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As the February 25th presidential election date draws near, the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, appears to be making inroads in Northern Nigeria despite speculations that he might struggle for acceptance in the region.
During the course of his ‘New Nigeria’ campaign, Obi has visited several parts of Kaduna, Kano, Bauchi, Gombe, Katsina and Borno states to the rousing welcome of a large number of supporters.
The north accounts for most of the negative growth indices that the LP candidate has reeled out as ‘statistics’ in the course of his presidential campaign.
At the Arewa Joint Committee Interactive Session Obi told northern leaders that the untapped resources in the North would make Nigeria a production country and not a consumption one.
Similarly, in his campaign messages, Obi has insisted that the north is where the biggest and most sustainable wealth of Nigeria lies
According to him, the vast arable land in the North is a new vista that must be opened to serve Nigeria and Africa.
On his plans for security in the region, Obi said his government will offer immediate and decisive long-lasting and permanent-effect resolution of all security challenges in the North.
“We will restructure the security architecture. Security personnel will be well taken care of. We will ensure their lives are taken care of so that their families are taken care of in the event of death,” Obi said during a campaign rally in Kaduna.
On education, the LP candidate who noted that the North has the highest number of out-of-school children in the world pledged to foster Federal intervention in education at all levels in the North and partner with State Governments and international organizations to improve access to affordable and quality education at all levels.
On poverty alleviation in the region, Obi promised to ensure the generous deployment and allocation of economic and social projects and infrastructure in the North if elected president.
The LP candidate urged youths in the Northern region not to be deceived again by political parties that have kept them in endemic poverty.
The North Has Woken Up – PCC
The Chief Spokesperson of the Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council, Yunusa Tanko told THE WHISTLER that voters in the Northern region have woken up from their slumber.
“Our people are very disenchanted with the two traditional parties because they have not brought them succour and comfort, they have only brought pains, so they have decided to fight for their own life,” he said.
“As we speak today, many of our people can’t go to their farms, the issue of insecurity is one, unemployment and youth restiveness is another, the level of neglect for our women is high, the economic situation in the north is also disturbing,
“So they have woken up and decided that they are not going to be divided along regional or tribal lines, but select someone who has the capacity to change their negative narratives to prosperity.
On Obi’s chances in the region, Tanko expressed optimism that the LP candidate will get a large number of votes as his messages are resonating with the people.
“From what I’ve seen thus far, he has a very good chance all we need to do is coordinate and communicate with the people at the grassroots, many of them have already made up their minds and some of them are undecided.
“When he wins the election, he is going to be president of all, so everybody within this country should feel his presence, whether they will vote for him or not, let them hear him out first. I think he is making a lot of sense, now that they are seeing him and hearing from him.
“When he went to Katsina, the problem Katsina people had is about the closure of borders, and he assured them that the borders will re-opened. At Bauchi, he talked about the discovery of oil and how it will benefit the people directly. When he was in Kano, he spoke about the issue of commerce and his plans to bring it back to life by making sure that collapsed industries are resurrected.
“So those are some of the things that are actionable and they resonated with the people directly, so he is dealing with contemporary issues that have a direct effect on the people and it is making sense to them,” he added.
