@ naija babe, jimi agbaje's strategy was to come out attacking femi pedro because he had been in d government for 4 years, and claim he (jk) had vision and bla bla bla, once pedro noticed this strategy, he flipped it around and it actually hurt jimi, pedro exposed jimi's lack of indepth knowledge of the challenges and solutions for lagos, today showed us that jimi agbaje is articulate in telling us redundant things, but thats about it,   there were a number of occasions where JK was left flat footed by FP, like the issue with third mainland bridge, and the hypothetical scenario of bird flu in lagos, jk tried to throw a cheap shot with regards to noise pollution, but in reality the victor was clearly femi pedro,

the press guys i was sitting with have coined a new school of thought: Pedronomics!!!


@dayokanu you are right, todays debate quelled all doubts that pedro was just a lame duck deputy governor, he is very knowledgeable about the issues

my favourite quote was when he said something to  this effect, "what these candidates see as problems, i see as challenges", that is what our country needs!



lets see what the impact of this debate will be,

as far as koro is concerend, he is digging himself more and more into a hole, 



meanwhile, there is an interesting piece in thisday newspaper by my colleague, Philip Ogunmade, it involves how Labour party, like in UK, may soon be a major opposition to pdp,
http://www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=73210


Lekan sanni, a prominent editor at  daily independent also has a similar write-up at nigerian muse:
http://nigerianmuse.com/articles/?u=Femi_Pedro_and_the_Labour_Party_Alternative.htm&PHPSESSID=7f82ff8d9dd7b2be08bd8058ad9f2297



they are interesting reads, you should check them out, particularly Ogunmade's write-up

till today, labour party is the only party with a FUNCTIONING website, with their manifesto and everything,
www.labourpartyng.org


things are happening!!!!!

i think anyone who watched the debate today saw the difference between femi pedro and the others.

agbaje, im sorry to say, was floored by pedro multiple times. LOL @ jimi attempting to fire cheap shots at pedro. sadly for him, they backfired,


destiny beckons!



femilangy, kitaun, llcoolg, there is still time to defect to labour party, i hear they are still receiving candidates

gold chop knuckle jare these other bobos r not talking sense here

friday LTV 6pm is the debate

llcoolg, femilangy, make una defend ur candidate, tinubu is blaming your camp for the tension in lagos at the moment


kitaun, its obvious your canidate is not accepted by evryone like you think. tinubu cant buy everone off. you live by the gun, you die by the gun. likewise,if you live by spraying money, you die (politically) by the same medicine.

i rest my case.

DESTINNNYYYYY!!!!!

@dayokanu i was at the AC rally myself. reports of tinubu being attacked were exaggerated. people in the crowd started fighting (which always happesn when thugs get together) over money or so.

it amazes me how all of a sudden, all these candidates want to "out-victim" themselves in the nigerian media. it seems to be the new fad: "i was attacked", "my convoy was ambushed", bla bla bla, they r trynna all play the sympathy card. gimme a break, nigerians aint stupid no more.

we will see how the candidates hold thier own this weekend when they have a televised debate. that is what im interested in.

kitaun, as you can see from this photo, mr pedro has his eyes on the ball. dribbles past fashola who is looking to tinubu (goal keeper) to save him. at this point, koro has already been red carded.

the outcome was a stunning solo effort by mr pedro to win the game in overtime, despite referee bias  and tinubu's jerzey dudek-type antics in the goal post

and the spectators went willlld!!!

@ 9ja4eva,

it sounds like you and a few others are merely doing campaign advert for jimi agbaje here,


how is jimi agbaje going to go about winning 12 of the 20 local governments? he does not have structure in place, nor even the followership of a particular group.

does jimi agbaje believe he can garner 800 thousand votes? from where?


if you ask me, he is only playing spoiler in this election

we know about AC and their followership, we know bout KOro and his thgus, we know about pedro and his PFN and Labour workers. what does agbaje have going for him? educate us pls.


and with regards to turning things around, what makes agbaje better than pedro? let us know pls.

AH kitaun the master strategist and anti pedro man is back welcome oh


i must say i have been absent for quite sometime, the race is getting hotter and hotter




in all honesty, i must agree (for the first time ever) with about 50 percent of the things kitaun said.


preamble: i wont even bother mentioning koro. it will be a miracle if he makes it to the poll at this rate.
1. the achievements of tinubu administration, pedro can also lay claim to them
2. true to his style, femi pedro has also taken responsibility for the administration's shortcomings. fashola is yet to do this.
3. like ive always said, femi pedro is not the political rookie many may see him as. he is no fool. in fact, events are probably unfolding the way his camp wanted them to. he single handedly, and i repeat, single handedly built the labour party himself, not by throwing money about (he is an economist to the core), but by effective planning, strategy and execution, he will turn out to be the most critical candidate, do not forget, of all the candidates, he is the only one that is yet to 'publicly' endorse any presidential candidate, which gives him a lot of leeway and bargaining power in the coming weeks
4. which leads me to agbaje. in honesty, he is the one i feel sorry for. he has good plans, but he made the critical mistake femi pedro foresaw in november: he is dining with the devil- afenifere. his affiliation wiht the old dogs has left him paralyzed. he has no say over what shonibabre or falae do. and if history is to be taken into account, afenifere lack good political vision.
5. now fashola, fashie fashola(no pun intended), i promise you, the only thing helping him right now is the broom logo, people still dont know who this man is! it is tinubu that is running, kitaun, i challenge you to embark on this, go to lagos, and when i say lagos, i mean ikorodu, badagry, etc, ask them a simple question. do they want tinubu to come back? they wiill say NO. ask them if they want PDP to come to lagos. they will say NO!

anybody have an idea how the debate went today?

i understand Koro, Pedro, Fashola and Agbaje had a debate session today

people who have doubts about his ability to lead lagos in the 21st century should go for this event. you will be won over. guaranteed.


if you want to see a man who knows his craft talk, i suggest you be there. unfortunately, i will be here in lagos.

