Former Media Aide to Kano State Governor, Salihu Tanko Yakasai has joined the People’s Redemption Party PRP.
Salihu Tanko recently tenders his resignation from the ruling All Progressives Congress APC.
In a statement, Salihu Tanko Yakasai said, “Today, I am officially joining the PRP as a member.”
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The statement reads in part;
WHY I EMBRACED THE PEOPLE’S REDEMPTION PARTY: FREEDOM AND PURPOSE
By
Salihu Tanko Yakasai
CORE PRINCIPLES AND PURPOSE
The Sawaba Declaration (of principles), crafted by Sa’adu Zungur and, read at the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), Lafia Convention of 1953 by Mallam Aminu Kano, sought, among other things, to do the following:
– Emancipate the talaka from feudal, colonial and neocolonial class oppression and absolute poverty;
– Replace the autocratic political order with a democratic dispensation;
– Place democratic institutions in the hands of the ‘Talakawa for whom alone these institutions exist’.
For me, these cardinal principles remain relevant to our struggle for emancipation in this moment, just as it was for our parents in Northern Nigeria in particular, and the rest of the country at large during the first and second republics.
Thus, the NEPU foundation of principles, carried on by the PRP during the short lived second republic, is what has given us the freedom to boldly stand against autocratic leaders in this country today, and publicly reject their betrayal of the masses at the polls and in public office as legislators, executives, and privileged appointees of government.
The PRP is still alive and regrowing. Its message and performance in government continues to influence and inspire a new generation of politicians in this republic. I am part of the young generation of politicians that the party has inspired to retrace my steps and return home to the real struggle for redemption in Nigeria.
Our tragedy as a polity comes from the abandonment of foundational principles such as the SAWABA declaration, and its replacement by opportunism, amoral conduct, market mentality, and greed as the main drivers of politics in our nation.
This unfortunate reality has made the talakawa powerless and their living conditions worse than it was in the 1950s and 60s.
FREEDOM OF CHOICE
I joined partisan politics in December 2000 precisely with such dreams in mind. I aligned myself with those I thought knew better. Like every novice politician, I looked up to those I thought were better experienced. I dutifully and respectfully followed them. That took me from one party to another: the APP, then ANPP, followed by the CPC, all of which later on collapsed as the APC.
Now I am proud to say that I am my own man, my own boss, my own voice, my own spirit. In essence, I am free. And freedom is the bedrock of all politics. To be able to choose is to exercise the highest form of liberty.
I have always admired the PRP for its principles, its determination to actualise them against all odds, and its rich history. My encounter with some of its existing members helped to convince me that my trust is not misplaced. After careful consideration, consultation and deep reflection, I have decided to come back home to the politics of ideology and emancipation of the talaka. Today, I am officially joining the PRP as a member.
I now call on all my supporters here present and absent to come forward and join the party of Abdul Kadir Balarabe Musa, Abubakar Rimi, and Aminu Kano. This party was held together by Balarabe Musa aftet the passing of his predecessors. All of them wanted this party to survive them and reach us to continue with the struggle for redemption. Today that struggle is ours. We embrace it with love, courage, and fearlessness. And it is my fervent hope that my friends, political associates, and teeming supporters will join the PRP with zeal to ensure that we revitalise it together for victory in all future elections. We have no other choice but to take our destiny into our hands and redeem our country from misgovernance and near total collapse. With the PRP there will be a future for democracy, development, and freedom in Nigeria.
UNITY, STRENGTH AND ACTION
Therefore, I urge you all to join me in the PRP and let us march forward to 2023 with firm steps to redeem ourselves from the failed rulers and their system that has turned poverty into a national epidemic.
In this struggle, being neutral is not an option; being an arm chair critic is not a headway. The headway is take direct part in the political struggle to actualise the dream of our party bravehearts for the good life and freedom for all our people: women, men, and children.
I urge us all to be doers and not chronic complainers or prophets of despair. I call on us all to stand up and be counted. So join me and my great party, the PRP, the party of Nigerian humanists, to liberate our country and secure it for generations yet unborn.
My immediate task is to help unite the PRP into a formidable force for good and democratic government at all levels in Nigeria. A united PRP, I believe, is unbeatable, not just in Kano but, throughout Nigeria. So victory (Nasara) is our destiny. And the only way to achieve it is by the ‘ZeroTension’ approach to politics. This simply means to believe in a cause and to do everything humanly possible to attain it peacefully, with the conviction that as we plan, Allah also plans, and He is the Best Planner.
Thank you all.
Salihu Tanko Yakasai (Dawisun Kano)
PRP Member
PRP VICTORY!
