Now it’s time to vote PDP out, says Buhari

KADUNA was throbbing yesterday with a huge crowd as Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) presidential candidate Gen. Mohammadu Buhari began his campaign. The venue was the Murtala Square in the heart of the city, but the echoes were heard all over the city. 

Buhari told the crowd that he was on a mission to rescue Nigeria from bad leadership.

Youths blocked some major roads within the metropolis, forcing motorists to shout “sai Buhari’’ and hung his posters on their vehicles. Those who refused to obey them were beaten up.

There was panic in some parts of the metropolis where youths carried machetes and sticks, and drove recklessly, creating a traffic jam that kept many  a motorist on the road for hours.

Entering and coming out of – the Murtala Square venue of the event was difficult as the human traffic overwhelmed the security personnel, who watched helplessly as the youths removed posters and defaced the bill boards of President Goodluck Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo as well as those of Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa.

Jonathan’s and Yakowa’s bill boards at a roundabout near the Government House were defaced by the youths. Their posters were removed while Buhari was inside the Government House visiting Yakowa.

Addressing the rally, which was also attended by his running mate, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Buhari said he accepted responsibility for all the actions of his regime as military head of state, but was quick to point out that all his actions were guided by conscience.

He said: “I submit that in the affairs of man, it is only God that can determine history and ordain destiny. In my own case, it is destiny that threw me up to serve as the Head of State of this great country at that particular moment of our national history.

“I would say with all humility that I dutifully accepted all the challenges and responsibilities of Head of State and Government. Whatever role I played, whether as leader or member of government, all my decisions and actions were always guided by a clear conscience.

“I was always guided by agreement with my colleagues and members of my executive council, which always enabled me to try to avoid impropriety, dishonesty, corruption and other forms of abuse of office and power.

“My conscience constantly guided me to treat everyone and every group in the country with fairness and equity. That is why I can stand before Nigerians here today and hold my head high, knowing that I am ever ready to face any scrutiny or answer any question regarding my past performance as a public figure. I am always ready to give account of my past records to the Nigerian people.”

The CPC presidential candidate noted that his campaign is not about the past, but an engagement that reflects on the future of Nigeria. 

He went on: “We are today facing an uncertain future in an uncertain world. It is vital Nigerians make the right choice about who would look after them in the next four years.

“I am standing here today as the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change. I consider myself to be on a rescue mission. Never before have we seen such bad leadership in our national life. The country’s life is literally falling apart on all fronts on security, in education, on the economy, in healthcare system and youth employment. Many critical observers have begun to list Nigeria among the failed states of the 21st century.”

He lashed out at the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) whose leadership of the nation in the last 12 years, he said, made the nation one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

Buhari said: “We are internationally recognised for corruption, inefficiency, business uncertainty and infrastructural decay. For 12 years, the PDP government failed to tackle all these problems, in spite of the resources at their disposal. We can and we must reverse these trends. The first step is for Nigerians to vote PDP out. They are finished. They have passed their sell-by date.”