The Spokesperson for the Atiku Campaign Organisation, Kassim Afegbua, has said that the action by the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to erect the World’s Biggest Local Broom Sticks, at the entrance gate of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, is a deliberate decision of the ruling party, aimed at offending the sensibilities of Nigerians and has called on the APC leadership to immediately remove it.
Recall that a Twitter user, @adex0057, uploaded a photograph of the broom, taken on Thursday, and he tagged it as a Guinness World Records, GWR, in his caption.
The tweet which was retweeted by Rauf Aregbesola, the immediate past Governor of Osun State read: “WORLD LARGEST BROOM Attention: @GWR This is the Largest Broom anybody or group has ever [erected] anywhere in the world.
This is the work of some group of volunteers of the @OfficialAPCNg. It deserves your recognition and honour. Location: Abuja; Date: 02/07/2019.”
Kassim Afegbua released a statement on the broom which reads: “This is the most unconscionable piece of idiocy by the APC-led Federal Government, to betray the fundamental objective of citing the Federal Capital Territory, in Abuja, devoid of any shade of partisan colouration or affiliation. This must be a symbol of voodooism that is deliberately erected to offend the sensibilities of others, and betray the very reason why the FCT logo is a symbol of unity.
A party symbol, other than being a sign of voodooism, cannot be erected at such a location, to deface the point of entry to a city that symbolises our unity.
“It is a huge joke taken too far, and the APC Leadership should quickly direct the immediate removal of that poisoned chalice, for the sake of our collective unity. That poisoned broom should be removed forthwith, or we will direct FCT public gardens Officials to remove it immediately.”
Similarly, a popular Social Media Influencer, Japheth Omojuwa, on his twitter handle, @Omojuwa, called for the removal of the statue, saying that, it affects the beauty of the location. He said: “Damn it. Why deface the capital city this way? And the FCT Minister approved this? How many votes will this giant broom get you? I bet zero.
No sane person will decide to vote the APC, on account of this giant broom. So, that makes it a pointless and stupid image. Take it down!”
Responding to the criticisms, the National Publicity Secretary of APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu, said that the opposition party’s reactions in recent times, have become very petty and unacceptable.
He accused the political party of losing touch with its campaign messages to Nigerians, saying that, rather than focusing on attacking the ruling party, “PDP should let the voters know what it would do differently, if given the chance to govern the country again”.
Issa-Onilu added: “But has any other party gone there to erect their symbols and they are stopped? The same people who said APC was not ready to campaign, and that we were relying on rigging methods, are now still complaining that our campaign efforts are too much? I think we need to be more serious in this country.”
Other Nigerians have taken to the social media, to express disappointment over the construction of the giant broom, in front of the Abuja City Gate.
Residents of the Federal Capital Territory, noted that, as at Thursday, it was not clear what was being constructed when they began, but afterwards, it turned out to be the broom symbol of the APC. However, the presence of the APC broom has been greeted by anger and in some cases, major disappointment by very concerned Nigerians.
Here are the reactions of Nigerians on Twitter:
@dondekojo: These ones are installing a giant broom, in front of a national monument? How insane is this?
@Shawnife: These people do not even rate us again. A huge broom has now been mounted in front of the City Gate.
@Biisi96: What is the meaning of this useless broom they are erecting at city gate? So, this is the madness they were up to. I was confused as to what it was yesterday evening. But alas it was buffoonery in the making. I am tired abeg.
@TheIgboWolf: The broom does not represent anything to Nigerians or Nigeria. It is a symbol of a party, just one political party. But it has been mounted at the front of the FCT. Again, this country is not for all of us.
@Waynetipsy_ng tweeted: #2019elections APC Mounts Gigantic Metal Broom At City Gate, Abuja. The broom allegedly cost a whooping N250 million.
@dulzura_2badtz: Just a random question from a curious observer… so is this broom a national monument, or it is just for the election purpose, and how much was budgeted for this?
@ify_zoe wrote: World Largest Broom. You are even tagging Guinness Book of Records without shame. If Buharism is not a mental case, I wonder what it is.
@NotACoquette read: The broom that brings doom.
@Mohd_abdul_’s tweet read: Going to the FRANCE capital, you would see… The ‘EIFFEL TOWER’, but coming to Abuja, the Nigerian capital, you would end up seeing the ‘BIG BROOM’.
@afrispheric: Imagine driving into the capital city of a country in the 21st century, and one of the first things you see is a BROOM. Not a rocket. Not a super computer. Not a freedom fighter. But a dirty looking broom.
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