An APC presidential aspirant, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu on Saturday said a united and bandit-free Nigeria is possible and achievable.
Tinubu spoke at a grand rally by youths under the aegis of Progressive Youth of South-West to declare their support for his presidential aspiration at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, in Onikan area of the state.
He said Nigerians were tired of excuses and lamentations of the past over the numerous challenges like epileptic power supply and banditry bedeviling the country.
The youth from different states in the region, like Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo and Oyo states had converged in Lagos in their large numbers to drum support for Tinubu.
Addressing the teeming youths, Tinubu described the youths as the brightest and brilliant and urged them to team up with him in his bid to change the story of Nigeria for the youths and tomorrow which they represent.
“All you need is courage, determination and perseverance, if the YouTube alone has 2.9 billion people following it, including you all standing here, then Nigeria can excel, we can do it, you must develop the can do attitude, you must believe that this country is yours and you want to change the story. You must change the story of potential, the story of banditry, you must change the story of tribalism.
‘’We as a nation can conveniently feed ourselves by being creative, visionary and committed, anybody who says we cannot, they can get out because it is voluntary.
“We cannot continue the lamentation of the past, we cannot continue with excuses of power failure, no nation can make rapid development without electricity, give us light and if we cannot be successful then you can abuse us, you cannot give us erratic light that is undependable and then blame us again that we are lazy.
‘’Nigeria, it is about time, we have enough gas to fire up electricity and supply the rest of Europe and make money, long term from it. You know it. We don’t want to bore you with it, when I started, we used to pick dead bodies on the streets, but today Lagos is one of the cleanest, most progressive states in the country.’’
He urged the youths to revalidate their Permanent Voters Cards and be ready to vote in the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
Sanwo-Olu, accompanied by his Deputy, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, and other cabinet members, gave a thumbs up to the conveners for what he called “an overwhelming support” shown at the rally.
The massive crowd, the governor said, was an indication of the firm belief in the competence and capability of Tinubu to lead in the next political dispensation.
The governor said: “I thank our teeming youths across the Southwest for coming to declare this overwhelming support and endorsement for your great leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to become the next president. Asiwaju is the only person who will ensure the youth stand as stakeholders in the next government.
“The endorsement you give to our leader is one step towards realisation of the Tinubu 2023 project. The most important step is to turn out bigger at the delegate election and complement your support with votes for Asiwaju to win the party’s nomination as presidential flag bearer. Come next year, by the grace of Almighty, we will all be going together for Asiwaju’s inauguration in Abuja as elected president.”
APC National Youth leader, Dayo Israel, said the youths had the choice to make in deciding who becomes the next president, but said their choice must be given to a leader who had been tested and could be trusted for progressive leadership.
Lagos APC Youth Leader, Dr. Murtala Seriki, said Tinubu had impacted various homes, with his brand of programmes he initiated while he governed Lagos.
Seriki urged the youths to sustain the support for the presidential hopeful, noting that young people would not regret their decision to queue behind Tinubu in the next general elections.
Leo Obasi, Ndi Igbo Youth Leader in Lagos, described Asiwaju as “a unifying factor, detribalised politician”.
“Such leader must be given the chance to lead the nation and foster unity,” Obasi said.
