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Samuel Ogidan
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has taken a brutal verdict on the All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as party, which only exist because it’s still in power.
According to ADC, take political power out of APC, it ceases to become political party in the country.
Speaking at the unveiling of the ‘Rise Up Naija Movement RUN,’ organized by a group under the ADC, the National Publicity Secretariat of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi berated the ruling party and the havoc it has caused the opposition parties.
He said: “When you take political power, government power out of APC, you don’t have a political party. This party, the African Democratic Congress, represents the future of politics in Nigeria.”
Taking a swipe at the older generation of politicians, Abdullahi lamented that they have allowed politics to be given a bad name, adding that the new generation should be allowed to take over leadership.
He said: “We are in a kind of mess because of the kind of politics we have played over the years. And if we are going to get out of it, it will also depend on the kind of politics we play going forward.
“The greatest tragedy is not the absence of an ethical or philosophical anchor for the kind of politics we have played. But it is our failure to think about what will happen to this country after we are gone.
“We, the political class in the older generation, we never really thought of a successor generation. We’ve allowed politics to be given a bad name. So when you as a politician, when you introduce yourself as a politician, people who ordinarily would give you respect, the moment you say you are a politician, they will begin to look at you suspiciously.
“I actually want to think that armed robbers think they are more honorable than politicians, because if a gang of armed robbers agreed to go and burgle a place at 4pm, no one would go there at 3.30 in the gang. But politicians can say we have a meeting at 4 o’clock and they would had that meeting at 2 o’clock. This is why we are where we are.
“When the African Democratic Congress is saying this is where we want to be, we must see this as a responsibility to provide a space for younger people.
“I have no doubt in my mind, with what has happened to the Peoples Democratic Party, which is tragic in the context, I have no doubt in my mind that the only thing holding the APC together today is power. When you take political power, government power out of APC, you don’t have a political party. This party, the African Democratic Congress, represents the future of politics in Nigeria.
“It’s the only party built on the philosophy of egalitarianism. It’s the only party you can belong and nobody will tell you what to do and what not to do. It’s the only party where we have conversations, we don’t direct people on what to do.
“ADC today is the only political party whose identity is bigger than any single individual. But whether ADC will fulfill this potential post-2027, because I always say, the biggest challenge we have, is how do we stop the banditry going on in the Federal Republic of Nigeria today? How do we stop this APC from coming to power again in 2027? If we win in 2027, there is a way power distracts from the real issues.
“Are we going to abandon the work we have started during a formidable political party? That’s going to depend on what you people agree to do going forward. But with this initiative, Rise Up Nigeria, I am more than confident that those of you, you may be few. But it’s not millions of people that start something. It’s a few people sitting across coffee rooms, who birthed the greatest ideas in the world.”
In his speech, the National Coordinator of Rise Up Naija Movement RUN, Dr Aliyu Audu, explained that the movement was born from the hopes, frustrations, aspirations, and resilience of millions of Nigerians, who still believe that this country can work again and work for all.
He said: “For too long, too many Nigerians have watched opportunities disappear, institutions weaken, insecurity grow, businesses struggle, and young people lose faith in governance and leadership. Yet despite these challenges, the Nigerian spirit has refused to die.
“RUN is built on that spirit. We are here because we believe Nigeria deserves leadership that works for a Nigeria that works for all.
“We believe governance must move beyond empty promises to measurable progress. Beyond slogans to solutions. Beyond division to unity. Beyond politics for power to politics for people.
“RUN is not designed as a movement of spectators. It is a movement of participants. A movement for young Nigerians. A movement for professionals, entrepreneurs, women, artisans, students, workers, creatives, community leaders, and every citizen who believes that competence, accountability, inclusion, and patriotism must define the future of this country.
“We are building a movement rooted in ideas, discipline, service, integrity, and active citizenship.
“A movement that will reconnect Nigerians to governance. A movement that will mobilize communities from the grassroots to the national level. A movement that will promote issue-based politics over ethnic and religious division. A movement that will help raise a new generation of responsible leaders and engaged citizens.”
An ADC stakeholder, Alhaji Kashim Immam, linked the problem of the country to irresponsible leadership.
Asking what’s the problem of the country, Kashim Immam said, “Irresponsible leaders. That is our major problem as a nation. The ADC has a very modest program for Nigerians. A Nigeria that works for every single one of us. What we have presently is a Nigeria that works for very few.
“We demand a change. Anybody who wants to be our member. Anybody who is aspiring for any leadership in our party. If you want to be a senator, you want to be governor, you want to be a member of the House of Representatives, House of Assembly, President of the Federal Republic, you must commit to doing things differently. You must commit to a Nigeria that will work for every single one of us.
“You must commit to ending the corruption, the crime that has been the root of our problems in this country. We must do things differently. And the ADC is determined to deliver on this.
“I’m also happy that the youths of our party have taken it upon themselves to seize the initiative from we older ones. Because the older generation in this country have failed Nigerians. We failed the youths. We are bad role models. There is nothing exciting. I’m ashamed of my generation.”
The former National Chairman of ADC, Dr. Ralph Nwosu, said, “there is no campaign that anybody is going to do for 2027 or beyond that should not be that of awakening the country and awakening the young people to take charge of the country.
“All the successes we have recorded for almost the last 20 years, has to do with our young people. Wherever Nigeria has come first, be it music, be it theater, be it art, be it scholarship, it has been about the young people.
“The political players seem to paint us wrong. The young people have always lifted Nigeria. So now that you’ve decided to come to the top stage, get yourself involved in politics, I believe that you’re going to do a great job in lifting Nigeria again. That’s what we need. That’s what this country needs.”