@ dayo, the man (koro) has no professional qualification whatsoever. if the events of last weekend is anything to go by, an obanikoro and fashola administration will be ever-present with thuggery, violence, political intolerance, intimidation, evrything that existed with fayose and co. it is in the interest of lagosians to vote these people out come april.

i rest my case

what a shame. this race should be agbaje vs pedro. the likes of koro and tinubu(fashola is tinubu's stooge) should not be in this race at all, all these other amala and gbegiri politicians making noise all over the place are taking the shine away from the best candidates lagos has to offer.


ive always maintained that agbaje and pedro are the best candidates, i gave pedro the nudge simply because he has more money and people-management experience, but agbaje is equally qualified.


http://www.femipedro.com vs http://www.jimiagbaje.com

mycc:

i believe in fashola. his campaign makes a lot of sense.

share with us what his campaign is, and how it makes a lot of sense

femi, i like your enthusiasm. i sure hope your candidate's camp has not broken down the election this way, because they will loose woefully if this is the gameplan they wish to adopt.

femilangy:

Welcome back streetcyph.Where have u been? Campaigning for pedro?

na so so hussle we dey husstle o, anyting to put bread on my table

femilangy:

U claim pedro was also lobbied to the PDP but due to the sensitive nature of his position he declined ,then why is he now in the Labour party?or his position as deputy governor is no longer sensitive?i will argue this with you,PDP never lobbied pedro.why will dey lobby him? when koro joined PDP no body looked at pedro as a force to reckon with so why will the PDP need him in there fold?(The fewer the merrier).pedro does not pull grass root support at that time (even now) so what impact will he have in the PDP?

first of all tinubu himself underestimated pedro. when pedro moved to labour, they thought that was the end of the story. but the answer to the real question you posed is simple. i will summarize it in four words: "pedro is deputy governor". force to reckon or no force to reckon, grassroot mobilizer or no grassroot mobilizer, Mr. Pedro was well sought after because of his position as second in command to tinubu, this is truly not the place or time to discuss this issue, there are things going on that people are not even aware of. i am ready to meet with u for lagos beer palour, provided you dont come with a recording device or koro's area thugs

femilangy:

How many times will Koro publicly come out and say the city hall that got burnt was not as a result of him embezzling public fund but it was just the city hall library that got burnt,and the treasury and accounts departments where intact and they can probe his administration to know if he actually embezzled money during his tenure as local govt chairman?

all that one na story you dey type.

femilangy:

Dont you think if Koro embezzled public funds all through his tenure as LGA chairman and Commisioner,Tinubu would have finished him by now?

tinubu has a whole lot of igbe on afikuyomi. has he finished him? NO. politics does not work like that my broda.

femilangy:

lets all be realistic,fine we all want our candidates to win but we shuldnt pull someone down because we want to rise .let all man fight for him self and let the electorate decide.Every man for himself God for us all.

for once, i agree with you. true to pedro and gbajabiamilla's style, they are running their own races without throwing accusations at anyone. i know for a fact that koro spends half his time accusing tinubu of stealing money

*shakes head* i leave this forum for almost 2 weeks and this is what it has come to? na wa ooooo

pedro, koro, fashola, gbajabiamilla, afikoyomi or agbaje, the people will decide who will win. but trust me, many of you are in for a shocker.

tinubu has resorted to tearing pedro's billboards down, he knows something many people dont know- pedro is actually his biggest threat. strangely enough, even pdp know this.

femilangy asks why koro was the only one with foresignt? BELIEVE ME, he was not the only one who was wooed by PDP. only difference is he was the only one who could get away with it, because a senatorial position is less sensitive than a deputy governor position. plain and simple.


i am actually disappointed in the direction the posts have gone. with the exception of upson (gbajabiamila fan), nobody has really told us what their candidates will do. the fact of the matter is that us in this nairaland forum really dont have a say as to how events will unfold on the 14th of april, the best we can do is give objective insight as to what each candidate has to offer.

ive preached femi pedro since day one, but i will give you an objective look at all the candidates. you are more than welcome to tell me if i am wrong


musilu obanikoro
they call him the people's champ. ah yes, according to his fans, he is well loved by every one. he can relate with all kinds of people, the bus conductor and the billionaire behind the scenes. he has a solid background, and he is rooted in lagos island.if lagosians voted solely on individual popularity, it will be a race between him and pedro. however, the only time he was ever in control of financial resources (city hall), he burnt the building down in different ways. furthermore, people know he has strong ties with area boys. if he is elected governor, lagos will continue to flourish with area boys left right and center. it is unclear if he really has a plan for lagos, it seems more like his ambition is to be called lagos governor, fullstop.

