Sule Lamido, a former governor of Jigawa State, declared on Sunday that, contrary to common opinion, Nigerians, not the Peoples Democratic Party, lost the presidential election in 2015.
This, according to Lamido, has been visible in the country’s current realities since 2015, when the All Progressives Congress and its candidate, President Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), won the election.
“There was a party called PDP that won election in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, but lost in 2015.” When asked if the PDP now has the capacity to win election in 2023 after losing in 2015 and 2019, the ex-governor replied, “There was a party called PDP that won election in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 but lost in 2015. As a result, Nigerians are highly familiar with the PDP. We didn’t lose the election in 2015 or 2019, Nigerians did; Nigerians, not us, lost.”
“Look at what we have today,” he added. Take a look at our predicament. Take a look at our economy and security…there are a slew of issues… Take a peek at our mutual links and siblings.
“Look at the loss of trust and bond…look at the loss of confidence…look at the loss of trust and relationship.” I’ve always been upfront about the fact that it was Nigerians who lost, not the PDP. If we lose again in 2023, Nigerians would be the losers, not the PDP.”
Lamido, who appeared on Channels Television’s Sunday Politics, which was broadcast live from Abuja, said the ongoing efforts to choose a consensus presidential candidate for the PDP in the 2023 general elections are not about the regions – North or South – but about the party’s unity.
“Whatever we do in the PDP is solely for the benefit of Nigerians, not for the benefit of ourselves, because there are expectations of us in the PDP.” People regard the PDP as Nigeria’s only hope today,” he said.
Building a consensus, he claims, requires trust among the country’s regions, geopolitical zones, religious, and ethnic blocs. He stated that Nigeria’s future president must be able to reestablish confidence between Nigerians from all sections of the country.
“Today, before you do anything else,” he added, “you must restore that thing called trust between us.” We don’t trust each other anymore in Nigeria, and we don’t believe in ourselves. Along with religion, there are a number of cracks.
“Our communal link is no longer there when you talk about northerners, southerners, and westerners.” Humanity is our common tie. We’re Nigerians, and we’re meant to look out for each other.”
