NIGERIANS IN DIASPORA FOR BUHARI 2015 (NIDOB)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, USA December 21, 2014: Fellow Nigerians, I have never done this in my life. I don't know your views about current events in Nigeria and who you will vote for in the forthcoming Nigerian election, if you have the opportunity as a Nigerian living abroad. In addition, I do not know how you will influence your kindred and folks back home on their voting preference in the February 14, 2015 presidential election in Nigeria. But one thing I know; you and I want a Nigeria that works. If our nation is well-managed and people of foresight are at the helm of affairs; our schools, colleges and universities are properly funded; electricity is constant and road and bridges are well maintained; our people have access to good medical facilities; there is accountability in government and impunity is not condoned;
unemployment is reduced and hard work is rewarded, security of people's lives and their properties are guaranteed; and other minimal necessities of life are available, many of us resident abroad and have taken up citizenship of other nations would not be outside the shores of our fatherland. There comes a time in the life of every human being that you must stand up for something greater than you. I am a former Muslim but the Mercy of the Lord God Almighty and through the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ have rescued me and today I am a born-again child of the Living God. While we are strangers on earth and just passing through, we also have an obligation to ensure that the present worldly system doesn't suffocate us as we prepare for the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We MUST not close our eyes to events in Nigeria and blunt the future of our motherland.
In 2010, I went back to Nigeria after more than a decade I relocated to the United States to join patriotic Nigerians both at home and abroad to ensure that Dr Good luck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan became acting president following the way and manner he was treated by the cabal of deceased President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. We succeeded in our efforts to see that justice was done. Again, I returned to Nigeria in 2011 to campaign actively for the election of Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan as substantive president. As I explained during the press conference I addressed in Lagos, Nigeria making a case for the election of Dr Jonathan; “…The best way the Nigerian nation can perfect the Nigerian project is to ensure that no person is denied the legitimate right to aspire to the position of president on account of the person's religion, sex, tribe or ethnicity. The United States of America demonstrated to the world in 2008 when Americans of all races; Caucasian, Black, Hispanics, Asian, Native Indians and Pacific Islanders eschewed all forms of biases and racial discrimination and evaluated the two contenders for president: Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Senator. Barrack Obama (D-IL) purely on their individual merits and chose the candidate suited for the job. They voted Mr. Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States. Nigerians of all hues might have considered the idea of a president from a minority ethnic tribe preposterous, yet under a democracy, what actually matters is any person who can provide good leadership irrespective of hi/her state of origin, which part of Nigeria he/she was born, creed or sex.” Four years after President Goodluck Jonathan became president, Nigerians both at home and abroad know the verdict. This is not about Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba, Ibo or Ijaw; Muslim versus Christian; rather it is about the future of Nigeria under another four years of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) that has mis-ruled Nigeria for the past 15 years.
The meaning of madness is doing the same thing the same way all over again and you expect a different result or outcome. I have NEVER met General Muhammadu Buhari in my life; neither have I met Prof Yemi Osinbajo, his running mate. But when I listened to Buhari's speech at the APC Convention on December 11, 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria where he said inter alia: “I have always served Nigeria to the best of my ability. I have always tried to give more to the nation than it has given me. This is the principle of service that has guided my public life. Thus, I am not a rich person. I can't give you a pocketful of dollars or naira to purchase your support. Even I could, I would not do so. The fate of the nation is not up for sale. What I will give you and this nation is all my strength, commitment, sweat and toil in the service of the people. What I can give you is my all. I do not intend to rule Nigeria. I want to democratically govern it with your help. I seek a Nigeria where Christians and Muslims may practice their faiths in peace and security; a Nigeria that is just and where corruption no longer trespasses into our institutions and national behavior and a Nigeria where our diversity could be used for our national prosperity,” I knew I must get involved in the affairs of Nigeria, especially in the forthcoming February 14, 2015 presidential election.
I think Nigerians should vote for this man on Saturday February 14, 2015. The forthcoming presidential election will be epochal, because it will determine the future of Nigeria as a nation. Our people have suffered enough; it is time for us to be honest with ourselves and change course. As Nigerians in Diaspora, we have leverage over our friends, colleagues, relatives, acquaintances, brothers and sisters and others to open their eyes this time around and vote for a new set of leaders. This time around, Nigerians should reject the divisive politics of ethnicity, religion, tribe and sentiments and change course. We cannot continue like this as a nation and expect to develop. The PDP-led Federal Government of Nigeria has failed Nigerians and President Goodluck Jonathan is the embodiment of the current maladministration in Nigeria. Between 2011 and now when President Jonathan was elected, Nigerians in Diaspora have remitted over $63.17 billion (N10.35 trillion) to the country. That is a lot of money which should have made a difference in the lives of our people. According to projection by the World Bank, the amount of remittances by Nigerians in the Diaspora to Nigeria will be about $534 billion next year 2015; that is more than the contribution of 34 states to the Nigerian economy combined except Lagos and Rivers States. Consequently, those of us in the Diaspora should pay more than scant attention to political events in Nigeria and influence the outcome of the next presidential election in our country for good. Under President Jonathan, Nigeria has been ranked as one of Africa's poorest nations beaten by smaller countries like Niger, Benin, Mali and Cameroun, according to an annual global prosperity index released by the UK-based think-tank Legatum Institute.
Please if you are with us and agree that our folks deserve a government that works; that Nigeria should be a nation governed by the rule of law; a country whose president should “give a damn” about public declaration of assets; a land where stealing is called by its real name; corruption; a nation where 276 girls should not have simply disappeared and the government has no clue on what to do; where its people have become a laughing stock among comity of nations; the infrastructure is a mess; and there is no stable electricity; please join us to support General Muhammadu Buhari-Yemi Osinbajo for 2015. There is no guarantee that Buhari-Osinbajo will solve all of Nigeria's problems in four years (2015-2019)-but there are guarantees that things will get worse in Nigeria under President Goodluck Jonathan. President Jonathan himself said it on Monday January 31, 2011 at the United Nations Office, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: “If I'm voted into power, within the next four years, the issue of power will become a thing of the past. Four years is enough for anyone in power to make a significant improvement and if I can't improve on power within this period, it then means I cannot do anything…” President Jonathan has tried his best, but unfortunately his best is not the best for Nigeria. It is time to try new hands and secure our future and the future of our children and those unborn. Nigerian MUST be rescued from the suffocating hands of the People's Democratic Party-PDP-and President Goodluck Jonathan.
Sign and pass this to other Nigerians in Diaspora of like minds who believe Change must happen in Nigeria on Saturday February 14, 2015.
Moshood Ademola Fayemiwo, PhD
Founder, Convener, and President, Nigerians in Diaspora for Buhari (NIDOB), 2015
Chicago, Illinois, USA
Email me [email protected] and join us in changing Nigeria in 2015.
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