As the general election draws near, the running mates to the main gladiators, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Peter Obi, running mate to Atiku Abubakar, presidential candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) are sizing each other up.
Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra threw the first salvo on Monday when he taunted Yemi Osinbajo, a Professor of Law over a statement credited to him that he was learning shaku shaku dance step ahead of the 2019 general election.
Speaking with journalists at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport in Abuja upon his arrival from Dubai on Monday, Obi said the Atiku team is spending its time thinking of how to create jobs and not learning how to dance “Shaku Shaku.”
“I have not had the opportunity of reading his comments as I haven’t seen the dailies. I know Vice-President Osibanjo is a gentleman and may not have made such a comment,” Obi said.
“However, while I am not against people dancing or learning how to dance ‘Shaku Shaku’, as I believe it is one of those things that is keeping our people going on in this very difficult times, I believe that the crossroads that we have found ourselves in as a nation requires sober reflection.
“For me in particular, this period calls for sober reflection not dancing or learning how to dance as there are many challenges facing our nation at the moment. Not the least being recently having our country named the world headquarters of extreme poverty with over eighty seven million people. Worse still millions more are losing their jobs, with four million by the third quarter of this year alone.
“Millions of Nigerians go to bed hungry not knowing where the meal for the next day will come from, hundreds of thousands risk death by crossing the Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea to wherever they can make a living.
“These and other challenges are indicative of the dire straits facing us as a nation today. And these are what we on the Atiku team are spending our time with the best minds on how to start creating jobs and putting food on people’s table. We must get Nigeria to start working again for the good of everyone.”