My plan to leave Nigeria after Tinubu’s victory on course – Bode George

PUNCH

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Bode George, shares with AYOOLA OLASUPO his thoughts on the declaration of Bola Tinubu as the President-elect among other national issues

What is your general assessment of the presidential and National Assembly elections held on Saturday?

Without missing words, it was shambolic, shameless and full of inadequacies and futility. I am so heartbroken because I thought we were going to lift Nigeria to the level of a civilised world, that from every polling station, the results would be transmitted electronically into the server and it was done during Anambra, Ekiti and Osun states governorship elections. We were all clapping, happy, and ready to elevate this nation from the dull room of filth to the level of a civilised world. And as a professor, I am so disappointed, because if the National Chairman of INEC, Mahmood Yakubu, knew that there were hitches in the system, the best he could have done morally was to say ‘stop’ to all these operations. He continued with the shenanigans, rubbish and nonsense and started collating, and went back to the old system where they were manipulating the results.

Did you see it coming that Atiku would lose the election?

In our party, I kept shouting and reminding these people that a divided house will be a defeated house. We have created the avenue for these things but that will be a port-mortem analysis within the party. As an elder in the party and a member of the Board of Trustees, we saw it coming. We discussed it because of the failings of the managers of the party. I told them that the South-West had been completely disenfranchised. Look at the way those children came out. The kids between the ages of 18 and 35 came out in millions believing this is the time. They want to change the direction of Nigeria but what did we give them?

…You once said that you would leave Nigeria and renounce your citizenship if Tinubu emerged as president. Now that he has been declared as the winner of the election, will you still renounce your citizenship and leave Nigeria?

That is still on my plan. If I decide on what to do, I wish you well. I’m not looking for a job, I have everything I want and how much can I eat? I also have my children and they are no longer kids. They are all mature so what am I looking for? My wife is there. She will take good care of me. I will stay in Nigeria depending on the outcome of this because I know there might be a hell of a problem.

Which country do you plan on relocating to?

You know I am a military lord so I can go anywhere in any part of the world and I will be looking at you, people. I have even decided that having put 25 years each in the military and politics which is 50 years of my life in the public domain, I need rest so whatever I see at the end of this thing. I’m retiring from partisan politics and will be enjoying the rest of my life.