All Hands Must Be On The Deck For The Reelection Of Tinubu By Rotimi Makinde

The time for complacency is over. The time for aggressive, strategic, and united action is now. The reelection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not just a political contest; it is a battle for the soul of progressive governance in Nigeria, and all hands must be on deck.

Many are not pleased, and that is precisely the proof that the President is doing the right thing. For decades, Nigeria was run on pretence, on cheap populism and on a subsidy regime that fed a few cabals while crippling the future of millions. President Tinubu had the courage to dismantle that fraudulent subsidy regime. Yes, it came with pain, but it was a necessary surgery to save the nation from economic collapse. The funds freed are now being redirected to real development.

Look around and the evidence of reformation is undeniable:

The aggressive road networking and infrastructure renewal across the six geo-political zones is connecting markets, reducing travel time and laying the foundation for industrialization. The regional reforms and development commissions are ensuring equity and bringing government closer to the people.

On security, this administration has shown uncommon resolve. The creation of State Police, which progressives have demanded for years, is finally on the table to address our peculiar local security challenges. The reengineering of the military system and the establishment of new army barracks and forward operating bases is a clear strategy to dominate ungoverned spaces and crush terrorism and banditry permanently.

For our youths, the future is being secured. The Student Loan Scheme (NELFUND) has ended the era where no Nigerian child should drop out of tertiary institution because of school fees. It is a generational game-changer. The proposed National Carrier airline service will restore our pride in the skies, create thousands of jobs and stop capital flight in the aviation sector.

These and many other silent but far-reaching reforms are inimical to the interests of non-progressive people. Those who profited from the old, corrupt order, those who fed fat on subsidy fraud, import waivers and insecurity budgets are the ones ganging up. And sadly, the gang-up is real, especially from within. The desperate politicians who have no ideology except their stomach are already plotting to derail this progressive train.

We must not allow them.

This is a call for aggressive campaign and liberation of the mind of the masses, especially the teeming youths who are the primary beneficiaries of these reforms but are being misled by fake news and sponsored anger on social media. We must take the message to the market, to the campus, to the street, to the farm and to every WhatsApp group. We must explain in plain language what subsidy removal means for their future, what student loans mean for their children, and what road and security reforms mean for their businesses.

And to the Yorubawa, in particular, we must lead in this struggle. History beckons on us. We have always provided progressive leadership for Nigeria from Chief Obafemi Awolowo to Chief M.K.O Abiola and now to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We cannot afford to be complacent. We must be the most organized, the most united and the most politically active. We must plan meticulously, unit by unit, ward by ward, to see that votes from other regions never beat us to the game. This is our project, and we must defend it with our votes, our voices and our resources.

The opposition has nothing to offer but anger and desperation. We have a record, a vision and a man with the courage to implement it.

Let us go all out. All hands must be on deck for the reelection of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

*Hon Rotimi Makinde, a former member of the house of representatives writes from Ile Ife, Osun state.*