…stresses that the era of sharing national cake is gone
The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has advised that the next president of the country must be someone with the capacity to bake a bigger cake for Nigerians as against the old era of sharing the national cake.
Obaseki gave the advice when he received the Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, the former senate president, Bukola Saraki, and the Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benin City, who were in the state to consult with the Edo State Governor ahead of next year’s general elections.
Speaking on the prevailing mood in the country, Obaseki said: “Things are really bad and difficult for our people. We have never had it this bad. We have never had the level of combination of poverty and inflation as food inflation in Nigeria is pushing millions of people into starvation, coupled with the security challenges.”
On insecurity, he said: “Many have been kidnapped in Nigeria as we speak”. He added: “This is not about individual aspirations but about Nigeria. We need the country to survive to be able to push our individual aspirations.
“Many Nigerians do not understand yet; forty (40) years ago, we had a big cake to share but not today. That cake has disappeared. Whoever aspires to be president of this country must be somebody who Nigerians are ready to give ingredients to start to rebuild a bigger cake for us all.”
He maintained that, “For us in Edo, we are ready for building a bigger, stronger and better Nigeria as we can’t continue the way we are today. We are concerned that unless the PDP comes out and rallies Nigerians around, it will be difficult to pull Nigeria back from the brinks.”
Obaseki commended leaders of the PDP for placing greater premium on the interest of Nigerians as against their personal ambitions by sustaining the conversation on a consensus candidate to fly the party’s flag in the 2023 presidential election.
“It is not about our individual aspirations, it’s about Nigeria because if our country does not survive, then our individual aspirations come to nothing.
“This is a new model of leadership selection where leaders who have some higher aspirations for their people can come together and say you know what, we all are contesting for an office, but in spite of the fact that we are contesting for the office, what is most important is the meaning of that office to our people, to Nigerians,” the Edo Governor added.
Responding on behalf of the visiting PDP leaders, Saraki, the former Kwara State Governor said: “We all know the various situations that exist in our country and the need for the PDP to provide a platform and in doing that, we realize that the interest of the country is more paramount to our own interests.
“As such, we have come together and agreed that we should work out a consensus where we don’t all just go to the field. We don’t want our energy to be focused on just trying to get to power, but on how to help make Nigeria better.”
Saraki added, “A lot of Nigerians out there are really going through a hard time and as a party, we want to show that we are really committed to their interests. Our individual interest is secondary.
“We need your support in this process. What Nigerians need now is a president that has a team to work with. The problems are huge and we all have the qualities to lead this country.”