tokunbo afikuyomi
STA as he is called, is a noisemaker. he has been campaignig to be lagos' next governor since 1999 self. in fact, he was so sure he would be the next governor that he was the one who found the architect who built the new governor's lodge in alausa. Tinubu played along with afikuyomi's ambiiton for many years. but if anytthing, it never ever ever crossed tinubu's mind to hand over to him, because he does not trust afikuyomi. afik is a notorious 419 man, connning people using tinubu's name left right and center. he picked anpp ticket in desparation, he is yet to tell lagosians what he will do as governor

jimi agbaje-
aside from pedro, he is my favorite candidate. he is purpose-driven, and like pedro has deep pockets due to corporate backing (his father is the lifetime chairman of GTB). he comes from a nice family, has nice children- some of the sort of thing you will like to see in a governor. he also has good plans for lagos state. he is not 50 yet, so he is relatively young. the problem with agbaje is that he ran a family pharmaceutical company, that is it. he has not demonstrated ability to manage people and resources on a large scale like a governor should. furthermore he is on an invariably weak platform, and an even weaker ticket (with lawal as his deputy). he is not sure what kind of campaign to run- whether it is one attacking tinubu (which he has done on numerous occasions) or attacking obasanjo(which he has done on numerous occassions), or if he should focus on issues (which he has done rarely)

gbajabiamilla
they call him Gba Bee, i was opportuned to meet him when he was still a commissioner in 2004. he is a very smart man. in fact, he used to be tinubu's closest buddy. he was the best man at tinubu's wedding with remi tinubu years ago. he has a solid background as upson mentioned, comes from a strong lagos family and strikes as being capable of holding his own. However, he does not have the financial resources you need to match up against the big guns. furthermore, the AD thing is still confusing people. to add to that, his performance as a commissioner was one kind. i remember he was accused of cyphooning money from physical planning once upon a time, his chances in this race are very low


raji fashola
raji fashola, they call him "itesiwaju, lakasoro" (next in line, end of discussion). he is tinubu's boy-boy padi. people who dont know why tinubu picked him need to go back to 1993-1994, when tinubu scatta from lagos, fashola took care of his finances, his businesses, his houses, etc. he is the one that takes care of tinubu's children. he has lagos money (AC) behind him, and true to his political savyness, tinubu has been able to reconcile a number of aggrieved factions to support fashola (including hilda williams camp, ganiyu solomon and kasali, 3 very very very crucial grassroot mobilizers). however, his weaknesses outweigh his strengh. for one, everybody knows he is a stooge. as in, it is obvious. it is only recently that fashola started talking in public. he no sabi carry crowd!. with all that is going on, tinubu has to defend himself against the corrupt accusations federal government is throwing at him (EFCC) it willbe a miracle if tinubu does not run away before the election period, because they are truly gunning for him. fashola's other problem is his name. till today, people still dotn know who he is and what he has to offer. when they see the broom, people think it is tinubu that is running again. his chances are high, but time will tell

femi pedro
femi pedro they call him "destiny" everywhere he goes. of all the candidates, he has ran the most efficient and strategic campaign so far. door to door marketing, colorful ads, interactive websites, strategic distribution of campaign materials, pedro is focusing on issues and not abusing candidates, he has taken his campaign right to the people. if there is any unpredictable candidate, it is him. even me that i am a diehard pedro fan, i keep getting amazed by the things that happen as they unfold. he comes from a relatively unknown lagos family but he has a close-kniit family structure in his house(like agbaje). he is not your average politican. in fact, they call him cosmopolitician- modern day corporate CEO-politician. he has the experience of managing people and resources, he is well known by lagosians, he has the corporate support. he also has a few jokers under his sleeves. he is the only christian running in this race. since 2003, he has been wooing the CAN and PFN on his side, and they seem to have done a good job. of the 4 million voters, 1.5 million registered mainly on PFN and CAN's request- this will turn out to be huge for pedro. also, he has been making some very under-g moves, from all indications, there are more surprises coming. he is the man to beat.

dc london or chicago is not where the election is taking place. it is holding in Lagos. this is the exact problem we r facing. it is only nigerian politicians that will travel abroad to hold political fundraising, when they can spend their time and resources campaigning door to door in lagos. *smh

about the billboards, he was the first to put them up because he was the first to declare. i dont see how that factors into anything.

i am waiting to hear where the candidates stand on issues of importance, not on "he said, she said, he stole, she stole" issues,

there is information on the rally you need.

http://www.tribune.com.ng/31012007/news/news12.html

im off to the rally. will come with pictures and feedback.

