History Calls! Please Answer It! Please Vote Change – By Bola Ahmed Tinubu

This Saturday, March 28 will be our encounter with destiny. It is our responsibility to get people out to vote in mass. No one with a voter’s card should stay at home. All those who can vote must be part of this historic change.

A new broom sweeps clean. The APC is that broom. Forever gone will be the days of a “ruling party’ that believes the people are meant to serve it. Your votes shall call into office the APC, a party that will govern for you instead of ruling over you. The President of that governing party shall be General Muhammadu Buhari whose steadfast courage, honesty and integrity intelligent vision for our future show that he is the better man for the job that requires a strong, but…… leader to rescue ou r narion.

Vote for General Buhari that he may lead us from the congestion of problems – insecurity, corruption, joblessness, economic recession, religious, ethnic and regional tension — the Jonathan administration has heaped upon us. Then we shall have the change we seek-posterity for all and poverty for none.

We have passed through six weeks of electoral delay to go along with the six years of misrule endured under the current administration. All of that is set to fade into because of what you will do this Election Day.

I thank the leadership and members of the All Progressives Congress for remaining true to our vision of a progressive, just Nigeria even in the face of intimidation by our desperate opponents who wield the power of state yet care little for the people who comprise our nation.

Most importantly, I thank all Nigerians for caring enough about our collective future to allow us to explain our party and its platform to you. You have listened. The clear majority of you know that the APC is on your side while the PDP only rides your back. You seek what the APC seeks: A new Nigeria. Together we can do it. Give us your mandate and our candidates will give you their blood, sweat, toil and heart to bring this vital change for good.

Throughout the campaign, General Buhari and our National Assembly candidates have expressed how a new APC government would resolve the major challenges we face, particularly in the areas of security, corruption, jobs, economic policy, agriculture, education, and health care.

That campaigning has reached its conclusion. There is no more our candidates can do toward this end. It is upon you, the voter, to accomplish the rest.

You have a fateful choice to make. You must decide whether our current reality is the best that Nigeria can be or do you believe in your heart of hearts that we can summon our collective talents and aspirations to forge a better nation, more ably governed. If you think Nigeria can have a future better than its past, then vote for General Buhari and his APC team. The progressive vision and policies of our party offer more to you than do the trodden, broken promises of the present administration.

You must vote. Do not fall weary at this point. Don’t fall to the idea that your vote will not count. Voting is your democratic right. With the condition that the nation is in and given the problems we now face, voting is your civic and personal duty. You owe it to yourself and your loved ones to join in this process that will determine our collective future for years to come.

Do not be afraid. Do not let anyone intimidate you or strike fear in you. Soldiers and Police are there to protect you. That’s the role our constitution has carved out for them. You are a Nigerian and have every right to participate in determining the fate of this nation. No one, no matter how rich or powerful can take that right away. You are the people. It is your sovereign will that must decide who governs this nation in your interests. Your vote counts because you count.

Vote peacefully and remain vigilant thereafter. Be inquisitive Keep your eyes open. Any disturbance or malpractice you see, report it to the electoral authorities. Some people have been funded to cause violence and to disrupt the process. Do not be seduced to join them. Also do not allow them to provoke you. Remain peaceful so that they have no reason to cancel or postpone the very election that augurs your better future.

Nigeria is literally in your hands. Do not let this historic opportunity slip from your grasp. You have suffered much to get to this moment. It is your time to write your own future.

The other side complains the voting card reader will not allow you to vote because the reader can only detect a clean fingerprint. The answer to that is simple. Let this be known as our first “Clean Hands” election. As voters, let us all wash our hands prior to going to the polling station. This is both a practical and symbolic act. It means that we shall vote with clean hands and clean hearts.

Moreover, let this also place a parallel demand on those governmental bodies in charge of the elections and related activity. May they conduct their duties with clean hands as well. In this way, we will get the election we desire and, from this election, the change that we need.

Nigerians please fulfill the duty you owe yourselves.

Vote for a new Nigeria. Vote for a better future. Vote.

Bola Tinubu