ATIKU REMAINS NIGERIA’S BEST CHOICE FOR PRESIDENCY, COME 2023, MAHMUD DECLARES. …. I Have No Doubts In His Capacity As A Leader, His Credibility And His Economic Intelligence Or His International Relations.

Mahmud MK

"There is no one amongst the lot that we can compare to His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar. This is one man that the Lord has immensely blessed with the knowledge of leadership>" Mahmud MK.

"Atiku Abubakar has the knowledge to rescue Nigerians as he has the knowledge and the intelligence of security and will certainly contribute his quota in securing our fatherland. 

"Atiku Abubakar is one man that does not thump his chest in pubic over his achievements or contributions to the success or growth of this country. He has a large heart! His major concern as at today, is simply how to make Nigeria great."

 

With the 2023 general elections drawing close, many support groups and their conveners are already lined up behind their respective candidates especially those running for the exalted Office of President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In an exclusive interview, Mahmoud Mohammed, National Coordinator of the Confederative Development Ambassadors of Nigeria, CDAN, spoke extensively on the candidacy of Nigeria’s former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, Wazirin Adamawa who is a leading contender for the exalted office of President, Federal republic of Nigeria on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP..

Mahmoud MK is also the National Chairman of Northern Advocates of Good Governance and a leading figure of the Atiku Support Organisations where he serves as the Secretary and he is a member of the G32 ASO.

He also spoke with THE Editor-In-Chief of NAIJNEWSALERT.COM on the current wrangling in the PDP and the faceoff between the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike and Atiku Abubakar, the PDP Presidential candidate. 

EXCERPTS:

The 2023 Presidential Election is just about the corner and many Nigerians are rooting for the candidate that will take the country out of this deplorable situation that the country is in, today.

As a stakeholder, we would like you to give us your views on the Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP who you actively support and what are his chances, come 2023.

Thank you very much. As we can all see, the way things are unfolding, candidly, let me start by saying that, when we look at all the aspirants, there is no one amongst the lot that we can compare to His Excellency, Atiku Abubakar. This is one man that the Lord has immensely blessed with the knowledge of leadership. Let us revisit 1999 to 2007 where he served as the Vice President under the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. I want to assure you that the credibility of that era was, Atiku Abubakar. Let me tell you something and I presume you too will agree with me that this man has been in the run for this position since the early 90’s. This is common knowledge to us all. Note that, it was largely due to his credibility that Olusegun Obasanjo hand-picked him for the position as Vice President. Yes, I will agree that Obasanjo has criticized him in several fora but then, he also knows the potentiality of Atiku and what he stands to do for nigeria and for Nigerians, if given the opportunity, as President.

I have no doubts in his capacity as a leader, his credibility and his economic intelligence or his international relations. As you can see, most of the developed countries across the world, come to nigeria to meet with him, as it concerns the 2023 presidency elections in nigeria. Only recently, the British High Commissioner to Nigeria was with him and it applies to many others. Why is this so? It is largely due to his capacity and capabilities and they all know this. In business concerns, Atiku Abubakar has achieved so much, to the point that, during the Football World Cup competition held in South Africa, water that was served to players and other participants alike was “Faro”, one of the numerous business products concerns that enjoy the patronage of the international community, in the Diaspora. This tells you the spread of this person as it relates to business management. In fact, he has a good grasp of business with the right acumen to manage it all.

 

Sir, Nigeria as a country is faced with several challenges such as insecurity that is daily, a worrisome trend to all.

To some circle of Nigerians, they view the candidacy of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP Presidential candidate as a candidate from the same zone with the incumbent. Do you think he will have capacity to tackle this insecurity threat headlong and be able to restore peace back to the country?

Atiku Abubakar is active and, as we all rightly know, was a uniform personnel; the Nigeria Customs Service. When we talk of intelligence gathering, you do not require being a military man before you have intelligence. I want you to understand that in war fare, it is not only the military that wins wars. Civilians win wars also because, most of the strategies are decided by civilians and, I want to assure you that, if during his service in the Customs, he helped to secure the borders of nigeria and ensured that the right thing was done for Nigerians. In summary, he has the technical knowhow to secure Nigerians and their properties.

Therefore, talking about the security situation in the country, allow me inform you that Atiku Abubakar had visited President Muhammadu Buhari on the issue of insecurity and policing of the nation; notably, how to recruit additional personnel into the police force in order to address the situation. The response from the President to Atiku’s proposition was; “the Inspector General of Police and the Police Service Commission were having issues and that was the problem.” How unfortunate! The lives of Nigerians and their properties are at stake and, from the President, that the IGP and the PSC are having issues!! Is that the proper response expected from the President? Seriously, let me tell you this now, if Atiku were to be the President, he would not accept such from his IGP. An Atiku presidency will not accept such from his Inspector General of Police as he would most certainly, look for meaningful ways to rescue Nigerians from the problem at hand.

I will tell you this free; Atiku Abubakar has the knowledge to rescue Nigerians as he has the knowledge and the intelligence of security and will certainly contribute his quota in securing our fatherland.