KORO2007:

llcoolg05, I can see you know the deal. carry on jare. I must say I encourage the candidacy of Femi Pedro and others because it will only affect the cacaus they all came from so it only works for us.

i will put it this way: man supposes, God disposes.

negative politics is what candidates like koro are relying on. not even PDP is in support of your candidate. Lets wait and see if PDP even clears your candidate. some things are best kept quiet. Come back in two weeks and lets see what happens within your party. my mouth is sealed.


i was at the rally on saturday. colorful, yes, but 3/4 of the crowd was rented from cotonou. i even know the man who mobilizes them. you are deceived if you think PDP has support in Lagos

It is easy to sail a ship through calm waters, but to maintain a steady course through stormy seas is the art of a true leader. about Mr. Pedro, the things you have both pointed out, you think his campaign people havent heard? in fact, you are saying the exact things they want you to say. wasting money, no support, rigging, etc. patience is a tree who's root is bitter, but yields sweet fruits. wait and see.

nobody is hating any candidate. the difference between the candidates is clear. you think koro is the best candidate, then tell us what makes him a better candidate. for months, ive been breaking down mr. pedro's candidacy, backed by facts. read this article, food for thought.

http://www.newswatchngr.com/editorial/allaccess/bob/10129121305.htm

for those in lagos next tuesdy dat will be interested in witnessing history, here is more information about Labour's rally

Labour Party holds rally
By Sun News Publishing
Friday, January 26, 2007



* Mores Stories on This Section

The Lagos State chapter of the Labour Party is set to hold a massive rally tagged Rally of Change on Tuesday, January 30, to display its political muscle. An estimated 200,000 Lagosians, party members, labour unionists and representatives of interest and political groups are expected at the rally., scheduled for Skypower Grounds, GRA, Ikeja at 11.am.

The rally, according to the state party chairman, Chief Olanrewaju Dada, will "send a clear signal to other parties that the Labour Party, within a short time, has caught the imagination of Lagosians and that it is the party to beat".

He said that as a mass-based party, Labour Party would rather show off average Lagosians who have been defecting to the party in droves and not recycled politicians hopping from one party to another.
"Let everybody prepare to witness the celebration of our own decampees, teeming Lagosians tired of the opportunistic politics of other parties, who are looking for change in Labour Party", Dada said.

Dada said the party’s uniqueness as well as the integrity and track record of its governorship candidate in Lagos state, Otunba Olufemi Pedro, had resonated with a majority of Lagosians who were enthusiastic to see a Labour Party government in Alausa in May.

He revealed that the feedback from local government and ward executive councils of the party inaugurated recently showed that Lagosians had always been waiting for a platform like Labour Party, judging by the large number of people signing up to be members of the party.

"These Lagosians are going to be celebrated on that day. This army of the people has resolved that it is goodbye to godfatherism and vacuous politics. They want to enthrone integrity, performance and service," Dada added.

The national president of the party, Mr. Dan Nwanyanwu, is expected to lead an assemblage of party stalwarts and candidates from across the nation to the rally. These candidates include Dr. Rahman Mimiko, the party candidate for Ondo state as well as other flagbearers of the party across the board.



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2007/jan/26/national-26-01-2007-05.htm


LLcoolg5, I look forward to seeing you at the pdp rally, barring any crises



also, for those of you who want to read more about who femi pedro is, i found the link to his wikipedia. on the page, there are links to numerous articles written about him. check it out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femi_Pedro

llcoolg05:

Ok I like this, its good has we've started identifying ourselves with one of the candidates. Let me start with City Hall. Don't know if you know, but only the Chairman's office got burnt in city hall (i.e the top right wing office). the Secretary and Treasurer's office were untouched hence all the documents are still intact. Infact the documents are in Alausa today. Let me also remind you that that was the military era, a no nonsense. Marwa set up in investigative panel that cleared KORO of all allegations that he was the one who torched city hall, so lets not dwell on that.

As far a the quiet mobilization your talking about, I'm just waiting to see what will come of it come april. This is Nigeria my brother not yankee or jand like I previously said. The voters believe it or not consitute mostly of these area boys, oloja people and co. These are the people who are politically active. The religious organizations are also active on a lower scale. Its unfortunate that its that way, but that is the truth. I like Pedro, like I said as well, as a matter of fact, I'm friends with all 3 of his boys. so its not a personal thing. I'm to close to Alausa for you to make such statements that Pedro is the one running lagos. What if I told you that Pedro cannot I repeat cannot sign up to 100M would you believe. I Deputy Governor at that. It's a Tinubu show my brother. If Tinubu let Pedro run the country, and he has run it till now, whats the problem with letting him run it for another 8 yeears? Tinubu won't use him because he knows he's too hard of a candidate to sell.

well, time will tell, lets see how the PDP rally on saturday turns out, and the Labour Party rally on Tuesday. We will guage things from there. I will personally go to both rallies and i will come back with feedback.

about pedro being a hard sell, i mean come on, its clear to all that if Pedro had been "annointed", as opposed to Fashola, Tinubu's cousin, the party would not have broken apart. You say you are close to alausa? then you must have heard about the day Tinubu asked his cabinet (when it was still together, including adikwu, kasali, gbajabiamilla, lawal, etc) to pick one candidate other than themselves who they felt should be the party flag bearer. of the 17 commissioners, 13 picked pedro. 13 of them.

people close to tinubu (and im sure you are) know that its a personal thing. he Personally does not want pedro to take over. out of all the candidates that came out, Pedro was the only one that was never promised or told to come out by tinubu. it has nothing to do with pedro's sellability, because as we are experiencing right now, he is selling well. It is not about competence, beacuse he knows pedro is competent. about the 100million, yes you are right, the deputy governor cannot approve any spending more than 100 million. but what else do you expect? he is the deputy governor! that was tinubu's way of curtailing pedro's ability to govern. essentially, his influence in governance was deliberately limited,



you are rite in pointing out the callibre of voters that come out to vote. but trust me, they wont go to the polling booth asking themselves whether PDP or AC is the way to go. they will ask themselves Koro? Pedro? Fashola?, he is running under Labour. if anything, he is in the best position.

