As preparations heat up for the 2015 presidential election, top Northern politicians on Tuesday set up a movement, known as Majalisar Talakawa (Peoples Movement), to critically review the current political arrangement, and elected officers in Nigeria.
The movement, which was inaugurated in Kaduna on Tuesday, was convened by a former Governor of Kaduna state, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, and the leader of the Northern Civil Society Coalition, Malam Shehu Sani.
According to them, the movement was a revolutionary one with the aim at protecting the interest of the ordinary Nigerian towards the 2015 general elections.
Speaking at the well-attended event, Balarabe, who also doubles as leader of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties, said there was the need to sensitise Nigerians on the coming 2015 general elections, especially on the need to ensure that credible politicians were elected to handle the affairs of the nation.
He also blamed President Goodluck Jonathan for what he termed poor leadership role in the country.
Musa noted that the inauguration of the movement was meant “to ensure that those who have no business in governance are not found in the corridor of power and nothing more.”
He added that the formation of the new movement was consistent with the fundamental rights provisions of the 1999 Constitutions of Nigeria; just as the formation became imperative in view of “the level of marginalisation of the masses in Nigeria, which has gone so far that something must be done, even for the sake of peace in the country.”
The former Governor said, “The response from the proletariat or talakawa today is very encouraging because this is the first outing of the Peoples Parliament or rather the assembly of the common men, or the assembly of the proletariat.
“What they have chosen to campaign for is the liberation of the common man; liberation of the proletariat, and this is very important now, particularly because of the level of social marginalization in Nigeria today.”
Also speaking at the event, Sani, the President of the Civil Rights Congress, said there was the need to protect the value of democracy in the country.
He observed that after 14 years of democratic rule in Nigeria, the system had yet to impact positively on the ordinary Nigerians.
The CRC leader said, “It is about 14 years since the restoration of democracy, and it is evidently clear that both the elected and appointed people that have found themselves in public offices have taken the issue of the common man to the background.”
On the birth of the movement, Sani said it would be an avenue for the common man to express his grievances against those in position of power in the country.
Comments