- Safiu Kehinde
Nigerian activist, Aisha Yesufu, has explained reason behind her recent absence at the outreaches and engagements of the 2027 Nigerian Democratic Congress Presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Yesufu who played an active role during Obi’s campaign for the 2023 Presidential Election had over the months kept a low profile in the former Anambra state governor’s engagements ahead of the 2027 election.
Responding to Obidient Movement supporters to reach out to her over her hiatus, Yesufu, in a video post on her X handle on Sunday night, explained that she had been engaged with other activities over the past months.
She how revealed that her role in 2027 will be different from what she did n 2022 which, according to her, stemmed out of the need to correct some Nigerians impression that Obi was an Igbo or Christian candidate.
Yesufu disclosed being actively engaged in Obi’s campaign activities in 2022 in a bid to affirm that his candidacy was for all Nigerians.
‘The role I’m going to be playing in this 2027 election by the grace of God is going to be way different from the role that I played before.
‘It’s always about what is the most effective thing to do. What is the thing that you will do that will give that result. Everything depends on the season and time and what is needed.
‘In 2023, a lot of people didn’t believe that Mr. Peter Obi could do what he did in winning the 2023 Presidential Election. Some people felt he was in small party.
‘There are people who felt that oh he is an Igbo candidate, some felt that he is Christian.
‘My role in going to every state I’m moving around with him was to let people know unequivocally that this is not a Christian candidate.
‘This is not an Igbo candidate. This is not a candidate of a small party. This is the candidate of the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I think that statement has bee made and we made that loud and clear.
‘Now everybody knows that this is not about being an Igbo candidate or Christian candidate. This is a candidate that Nigerians want to see, that Nigerians are yearning for and they are going to vote for him.
‘The people in 2022 who felt they know he is good that he has a competent character and capacity, but they were not sure that he was going to win that election, so they don’t want to waste their votes. Now they can see that is not the case.’ She said.
On preparation for the 2027 Presidential Election, Yesufu said her new role is narrowed down to polling units where she is to ensure all Obi’s supporters are mobilised from their homes and guided at the polling unit where they will cast their votes.
‘We have a lot more. The most important role I’m going to play in this is election is how to ensure that those people who want to vote, we get every one of them; we mop them up; and at the same time, we ensure that they are well protected because what we are going to do is ensure that we win in a way that it becomes too big to be rigged.
‘People must come out and we must connect everyone at their polling units. We must be family. In every polling unit, we must have our family unit before the day of election.
‘On that day of election, we will have our strategies at our polling units no matter how remote your village is, as long as INEC is going to work all the way to where you are, we will also find all our way to form a unit and family there, bringing these people together so that when they come out on that day of election to vote, they already know who is who.
‘They already know themselves. They don’t come in as strangers and people are confused.’ She said.
The BringBackOurGirls movement convener harped on the need to monitor the activities of the Independent National Electoral Commission as she recalled an incident at the just concluded Osun Election where an INEC official allegedly attempted to record zero votes for Accord Party as against the 160 votes the party had.
‘We need to know this is how we are going out that they so that if any whatever coms, we will know how to regroup. We are easily able to meet each other.
‘Very importantly also, we know the antics. Ther are people who are ready to say okay I will give my 20 minutes to be able to go through what is it that INEC does, how is that it didn’t enter the numbers expected to be entered.
‘I saw a particular video in Osun election where they said INEC official put zero where Accord Party had gotten 160 votes.
‘They were like oh it’s a mistake and human error. Excuse me, what kind of error. You didn’t make error and put 159. These are the kind of things we will have people to understand that this is how it is done.’ She said.