LLcoolg, you amaze me with your comments. grab popcorn, sit back and read my response carefully.

llcoolg05:

Ok let me address this Femi Pedro issue. I also agree that Pedro is nice guy and all, but by no means can he be the next Governor of Lagos State. He doesn't command the aura required by a Governor.

1. He will be the next Governor of Lagos. You under-estimate his campaign strategy. In fact, you are saying exactly the things his campaign people want you to say.

llcoolg05:

Let's not forget that he is Deputy Governor. As deputy, you can say he is invicible. For crying out loud he is no. 2 in the state, only in name however, not in action.

2. if you have resided in lagos for the last 4 years, you will know he GOVERNED lAGOS, not tinbu. I wrote an article in 2004 about tinubu and fashola. go and research it. i challenged them to publish their passport pages to the public, because it was obvious that pedro ran the affairs of the state. what pedro is going to do is run lagos efficiently, like he did his bank. it is a different field, but the same priniciples apply- integrity, honesty, dedication to the job, money and people management skills, this is what lagos needs. a C.E.O., not an A.GBE.RO . NONE, and i repeat, NONE of the other candidates have displayed these attributes in their lifetime. I dare you to prove me wrong.

llcoolg05:

He is not a politician

3. he is a politician- a new breed cosmopolitan politician. he is what Sheriff Balogun, a prominent editor at thisday, called a paradigm shift politician. He is exactly what the people of lagos, and nigeria, need

llcoolg05:

he doesn't have the followership

4. believe you me, he has followership. but just like his style, his followers are not loud screaming all over the place. they are quietly mobilizing themselves. Let me give you an example. the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Lagos Branch have quietly endorsed him. there are 4.5 million members of the PFN in Lagos. over 1 million of them have already registered to vote and Lagos history shows that if you can secure 800-900 thousand votes, you will win. so you will see on election day his followerhsip.

llcoolg05:

He can't relate to the PEOPLE, now when I say people, I mean PEOPLE. During the 2003 campaign, he was addressing a crowd in Lagos Island speaking fonetic Yoruba to them, Bola Tinubu had to bail him out.

5. when you say he does not relate with the PEOPLE, you confuse me. this is because Lagos is dynamic- Lagos is made up of a diverse PEOPLE- common man, elite, market woman, corporate man, igbos, yorubas, xtians, muslems, etc. no single group- be it ethnic, religious or professional- entirely dominates Lagos statistically speaking. lagos is not oyo, or taraba (with all due respect to both states). Pedro relates to the people better than the others. first of all, i don't know where you got your story about his weak yourba from. from what we understand,he was born and raised in epetedo. he was even in koros amadiya school, though koro was his junior by 5 years. because he is not an amala and gbegiri-style politician does not mean he does not relate ith the people.

llcoolg05:

as far as naij is concerned LAGOS for that matter, Pedro should go and chill. He should invest his money and do the best he can as Deputy. This race is between KORO n Fashola. And like I said, KORO will defeat Fashola.

This race is between PEDRO,Koro, fashola, Agbaje, Afikuyomi, Gbajabiamilla and Adiku Bakare. The field is spread out, and from the substitutions of so called chieftans going on between PDP and AC, they will loose tons of votes. as far as i am concerned, he is the most qualified candidate. Koro still has to explain to us what he did to city hall money. besides, he is running under PDP, the same pdp that witheld lagos money. the same pdp that killed funsho williams. be deceiving yourself if you think lagos in its entirety will vote in a party and a candidate as such. good luck

take it or leave it, mr pedro will win this election

in order for lagosias to make the right choice, i implore us to continue to provide information about the candidates as it is the best way for us to know who the best choice is. here is an article in today's paper



Pedro and the burden of quality politics 22/1/2007


By Emenike Obioha

If reports in the dailies and feedback from political talkshops are anything to go by, then it is evident that the ‘problem’ facing Otunba Femi Pedro, the Labour Party’s governorship candidate in Lagos State, is one that other politicians would give their left hand to have.
The man has a surfeit of commendable believability borne out of an acknowledgement of his ability to perform and rock-solid integrity. At a time when trust and respect are rare attributes that politicians can only be wistful about, most commentators readily affirm that Pedro, as a non-professional politician, has these in abundance. They also grant that his campaign has a breath of fresh air about it — and that it is liberally laced with integrity and passion. What it doesn’t have, they say, is the politician’s desperation about victory. In other words, they say since Pedro is such a gentleman politician and a technocrat, he might not be able to play the dirty politics needed to ensure his victory at the polls.

This ironically put politics in a two-way categorisation: the do-gooders as also-rans and the devil-may-care winners, whose sole purpose in politics is to win elections — and to blazes with what happens afterwards. A cursory analysis of our recent political history might support this categorisation. But, like an average cliché, this cynical delineation is contestable. Though our politics has witnessed the ascendancy of ‘garrison’ politicians, overbearing godfathers and their acolytes, it is but not true that they must have their way all of the time. It is true that these uncouth politicians deploy all manner of ‘weaponry’ to effect their victory — and that thuggery, rigging and violence sit well with them.

