As early as 8:00am of Saturday, December 10, 2022, the women of Borno and other states of the North East geo-political region of the country started arriving in trickles and droves to the Sport Centre in Maiduguri, Borno State, the venue of the kick-off of the Tinubu/Shettima presidential campaign rally for women of that region.
In twos and threes, in fives and tens, in twenties and fifties, the women walked to the venue of the gathering and as the day wore on, the women across the region turned out in their large numbers with passion and determination in their hearts for the success of their party across all levels.
The event was organised by the North East APC Women Campaign Council, with the wife of the Borno Governor, Her Excellency, Dr. Falmata Umara Zulum, leading the way.
In the planning, organisation and eventual outcome of the event, Hajia Nana Kashim Shettima, wife of the vice-presidential running mate, proved how much of a planner, a mobiliser, an excellent organiser and team player she is.
The summary of what happened before, during and after the event proved that working with other women, an intelligent, liberal and focused woman can indeed deliver on a colourful and purposive event of gathering women to rally for a common cause.
Adorned with veils dotted with the APC logo and the Asiwaju-designed trademark, the APC Women of the North East successfully delivered on the theme of the event of the day, which was to drum up support among the women of the North East for the Tinubu/Shettima candidacy.
The core of the day’s event began with Dr. Asabe Vilita Bashir, National Co-ordinator of the Tinubu/Shettima Women Presidential Campaign Team, who rendered a soul-stirring song entitled ‘’Bola, on Your Mandate We Stand’’.
She said both Tinubu and Kashim are tested and trusted. On Tinubu, she said the presidential candidate has demonstrated his commitment to women empowerment in particular by picking the first female deputy governor in Nigeria when he was Governor of Lagos State.
Next, came the turn of the Deputy APC National Women Leader, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim, who spoke to the gathering in Hausa and Fulfulde.
She said the time has come for the North East to be counted in the scheme of things at the national level. With Kashim on the APC Presidential ticket, it was therefore the duty and responsibility of the women of the North East to regard themselves as positioned to have the presidential pie so they must all work to get it.
Senator Grace Bent spoke next by first singing a song in Hausa calling on the women of the North East to vote for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket. The translation of the song she rendered in Hausa is “God had done what no man could do”
Dr. Falmata Zulum also mounted the rostrum and spoke in Kanuri and Hausa, extolling the sterling qualities of Senator Shettima who was a performing governor of Borno State for eight years, calling on women in the North East to come out en masse and vote for the APC.
For Nana Shettima, she assured the enthusiastic audience of APC women that the APC will give support to women, youth and the elderly with emphasis on girl child education, given the scholarly bent of both Tinubu and his running mate.
She went ahead to call on the women in Adamawa to make sure they deliver Senator Binani, the APC Governorship candidate for Adamawa in the forthcoming elections.
Senator Remi Tinubu, wife of the APC Presidential candidate was on hand to see to the success of the occasion, also spoke. She said ‘’On behalf of the Grand Patron of our campaign team, Her Excellency, Dr. Aisha Buhari, she sends her love to the great people of the North East.”
She further told the assembled women that she would work with Nana Shetima as a team to assist the women of the North East through their charity work to support in the areas of women empowerment, youth empowerment and girl child education.
For host Zulum: “I will like to start this address by congratulating our party, the APC, for having the unique combination of His Excellency Senator Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Kashim Shetima, Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu and Hajia Nana Kashim Shetima. I congratulate our party because we have in these four personalities very aggressive, fearless determined, focused and goal-getting combination. None of them is lazy and none of them is an ethnic bigot. This kind of combination does not happen easily.”
Zulum lauded Shettima, his predecessor, for what he said was Shettima’s high optimism. He said the man has never been associated with failure.
He said further that for the people of Borno, the election is personal not just because Kashim is on the ticket but because the Federal Government has significantly improved the security situation in the state.
The Chairman of APC in Borno, Alhaji Ali Bukar Dalori, said for the people of Borno, the presidential campaign has been made easy because of the achievements of the APC administration.
He thanked the APC Women Campaign Council for choosing Borno to flag off the campaign in the North East, saying Borno is 100% APC state.
There was a huge turn-out of the youth, which did not go unnoticed as Senator Remi Tinubu gave them a special recognition in her speech.
The Borno-based Maliki Dancers, a famous music group, entertained the gathering with excellent cultural performances of various variety while Hausa campaign songs rented the air, giving the audience a great political and social day.
