By Myke Uzendu, Abuja
As the Presidential campaign of Governor Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State heads to the South East, delegates from the region have described the aspirant as a detribalized Nigerian with capacity to move the country beyond ethnic and religious boundries.
Speaking with delegates from Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi states over the weekend, Gov. Mohammed told them that he will run a knowledge based administration. He informed them that the South East and North East are the zones skewed out of power equation since the return of democracy in 1999 but assured them that he will support whoever gets the ticket of the part to ensure that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) returns to its opposition status.
In Anambra, Mohammed met with the delegates of the party at Hollywood events centre, along the Enugu-Onitsha Expressway, Awka. Before what one can describe as his triumphant entry into the arena, delegates who converged to welcome him had mixed feelings about who they have converged to welcome. To the delegates, Mohammed was just one of those Northern politicians, and most importantly, one from the Muslim, who is not different from all the others.
A member of the party who was also on ground to welcome Senator Mohammed, Hon Afam Eze told our reporter before Mohammed’s arrival, “I have never met him, I have never also watched him speak before. I only know him as the governor of Bauchi State. The most I know of him was when he was the Minister of Federal Capital Territory. Who knows, he may not even be different from all the other northern politicians who have been the bane of this country.”
The governor who mounted the stage first warmed his way into the heart of the Southeastern delegates when he started by saying that he would support whosoever emerged as the candidate from the PDP primary, to ensure the party wrestled power from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The cheers among the delegates when he mentioned that the Southeast and Northeast had the most legitimate claim to the presidency was very visible. He said both zones having not tested power were the most eligible for the position, and went ahead to describe the Igbo nation as critical in the Nigerian project while recommending that their entrepreneurial ingenuity and apprenticeship should be emulated by other parts of the country as a model for addressing poverty and unemployment in the country.
He said, “I am presenting myself for election and I seek your support but if I don’t win, I will support the eventual candidate of PDP because we have to rescue Nigeria.” If delegates in the respective states visited by the governor had any more doubt in them previously, the above words cleared all of them, leaving the aspirant before them as a rare politician, a dispassionate one, whose style of politics is away from the usual win-by-all-cost politicians”.
Some of the delegates were fascinated when they learnt that under Senator Bala Mohammed as governor of Bauchi State, many Nigerians from all the geo political zones in the country, including Igbo indigenes were among his advisers and key government officials. His campaign organisation too has as Acting DG, Prof. Udenta O. Udenta from Enugu State and other Directors and members cutting across tribes and tongues of Nigeria. They described him as the unifier needed at this time for stabilization of the country.
The governor also thrilled delegates in Enugu and Ebonyi. He told them would run an inclusive government if given the party’s mandate and wins the 2023 presidential election. While addressing hundreds of party delegates from Ebonyi and Enugu called on the delegates to join him in retrieving, rescuing and renovating the country with knowledge-based solutions.
Baring his mind on the degree of reception from the South East, the governor said, “We are delighted by the enthusiasm and cooperation expressed by the delegates of FCT, Enugu, Anambra and Ebonyi,” he said. It’s incredible how the delegates effortlessly connect with my powerful message of hope and national recovery with each region and group contributing their quota to that effort. My presidential campaign is an unstoppable movement with no doubt about it.”
If given the party’s mandate, Bala said he will help in tackling the myriads of problems facing the country. “I am a visionary leader who is fully prepared for national sacrifice, who is tried and trusted and whose compelling life journey and exposure as a journalist, civil servant, senator, minister and governor have equipped me with the skills set to tackle the myriad of frightening problems this clueless APC administration has bequeathed to the nation. Under my watch as the president, I will leverage the nationalistic instincts inherent in Nigerian citizens to drive national development both from the individual and from the community in a vertical and horizontal manner.”
As Governor of Bauchi state, Mohammed has provided sterling leadership, and has presented himself as a leader who has been tested, and ready for opportunities in higher level. His achievements are very glaring in infrastructure, agriculture, administration, healthcare, housing and many others.
Commenting on the visit, Chief Okey Muo-Aroh, a chieftain of PDP in Anambra educated the delegates on the reason the party dropped zoning. He said the fact that the party was an opposition party, it would not want to go into the election with the luggage of excluding a section of the country.
Speaking with journalists after the event, a member of the party, Hon Gozie Mbamalu said: “I have not listened to all the presidential aspirants of the party, so, if you are asking me to rate Senator Bala Mohammed, I may not be able to do so accurately. But I want to tell you that I’m very happy with his speech today, You know, some of us from the south, there is a way we look at northern politicians, but I must tell you the truth, he came off as a very dispassionate politician, and who has the genuine interest of this country at heart. He is a politician you cannot afford not to like, especially if you like this country to move forward. At least, he showed through his speeches and body language that he earnestly wants this country to grow.”
