THERE is no gainsaying the fact that MrKola Abiola, the first son of the late MKO Abiola, acclaimed winner of June 12, 1993 presidential election, is a force to be reckoned with in the political sphere and calculus of this nation.This is especially so if thecircumstances that surrounded his emergence as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) are taken into consideration. The highly cerebral politician whose parental genes fire his interest in politics is indisputably a monumental blessing to his generation as he is not in politics for what he would garner out of the system but rather, how he would use politics as a veritable tool to make this life better than he met it. Apart from his noble birth, Kola Abiola who is widely-travelled, sufficiently educated, highly connected with a solid business background, has been witnessing how genuine democratic governments have been a potent tool of institutional meaningful development in the advanced economies which could be replicated in his fatherland.
One unique attribute that fascinates and draws his numerous admirers and supporters to him is that the scion of the Abiola Dynasty of Abeokuta, Ogun State, is an independent-minded man who does not like to hide under his noble birth and the international fame of his father to accomplish his goals. This is perhaps the reason why the enigmatic political figure hardly drops or flaunts his father’s name or accomplishment to gain a favour. Another verifiable plus for the PRP presidential candidate is that he is a metaphorical bridge between the youths and the old. He does not joke with philanthropic activities. As the first son of his famous father who died as a political matyr for the sustainability of, democracy, Kola Abiola has proved to be a worthy head of the Abiola family who has put the large family together to the admiration of all and sundry. Beyond politics, the PRP presidential candidate is at home in all the six geo-political zones of Nigeria as he maintains and oils friendships who have become his political assets. True to type, there cannot be another rare quality that is endearing Kola Abiola to his numerous supporters and admirers in all the spheres of life.
The way and manner that the Junior Abiola emerged as the presidential candidate of his party is a testimony to the fact that he is not a rookie in politics as it is on record that he played a significant and prominent role in the electoral success of his late late dad in the 1993 presidential election when he was in his twenties. Kola Abiola defeated Usman Bugaje, Patience Key and GbolugaMosugu to pick the PRP ticket. While Kola Abiola got 2,097 votes from across the 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory, Bugaje came second with a distant 813 votes while Key and Mosugu got 329 and 263 votes to emerge third and fourth respectively. Information has it that a total of 3,625 delegates were accredited with 3,519 valid votes and 141 invalid votes. The collation was witnessed by the officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC). Speaking before the collation of the results, the PRP National Chairman, Falalu Bello, disclosed that the delegates from the 36 states and the FCT voted for their aspirants from their respective states which, he said, was with the permission of the INEC to save cost. Justifying the unique convention of the PRP, its National Chairman explained that the idea was to bring the whole process nearer to the delegates and worked towards the convenience of the delegates.
In Bello’s words: “We set up 37 committees headed bythe nominees from the national executive committee in the states along with the state organizing secretaries to conduct this exercise in the states”. Bello stated further that the aspirants had made an undertaking to support whoever emerged as the party’s candidate. He went further to explain that the party decided not to zone its presidential ticket to any of the six geo-political zones across the country but to look for a candidate who was capable, competent and enjoyed wide acceptability across the country. The simple indication of this is that it was capability, competence and acceptability that secured the PRP presidential ticket for Kola Abiola. Kola Abiola who unarguably is the best bet for the presidential tenancy of Aso Rock in 2023 is not an unwilling candidate and he knows his onions as far as governance is concerned.The PRP presidential candidate definitely knows where the shoe pinches as he has promised to reinvent the Nigeria’s security architecture where the citizenry could go about their businesses and sleep with their eyes closed without any fear of being molested or attacked by the bandits who have penetrated the fabrics of the length and breadth of this nation if elected the president in 2023.
It is only a presidential candidate who is worth his salt like Kola Abiola who could choose to prioritise the issue of security as it is the bedrock of all developmental programmes. It is when there is peace that anyone could talk of any other programmes which is the reason it is occupying a first-line charge if elected the president. Kola Abiola who was speaking at the Presidential Townhall Meeting Series organized by Centre for Democratic Development [CDD] in collaboration with Arise TV in Abuja recently also vowed to improve on the welfare of the men of the Armed Forces, stating that “we need to address the security architecture. This will is there. We need to ensure implementation and look at the welfare of our Armed Forces. The trust has been eroded. “The common man cannot feel the presence of a government. I am coming with zeal to change this mindset”, Abiola promised.
The PRP candidate who hinted that Nigerians must vote for their future explained that it wasn’t about sentiment. It would be recalled that Kola Abiola had in recent past declared that he would win next year’s election by repeating his father, the late MKO Abiola’s feat during the June 12, 1993 election as he is in the presidential race to disrupt the process and to win the next year’s election.
Hear the PRP presidential candidate: “I led the campaign planning and execution that earned my late father ‘victory’ during the controversial 1993 presidential election when I was 28 years old. I will adopt grassroots approach and pursue a recruitment drive that will change the face of politics in Nigeria. Similarly, I want to reset Nigeria with my party which is one of the oldest in this country. I want to be president because I believe it is time for complete reset of Nigeria. And I did not make mistake by joining the PRP. I did my homework thoroughly before joining the PRP.
“And I joined it because it is the only party that has no baggage, no problems or legacy issues. It is the only party that can convince the younger generation to get involved in the game and not just to elect leaders. I am not intimidated by other more popular candidates from other political parties as I am confident of chances to win them even in the North. The chances of Kola Abiolais a surprise factor. Check the whole Northern states, Kaduna, Katsina, Kano, Jigawa states, I will win those states again for the PRP”, the PRP presidential candidate boasted.
- Gabriel is a public affairs analyst
