•Urges APC to apologise for destroying Nigeria
Emmanuel Addeh
Presidential aspirant and Publisher, Ovation Magazine, Mr Dele Momodu, yesterday submitted his expression of interest and nomination forms at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) headquarters in Abuja.
Describing it as yet another milestone, the businessman and newspaper columnist noted that the action was a necessary step in the right direction as he seeks the requisite mandate of his my party.
Momodu explained that along with like-minded Nigerians, his mission remains to liberate the country from the vestiges of insecurity, ignorance, corruption, division and disunity.
The chartered accountant added that if given the chance, he would rescue the country from backwardness, inequality, infrastructural decay, intolerance, vindictiveness, oppression, mass unemployment and other problems besetting the country.
While querying the wisdom in demanding a huge sum of N40 million from presidential aspirants for the forms, he pointed out that it could easily discourage and eliminate younger and more vibrant aspirants. But he said he decided to pay because it’s a demand from the party.
According to him, although Nigeria is blessed with some of the most brilliant, well-educated, ambitious, hardworking and upwardly mobile people, the lack of visionary, selfless and purpose-driven leadership has slowed them down.
“The time has come when politics can no longer be the exclusive preserve of profligate politicians who are more interested in the actualisation of their inordinate ambition, egocentric power-grabbing, greedy venality and unwholesome scaremongering rather than the welfare and well-being of the people they are meant to serve,” he argued.
In this quest, Momodu stressed that he had traversed every region and sub-region of Nigeria and, indeed, some parts of the Diaspora reaching out to fellow citizens and re-establishing old alliances whilst reinforcing age-long friendships.
“Everyone knows about my networking habits and abilities. I’m a natural unifier. I do not go to people because, and only when, I need their votes. I have done this all my life. It is natural to me and not a pretence.
“Through my work, I have been able to touch the lives of countless Nigerians at home and abroad. Directly and indirectly, I’ve provided jobs and created opportunities for thousands of Nigerian youths in practically all spheres of human endeavour.
“I was one of the first to recognise and champion the use of technology and social media in our every day life, even as our government now seeks to stifle its majestic growth and power for their own selfish and nefarious reasons.
“My Moslem and Christian backgrounds, as well as education in African Traditional Religions, make me even more comfortable with all men and women of faiths, and I’m dismissive of ethnic and religious jingoists,” he pointed out.
Momodu contended that Nigeria is at a crossroads and things can no longer continue as usual, adding that no God-fearing citizen can excuse the gross incompetence and ineptitude of a ruling government that is high on promises but low on performance.
“Nigeria deserves massive apologies from the APC apparatchiks who should be ashamed of the magnitude of damage they have wreaked on our long-suffering nation.
“No amount of fanciful diction, deceptive sophistry, pedantic casuistry or mendacious demagoguery can rescue them from the judgment of God for plunging our country and its people into unprecedented misery and penury,” he declared.
He expressed the hope that the PDP, and its members, most especially super delegates, would resist all temptations from highest bidders and put country above pecuniary expectations, and deem it fit to give him the the ticket to represent the party.
“Becoming president of Nigeria should not be about the promotion and elevation of self as a result of previous lengthy political appointments. Getting to be Nigeria’s president should be a matter of offering oneself humbly and honourably in order to serve our fatherland to the best of our abilities.
“What Nigeria needs is a fresh leader, someone shorn of all the baggage, misadventure, mishaps and failures of the past. A charismatic leader and bridge builder, with global experience and exposure, capable of assembling and commanding a combined and novel team of technocrats and politicians.
“People whose sole desire is change their country for better, rather than for self-aggrandisement and pillaging. This is the kind of president that is required to lead our country out of the drudgery and doldrums. I believe that I am that person and leader,” he averred.
