Amid ongoing public backlash that has greeted the appearance of the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential flag bearer, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the prestigious Institute of Foreign Affairs (Chatham House) in the United Kingdom, a video showing the moment popular ARISE TV presenter, Charles Aniagolu tackled a chieftain of the ruling party, Alhaji Danladi Bako over comments on Tinubu’s performance has surfaced online.
Bako, who is the Director of Strategic Communications in the APC Presidential Campaign Council, was a guest on ARISE TV’s ‘Prime Time on Thursday night to discuss issues surrounding his party’s preparations for the upcoming 2023 general elections, among other things.
However, a few minutes into the interview, a mild drama ensued between Mr. Aniagolu and Alhaji Bako when the latter insisted that come Election Day, Nigerians will not care about Tinubu’s performance at Chatham House to cast their votes.
“I want to assure you that whatever analysis, conjectures, and conclusions that are being drawn are all urban center and social media reactions. The guy sitting at Arochukwu, or Aro Ndi Izuogu, or in Njikoka does not care about Chatham House. The guy sitting in Okitipupa or Forcados does not care about Chatham House. However you think about it, the guy in Garkida in Adamawa does not know about Chatham House. On the day of the election, these are the people who make up 70 percent of the voting public. So, all of us that are sitting here and wearing white collars and are posing, and all that stuff and are busy talking about rhetoric, that’s an elite syndrome. When we get to voting, the guys are not going to remember Chatham House, they are going to be asking what did this candidate do for this person, and what did he do to improve our lives,” Alhaji Bako said.
Quite interestingly, the APC chieftain’s comments on people not caring about Tinubu’s performance at Chatham House when it comes to voting did not sit well with Mr. Aniagolu, who proceeded to tell his guest that he is underestimating the new mentality that is currently sweeping across the nation ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.
He said; “I think that you are completely wrong there actually. I think that you are underestimating the new Nigerian, a modern Nigerian who is going forward into the 2023 elections. The key point here is that they want to hear from the candidate. They want to be able to assess him. Like you and I are talking now, people can see, without me sounding patronizing, that you are an exceedingly intelligent person by the way that you are answering the questions and parrying the arguments. I mean, if you and I are sitting here, and I am asking you questions, and you are farming them out to somebody else, I mean, you are going to look ridiculous. People want to see your candidate sit where you are sitting right now and be able to answer questions so that they can assess his lucidity.”