But, as research on voting across the world has shown, a politician could only rig with the (often) tacit encouragement of the electorate. An electorate that is uncaring about the political process and who emerges as leader would hardly be bothered about how such a representative is elected. It is known to have been difficult, if not downright impossible for a representative to emerge through unfair means in areas where voters are determined that their votes matter and that their choice should be respected. This, in other words, means that a nation gets the kind of (elected) leaders it deserves. We would therefore be best served by participating fully in the ongoing political process and ensuring that not only the best candidates emerge, but that these are our choices. We should no longer leave our destiny in the hands of ‘garrison commanders’ masquerading as politicians for, if the recent past is anything to go by, they do not care a hoot for our hopes or sensibilities.

If we truly believe, as media reports have it, that candidates like Otunba Pedro have the best credentials and capacity for serving our interest, then we should work to ensure they emerge victorious because their candidacy represents our best aspirations as well. Rather than push these ‘smart, brilliant, sincere but too gentle’ politicians into the suffocating embrace of godfathers and interests, the time is ripe to reach out to them and support them. If we don’t, we are defeatist and underestimate our own power to effect positive social change and enthrone an enduring political culture.

We should let candidates like Pedro know that we appreciate, and prefer their kind of politics to the other kind. It does not have to be financial. Letters and other gestures of support would help during the campaign period. Much later, our massive outing and vote would serve during the election proper. These, and vigilance to make sure that the votes are not tampered with, would ensure that we have a government that is truly responsible to us.

It would be a sad portent for the future of our democracy if we condemn a candidate like Pedro for possessing the same good qualities which we moan that our politicians lack, and should have. If Pedro represents idea-driven politics and performance-based campaign, and feedback in the media repeatedly shows that he does, then it is imperative that this is rewarded by the massive support of a discerning electorate.

Luckily enough for Pedro, he is running in a state that is known for the sagacity and maturity of its voters – although in the past the stakes had not been this high. It is therefore the best platform for enthroning the new kind of politics that we all yearn for and it would be a shame if we let this opportunity elude us.

But as the Pedro campaign intensifies its efforts and professionalism, it is to be hoped that quality will eventually shine through – and the best candidate will pull through to victory.

Obioha lives at Idimu, Lagos

http://thenationonlineng.com/dynamicPage.asp?id=9088

buchio, are u in lag at the moment? if you are, i am sure u are noticing the changes in people's opinion about the Labour Party. Mr Pedro has spread the field, and people are actually looking beyond party name and looking at the candidate one by one. here is an article in the Guardian today, by a collegue of mine and a highly respectable Nigerian Journalist, Muyiwa Adeyemi: till date, it is one of the best write ups on each of the strong candidates for the election.



Many Good Candidates, One Governor-To-Be BY MUYIWA ADEYEMI

The governorship candidates for Lagos State constitute a critical mass: they are a group with every member well qualified to lead the state. But, eventually, only one of them shall emerge as governor. Who shall that be? Pedro versus the rest?

THE contest for the Lagos Governorship seat is getting rather more interesting by the day with the contestants and their supporters doing all they could to convince Lagosians about their candidates.

But the obvious is that Lagos seems to have a number of good candidates for the plum job. And leading the pack of the contestants is the deputy governor Femi Pedro and other contestants including former Chief of Staff to Governor Bola Tinubu, Alhaji Babatunde Fashola, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi and Mr Yomi Agbaje

Until now, many thought the battle would be a straight one between the Action Congress ( AC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, but recent happenings in both parties have suddenly thrown up more candidates from other political parties and this is making it difficult to predict which party will form the government in the state come May 29.

Many political watchers in the state are keen to see how much the incumbency factor would determine the next governor, because Tinubu is no doubt a force to be reckoned with in the coming election. In the last eight years he has called the shot in Lagos politics and whoever had a contrary opinion with him was easily sent into political oblivion.

But the seeming last battle Tinubu will fight as a governor of Lagos State is to ensure that his candidate Alhaji Babtunde Fashola emerges as his successor. But this battle may not be as easy as the earlier one he fought as a governor. Reason: The emergence of Fashola as the candidate of the AC has caused many problems within the party and has torn its members apart.

Fashola is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Chief of Staff to Tinubu. Outside that, he is relatively unknown in political circles in the state and is believed to be a political dark horse who cannot win election. When it became obvious that he has been anointed by Tinubu, other aspirants within their fold held a press conference to herald their battle with Tinubu's choice. Those at the press conference included Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Hon. Ganiyu Solomon, Prince Abiodun Ogunleye, Mr Jimi Agbaje, Mrs Remi Adikwu-Bakare, Hon, Hakeem Gbajabiamila, Prof. Kunle Lawal, Mr Raymon Owokoniran, Mr Doyin Danmole, Mr Bayo Erikilola and Babs Akinlolu.

Speaking for the group, the highly disappointed Afikuyomi who is now the flag bearer of the All Nigerian Peoples party ANPP in the state lampooned the manner in which Tinubu imposed Fashola on other 11 candidates. According to him: "We insist that the exercise is a ruse aimed at achieving a third term for the incumbent governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu through the foisting of the candidacy of his relation and former chief of staff, Alhaji Fashola on the party." He said the throwing up of Fashola was against all known democratic principles.

