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SOLUTION TO HARSH LIFE IN PDP - Senator Olorunimbe Mamora

 The Lagos State House of Assembly, former deputy minority leader of the Senate, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora was the deputy director general of the successful All Progressives Congress, APC Presidential Campaign Organisation. In this interview, Senator Mamora bares his mind on the person of the president-elect, the challenges of the campaign and developments emanating from the victory of the APC among other issues. Excerpts: By Henry Umoru HOW was the campaign? Expectedly it was tough in the sense that we were trying to displace a sitting government which in its self is a herculean task in Africa and in fact in anywhere in the world. Never has it been done in Nigeria, so this is the first time that you would have an opposition party come in to defeat the ruling party, the incumbent president. So we knew what to expect, we knew what to face, but we were undaunted because we were determined, we wanted it, we worked for it and God did it at the end of the day.

 So I wouldn’t go too far without saying it is the Lord’s doing, as we say and to God be the glory. But I will also give credit to the leaders of the party and in saying this, you would want to consider the background to the merger, the parties that came together and then of course the defecting governors particularly from the PDP that also joined. Emergence of the merger So everybody had a role to play, but I must specifically give kudos as it were to the leaders of all the parties that were involved in ensuring that the merger became a reality against all odds. You don’t have to start recounting all that happened, attempt to scuttle the merger even when the merger eventually came to be and of course setting up the structures of the party, ward congresses, local government congresses, state congresses, and the national convention. People thought the thing would collapse; it is not possible, strange bed fellows and all sorts of things like that. And then you would not forget so soon when some people also came claiming that APC is their own brand. For me, I would tell you that all along I believed the hand of God was in the whole project. And I just had it within me that the hand of God was in the whole project, and we finally got the right candidate. Senator Olorunimbe Mamora Senator Olorunimbe Mamora Seriously, for me and with all due respect to all the other presidential aspirants, for this point in time the best man that could have won that election with of course God in the project could not have been no other person than Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, seriously. It became an idea whose time has come, and nobody just could stop it. Of course I acknowledge all the other presidential aspirants; Atiku Abubakar, Rabiu Kwankwanso, Sam Nda Isaiah and Rochas Okorocha, all of them. When you look at even the history of nations, you will discover that at some point in time, at a particular point in time, God would just give the people, that is, the man for this point in time. If you talk of America, you will talk of Abraham Lincoln, if you talk of Britain, you would talk of Winston Churchill, if you talk of South Africa, you would talk of Nelson Mandela, if you talk of Singapore, you would talk of Lee Kuan Yew, if you talk of France, you will talk of Charles de Gualle; so all these individuals came at a time or God just presented them at a time and everybody would just key into it. Campaign period So it was against this background that we faced all the odds and like I said, I had that conviction within me that God is in this project. And look at the electioneering campaign period, look at all the campaign of calumny against the person of Gen. Mohammadu Buhari, hate, propaganda and all that, viciously attacking his person and in spite of all that, in fact it got to a point that all these attacks, they became positive in the sense that people were beginning to look beyond whatever. All these attacks became a source of sympathy towards the presidential candidate then as he was. Then of course the certificate saga which was a non-issue to start with. And one thing I always and still tell people up till now is that the greatest thing going for Gen. Mohammadu Buhari is moral authority, it is the greatest asset. His integrity is there, but moral authority is the main character that can stand up and say yes and nobody would query that and none of his peers has that kind of quality. As the Deputy Director- General of the campaign, did you at any time entertain fear of defeat before the election? Not really the issue of fear, but there were concerns and there were even some anxious moments, but the peace of God was with me personally and I had the cause to express my own inner thoughts to Gen. Buhari himself, that God was with us in the project taking into cognisance the problems created for us by those who wanted to scuttle the merger. I also remember an attempt even on the General’s life when there was a bomb attack on his convoy and he escaped. I felt that for me, that itself was a good omen that God has a purpose for this man’s life for this country, that he could miraculously escape or he could be miraculously delivered in that situation, that itself was enough to convince me that God has a purpose for this man in Nigeria. Again, I said it earlier on, wanting to displace a sitting government at the federal level in Africa and in Nigeria where it has never happened before, so it was historic, and of course knowing the amount of money thrown out, seen and unseen, the amount of the vicious campaign, so if it was money, we would be nowhere to be found because we could not match the PDP money for money, no. They also had all the state apparatus at their disposal, and all these convinced me that it was the Lord’s doing. Given what happened to the PDP, what are you putting in place to ensure that you manage your success? My prayer is that our own lot would not be like that of the PDP, but at the same time, I would also warn that we are not immune to what happened to PDP. For me, three things happened to PDP. The first was complacency, the second was arrogance of power and the third was enthronement of impunity. And it was like, no, we are the ones there, nothing will happen, we can do whatever we like. So those were the three things that destroyed the party and brought the party, PDP, to her kneels completely. So, we should also be mindful.