“Confronted with the present danger and calamity that the presidency of Buhari poses to Nigeria, the choice and course of action open to any responsible Nigerian statesman is clear – and that is the subordination of all personal differences to the task of rescuing Nigeria from the fast pace of downward spiral towards the political abyss.
The spokesman for the Coalition for Nigeria Movement, Mr. Akin Osuntokun, has identified the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, as an instrument chosen by God to rescue Nigeria from the “dark and dangerous” route President Muhammadu Buhari has taken the country.
Osuntokun, the CNM’s Director of Strategic Communications, in a statement on Friday, described former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of Atiku for President as a move to save the country.
He said Obasanjo’s move was premised on the need to put personal differences aside for the greater good, adding that such considerations underlie the reconciliation between the former President and his deputy.
He said, “To put it mildly, these are desperate times in Nigeria and desperate problems readily provoke desperate measures.
“Confronted with the present danger and calamity that the presidency of Buhari poses to Nigeria, the choice and course of action open to any responsible Nigerian statesman is clear – and that is the subordination of all personal differences to the task of rescuing Nigeria from the fast pace of downward spiral towards the political abyss.
“And God, in his inimitable ways, has seen fit to choose Atiku Abubakar as the instrument of rescuing Nigeria from the dark and dangerous turn that the incumbent driver has taken the country.
“It is perhaps for the task of the unprecedented challenge of this moment that God has been preparing Atiku – who like all mortals, is not without his share of human imperfections. To err is human; to forgive, divine.”
Osuntokun also identified the need to put personal differences aside for the greater good as the reason why Afenifere, a pan-Yoruba socio-political group, was now on the same page with Obasanjo.
“The political differences between Afenifere and Obasanjo are an open secret but in deference to the same logic, it has not been difficult for the two parties to subsume their differences, close ranks and find equal purpose in halting and reversing the Buhari trend that endangers all,” he said.
Describing the choice between Buhari and Atiku as easy for Nigerians to make, the spokesperson for the 2003 presidential ticket of Obasanjo and Atiku, noted that comparing the two was like “comparing sleep to death or lifelessness – apologies to Donald Trump”.