I think it is coming along with Peter Obi and Atiku in for the PDP. In APC, we’re still expecting Vice President Prof Osinbajo to declare. That would be the most challenging call during this election cycle; if he declares, would the streets of “inner Lagos” be opened for him since Senator Tinubu is already in?
Yet, irrespective of who decides to exercise his or her constitutional rights, I will want to see DEBATES. While debates may not be critical for good governance, debates push leaders to think over issues they will encounter on Day 1. Also, if there are debates, and in the process of preparing for them, politicians can build a team which can get to work on Day 1.
People, I want to see Obi debates Atiku, and Osinbajo goes against Tinubu. Nigerians must demand for debates because President Buhari provided enough data to show that we need debates. The reason it took him months to set up a cabinet in his first term was simple: he did not discuss many of the national main issues with anyone and because of that, it was impossible to build a team on time. As a result, the nation wasted months, waiting for him to perform a process which would have been done pre-inauguration. That should not happen again.
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Debate and let us see what you have got.
In the UK, because of debates, leaders present their cabinet members on the first week of inauguration. That is possible as they know who could do what, partly because they all worked the process during the debate preparations.
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You want a debate? Look no further than what is playing out in the buildup to APC’s national convention, even the president was so panicked to the point that he essentially asked for all the candidates to emerge through consensus, amalgam of meetings and negotiations are currently going on as we write. Such mentality cannot encourage or promote debate, because it does appear like party people are incapable of electing their own executives; it’s that pathetic.
If Nigerians want APC to throw up Osinbajo, they are the ones to bully the APC into doing it, you cannot expect politicians to make great choices on their own, rather you bully them into submission. How do you that? Let people mount ferocious campaigns across online and offline platforms, making it clear that if the party presents unpopular candidate, they should forget about votes in general elections. You may think that politicians make decisions without guaging public sentiment, they pay attention, just that the people are too relaxed and disorganized.
Let APC give us Osinbajo and PDP Peter Obi, with them, we will spend months debating on their competence and readiness, but with Tinubu and Atiku, we will be exhausted via wasteful arguments by the time election arrives.