OREDOLA ADEOLA
Presidential hopeful, Tope Fasua, candidate of Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party(ANRP) in the 2019 Presidential election has released statement stating why he is seeking votes to be elected as Nigeria's President.
His statement reads in part:
“What have we achieved so far? Is it the right time to chest-thump? I believe not. But I also believe that it is absolutely important to count one’s blessings because elsewhere things are a lot worse. A grateful heart will always take stock of the past and give thanks to the Almighty and all persons who has been catalytic to the journey so far.
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| Tope Fasua , Presidential Candidate of ANRP |
We started barely 18 months ago. It is easy for people to stand afar and criticize and pick holes and point out our many imperfections. “How come you guys aren’t 1million in membership yet?
Are you sure Nigerians are buying your ideas? How are you different from the rest of the rat pack? Can you win anything with 50,000 membership? Why did you come second in Oyo LG elections? Are there prizes for coming seco
nd? Who is your godfather? Why aren’t you talking to the principalities and powers of Nigeria, without whom your project may amount to nothing? Why aren’t you in coalition already with some of the other parties? What do you mean you want to preserve your ethos, your ideology and innocence?”
These and more are what you hear from all around. But it is important to keep focused. Let us give thanks to God for our many achievements in the past 18 months:
THE NEXT LEVEL
Many people have been asking if I am ‘running’ for the presidency of our great nation Nigeria. Some have asked that I go for it, while others have asked that I don’t. The issue is that it should not be about me. For me, this is not just another ambition.
I am not ‘running’ like every other person (and the terrain is indeed crowded already). I am interested in going for that position for only one reason - to elevate the level of discourse and ideas so that whoever becomes Nigeria’s president next year will be under so much pressure, and their thoughts would have been straightened out with so much clarity, such that Nigeria will never remain the same again.
I am here for one purpose only; to elevate the quality of our thoughts and discourse, and to ensure this country stops deceiving itself with the socioeconomic choices our leaders make.
Since late last year, I have been emphasizing my research into national budgets around Africa and even though the researches have never been acknowledged in official quarters, I believe the recent jack-up of our national budget by N500bn is an indicator that the authorities are seeing the fact that we have been under-budgeting, underachieving, under-dreaming and under-providing for the Nigerian people in general.
I have also been researching into the structure of our public service, and manning levels in essential services all over the country, and discovered to my shock that there is a minimum for peaceful countries that we never achieved but we must. My wish would be to mainstream some of my out-of-the box ideas in a way that they get adopted across the length and breadth of governance in Nigeria.
We should be saying enough already to underachievement as a nation by May 29, 2019.
And so for this reason, I will offer myself for the position of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I intend to run with my able Deputy, Mallam Aminu Yakubu, whom I know to have the right DNA for the REVOLUTION OF IDEAS that is the mantra of our humble quest. What Nigeria needs right now is a revolution, no less.
Now again this is not about me, and this is where you all come in.
Some have asked why I shouldn’t just maintain chairmanship of the party and let someone else go for presidency on our platform. We should be careful not to fall into the same trap that many activists are ruing today. They stayed away from offering themselves in active politics and played activism for way too long.
They agitated, they complained, most were simply ignored. Some were compromised. It is only recently that many of our activists are getting their epiphanies and standing up for proper politics. The great Gani Fawehinmi saw this a long time ago. He was also Chairman of his party and contested.
I did the research and found out that our great leaders like Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe, and Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, were all chairmen/presidents of their parties. I would be honored to be counted amongst these all-time greats. But the reality is that when a party is young, it’s DNA-carriers must ensure they take it forward in guided fashion.
Indeed we are open to every FULL MEMBER to give every position a good shot. And whereas there is nothing in our constitution that prevents me going for the position - or indeed any officer from vying for elective positions at any level, there are cogent reasons why it is those of us who have the ANRP DNA, and understand the journey that led to today, that should be pushing for elective positions.
These are;
1. There is no assurance that an outsider to ANRP, and to our journey so far, will feel under any obligations to carry forward our ideology, ethos and ideas, rather than their own. As a matter of fact, actively ‘shopping’ for outsiders to run on our platform at this point could be deleterious to all we have worked for. In this project, anyone who believes he is doing ANRP a favor because some people begged him/her to come and fly our flag, is likely to dump the party for the midsts of money-sharers at the earliest opportunity.
2. We should be encouraging officers of the party - especially those who have discharged themselves creditably - to gun for positions at federal, state, LG and Ward levels, as the very next step towards VISIBILITY for the party. Nigerians - like other people elsewhere - are enthralled by optics. Many have since been asking for our presidential candidate - sometimes as a prerequisite to even joining the party. We have lectured them on end that that is not our focus, but indeed, the truth is that the time has come to play prominently at that level. Showing our array of top aspirants gives those in the lower echelons of our structure a sense of focus and aspiration. It also attracts new members. We do have a couple of people who have indicated their intentions for the position and one of them has been sensitizing members on our platform for a while now. What I am saying now is that ALL OF US AT THE TOP ECHELON OF THE PARTY should be thinking of what positions we want to go for. This will force us to finally start engaging vigorously and fearlessly; forcing us out of our shells. This is the next level for our party.
3. It is important for us to do this, because ANRP is all about DOING IT OURSELVES. We are here because we got tired of complaining and wondering why somebody is not doing the work of taking Nigeria forward. Now it is not enough to form a political party and just keep growing it. We have to give teeth to this idea, so that it will bite. Otherwise we will be stuck at that level of seeing frustrations with our efforts. That level of perpetual ‘activism’ again.
4. This is about leading the way - and we are within our constitutional rights. When members see all of us going for positions as presidents, governors, senators, reps, and so on, they will know that this idea is for real and therefore see why they need to get involved in building structures. Right now, we are agonizingly trying to get people to step of for state, LG and Ward exco positions. To add to this, I believe we are not in these positions to sit tight. I read somewhere last week that some people have been chairmen of their parties for decades. Not in ANRP. Here, most of us should be ready to quit the scene after one term, so that ANRP does not become another party of gerontocrats. We must think seriously of SUCCESSION PLANNING. If we look well, we will find those diligent replacements.
5. As a matter of fact, even though we are open to people contesting for every position and we would not bar any newcomer (member) so long as they are within their constitutional rights to contest for elective positions under our platform, those who have slaved, spent money, time, lost opportunities and come up with ideas and strategies to take us to this point, should have right of first refusal when it comes to vying for elective positions on our platform. There has to be a price to pay for joining late - for we are not a party of fools waiting for chancers to come and take our glory - and a reward for steadfastness, faith, and belief in an idea that seemed to be heading nowhere but is now being seen as a beautiful bride. I must let us know that there are over 10 people who have approached me simply for us to let them run for presidency on our platform. They aren’t even members. Nigerians must learn to build before seeking glory. This education is one of the reasons for ANRP’s existence.
So, the next level for ANRP is this VISIBILITY. It will help drive our numbers in an organic and spontaneous manner. We want it to be that everywhere you turn people are seeing ANRP, and seeing our array of young and not-so-young contestants and asking questions; "which one is ANRP?” and therefore joining. This is where to start. Look, we are mostly private sector people. We are strategists. They have dared us that we cannot achieve presence of mind among Nigerians.
They have dared us that Nigerians are too mindlessly poor to listen to us. But we are also resolute that we will prove our traducers and naysayers very wrong. We have already started. By the time the 2019 elections are over, it shall be said that ANRP is the best party in Nigeria. Indeed, no matter that we are presently ignored in some quarters, ANRP is a global award-winning brand.
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