In what is undoubtedly the most
damning statement on the eve of any election anywhere in the world, the head of
General Buhari’s presidential election campaign has categorically given the
verdict on today’s poll: the APC is going to lose decisively.
Amaechi has form for being caught on
tape in the now infamous Amechi tapes that were leaked and played in a string
of Twitter posts which caught the imagination of the Nigerian electorate over
the last few weeks.
However nothing is as explosive as
this revelation from him where he states “We are going to lose”, that has come
to light just hours as the polls open today.
Not only does he admit the APC is
headed for defeat but that he has known it for a while as he has used the time
to prepare for his departure: ‘I have packed my bags and prepared my handover
notes”.
The remarks were made in public a
few days ago in a chat with journalists on a train.
What makes this revelation all the
more extraordinary is that said this statement in the presence of other people
so there is no room for denial or accusations of fakery or forgery.
What Amaechi says is in line with
what political circles have been alive to for the last four weeks – that the
APC was heading for a loss – ever since the PDP Candidate, Atiku Abubakar,
visited America on 16th January and the Government made its major blunder with
the unconstitutional suspension of the Chief Justice.
That was the moment when the
political see-saw decisively tipped in favour of Atiku and ever since, many of
the political assets previously on Buhari’s side have increasingly slid into
Atiku’s lap.
With the torrent of endorsements
from political parties, religious and ethnic groups to the silent departure of
many of Buhari’s political supporters in his own party. APC Governors without
quitting the party are covertly working to support Atiku in the Presidential
race in exchange for being able to migrate to the PDP when Atiku takes office
in May.
One of the world’s most famous
political strategists, Lord Bell, (“Thatcher’s ad man”) who has worked
extensively on Nigerian election campaigns said “The unravelling of the APC is
like the unpeeling of an onion where after you have removed a number of the
layers before you know it you end up with nothing.
Ever
since the PDP Rally in Kano on 10th February which decisively showed ‘Buhari’s
northern reboubt’ had fallen, there is an increasing ‘fin de le siecle’ (end of
the cycle) feeling about this administration with a growing stench hanging
around the coattails of the APC – the smell of decay, despondency and despair.”
