Comrade Jasper Azuatalam fetes his people
In Nigeria today today, if there
are three men from the south in whom President Muhammadu Buhari is well
pleased, it is no gainsaying that Comrade Jasper Azuatalam is one of them. Those
who are frequent at the presidential villa, Abuja lend credence to the fact
that the name and face of Jasper Azuatalam is a recurring decimal. No wonder he
is the youngest member of the Board of trustees of the All Progressives
Congress, APC and a member of APC campaign council in various states including
Bayelsa and Kogi state. Jasper Azuatalam was among the very few who spoke up against the wanton corruption that characterized the immediate past administration and so he teamed up with other progressives to forge an alliance that has brought forth an era of Change in Nigeria. Comrade Jasper is the national coordinator of Buhari Vanguard.
On 24th of December, 2015, Comrade Jasper
brought men and women of goodwill, from all walks of life, to his village,
Okuku, in Owerri west Local Government Area, Imo state, to join him to
celebrate his people.
The roll call at the occasion includes the Secretary to
the State Governement, Sir Jude Ejiogu, Hon. Chike Okafor, member representing
Okigwe South constituency in the federal house of Representatives, Hon. Victor
Onyewuchi (Ikonne), member representing Owerri west in the state House of
Assembly, Prince (Dr.) Henry Uzor Okafor, former MD of ISOPADEC, Pastor Tasie
Ugo, Mr. Chris-lance Onyemachara, Hon. TOE Ekechi, just to mention a few.
Comrade Jasper found time to speak with Francis Udoka Ndimkoha on the essence
of the gathering. Excerpts:
Good evening comrade Jasper. Pls
what’s going on here?
Jasper: This is my place. This is
where I was born. Some people will say we are Abuja politicians because we
incidentally started politics at the National level. But I am not one to forget
my root. In fact I grew up here, so before the presidential elections, I came
to meet my people, I gathered them together and I told them about President
Muhammadu Buhari, and I encouraged them to vote for him. And after the elections,
after we won the elections, I also called my community and my Local Government
to thank them for voting for President Muhammadu Buhari. Yes, my people
actually voted for President Muhammadu Buhari, infact this arena where we are
standing has two polling booths, and PMB won in both. And when I saw people
voting for PMB and standing by to defend their votes, it was amazing because I
was here in 2011, during the Presidential elections and it was like a taboo to
mention the name of Buhari in these parts. So, it was a new normal to realize
that people could vote for PMB and stand by to defend the votes. In 2011, there
was CPC headquarters in Amapu, the next village from mine, I was happy when I
came back to behold it, but sadly, those people supported PDP in that 2011
election. But this time, people were fed up with PDP and they voted for Buhari
and I assured them that Buhari will deliver. So, after about seven months, I
thought I should come back to my people and tell them what the President has
been able to do thus far and what they should expect, going forward and also to
give the little I have for them to celebrate their christmas.
It is rare to see a politician
holding such gathering in the village. One would expect that you will want to
hold it maybe in the heart of Owerri, or Abuja, or even Lagos, why did you
decide to bring it home?
Jasper: Infact they were
suggestions that I should take this to the town, to big hotels but I resisted
that idea. The purpose of doing this is to bring the government closer to my
people. You saw the Secretary to the Government of Imo state, Sir Jude Ejiogu,
you saw Hon. Chike Okafor of the House of Reps, you saw the APC Owerri zonal
Vice chairman, house of Assembly members, commissioners and a lot of other top
government functionaries and party leaders who may not ordinarily come to this
place, so I thought I should use my little influence and the love that these
people have for me to bring them closer to my people and see how they are
fairing. As you can see, the road to my place is not very good, it is even
better now because we have tried to patch it, and make it motorable. The SSG
who is a representative of the state Governor has come, seen the road, and
given assurance that it will get government attention and am sure he will do
something. As an individual also, am working towards attracting federal
presence through NDDC and other
parastatals to make sure my people feel the impact of government.
Comments
Post a Comment