 

Let us go back a little as it concerns leadership. In 1999 to 2007, Atiku Abubakar was able to, in support of his principal then, gather quality hands to come onboard and help the administration of the day, lead by Olusegun Obasanjo. Will Nigerians be able to see and Atiku muster such calibre of Nigerians to serve, if he emerges President in 2023?

That attitude of Atiku is inbuilt and he will not change in bringing in, good hands into his administration. If you recall, I had earlier said that Atiku has the leadership mien to bring together, quality hands with the right mindset to deliver quality leadership in governance. He will definitely, deliver and in doing so, engage the right people to serve Nigerians. He cannot do that alone and this he knows quite well. Atiku Abubakar sourced majority of the persons of those who served as cabinet ministers, advisers and special advisers. Among those he sourced were Nuhu Ribadu, Okonjo Iweala, Akinwumi Adeshina, Soludo and many others that have made the country proud in so many ways, even in the Diaspora. Atiku Abubakar is one man that does not thump his chest in pubic over his achievements or contributions to the success or growth of this country. He has a large heart! His major concern as at today, is simply how to make Nigeria great.

This man is respected for his large heart and, if I have to keep repeating this, I will tell you that Atiku Abubakar is a Unifier with the right mindset to reunify this country, especially the citizenry. For him to able to unify Nigeria and Nigerians, you must be able to put on the table for the people and to do this, you must repair the economy. You must also be able to get security in place for the people and do not forget, education must be emplaced and these are items that are totally outlined in his policies to make nigeria great.

Atiku has done it before and will do it again. We are rest assured that an Atiku presidency, come 2023 will bring about young and vibrant hands into his administration and, it will be an “all hands on deck” government. Feel free to quote me anywhere, “He Is Coming!”

I want to again, assure you that, within six (6) months, there would be visible changes that will good into this country.

 

You are a respected youth leader and coordinator of support groups here in Kaduna state and, many will want to ask; how far have you been able to go round the 23 local government councils in the state and to further, mobilize youths to support your presidential candidate?

Please be informed, I do not only lead groups here in Kaduna state but, I am the National Coordinator of Confederative Development Ambassadors of Nigeria, CDAN, I am also the National Chairman of Northern Advocates of Good Governance and I am also a part of Atiku Support Organisations where I serve as the Secretary. I am a member of G32 ASO. The list is endless.

I am a proud Nigerlite; Niger state and I regularly visit my state to coordinate our activities including the FCT to do more. This, we do alongside most of my colleagues in the support groups and, periodically, take out time to meet and rub minds as we struggle to achieve our mission which is, “Bring Atiku Abubakar to Office in 2023.”

In Kaduna state, in working around the 23 local governments, we have also taken into consideration, the wards and units. Our representatives are working round the clock in sensitization and creating the right awareness and enlightenment with our wonderful colleagues and associates such as Zailani Aliyu AJ Musa and Mr. Paul Iza and the State Coordinator of ASO, Mr. Mustapha, Zonal Woman Leader, Zainabu. Our collective target is capturing a minimum of 3.5 votes from the 4.2 million eligible young voters registered in Kaduna state.

By next week, we intend to hold some meetings here in Zaria with some of the coordinators who will give situation reports on what they have been doing. It is part of the monitoring programmes put in place to measure their efforts to ensure that it goes in line with our policies. Let me use this opportunity to inform you that we are not under and form of sponsorship by Atiku Abubakar as we are all self-sponsored in this project. This is something we have taken upon ourselves for our collective good and that of the generality of Nigerians and Africa as a whole.

If nigeria is sick, it simply means that the whole of Africa is affected too and in our own opinion, an Atiku presidency is the antidote to solving majority of the problems in Nigeria and that is why we are doing all of this for him. We all know he will serve this country very well.

The voters in Kaduna are totally rooting support for Atiku and we have absolutely no doubt about this. We have a strong programme in place here that will ensure a one hundred and one percent win for Atiku Abubakar.

 

Let us talk a bit about the ongoing internal crisis in the PDP that is between the winner of the 2022 presidential primary and the runner up. By this I mean Atiku Abubakar and Nyesom Wike. Many are of the opinion that this face off will divide the party and may cause a split in the vote, in the 2023 general elections. In addition, political watchers insist that Atiku should reach out to his brother so that the issues are resolved internally and quickly too. Your take, please.

You see, we have no doubt whatsoever that the issues between Wike and Atiku would not affect the PDP. Naturally, conflict is inevitable and for your information, there are positive conflicts. In my opinion, Wike is taking these positive conflicts from a selfish position and for his own personal interest. He is doing it for himself and not for Nigerians. I want you to take your mind back; this same Wike had told Nigerians, especially party faithful that he would support whosoever emerges as winner of the presidential primaries of the party. Why is now doing all of these to cause distractions to the party? At his age; either 58 or 59 years, it is appalling. Wike cannot be doing this to the society. I want us to understand something here; Atiku is not fighting Wike. And, Atiku will never fight Wike. From my perspective, it is like Wike is trying to attract sympathy from the people but, Nigerians are wiser and cannot be used like this. For somebody who has been in leadership position for almost 8yrs running in a state and cannot coordinate himself, signifies failure. We cannot take this from Wike. He cannot destroy our society.

