Tinubu will set new records in democracy as President – Oshodi
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Dr Abiola Oshodi, a consultant psychiatrist, is assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.
He’s also the Media Director of the Canada Chapter of the Presidential Campaign Council of APC and the Vice Chairman, APC Canada Chapter/Publicity Secretary. In this interview, Oshodi speaks on the formation of the Canada Chapter of the party, its roles and objectives. He also assured Nigerians that if elected as President in 2023, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, will set new records in Nigeria’s democracy to last several generations. Excerpts:
Why did you form APC in Canada, what are the roles and objectives of the group?
APC Canada Chapter was formed in order to maintain the political identity and affiliations with our country and create a political legacy that we can leave for our children and future generations to inherit, so that they can use the political platform to maintain their political connections to Nigeria. It is also a platform created to mobilize politically motivated Nigerians resident in Canada and believe in the core values and philosophy of the APC, and aggregate ideas on how to move our nation forward. The roles and objectives of the APC Canada Chapter and amongst other Diaspora Chapters include being able to complement the work of the umbrella body in ensuring that we can mobilise back home and work for the success of the party at every election and to provide ideas, manpower and the appropriate technical knowhow. We also look into how we can use our expertise to transform the lives of our people back home and continue to improve the image of Nigeria and the APC abroad. We also work hard on galvanising Nigerians in Canada to support the party financially and with human resources. We also assist in sensitising and also educating Nigerians by providing them with factual and verifiable information on the stage of affairs in Nigeria from the prism of the global perspective. We also need to take into cognizance the huge impact of the annual diaspora remittances on the Nigeria economy currently valued at about $25 billion dollars annually and we are aiming to even quadruple this figure under the ABAT leadership if he is s elected come February 2023.
The diaspora political chapters provide the platforms for incubating and operationalising many of the laudable ideas that can potentially set our fatherland Nigeria on an irreversible developmental strides.
Your members in Canada can’t vote in 2023, don’t you see the formation of the chapter as a futile exercise?
The APC Canada chapter has been in existence since 2015 so it is not a new creation , what is new is that some new executives came on board recently in which I was elected as the vice chairman and the media director. Yes the Nigeria constitution disenfranchises the Nigerians in diaspora that has not been able to register in Nigeria and unable to travel to Nigeria to vote but we are lobbying for amendments in the constitution that will enable diaspora voting rights for Nigerians in diaspora if the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu wins the election come 2023
What’s the APC chapter in Canada contributing to the party, its presidential campaigns and the country at large?
The APC Canada Chapter is integrally involved in the campaign activities of the presidential candidate and all APC aspirants for example we have two of our members serving in the Presidential Campaign Council directorates, I am one of them and I also serve in the Independent Campaign Council .The APC Canada chapter is also ready to smoothen and improve the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and Canada especially in the areas of technological transfers in different areas for the benefit of Nigeria should Asiwaju emerge victorious at the 2023 national election.
Let us into the selling points of your Presidential candidate ?
Our candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is a complete package and he comes prepared and if he wins he will start to set many democratic records that might remain unbroken for several generations- for example he will be the first president that has served as a senator of the federal republic of Nigeria, a two term governor and his vice presidential candidate, is also a serving senator and a two term governor and for the first again in the history of our nation, we will be having a First Lady ,senator, and beyond all these, Asiwaju has a robust and revolutionary manifesto- Renewed Hope that addresses comprehensively the challenges facing Nigerians with realistic solutions proffered. Asiwaju Tinubu also comes with a track record of service that’s verifiable as the architect of modern Lagos.
Can Tinubu actually deliver the dividend of democracy after the not too impressive performance of President Buhari in past years?
I won’t say that the performance of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is unimpressive, giving the local and global challenges that the administration has had to deal with and even with very meager resources, the administration has prioritised and delivered on multiple infrastructure that had been abandoned for years and even new ones the administration conceptualised, for example the Lagos-Ibadan railway line and the second Niger bridge just to mention but a few. The PMB administration has successfully laid a big foundation for the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration to thrive if he is elected into office by Nigerians come February 2023. And in areas where the PMB administration has struggled, the ABAT leadership if elected will have to redouble efforts and re-strategise
The opposition parties believes that the APC should be apologising instead to Nigerians for its failures and not to seek to return to power in 2023. What’s your take on this.
Look at the huge revenue that accrued to the country between 1999-2015 and the almost nothing or nothing that the opposition did with such funds compared to how much has accrued to Nigeria in the last eight years and the giant strides that the PMB administration has made in completing many uncompleted projects some as old as 50 years or even more.
So what some of the PMB critics don’t appreciate is that he had no choice when he came on board than to focus on laying a good foundation for Nigeria with his focus on infrastructural developments and prioritising and completing many abandoned projects. So the incoming administration can now build on the infrastructure, expand and grow the economy sustainably so that our people can enjoy the dividends of democracy.
Many Nigerians are worried over the health status of your candidate. Are we not going to experience the same scenario we’re experiencing now under President Buhari?
Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu is 70 years old and he is hale and hearty and we don’t expect him in office as president to engage in competitive sports such as athletics or boxing but to preside over the affairs of the nation by assembling a great team that can do the work and report to him. And the APC Canada chapter has huge pool of Nigerian professionals that the Tinubu administration can recruit if he is elected and I am sure other diaspora chapters also have world class professionals that can be recruited to work with him alongside those making their marks already in Nigeria. So there’s nothing to worry about the health of our Senator Tinubu.
Where do you think your candidate should start from if elected in 2023, because virtually all sectors are begging for attention?
The security reform should occupy his attention if elected into office as he enunciated in his manifesto. Attention on the youths is extremely important, he will need to prioritise the focus on them by creating and funding skills based training especially in the ICT sector and during the next four years if he gets the mandate we should be able to create our own Silicon Valley .
The economy as a whole will also need to be prioritized-what is laid out in the manifesto is what is required to transform the economy – we will all smile at the end of the day.
Many are of the opinion that the 2023 election may not hold because of the unending insecurity in many parts of the country. Do you agree to this?
Elections were held across the length and breadth of Nigeria in 2015 when about 17 local governments were under the control of Boko Haram, how much less when the insurgents are not controlling any Nigeria territory as today. I am not minimising the insecurities challenges in the nation, but certainly not at the threshold of entertaining concerns that election will not hold- even in war torn countries where they are actively fighting, elections have been held in such countries. I don’t have any reason to entertain the fears of the pessimists and I believe election will hold and that Asiwaju will win the election with a landslide and that there will be transmission of power to Asiwaju in May 2023. Asiwaju will form his cabinet once there’s transmission of power on May 29th 2023 and there’s no need to anticipate any fear.
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