Festus Keyamo, Lagos-based
lawyer, says he accepted the appointment to be spokesman of the re-election bid
of President Muhammadu Buhari because the president is “an approximation” of
the values he cherishes and has fought for in his life”.
On Tuesday, the appointment was
conveyed to Keyamo in a letter dated April 16, 2018, and signed by Rotimi
Amaechi, minister of transportation and director-general of the campaign.
The letter said Keyamo’s
appointment covers the period before the president “gets APC’s nomination” and
during the elections proper.
“I’m pleased to convey to you the
decision of the President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign Organisation to appoint you
as director, strategic communications in respect of the forthcoming campaigns
for the 2019 presidential election,” the letter read.
Reacting via a statement on
Wednesday, Keyamo said he was consulted forehand, adding that he accepted the
appointment “wholeheartedly and proudly”.
“Let me put it on record that I
was indeed consulted before the announcement. Upon the offer, I wholeheartedly
and proudly accepted the challenge to do this for the good of my country and
for posterity. For in President Buhari, I have found an approximation of the
lofty values I cherish and have fought for all my life,” Keyamo said.
He said his “convictions about
this job are deep and well thought-out”. According to him, he has reached the
zenith of his profession, and would not abuse his new position to partake in
sycophancy for personal gains.
He said he has made Buhari his
choice come 2019 and would stand by him, while urging anyone not contented with
his decision to declare and campaign for their own choice of candidates.
In December 2107, Keyamo was also
appointed as a board member of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation
(NDIC).
His full statement below:
Just yesterday, my appointment as
the Director, Strategic Communications of President Muhammadu Buhari Campaign
Organisation was made public. In that capacity, I would be the Official
Spokesperson of the President’s campaigns for the 2019 Presidential Election.
Let me put it on record that I
was indeed consulted before the announcement. Upon the offer, I wholeheartedly
and proudly accepted the challenge to do this for the good of my country and
for posterity. For in President Buhari I have found an approximation of the
lofty values I cherish and have fought for all my life.
I know millions of Nigerians have
never seen me in the mould of partisan politics. This is because for the past
two and half decades, I have been under intense public scrutiny while engaging
successive governments (military and civilian) in the most critical way
possible. The public has also watched me grow steadily all the way from that
young, restless lawyer to the exalted position of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN). In the process of my restless and relentless engagements of the
authorities, I have been hounded, arrested, detained, paraded like a criminal,
charged and discharged from courts severally, but remain unbowed. Hence, some
of us have been branded as “radicals” and seen as completely apolitical.
However, the ultimate aim of
every struggle is not really to enthrone a perfect, flawless system. Only the
starry-eyed, younger ones think such is possible. That is Utopia. Rather, the
ultimate aim of the struggle is to enthrone a government (yes, even with the
normal human flaws) that is focused, determined and fiercely opposed to the
unscrupulous wheeler-dealers in the society, committed to protecting the
interests of the down-trodden, the weak and vulnerable.
One of the obvious ways to do
this is to ensure that what belongs to all is not cornered by a few; and if
they do so, to ensure that they are made to account and brought to justice. I
can boldly say that no Government in the history of Nigeria has recovered so
much looted funds as that of President Muhammadu Buhari. The fact that this
Government has clearly chosen this path in protecting the masses of our country
(as unpleasant as it has been to some) is one of the many reasons why I am so
proud and bold about my support for the re-election bid of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
In doing this, I take a cue from
my revered late boss, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN who mentored me. Throughout his
career, he also consistently and fiercely engaged every government in Nigeria
and suffered as a result. Guess what? THE ONLY GOVERNMENT HE FULLY SUPPORTED
THROUGHOUT HIS LIFETIME was that led by General Muhammdu Buhari in 1984 – 1985;
and that was to the chagrin of some of his professional colleagues and fellow
“radicals”. However, he saw what they did not see at that time, because when
that government was overthrown by General Babangida, what followed was the
worst era in our history in terms of institutionalizing corruption and
political chicanery in Nigeria. In the 2007 Presidential election, my late boss
again endorsed General Buhari in the following words: “When we talk of
anti-corruption war, there is no way you will exclude General Buhari. I don’t
want to hear what a political party is going to do, whether ANPP or PDP or NDP
or which other political organization. Tell me who is leading the party, tell
me who is leading the government, that’s my concern. It’s a matter of
leadership. This is a serious election, very serious one”.