Afikuyomi and his fellow disappointed aspirants left the AC for Tinubu and Fashola with a promise of teaching them a lesson at the polls. But that may remain a dream judging by the way all of them have refused to close ranks to fight their common "enemy". Most of them went to pick up nomination forms of other parties.

Shortly after his disappointment, Afikuyomi was said to have met with a business mogul and ANPP chieftain Chief Harry Akande and the party's presidential flag bearer Gen. Muhhamadu Buhari at the Sheraton Hotels in Lagos where he discussed what had happened to him. He expressed his willingness to join the ANPP and flag the party ticket in the state. Afikuyomi got it but ANPP has no structure in the state and the party will be a hard sell to many in this part of the country.

The situation in the PDP is also a source of worry to the members. With the party losing elections both in 1999 and 2003, there is nothing on ground to show that the party would change its record this year. With the sudden murder of Engineer Funso Williams who had done much to keep the party alive in the state, many expected that the contest for the part's ticket would be between Senator Ogunlewe and Senator Musiliu Obanikoro. But forces within the party forced Ogunlewe to steer clear of the race. With blackmail and constant police harassment over the death of Williams, Ogunlewe went on sabbatical leave and has kept quiet. With Ogunlewe off the road the formidable campaign organisation of Funso Williams known as WILLCO later threw up Mrs Hilda Funso Wiilaims for the ticket. The woman was said to have won the primaries held twice and even read her acceptance speech and led the delegation to see off the party national officers led by the chairman of the Board of Trustee of the party Chief Tony Anenih to the airport. But surprisingly her name was substituted for that of Senator Musiliu Obaikoro at the party national secretariat in Abuja.

If the PDP had any genuine reason to have done that, its members in Lagos were yet to be satisfied with a decision that has raised many questions including the place of women in the PDP agenda. Only last week the WILLCO organisation in a full page advertorial was still asking why Mrs Funso Williams was robbed of her victory. They did not only express their disappointment at the party's decision but made public their doubt of the PDP winning in the state. Indeed, what WILLCO's advertorial simply made public was the fact that there had not been any genuine reconciliation after the primaries. And if there was any attempt, it was unacceptable to WILLCO.

Whatever the grouse, Obanikoro's name has since been submitted to the INEC and he is already preparing for the election. Obanikoro is not a stranger to Lagos politics. He was a former chairman of the Lagos Island Local Government, a former commissioner and a Senator representing Lagos Central District. He is known to be a grass roots mobilizer. But some do not see him as a good manager of resources but he is expected to give a good battle to the deputy governor Femi Pedro and Fashola. But a protest vote within his party cannot be over ruled because many leaders of the party in the state still see him as an outsider and somebody imposed on them. A genuine reconciliation may brighten his chances.

Femi Pedro who is the flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP) is one candidate that many Lagosians could not understand why Tinubu jinxed him and forced him to leave the AC. In fact, many would still be waiting for the reasons why Tinubu whom he had served faithfully for about five years did not want him to succeed him. A banker-turned politician, Pedro joined the Lagos State cabinet shortly before the 2003 elections, having been appointed to replace Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele.

The role of Pedro in the government was strategic: he connected the government to the corporate and financial world. Looking like the man Alausa had been expecting, it was no surprise then that Pedro was saddled with the responsibility of over seeing the internal financial working of the state, especially in the area of improving the internally generated revenue generation. He was also charged with the responsibility of creating ideas and expanding the vision of running the government, keeping the ideas flowing from the state executive council while Tinubu played the politics. Indeed, Pedro played up to expectations. Since he came in following the re-election of Tinubu, Pedro has helped to shore up the internally revenue generation of the state from a paltry N2billion to about N6billion.

Besides, he has created various projects that are currently being implemented by the state government, especially in the area of economy, employment generation and development of social amenities in the state. He was also not left out in the politics of the state. Pedro, in the wake of the imbroglio between the Federal Government and the state over illegal withholding of the local government funds, was in firm support of his boss in the struggle. In fact, Pedro led many delegations on behalf of the state to Abuja to negotiate the way out of the impasse. Also, he represented the governor in many rallies organised by the state to compel the Obasanjo Federal Government to obey the Supreme Court order.

It was against this background that Pedro decided to offer himself to the people of the state apparently to continue with the vision and policies of the Tinubu administration. Though Pedro would have loved to achieve his aspirations through the AC , when it became evident that Tinubu had anointed Fashola as the flag bearer of the AC, instead of engaging his boss in open confrontation the deputy governor opted for the Labour Party and was elected as the party's flag bearer. Despite the fact that he did not run on the platform of the AC, his rancour free election to the Labour Party has shored up his rating before the public and this is really very important for him.



http://www.guardiannewsngr.com/policy_politics/article04

na play I dey play

i agree wit lewa

kitaun you must be an enemy of progess. here is a candidate (femi pedro) with [b]no skeletons [/b]in his closet. he served lagos for four years, remained loyal to dictator tinubu. [b]this man has nothing to hide, a clean track record, a histroy of people management and money management, no godfather, strong religious background, [/b]yet you continue to ridicule his candidacy and his campaign. HYPOCRITE!!! u are an embodiment of the problems our great country is facing. henceforth, i will ignore your future posts, because you never have anything constructive to post. you must be an agent of one of those rundown politicians.


moving on, this is an interesting read about the candidate:
http://allafrica.com/stories/200701170506.html

Pedro

a national debate will be the icing on the cake, i am expecting silverbird to make an announcement very soon!


people, here is a letter femi pedro sent out to everyone on his mailing list. it has been making rounds all over the internet. some of you here might haave received the letter. what do you think about it?

