- Asiwaju Bola Tinubu gave insight into the
strategies APC used to defeat the PDP in
2015
– He noted that the card reader played a
significant role to curb voters’ fraud
– The APC leader said Muhammadu Buhari
was the best candidate
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who is national
leader of the All Progressives Congress
(APC) has revealed the strategies put in
place to oust the Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) from power in 2015.
The PDP which has been the dominant
party in Nigeria since the return to
democracy in 1999 lost the presidency
and the majority positions in the
National Assembly to the then main
opposition party, APC.
Daily Post reports that Tinubu spoke on
the theme Strategic Leadership: “My
political Experiences”, at the 25th
Course of the National Defence College
in Abuja on Wednesday, January 25.
He said the APC had to devise several
strategies to win in 2015 as Nigerians
were clamouring for change and one of
them was not to contest as separate
parties.
He said: “We had tried that path before;
it led to defeat in 2011. A strategic
rethink was needed, to attain the goal of
ousting the PDP and placing Nigeria on
the road to progressive governance. The
strategic linchpin would be the merger of
opposition parties.
“Time is inadequate to recount the
complex journey toward the merger. My
firm position was that only a merger
would work. Anything short of that
would disintegrate due to a combination
of PDP enticement and the internal
pressures arising from the strong
identification of many politicians with
their legacy parties. An ad-hoc alliance
would be put asunder by these factors.
“Our push for a merger of the old parties
into a new entity carried the day. We
would join hands to form a collective
identity. The CPC and my party, ACN,
ANPP along with progressive elements of
the APGA formed the party. Key elements
of the PDP would later join. For this
amalgamation to work, it had to be more
than an anti-PDP gathering. It had to
present a genuine and positive message
that spoke to people’s hopes and
aspirations.”
“We developed the theme of change as
our strategic message. The broom
became an apt party symbol. We would
sweep out the old, sweep in the new and
work hard towards prosperity for our
country.
“We fashioned a tripartite campaign and
strategy message – security, economy
and corruption. We would drive these
three messages home as if with military
artillery. However, we have only our
leadership and strategic hammer.”
“Still all of this would have been to no
avail without the right candidate. Given
his stature and reputation for integrity,
honest dealing and patriotic
commitment, there really was no other
candidate to have carried the day, than
then General Muhammadu Buhari.
“Yet, even with such a figure as our
candidate, we foresaw the need to
construct a public relations strategy to
counter false accusations of religious
intolerance and parochialism that would
be hurled at him. We did this with great
success because we prepared for these
attacks beforehand…
“We did not win the election by accident.
I had studied the resulting and voting
patterns of all the prior elections since
1999. Our team did an honest
assessment and detailed assessment of
our strengths and weaknesses and those
of our opponents.
“To win, we knew the votes we needed
and identified the likely places and
demographic constituencies from which
the bulk of those votes must come. We
did not waste time chasing votes we
would not get. We concentrated on our
strengths and the other side’s
weaknesses, realising that our defence
must be as tight as if we are inside the
War College here in Abuja.
“The other factor is one that is little
spoken of. Our early insistence on
biometric voter registration and the use
of the card reader on voting day were of
strategic importance as it is essential to
safeguarding the integrity of the
electoral process. In past elections, PDP
vote padding had been massive in certain
areas. We had to curtail this malpractice
to achieve the objective of making the
election as fair as possible, allowing us a
chance to win.
“The card reader minimized the rigger’s
ability to steal the election. Before its
use, results could be written without
regard to the number of actual people
who cast ballots. In a polling booth
where 50 people actually showed up to
vote, the rigger could falsify figures and
claim that 500 votes were cast. With the
card reader, the rigger could steal no
more than 50 votes. The tallies could not
be inflated beyond the number of actual
voters.
“Upon these strategic pillars, we built
historic victory. For the first time in the
nation’s history, incumbent president
and party lost the national election. This
historic transition further cemented our
democratic evolving tradition and
structures, advancing us closer to the
overarching vision that guides my
political actions.
“In relative short order, the Buhari
administration has done what the prior
government seem unable to do. With the
courage and dedication of the military,
Boko Haram has been subdued. Also,
notable and significant progress is being
made against corruption. Press freedoms
and civil liberties are protected, putting
to lie those who cried that President
Buhari would not respect democracy and
rule of law.’’
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