Some of those same forces and
interests that saw the back of General Buhari in 1985 are still very much
around with us. You can hear their voices getting louder of late, preaching
hate and toiling hard to incite the people against the President. They want us
to go back to our old ways, disguised as if they genuinely care for the masses
of this country. When you look at the profile and ignoble antecedents of these
characters – the emergency heroes, some of us have no option but to undertake
this role we have been called upon to assume just to ensure that they do not
succeed in their selfish enterprise.
For all I have said above, my
convictions about this job are deep and well thought-out. Given my background,
it is clear that I cannot be a sycophantic rabble-rouser, looking for some
personal gains. Having reached the top echelon of my career, some of us can
conveniently stay away from all these, and continue to earn a good living from
our thriving law practice. However, the call of duty beckons because we are at
a critical crossroads in our history where one wrong turn may take us back to
the sorry state from which we are emerging. We are here to convince and appeal
to the masses not to allow us take that wrong turn.
Now, it is important I elaborate
a bit on this “sorry state” from which we are coming. Some people always
attempt to befuddle the issues by continually reminding us of certain
statistics that existed before 2015 and after 2015. However, our situation
before 2015 is comparable to that of a car on a high speed, seemingly doing
well on the road, but with the temperature gauge already rising. That car is in
trouble. But to the uninformed, the car would be seen as doing well. However,
the callous driver, fully aware of the rising temperature in the engine,
continues to speed on. After some time, it is inevitable that the engine of the
car would overheat and crash. In that state, the callous driver hands over the
car to the new driver. The new driver, seeing the condition of the vehicle,
decides to fix the radiator first which is responsible for the overheating in
order to protect the engine, before setting out on the road again. Yet, the
callous driver mischievously calls everyone to come and see how the new driver
has parked the car to fix the engine before setting out once again. The callous
driver tells everyone that the new driver is clueless; that that is why the car
was parked briefly.
The above anecdote is a graphic
reflection of the situation we find ourselves. With the crash in oil prices
just before 2015, the previous government resorted to borrowing to pay salaries
and recklessly drew down on our foreign reserves, just to give the impression
that all was well. So much unearned money was also circulating in the country
amongst a few, giving the false impression that we were in a buoyant economy.
However, the economy was headed for a crash. All the indices show that the slip
into recession started shortly before this government took over, like the car
which engine was already over-heating.
The attempt by a few to deceive
the people that all was well with us before this government took over, is one
of the reasons some of us have decided to come out of our shells to put a hole
in that false narrative. It is simply a big lie. I am persuaded that the Buhari
Government took the right measures to halt a bigger disaster awaiting our
economy had it been otherwise. Those who are persuaded otherwise are within
their legitimate right to do so. We are all patriots, trying to find the right
answers to our problems as a nation. However, if you are persuaded otherwise,
kindly state in details what exactly should have been done to run the economy
better, given the crash in oil prices and production that dropped to around
700,000 barrels per day. Surely, discerning Nigerians would no longer buy the
fable of “Buhari destroyed our economy”.
If I voted Buhari in 2015 and I
am to vote for him again in 2019, then why can’t I campaign vigorously for him?
I see no reason. It is a fallacy to say you are neutral in politics, yet you
step forward to cast your vote at elections. If you are persuaded enough to
vote for a candidate of your choice, then you must also be persuaded enough to
campaign for that candidate, because your vote would be lost if you do not
convince others to also adopt your position.
That is why I have made my choice
for 2019 and I will publicly stand by it. That choice is President Muhammadu
Buhari. For those who are persuaded otherwise, I challenge them to also name
their choices because you cannot criticise my choice of a candidate without
naming your own choice. After all, the President would not be running against ghosts
or against a vacuum. Therefore, this is not a time to hide behind a blanket
criticism of any candidate. Each candidate should be assessed in comparative
terms with other candidates.
There has also been much attempt
to de-market the President using his age and health as pummeling tools, and as
such raising the decibel in the clarion call for a young or younger President.
Firstly, on the issues of age and health, it would be ungodly and outrageous
for a mere mortal to assume the status of God Almighty to speculate on the
longevity or strength of any human being. Even doctors have been proven wrong
on so many occasions. It is a matter entirely in the hands of God. Our past
Presidents that died in office (Abacha and Yar’Adua) were in their prime. In
fact, Abacha did not even show any sign of a failing health before he slumped
and died. In Zimbabwe, the main opposition candidate for years, Morgan
Tsvangirai used the issue of age and health to campaign against President
Mugabe, urging him to go and retire and rest. Yet, just a few weeks ago, Morgan
Tsvangirai died at the age of 65 and Mugabe is still alive and kicking at the
age of 94. Those are the mysterious ways of God Almighty. No human being should
even use that as a campaign gimmick. That person would be courting the wrath of
God Almighty.