My Fellow Lagosians,

I hope you have all had a wonderful festive season. I also hope and pray God has guided and protected each and every one of you and your household through the year so far.

You are receiving this e-mail because you have, at one point in time, visited my site and sent me some sort of goodwill message. Some have dedicated and pledged their support to my campaign, others have asked for more information about my candidacy, my manifesto and more importantly, what plans I have for our beloved state and, by extension, our motherland Nigeria. Some have requested campaign material, so that they may continue to spread the word about the Labour Party and Femi Pedro. I thank you all for your continued support, and hope you remain steadfast in your belief in my candidacy.

As you are all aware, we have reached a crucial juncture in the election process. All things being equal, we have barely over Ninety (90) days to the election. There is still a lot of work to be done. It is imperative that you register to vote if you have not already done so. If you have, I urge you to mobilise as many people as you can to register. No matter how small you may think your efforts may be, it will make an enormous impact come election day.

I wish to use this opportunity to urge you all to continue spreading the word and raising awareness of my candidacy and the Labour Party: in your beer parlours, on all the Nigerian websites, at your workplace, at the cyber-cafe, at the mosque on Fridays, at your church service on Sunday, even when you are stuck in traffic! The Labour Party is about people, the people who produce the nation’s wealth: The working class. It is about our farmers-producers of our nation’s food basket, ploughing the farms throughout our nation. It is about our market women- daily striving to earn a living. It is about the various workers commuting the length and breadth of our country to create a vibrant economy. It is about workers in the public service, and organised private sector. It is about the small and medium-scale business owner, striving to build their businesses. It is about workers on our drilling rigs, our financial, telecommunication, aviation and construction industries. It is about the old age pensioner, the retirees who have worked tirelessly to develop our nation. The Labour Party is about the generality of Nigerians- it is about the people.

Because it is a people-oriented Party, my manifesto and policies are directly for the people. I will be held accountable to the people. I emphasise on the word ACCOUNTABILITY, because this is a fundamental principle that has ceased to exist in Nigerian governance.

In the coming days, I will be campaigning in your local government areas- from Agege to Surulere, Ifako to Badagry, Amuwo-Odofin to Oshodi, Mushin to Shomolu, Kosofe to Eti-Osa, Apapa to Oshodi. Be expecting me. If you see me or my campaign members on the streets, embrace them. Let them know you are a Destiny 2007 Team member, because we all cherish your support, no matter who you are or where you are from.

Once again, I thank you all for being apart of the Destiny 2007 Campaign. Feel free to send me an email anytime you desire. More importantly, forward this message to as many friends and family members you can- be it by oral communication or by forwarding this email. Remember our campaign slogan: Together, We Will Make it Happen. I urge you to seize this moment, and secure our future. VOTE FEMI PEDRO.

Sincerely,
Olufemi Pedro
Destiny 2007 Campaign Team.

http://www.femipedro.com

Afam,

I am of the opinion that Pedro's campaign team are focusing more on Pedro as an individual, not necessarily on the labour party. but unfortunately, there are many nigerians who still vote party lines, when, as buluti mentioned, our parties dont take certain positions on certain issues. it is because of these people that they have decided to discuss more about the party.

pedro is trying to run an issue-oriented campaign, i think the problem is the media. they are not bringing to the forefront the things that should really matter.instead of focusing on where each candidate stands on certain issues (medicare, abortion, crime, etc) they are glorifying pdp vs AC battle. Not once has either party come out to tell us their position on critical issues. WHAT IS IRONIC IS THAT TILL TODAY, LABOUR PARTY IS THE ONLY PARTY THAT HAS AT LEAST MENTIONED WHERE IT STANDS ON CERTAIN ISSUES. mr pedro was on radio last week, talking about where he stood on healthcare, education, pension, etc. i mean he was dolling out statistics like a chatter-box, i was so amazed that his team took the time and patience to do a thorough research on these issues.


i am very excited about the debate that will hold between the candidates in Lagos. It is my hope that the other candidates wont dribble their way out of it, because Pedro has said over and over that he wants a televised debate.

kitaun:

Femi Pedro can't even compete with some people aspiring to be LGA chairmen not to talk of people like Jimi Agbaje and Akeem Gbajabiamila!!

really? says who? the people of lagos?


this time around, the people of lagos will decide. and people like u are in for a shocker

mo wapa:

I am intrigued by this dude and went on line to research him, am somehow impressed and would vote for him except i don't live in Naija. For what it matters I'M ADOPTING AND ENDORSING THIS DUDE! abeg, Mr Pedro no messup oh.

that was my same impression when i started researching him late 2003. i met him officially in 2004, and since then, I have been telling whoever cared to listen that he is legit.