This is a trending political view about the 2019 presidential race which is featuring several young aspirants jostling for President Muhammadu Buhari's seat.
Omoyele Sowore, founder of Sahara Reporters
The result of the 2019 election is still very much between Buhari and Atiku. Sowore, Durotoye and Ahmed Buhari shouldn't give up. They can keep warming up. Buhari has 65% chances than other candidates.
APC and PDP combined together have over 6 million partisan members across the country in their respective LGAs, wards and units. A new party cannot wake up and build such formidable structure. If just APC and PDP members vote without other neutral voters, they without campaign have acquired millions of vote already.
Now the question. Was APC not a new party? APC was never a new party. Since 1999, almost all Nigerian politicians were PDP members, ANPP, CPC, AD e.t.c all tried their best with competent candidates but the PDP's grassroots structure couldn't be matched. To get APC to defeat PDP, they had to combine the structure of all existing parties and steal from PDP. They won the heart of PDP's aggrieved and ambitious members and APC was formed.
A presidential material needs a party with a firm grassroot structure. As a PDP member and a youth, you can't just come from nowhere and convince me for Sowore and the likes. There are millions of people like myself all over the country. I shouldn't go into the politics of regions. To break the northern population and votes, you need a northerner. Those northerners don't vote because you are capable or not. Loyalty flows in their veins. At the moment, they have acquired more PVCs than we have and they have even registered underage kids all to remain in power.
Fela Durotoye can't even win in Lagos. He has been there doing "God told me" when other candidates are permutating. Do you expect Ahmed Buhari to win his state or Sowore?
Now these three will combine effort, and ruin the efforts of the youths who are angry with Buhari. Vote of the youths will be divided. The popularity you need as a Nigerian presidential candidate isn't that of a public speaker. How many public speaker-presidents has Nigeria produced? It took a 3-time presidential candidate to unseat PDP with the slimmest margin since Nigeria's democracy. If you are tired of Buhari, Atiku may be our only option. Personally, I see no big difference between the two of them.
Nigeria needs only a kind of leader at this crucial moment. A strong body in a strong mind. A man with the heart of Jesus Christ and the Devil at the same time with both tides striking a balance. We don't necessarily need a good man. At the moment, such a person is unavailable. When the best is not available, the available becomes the best.
Let me add this, do you know Ben Carson wanted to be U.S president as a member of the Republican Party? The much popular Ben Carson! The then 'useless' Donald Trump was chosen ahead of him. Trump was stupid but controversial enough. He was rich enough to fund his campaign.
Money+popularity+formidable party.
In conclusion, Buhari and Atiku are our only options. Choose your better devil or Buhari wins again!
N.B: The short piece has been trending on social media as written by an unnamed PDP member.