism but without the commensurate capital. We love the American Presidential system of Government but lack the strength and might of America. We have spent too long a time and wasted so much of our resources on living senselessly and needlessly in denial. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Most of our institutional structures have collapsed and the country is virtually on auto-pilot. Those who can’t see the imminent danger ahead are the politicians and the toads of power. They never fought for the democracy we enjoy today and so can never seem to appreciate what we are bound to lose if this present experiment collapses again.?My sympathy for APC is not without a caveat. I’ve not issued them a blank cheque. I’m aware they have their own issues, plenty for that matter. I know many Nigerians claim they can’t see any difference between APC and PDP. I don’t exactly agree as I shall explain shortly. There are also the ethnic jingoists who don’t know the dictionary meaning of democracy. They are those who argue that the current President must govern the country for two terms WHICH IS OK BY ME. But I do not subscribe to the idea that it has to be done by force. What is the essence of holding the next Presidential election, if no one else would be able or allowed to win? Those who insist they won’t agree if the President is defeated in the election are only inviting anarchy. They are inflaming the polity and attracting public odium to the President by making the gentleman look like a man hell-bent on destroying his country on the altar of selfishness and avarice. For all you care, there are many Nigerians who may ordinarily wish to support the President but are now sufficiently nauseated by all the noise or threats of mayhem if opposition wins the election. I’m one of those who believe it is within the rights of the President to re-contest but there is nothing to suggest in our Constitution an automatic win for him. And the position is not hereditary. As a member of opposition, it is my belief that opposition groups must join forces to dislodge the PDP in a clean contest.?Let me now go to why I admire APC warts and all. One, by next year, PDP would have spent a total of 16 years in power. In those years, Nigeria would have moved effectively from a hopeful state to an almost hopeless nation. There is no citizen of Nigeria, except the few in the corridor of power, who’s not alarmed at the speed of our cataclysmic fall from grace to grass. In every sector, we have witnessed a downturn in the fortune of our dear beloved country. The very powerful leaders at the Federal level have squandered the vast resources of this great nation on frivolities to say the least. They have blatantly refused to declare an emergency rule on grinding poverty, infrastructural decay, mass ignorance, occasioned by the collapse of education, gross insecurity, atrocious corruption and extraordinary indiscipline, and so on.
Two, in any sane and sensible democracy, the PDP would have been sacked long before now. Governments are not sacked because there is a guarantee that the incoming would perform much better but because the mood of the people is such that they are totally tired and they want change or temporary reprieve from their slave masters. It does not matter if the next leader fails again, he would be changed for another.?Such a change favoured the ascension of Barack Obama. The people of Great Britain also kicked out their wiz kid Tony Blair because they were just tired of his many stunts and unholy romance with George Bush. Also, the ability to change a leader through the ballot box is the beauty of democracy. While no one can say with absolute certainty how APC would perform at the centre, I would rather risk trying them before knowing what they can do. At any rate, even if the argument that they won’t do better is valid, Nigeria practices Federal Character, so I ask why can’t we “quotalise” incompetence and corruption! Why must PDP be the sole beneficiary??Three, on a serious note, I’m reasonably convinced that a lot of APC states have given us much to cheer and a semblance of hope than most of the PDP states and certainly better than the government at the centre. I find most of the APC states to be potentially great despite not having the kind of resources available to the Federal and their states. Anyone who cannot see or acknowledge the modest efforts of APC Governors is not being honest about it. While people may say APC leaders have been enmeshed in their own mess, I still believe they have made better use of the resources available to them. I’ve always loved to say that nations are not run by saints but by performers. None of us is a saint and none is likely to be in our lifetimes but it behoves us to leave a legacy behind despite our imperfections as human beings.
Four, it is necessary to send a powerful message to those who think Nigeria can never change by first re-jiggling the principal actors. I believe it would most probably force the incoming government to know it is possible to be sacked like its predecessor if it fails to deliver on its promises. To keep PDP permanently in power is to keep Nigerians in perennial servitude. Every attempt to change democracy to monarchy should therefore be discouraged.?Five, the argument that the APC has become polluted because some PDP members crossed over is a spurious fallacy. How come PDP can welcome APC but APC can’t poach from PDP. At the end of the day, we are all human beings from the same country and what matters is to find more of sensible and forward-looking ones in one party than the irredeemable characters in the other. Let all those who oppose the PDP style come together and uplift our nation. PDP can no longer give what it has not possessed in nearly 16 years.?Six, it must be noted that both PDP and APC combined have fewer members than the floaters who don’t belong to either of them. I’m surprised at the seeming helplessness of the floaters who can’t see the sense and possibility of joining the opposition en masse so as to influence some of their decisions unlike PDP that has already become too big and incorrigibly set in its ways. Rather than regularly bemoan the many afflictions of our nation, I plead with those on the side-lines to engage in the torturous task of restoration. It will be more rewarding to all of us collectively. To voluntarily give up and say it is impossible is tantamount to committing mass suicide.
Seven, my definition of change is to move away from an existing disorder. PDP has been in the saddle since the return to our half-cooked, if not raw, democracy. The party has continued to wield the power of heaven and earth with nothing tangible to show for it. The only change possible is to move away from them and try something different and potentially refreshing. This would require the determination and courage of most Nigerians to accomplish, however.?Let me say categorically that I’m happy APC is facing critical challenges at this type. If its operatives are wise, it would give them enough time to put their house in order. What is needed on their part is not insurmountable. APC must stop playing Brazilian style of soccer in Brazil. Let them show us an original game many admirers like us know they are capable of playing. Let them bury their differences and bitter acrimonies urgently or perish together. Let them tap and recruit from the largest army in Africa, the unemployed masses of Nigeria and give them hope of a brighter future. It is too late for PDP to make such promises or offer such hopes but APC can still be given the benefit of the doubt.
I can’t see PDP doing as well as it did last time in the North West and North East the way those zones have become ravaged by terrorism. Most people from those parts may want to blame the President rightly or wrongly for their terrible woes and seek their pounds of flesh. PDP might sweep the South East and South South naturally and even do reasonably well in the North Central, especially the traditional Middle-Belt. But the battle ground remains the South West where APC needs to stand firm. It should be obvious to APC that PDP would do everything possible to control the South West ahead of the general elections. But what I like about the South West is the sophistication of its electorates who are already seeing through the smokescreen of “Operation Capture the West by all means.” The strategy is not new. It was tried in 1983 when NPN went on a binge and captured Oyo State but found Ondo State too hot to handle. The people of the South West naturally detest any form of intimidation or oppression. If the PDP continues to harass them, it would eventually backfire.?It is up to the APC to remain strong and steadfast in its quest for power. Its leaders would have to reach urgent consensus on who and who to field for what and prune their Presidential aspirants to barest minimum. I expect them to field a Northern candidate against the Southern incumbent President. Fortunately for APC, the President is generally believed to have marginalised the South West that gave him victory over Buhari the last time.
I don’t see more than three powerful contenders right now from the North but Buhari, like him or hate him, is one candidate PDP would hate to face despite the bravado that he can be easily defeated by them. He enjoys a cult-followership that seems to have increased in the last few weeks. In the South, APC would have to decide on a Christian to pick as Vice Presidential candidate between Governors Adams Oshiomhole, Rochas Okorocha and Rotimi Amaechi, if none of them defects to PDP before D-Day; or risk a Muslim-Muslim ticket through a choice of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu or Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola. Some of these leaders would have to bury personal ambitions for the sake of Nigeria. If they refuse and go ahead to kill the dreams of millions of Nigerians, the shrieking cries of suffering citizens will keep them awake till kingdom come…
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