Polls: Jonathan, Buhari in last minute battle for votes

Polls: Jonathan, Buhari in last minute battle for votes

The two leading candidates in Saturday’s presidential race, President
Goodluck Jonathan and General Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday
commenced the last lap of their campaigns, reaching out to the
electorate in different parts of the country to canvass for votes.

General Buhari spent time with groups of the physically challenged in
Lafia, Nasarawa State to give them words of encouragement while
President Jonathan inagurated a N2.5 billion fly-over in Kano and
named it after the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero.

He later visited Daura, Katsina State, Buhari’s hometown for a whistle
stop.

The various security agencies, meanwhile, are busy perfecting their
arrangements for the elections.

Reports from across the country said Nigerians have been stocking
their homes with food items and other needs ahead of the elections.

Buhari at the Lafia meeting with the physically challenged told them
to refuse to be discouraged by their conditions.

He promised to appoint a federal ombudsman for people with
disabilities to combat discrimination against them.

The Ombudsman, according to him, will take care of rehabilitation,
employment of disabled persons and participating in public life, among
other assignments.

He narrated the stories of the late American President, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt and Professor Steven Hawking, astrophysicist of Cambridge
University, England both of whom he described as very outstanding
people who not only fought incredible physical disability but became
known throughout the world “because of their determination, will
power, incredible resolution.”

Of Roosevelt, Buhari said: “he was crippled in both legs with polio and
throughout most of his adult life was consigned to a wheelchair and
had to be helped to bathe, to get into bed, to get out of bed, to dress
and to be wheeled into his office or to address a political meeting.

Roosevelt won four consecutive presidential elections, led the Allied
Powers in the Second World War to defeat Hitler’s Germany and
imperial Japan.

“His most significant achievement on the domestic front was to start
massive public construction works to build roads, bridges, dams which
employed millions of Americans and helped to alleviate the economic
depression following the Great Crash of 1929. Roosevelt is regarded
as the greatest American president of the 20th century. He overcame
disability and proved to his countrymen and the world that physical
challenges could be circumvented with the right spirit.”

He said Hawking, on the other hand, was “just walking around in his
university compound when he collapsed on the ground and had to be
helped to his rooms. Eventually, he was diagnosed as suffering from a
motor neuron condition.

“In spite of this disability, can’t walk, can’t talk, can’t eat on his own,
he wrote a masterpiece doctoral thesis and is now a professor in Page
1 astrophysics and is even improving on Einstein’s theories. He can
only nowadays communicate by using a speech generating device
operated by a small sensor in his cheek. He is completely physically
incapacitated but because of his indomitable spirit, he keeps on living,
teaching and engaging in research.”

Buhari said physical disability, therefore, should “not be the end of our
usefulness.”

The APC in Yobe State yesterday held a grand rally in Damaturu, the
state capital, to spread the Buhari- for- president message.

Governor Ibrahim Gaidam said at the rally that Buhari was advised not
to attend because of the insecurity in the area.

The governor said contrary to rumours that he was not on good terms
with Buhari, the insecurity of the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway
accounted for Buhari’s absence at the rally.

He said he was amused by the “fabrication of falsehood” by the
opposition Peoples Democratic Party that Buhari’s absence at the rally
was due to the alleged sour relationship between him and the APC
presidential candidate.

Gaidam said the APC standard bearer remained the candidate with
proven integrity.

“Buhari is a straight forward person, whom Nigerians will benefit from
under his leadership,” he said,
He called on Nigerians to come out en mass to ensure victory for the
APC during the forthcoming elections.

President Jonathan on a visit to Daura threatened that those
advocating interim national government in the country would be
arrested and prosecuted for treason if they did not desist.

He paid a courtesy call on the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Farouk, and
said he had built 28 Almajiri schools and a federal university in the
state.

He had earlier in the day inaguarated a N2.5 billion flyover built in
Kano by the federal government, he promised that if reelected as
president, he would correct everything that has gone wrong in the
country and the PDP.

He said the decision to name the fly over after Alhaji Ado Bayero was
because he “was not known for controversy, he never played with his
throne.” He held that office with extreme dignity, he gave colour to
that office. He brought dignity and respect to the office. He left us but
we live to continue to remember him.”

The election delay has hurt the economy, which has been battered by
the global oil shock, creating investor uncertainty and an urgent
problem for whoever wins.

With tension building up ahead of the election credit ratings agency
Standard and Poor’s at the weekend downgraded the economy further
into junk territory, blaming falling crude prices, political instability and
Boko Haram.

Security on polling day remains a major concern after the military
authorities asked for the postponement of the elections from February
to enable them deal with the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.
The opposition does not want soldiers deployed during the polls for
fear that they may be used to rig in favour of the ruling party.

Nnamdi Obasi, senior researcher at the International Crisis Group, said
Boko Haram is still able to carry out its threat to disrupt elections,
which it views as “un-Islamic”.

“Its fighters may not be able to seize new territory but they could
certainly still send suicide bombers to public places, including polling
centres,” he told AFP.

“In many parts of Borno State, the security situation is still tenuous
and displaced persons have not returned or settled down well enough
to participate in elections.

“Elsewhere in the region, the polls will go but very much in an
atmosphere of unease and insecurity.”

Last Friday, suspected cultists unleashed terror on Port Harcourt
killing no fewer than eight persons in different parts of the Rivers State
capital.

Five persons were allegedly shot dead by the cultists at a popular bar
close to Amadi-Ama roundabout.

A report said the incident occurred at about 11:30 p.m. Among those
killed was a lady.

Eye witnesses said that three corpses, which were not identified that
night were kept outside the bar till morning, and expended bullets
littered the vicinity of the drinking bar.

The warning by Police Inspector General Suleiman Abba that voters
should steer clear of polling booths after casting their votes has
provoked sharp reactions from several quarters including the APC
which asked Nigerian to ignore the warning which, according to it, is
not backed by the law.

The army and the police have stepped up security around the country
with attention being paid to public buildings. More than 68.8 million
people are registered to vote in the elections.

Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chair Prof. Attahiru
Jega said on Monday that 67.8 million cards or 98.5 percent of cards
had been sent out – up from 66.5 percent a week before February 14
– but some 20 million had not been collected.

A further delay has been ruled out, with Jonathan’s mandate due to
expire on April 30 and a formal handover of power set for May 29.