Arewa Youths for Peace and Security, on Friday described the various
groups endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari for 2019 Presidency as,
“sycophants.”
The youths said the decision to endorse Buhari for a second term was anti-democratic which should be dismissed.
Speaking with DAILY POST in Abuja, the group’s Director for
Publicity, Salihu Dantata Mahmoud, urged Buhari to provide a level
playing field by ensuring that the All Progressives Congress, APC,
conducts a primary election.
Dismissing the call for the endorsement of Buhari in 2019, Mahmoud said such action “doesn’t make democracy to strive.”
According to Mahmoud, “Democracy gives room for a level playing
ground, we don’t succumb to endorsement. We think endorsement is
anti-democracy. You provide a level playing ground, that is why in every
political party, there is room for primaries where you allow even the
list candidate to participate.
“Recently, I got to know that some groups have been endorsing Baba
Buhari; its too early. This is the same mistake we made in the past
administrations that brought us to where we are today.
“Just like Tinubu said recently that the Buhari he knows will not
succumb to the tactics of endorsement, I think it’s a game by
sycophants, who are out for gains or to get some form of compensation.
“My fervent advice to Baba Buhari is to allow primaries to hold in
the APC, endorsement doesn’t make democracy to strive. Mind you, we are
in third world democracy which is still nascent, which only got stable
in 1999 when Obasanjo took over.
“We should not abuse it; we saw what happened in Zimbabwe where
President Mugabe that had history of fighting for the independence of
the country in 1980 was shown the way out by his boys in the Military,
though they slapped him with one hand and made him laugh with another
hand by giving him immunity from prosecution.
“In Arewa Youths for Peace and Security, we don’t give room for
endorsement, we are realist. We present the record the way they are and
we believe that Buhari should not succumb to the antics of some
sycophants.
“We go with the position of Tinubu that there should be primaries fot
all party members. In our own opinion, we are not disposed to the
antics of endorsement.”