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| Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Vice Patron & Trustee, Yoruba Tennis Club, Dr. Abayomi Finnih; APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, and Chairman of the Club, Chief Babajide Damazio, during the Club’s 96th Anniversary Lecture held at Greetings Hall, Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos Island on Thursday, September 15, 2022 |
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is the most capable of all the presidential candidates vying to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2023, according to Lagos State Governor Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and APC vice presidential candidate Senator Kashim Shettima.
At the Yoruba Tennis Club’s 95+1th anniversary lecture, held in the Club’s Greeting Hall in Lagos, Governor Sanwo-Olu and Shettima advised Nigerians to abstain from religious sentiments support candidates with the best qualifications for the presidency.
According to Governor Sanwo-Olu, choosing the next President of Nigeria should be based on leadership qualities, character, the audacity of thought, and the capacity to think critically and solve problems. He urged Nigerians not to allow religious division, particularly in light of the APC’s Muslim-Muslim joint ticket for the presidential election.
He said: “There is nothing in the issue of a Muslim-Muslim Ticket. I am a Christian, and my wife is a Christian, but we know too well that it is not about religion. We have forgotten that in 2011 the Action Congress of Nigeria fielded Mallam Nuhu Ribadu and his vice presidential candidate, Mr. Fola Adeola, on a Muslim-Muslim ticket. We did not see any problem at that time.
“But suddenly, because there is a likelihood of this ticket (Tinubu-Shettima) emerging as a winner, people now want to divide us. We will say no because that is not who we are. It is about leadership. It is about character. It is about the audacity to think. It is about the ability to think deeply and solve problems.
“We do not want to despise other candidates. We all know too well what their antecedents are. We all know, too, what their credentials are. But we know that we need a strong launch pad as a nation. We need to think out of the box and be able to put our best foot forward.
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| Vice Chairman, Yoruba Tennis Club, Bro. Olakunle Agbebi; Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Chairman of the Club, Chief Babajide Damazio; APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima; Vice Patron & Trustee, Yoruba Tennis Club, Dr. Abayomi Finnih and Secretary, Board of Trustees, Yoruba Tennis Club, Bro. Bolaji Cole, during the Club’s 96th Anniversary Lecture held at Greetings Hall, Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos Island on Thursday, September 15, 2022 |
“I want to thank the leadership of the Yoruba Tennis Club again for making the right choice by inviting Senator Kashim Shettima to deliver the anniversary lecture. We are celebrating 96 years now and let it be on record that by 2026 during our centenary celebration, by the grace of God, we will have Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu coming here to celebrate with us as President on our centenary and of course by your grace and your support, I will still remain as your 15th Governor, coming here and celebrate in four years time and all of you will be here.”
In addition, Governor Sanwo-Olu exhorted Lagos State citizens and Yorubas to work for Asiwaju Tinubu’s election as Nigeria’s future leader. “We should produce the next President, I believe. We in Lagos merit it. Lagos needs it, and by God’s help, it will grow into a bigger, better, and more powerful nation and state that you can all be happy to call home.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was cited by Senator Kashim as a prime example of national cohesiveness in his speech, “Social Club and the Search for a National Cohesion in Nigeria.”
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| Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, presents an Award of recognition to APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, while Chairman, Yoruba Tennis Club, Chief Babajide Damazio, watches during the Club’s 96th Anniversary Lecture held at Greetings Hall, Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos Island on Thursday, September 15, 2022 |
Shettima, a former governor of Borno State, stated that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket was committed to creating a progressive and united nation to exploit the country’s best. Shettima also added that the candidacy will rekindle the spirit of patriotism and draw on all the positive lessons from the admirable history of the Yoruba Tennis Club.
He said: “We have seen the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the presidential candidate of the APC. We are convinced that the general political situation in Nigeria needs the competencies of a detribalized and committed Nigerian, like ABAT (Tinubu), to re-ignite the requisite values that can help us rededicate ourselves to all Nigerians to collectively tackle the challenges of national cohesion.
“The 2023 general elections are just a few months away, and Nigerians have a choice to determine our destiny.
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| Vice Chairman, Yoruba Tennis Club, Mr. Olakunle Agbebi; Lagos Deputy Governor, Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Club’s Chairman, Chief Babajide Damazio and APC Vice-Presidential Candidate, Senator Kashim Shettima, during the Club’s 96th Anniversary Lecture held at Greetings Hall, Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos Island on Thursday, September 15, 2022 |
“In 2023, we need a Nigerian leader with the humility and generosity of spirit of General Yakubu Gowon. We need a leader that has the commitment of Muhammadu Buhari.
” We need a leader with the work ethic and broad-mindedness of an Olusegun Obasanjo. We need a leader with situational pragmatism and understanding of Nigeria’s security, the Maradona skill of Ibrahim Babangida.
” We need a leader with a vision and sense of responsibility and commitment and somebody who understands the nation like an Abdulsalami Abubakar. In our systemic circumstances, we need a leader with a dose of the hospitality of a Sani Abacha.
” We need a leader with the intellectual acumen, with the action to catapult this nation to a higher pedestrian. We need a leader who is not bound by regional or religious sentiment.
” We need a leader that has established such records of excellence and commitment to good governance. There is no one, with all due respect, that fits this than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Shettima also commended Yoruba Tennis Club’s leadership and members for sustaining one of the best social clubs in Nigeria in the last 96 years.
“We must get our politics right, in the same patriotic manner that the Founding Fathers of the Yoruba Tennis Club, and their successors, got it right and have kept it going for 96 years. Social clubs play a vital role in the process of national cohesion.
“Inadvertently, you (Yoruba Tennis Club) have taught the lesson of brotherhood and enduring legacy having survived all the challenges of the past 96 years. This statement of success and continuity is a lesson we must take on board if we are to build a great country,” he said.
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| Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu (right) exchanges greetings with APC Vice-Presidential Candidate Senator Kashim Shettima (left) while the Chairman, Yoruba Tennis Club, Chief Babajide Damazio (middle), watches on during the Club’s 96th Anniversary Lecture held at Greetings Hall, Yoruba Tennis Club, Lagos Island on Thursday, September 15, 2022 |
In his address, the Chairman of the Yoruba Tennis Club, Chief Babajide Damazio, said the Club, since its existence in 1926, has witnessed many seasons of bloom and gloom and therefore enjoined members to continuously celebrate the essence of their togetherness.