The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), former Vice President Atiku Abukakar, yesterday declared that insecurity is escalating in the country because the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration does not know how to govern. Atiku, who stated this during the PDP campaign rally in Lafia, Nasarawa State, added that the APC is not campaigning because it is plannning to rig the 2019 presidential election. For his part, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, who also spoke at the rally, charged Northern Elders to speak out against the ravaging insecurity in the region. He added that Nigeria is witnessing destruction because those he called enablers have resorted to worshiping an individual and comparing such a person with God. In his remarks, Atiku, who promised to address unemployment crisis, pledged to give 40 per cent of his government positions to the youth and 30 per cent to the women, “making a total of 70 per cent, this is because I want you to succeed us.” He added, “Do you want to continue with the insecurity in this country? Before they said it was only North-east, today the insecurity has gone to North-west, it has gone to North-central, do you what to continue with? “Because they don’t know how to govern, and if you don’t want to continue with all these vices, I appeal to you to vote for PDP.” Speaking earlier, Dogara said, “On the issue of insecurity, all of us know what is happening at Borno, in Abuja, Kaduna, Zamfara and Katisna, even Sokoto now. And even Nasarawa state, Benue and Plateau state. I cannot even mention all, is a general problem in the country. But I only mentioned the state where the situation is so endemic. “Now the issue is this, when this things was prevalence in 2015 we hab Borno Elders, where are Borno Elders now? Where are the leaders of northern Nigeria, where this problem has become endemic? What are they saying? The truth is that if we don’t rise to the challenge sooner than later if things continue this way we are not going to have a country.” “So it is our responsibility to rescue Nigeria from the clutches of insecurity, because without security we cannot even understand the meaning of democracy. “Now the sad commentary about the elites in Nigeria is that we have all by our silence become enabler to those who have been unable to tackle this insecurity. And you know what enabler do? Enablers don’t build a country, they only instigate or worship an individual to a position where they will compare such a person with God and none of us was built to receive worship. Any human being who accepts worship will meet destruction. “That is why we are witnessing destruction in Nigeria, because we have elevated some human beings to the status of God. And we need to rise up as a people to rescue the country from the clutches of insecurity. “The last issue today is a referendum on education in 2019 election. Is been said that if you want to distroy a community, a state, if you want to distroy a nation don’t even fire shot, don’t even build the crisis that is been perpetrated around, don’t even bring nuclear bomb, all you do is to lower the standard of education in that society, community or nation. Once you succeeded in doing that you have killed the nation. You may not understand what am talking about here. “Right now in Nigeria universities lecturers are on strike, if it was a decent government that is committed to the future of this country, it wouldn’t take one week to resolve this problem. Unfortunately, this problem is lingering and if we shut down education, we have shut down progress, shut down the future for our teaming youths who are gathered here. We shut down progress for this country called Nigeria. “So 2019 election is a referendum on education, I have multiplied it from education, to hunger, next time we will talk about the fight against corruption, health, social welfare and the rest,” Atiku said. On his part, national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, challenged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop hiding in the Villa and come out and engage the people. Secondus said Nigerians must elect a President they can see and feel stressing that Nigeria can no longer afford analogue leaders in digital era. He said that while the PDP candidate and leaders are engaging the people for votes, President Buhari and APC leaders are hiding in the Villa planning how to rig election. “But let me reiterate this warning to them including the Independent National Eceltoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies, that any attempt to manipulate the election would be an invitation to a national crisis. “If they love this county, they must not attempt to thwart the will of the people because it would be a recipe for crisis.
