Bola Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has promised to convert Nigerian Internet fraudsters known as Yahoo boys to technology experts.
He noted this during his campaign rally in Benin, the Edo State capital, yesterday.
Tinubu, who flew into the ancient city from Kano where his campaign train berthed on Wednesday, urged a huge crowd of supporters at the University of Benin Sports Complex, Ugbowo, to vote for him, if they wanted to be rich.
The former Lagos State governor also canvassed reparation by some European nations for returned Benin artefacts.
Besides, he criticised former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) candidate Atiku Abubakar, accusing them of focusing on personal comfort instead of developing the country when they were in power between 1999 and 2007.
He faulted Obasanjo’s endorsement of the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, saying he (Obi) “could not tackle erosion menace in the Southeast state of Anambra” where served as governor for eight years.
Describing himself as a knowledgeable man, the APC candidate, said industrial and technology hubs would be created to make the youths become instruments for development.
His words: ”I will convert Yahoo boys and make them useful by converting their talents and intellects to produce chips for industries. We can defeat poverty, ignorance and homelessness. We have the knowledge, we have the brain to do it. Trust me. I am an expert in finding the way where there is no way. I found a way to tame the Atlantic in Lagos and turn it to money- making machine.
“Sociologically, we can make mountains, we can climb Kilimanjaro, we can defeat poverty. We will break the shackle of poverty, ignorance and homelessness.”
Tinubu accused Obasanjo and the past PDP government of failing to provide electricity for Nigerians “to make even popcorn “ after spending $16 billion on the power sector.
He said: “I brought Enron to solve electricity problem and help Lagos economy, but Obasanjo and PDP frustrated it. They punished me and Lagos people and even began deducting our money.
“I created local governments in Lagos to accelerate development and create employment for our people, but Obasanjo seized our allocation and punished us for that. That was wickedness and such a man said he endorsed a man for you to vote as President.
“Can you follow such a man? Can Obasanjo recommend a leader to anyone in Nigeria? A man who does not know the way cannot show the way.”
The APC standard bearer, who also said that Atiku was unfit to be president, accused Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and his allies of ordering the removal of his billboards.
He said: “Show me a better job that Atiku did before. You cannot find it. He is not the smartest customs officer. A customs officer, who cannot define the ethics of the civil service. A civil servant, who said selling cars is where he made his money, but does not know that the only thing that civil servants can do is agriculture, not dealing in or smuggling cars. That is a disqualification. He (Atiku) is not fit to be president.”
On the returned artefacts, Tinubu said: “Edo people, prosperity has come, happiness has come, hope is back in your homes, knowledge is back in your community. I am happy about the returned artefacts. They are bringing our artefacts. I support the Oba of Benin who said our heritage must come back, but I disagree with the Europeans.
“They have used our artefacts for exhibitions and tourism for decades in their museums to make money. They should not just send them back without money. When I become President, I will ask them to pay us restitution. I will contribute to the building of the museum in Benin.”
Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje hailed the crowd at the Sports Centre assured that the 19 Northern states would massively vote for Tinubu.
A former National Chairman of the APC, Adams Oshiomhole, described Tinubu as a president in waiting, who believes in the unity of Nigeria.