Let us have an understanding here. If not for the fact that we are trying very hard not to offend our principal, we would not allow somebody like Wike to continue to do this in nigeria as we would not take it from him. He is not the only person in the country and for his notice; it is not serving the interest of Nigerians either. As a leader, we are expected to follow his leadership but sadly, he is not acting like one and such actions like he is displaying would make me follow someone like Chubuike Rotimi Amaechi, the erstwhile Minister of Transport. Honourable Amaechi as we all can see is not behaving in the manner of Wike. Amaechi is not a tout.

Let us even ask ourselves; is Nyesom Wike the first person to have lost an election primary? The answer is no. therefore, we expect Wike to behave himself. For your information, we have tremendous respect for our leaders here in the north and as such, we would not allow someone like Wike to be doing this. We are not scared of him. Where was Wike in 1999? He was just a local government chairman then. Amaechi then, was a Speaker in the Rivers state house of assembly and you will not see him behaving in this manner. We expect Wike to coordinate himself like a leader that he claims to be. Our elders would not allow us confront him otherwise; we would have told him some bitter truth.

I was shocked when I saw Wike on television saying Atiku Abubakar was lying. I could not believe my ears. Atiku Abubakar has the right to choose his running mate and, if we all recall, this same Wike had told Nigerians that he does not want to be Number 2 person in government. Why is he now struggling for the position? He should, as a gentleman, be able to negotiate and be smart about this whole issue. Note that the likes of Bala Mohammed and Bukola Saraki have not spoken since this whole thing started. Is Wike the only person from the south-south?

It is the belief of many that Wike’s reactions are based on the contributions he has made to the sustenance of the party itself, over the years and as such, should have been given some level of considerations. What is your take on this?

Is this to imply that, should Wike become the President of this country that everything should be in his favour? In my opinion, he is doing it for the people. If you are seeking to come to power, I believe that you are doing it for the people. Does he want to replicate what he is doing today in Rivers? That is unacceptable! Are you aware that Wike prevented a man from participating in the Rivers state governorship election primaries by Nyesom Wike? That was not fair. No one seems to be talking about that. Wike lost and I am wondering what type of compensation that he is looking for. Since he took it upon himself to sponsor or support the party at the time he did, it was a welcome one but he should not assume that automatically, it gives him total powers to claim ownership of the party. The party is for every member. The political party cannot be run like an inheritance and Wike should not assume that whatever he wants, owing to his contributions in the running of the PDP does not ascribe to him, total rights. Let him negotiate.

I would advise Wike to go back to the drawing board and re-strategize. This is not about the South-south politics but Nigeria. Your intelligence to that of someone else can be very minute. It is my strong belief that Nyesom Wike is being goaded on by some unidentified persons who only seek to fleece him of his money are likely responsible for this display. Wike should just wake up as he has only seven months left of his stint as governor and he better takes advantage to negotiate for a better deal.

Concerning the suggestions in some quarters that Atiku should approach Wike for an amicable resolution, is a no for me. Atiku is older than Wike in all parameters and as such, I would not support that move. In my view, Wike has insulted Atiku and that is unacceptable.

How prepared is the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Kaduna state to take power from the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC?

 On the issue of the PDP in Kaduna state, the people of the state have suffered immensely from banditry, kidnapping and many other insecurity challenges. In addition, we have had enough of the el-Rufai administration. I am even surprised that he has been very mute these couple of days in the state and even at the national level. Is it because he was denied the Vice Presidential slot by the APC?

However, in Kaduna state, we have no doubt that we are bringing back the PDP to Sir Kashim Ibrahim House by the grace of God Almighty.

Lastly, the “Continuous Voters Registration” exercise for the registration of voters for the 2023 election has closed and many Nigerians, especially the youths claim they would not be able to participate and vote for the candidate of their choice. Some would say “continuous voters’ registration” should not have a closing date. How do you react?

As we all know, there were extensions by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had extended the exercise several times before now and I expected that everyone would take advantage of the extensions and do the needful. No doubt, INEC did their best. Trusting Nigerians and their sometimes lackadaisical approach to issues like this, even if they leave it open, some people would still not go and still come out to complain. That is the average Nigerian for you. From the reasonable amount of the registered voters that we have for now, if INEC was able to capture about ninety-six million voters out of the about two hundred million people of our population, that is a good number. I do not think that, out of the two hundred million people captured as our population that every of that figure are adults.

I will commend INEC for a good job so far, if you ask me, seriously. It is now our responsibility to exercise our rights. Therefore, INEC should also ensure that every registered voter gets his Personal Voters Card, PVC before the 2023 election as required as Nigerians will not accept an failure in the issuance of the PVC’s. It is a fair deal.

Before we go, I will like you to tell our readers who Mahmoud Mohammed K is from Niger state. I am business entrepreneur; local and international, a part time lecturer, a little philanthropy here and there that would put smiles on the faces of people within my capacity