WE NEED EVERYBODY

📍The last few months have been very difficult and truamatic times for all progressive men and women in Nigeria. And I'm not talking about those who wear the toga of retrogressive elements in Nigeria but claim to be progressives. I am talking about those who are genuine progressives and who live by its ideals. 

📍Our camp had been divided and polarised. There was tension and anxiety. Blood pressures were raised. Headaches abounded, nausea and all kinds of associated illnesses related to anxiety, prevailed. Even among those who are progressives but do not belong to any political party. 

📍At some point, concerned President Muhammadu Buhari called on progressive politicians to conduct themselves in such a way that they reduce the anxiety of the people that subscribe to progressive ideals. Many of us we're hoping that the Presidential will point us to someone specific. But President Muhammadu Buhari, being the fair and just man that he is, stuck to his gun of providing a level playing field for all the aspirants. And that's what happened in the end and today we have a candidate, Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

📍On the social media, shamefully, it was a slaughter and a massacre. Many people resorted to the pathway of abuse and insults. They resorted to personal attacks on other progressives who had made their choices and decisions to support candidates different from theirs. I have never seen such bad behaviour amongst people who claim to be progressives.

📍In the heat of it all, I issued a statement (still pinned to my Facebook Account) to those whose mouths were filled with nothing but insults, intimidation and abuses. I pleaded with everyone to sheath their swords as we all will eventually fight and campaign for just one candidate. Many listened, some ignored the call and raged on as bulls. Today just as I had said, only one person has emerged as the candidate of my preferred party,  the All Progressives Congress, APC.

📍There were many candidates, historic in nature, such as we have never seen in this nation. That gave rise to the fear that at the end of the Congress that would produce the presidential candidate of APC, that there would be mass defection and the party will be destroyed forever. The fears were palpable.

📍However the steps being taken by our leader Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in reaching out to those who were in the Ring with him, has sort of doused the tension even further. He has gone ahead to visit and to seek the support of everyone who was also an aspirant. He has shown example of what we expect of progressives. We all, especially those who insulted and abused other progressives for supporting other aspirants, now have an example to follow. There's a need for them too, to do the right thing. 

📍It's a fact that some Progressives are still hurting on the social media because a lot of hurtful words were thrown around. Friendships of many years of Supporting President Muhamamadu Buhari where broken. The camp of the progressives were polarized on the social media. 

📍So in line with the steps taken by our leader who reached out to those who aspired alongside him, it would be fruitful and it will help all of us to work together as a great progressive family, if those who threw around abuses, hurtful words and insults at other progressives, should also, extend hands of fellowship. This will help those who were hurt to heal and to be part of the journey over the next months to win it for APC.

📍To continue to rub it in and to mock those whose aspirants lost out to Senator Tinubu, is totally childish. We need EVERYBODY. Yes, we need everyone. Let's reach out NOW to those we called names. This will bring about total healing which we need to prevail in the forth coming general elections in 2023.

📍God bless us as we reach out. God bless us as we heal. God bless us, as we unite as a family to win it for Nigeria. 

📍God bless Nigeria.

Lauretta Onochie. 

@Laurestar.