…Say match a statement of intent

By Chuwang Dungs, Jos

Saturday 17 September 2022, is a day that cannot be easily forgotten in the political history of Plateau State, As hundreds of thousands crowd turned up for the Plateau Mega Rally/Fitness Walk and one million man march to canvass votes for Peter Obi who is seeking the office of the President in 2023 under the platform of Labour Party, LP.

The cheerful crowd in their thousands converged at the Rwang Pam Township Stadium and the state secretariat roundabout as early as 8:am before embarking on over 10km walk in solidarity with Peter Obi and his running mate Ahmed Datti, despite earlier warning by the state government.

Few days before the rally the state government through the information commissioner, Dan Manjang issued a warning to citizens of the state not to attend the rally for security reasons.

But the people defied the warning as they came out en-mass dressed in different attire of Obi-Datti to demonstrate their support and love for the candidates.

The crowd took off from the city centre of Jos and marched through the major streets, shutting down the city while traffic movements within the metropolis were paralysed for over four hours.

They carried banners with images of Obi and his running mate, and chanted solidarity songs.

The supporters also declared there must be a generational shift after the 2023 general elections. “We are the structure,” some said.

Political analysts and some statiscians estimated the crowd to be almost a million, making it one of the largest political rally to take place in the state.

The gathering was the latest in a series of youth-led pro- Obi-Datti which began few months ago across the country.

Most of the participants that spoke with our Correspondent swore that nobody gave them money to come and rally support for Obi-Datti, they said they came out to tell Nigerians how thy feel about the present situation in the country and to tell the world that they are tired of bad leadership and they see hope in Obi-Datti.

One of the conveners of the rally Prophet Isa El-Buba of the Evangelical Bible Outreach Ministries International, EBOMI who addressed the crowd, called on Nigerians to be politically awake as it was time for power to be given back to the people, even as he admonished Nigerians to be wary of politicians who are out to use them for selfish gains.

He stated, that it was time to look beyond party politics and elect credible leaders in 2023 stressing, that he was convinced Peter Obi and Yusuf Baba-Ahmed are the right men for the job and the candidature of Peter Obi from the Labour Party has restored hope to the common man and cautioned supporters against the selling of votes.

While declaring the event open, Rev. Haruna Maidoki representing the Coalition for Better and Brighter Nigeria noted that the group has been going to the length and breadth of the country soliciting for prayer, and unity as goodness can has come to stay and give the citizens the much-needed good governance.