In addition, no one can argue
that age has anything to do with the required integrity to be the President of
a country. I also firmly believe that our value systems in politics and the
society have been so damaged pre-2015, that a firm and experienced hand is
needed to reset our collective psyche before we can set sail again. The notion
that public office is just available to share money which was the norm pre-2015
is gradually being changed. Spending a few more years to sustain that kind of
re-orientation will do us a world of good. President Buhari is one of the very
last of the upright Mohicans in Nigeria available to help reclaim public
integrity before he takes his bow in 2023, if the Nigerian people so wish. We must
take advantage of his still being around to deepen the nation’s moral fabric.
The choices before us have never
been so CLEAR in the history of our country. On the one hand are those who are
already in the mud and seeking to drag others into the mud. These are the ones
who keep saying “We are all corrupt together”, and who keep confessing and
apologising like people coming out of a trance. They say they should be
forgiven because they have been “honest” enough to confess and apologise.
Fellow Nigerians, there is nothing like an honest thief. It is a disgusting
oxymoron. A thief is a thief. This is especially so if the thief did not
willingly come out to admit he was a thief until his hands were caught right
inside the cookie jar.
The other choice before us is a
President who has been accused of everything that is false but even his most
ardent critics, and detractors locally and internationally have not accused him
of having a penchant for wealth accumulation. I am persuaded to campaign for
him by his austere lifestyle, his Spartan taste and frugal nature. I am not
looking for a god or an angel to vote for. They are not around here on earth. I
am only looking for someone with these minimum personal qualities I have
enumerated above. The President’s other human flaws may be there, but I am
waiting for the candidates of our opponents to show me their credentials from
heaven.
People can easily point to those
with questionable past in the ruling party, the APC. With my antecedents and in
my true conscience, I cannot defend them and cannot make excuses for them.
However, in joining the President’s party, they are subjecting themselves to
the disciplined leadership of the President. Like Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN
said above, it is the leadership that matters. Like I always ask: should we all
stop going to church because some known sinners also throng to churches every
Sunday? The obvious answer is in the negative. On the other hand, the other
party whose key leaders were all part of those who pilfered our commonwealth
are about to present us with one amongst themselves as a Presidential candidate
in 2019. Of course, reasonable Nigerians are waiting to dismiss that before it
happens.
However, for some of my friends,
colleagues and associates who are still persuaded by the other way of running
our country, and who belong to different political platforms, all I can do is
to wish them well, but also state that this is a time for us to agree to
disagree. It is all for the good of our country. It will bring out the best in
us in canvassing our persuasions. However, I will be putting my heart and soul
to this assignment and if anyone is offended by my commitment to the cause, I
offer no apology. You can also do likewise to advance your cause. Nigerians
would decide at the end of the day.
My message to all those teeming
supporters who did it in 2015 for our President is that you do not abandon a
ship with which you set sail midway. Our race is not a 100-meter dash. It is a
marathon race to rescue our country. We are almost there. When we turn the
corner in 2019, you will see the tape at the finishing line. We must not run
out of breaths. We believed in 2015. We must keep that belief alive. The
hallmark of true supporters is to stand firm in times of storm and in times of
calm. The storm is almost over. The President has battled to take control of
the steering wheel of the nation and we are on course.
Do not let the naysayers bully
you whether in real life or in cyberspaces. When they run out of arguments,
they resort to abuses. If they abuse you, see them as patriots, but misguided
ones; if they attack you, see them as patriots, but misguided ones; if they
call you unprintable names, see them as passionate patriots, but misguided
ones. Do not retaliate. With time, especially when majority of votes wipe out
their minority opinions in 2019, they will come round to you and acknowledge
your vision. So, hold your own and keep your heads up.
For us, this race is never a
do-or-die affair. We shall present the facts as we see them and let Nigerians
decide. We do not have to hire Cambridge Analytica to scare the electorate.
They are already sufficiently scared by the humongous corruption that took
place under the watch of the last government; the electorate are already
sufficiently scared by those who are apologizing just to sneak their way back
to power; the electorate are also sufficiently scared by the tons of cash
buried in graveyards, farm houses, luxury flats in Ikoyi, in Yachts in the High
Seas and those used to buy real estate strewn all over the world.
Nigerians know from where their
problems came. They know it is not President Buhari. They know it came from
some of those battling tooth and nail to displace him. Those who are persuaded
by us should not remain aloof, please. Kindly join us in this journey.
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