Nigerian women on Friday had a
two-million-woman rally in Abuja to appeal to Atiku Abubakar, the presidential
candidate of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last election to
congratulate his opponent, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress to
concede defeat.
The Independent National
Electoral Commission had declared Buhari of the APC winner of the keenly
contested election having scored the highest votes.
However, Atiku has vowed to go to
court, alleging that he was rigged out.
The women, under the aegis of Two
Million Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria, Peace and Stability, kick-started
their match at the Unity Fountain down to Hilton Area before proceeding to the
Force headquarters, Eagle Square and back to Unity Fountain.
They called on Atiku to emulate
former President Goodluck Jonathan and congratulate Atiku on his victory.
Speaking during the rally, the
convener, Mary Onuche, called on Atiku to save Nigeria from anarchy and embrace
his brother.
Onuche also called on Buhari not
to disappoint Nigerians who have overwhelmingly voted him for another term.
Her speech below.
With this configuration in mind,
the foremost opposition candidate in the election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) not to shy away from playing this role. This
requires that he is seen, ab initio, as putting the interest of Nigeria first,
a requirement that has been made even more important by unscrupulous persons
waiting in the wings to exploit any contentions over the polls to their own
dark advantage.
Fortunately for Nigeria, our
democracy, though still young, has continued to evolve in ways that reassure us
that things can only get better. One such leap is the development in 2015 when
the then President Goodluck Jonathan called to congratulate the then winner of
the presidential election, incumbent President Buhari, even before the votes’
tally was completed. That singular act of patriotism is today hailed as the
benchmark of the level of statesmanship befitting of candidates in our
elections. May God bless President Goodluck Jonathan, the hero of our modern
democracy.
This has become a modern
democratic culture in Nigeria for which former President Jonathan will continue
to receive accolades. Had he acted contrary at that time, perhaps democratic
growth in Nigeria might have been stunted or even truncated.
But thankfully he set the
benchmark, a standard that we today expect from anyone that takes part in the
presidential election.
We therefore call on Alhaji Atiku
Abubakar to emulate the statesmanship of President Jonathan and quit his
on-going disruptive stance on the election. There has been series of calls on
him to call and congratulate President Buhari as the winner of the election,
which would infer that he would by consequence give up any legal challenge of
the election result. We are tempted to align with the first half of this demand
that Atiku calls President Buhari to offer his congratulations but we will not
suggest that he forfeits his right to seeking judicial redress. He is very free
to approach the courts to ventilate his grievances.
What is unacceptable, however, is
the adoption of positions and making of utterances that are being interpreted
by his supporters and party members as a call to violence. We have become aware
that his supporters are strategizing for violent protests that they are
targeting to cause chaos nationwide and bring down the government. Some of
Atiku’s lieutenants and political associates are subtly encouraging such
protests through comments they have been making in the mainstream media and
their social media accounts.
The hostile environment being
created by Atiku’s stance has been made even tenser by his reported demands on
President Buhari, made through the National Peace Committee. Such behaviour
suggests an opposition that has transmuted into a dictatorship, one that is
hell-bent on blackmailing the country to impose itself on the people when it
has been clearly rejected at the polls. This is not acceptable at a time when Nigerians
expect that anyone that aspired to govern the country would at the very least
imbibe the spirit of sportsmanship championed by former President Jonathan.
Our democracy comes first before
the personal fixations of any politician. We insist that the peace accord
signed by political parties and their candidates, including Atiku must be
respected .
Nigeria truly deserves peace and
stability at this point in time, which is why we are holding this “Two Million
Woman Rally for Democracy in Nigeria” to demand for national stability and
peace in Nigeria.
It is our own way of sending a
clear message to the thugs, urchins and miscreants that have been mobilized to
cause chaos in the country that we will take them on in the streets as mothers,
wives, daughters, and ultimately as Nigerians. We have mobilized our members
across the country and we are able to counter anyone or group of persons
threatening Nigeria’s democracy wherever they may spring up. Truth be told, by
nature and character, we are out for peace and only peace we want to achieve in
this country.
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Has there not been anarchy even as Buhari is still the President of the country? there has been killings here and there, Buhari stole his mandate he should go to court and reclaim his mandate, whatever that want to happen let it happen, the worst has happened in Nigeria therefore, Buhari and his supporters threat will not stop Atiku to challenge him in court
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