A third force political movement has debuted ahead of the 2023 general elections in Nigeria. It is styled “Rescue Nigeria Project, RNP”, and is envisaged to provide Nigerians an alternative platform to APC, the All Progressives Congress, and PDP, the People’s Democratic Party.
Founders of RNP include former governor of Kwara state, Ahmed Abdulfatai, Prof. Pat Utomi, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke, Senator Lee Maeba, Usman Bugaje, Prof. Attahiru Jega, Amb. Nkoyo Toyo, Yomi Awoniyi, Dr. Rose Idi Danladi, Dr. Sadiq Gombe among others.
In his keynote presentation, Abdulfatai lamented the state of the nation, noting that the high level of nepotism and lack of inclusiveness has given rise to agitations by different ethnic groups..
He said, “It is based on this that we decided to set up this Rescue Nigeria Project. We want to salvage this country and see how we can fix the mess. We want to set a template and key criteria leaders must have before they can attain any political position.
“In 2015, Nigerians overwhelmingly embraced the promise of change. These hopes have not only been dashed, but they have arguably turned out to be the worst political statements ever to be made in this country. Nigeria today appears set to fulfill all prophesies of doom.”
He further noted that “Unprecedented nepotism and political exclusion have left the country more divided than ever as evident in the various separatist’s agitation that is threatening the corporate existence of the country itself.”
Also speaking, Adeniran noted that there is a disaster at hand, hence the move to rescue the nation.
“We have a disaster in our hands and we need to rescue Nigeria. We need to look back and see how we get here. We know where Nigeria was before now. We know the task is not going to be easy, but we have to determine how to rescue the nation.”
In his opening remarks, the RNP national coordinator, Usman Bugaje, explained that the Rescue Nigeria Project was founded on the premise that the challenges bedeviling the country were largely derived from poor leadership.
Chiding the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government Bugaje said, “When you reduce the problems of this country to what they are, ultimately, it all comes to leadership.
“The challenge is how to introduce a set of criteria or better still re-calibrate the recruitment mechanism in our political parties to prioritize knowledge, competence and character. The deepening crises in the political parties are all the more reason this re-calibration is necessary.
Rescue Nigeria has the vision “to reconcile and reunite our country, win and deploy political power for the purpose of nation-building and national development, achieving prosperity for all, and the protection of life and dignity of every Nigerian citizen.”
