- He would’ve been better as a cleric – Shettima
- His govt has failed Nigeria – Balarabe Musa
Following what they described as their disappointment with the present administration, and the controversies that have continued to trail the health status of President Muhammadu Buhari, some concerned stakeholders and leaders in the Northern part of the country have given up on the ability of the President to turn things around in Nigeria.
While some of the northern leaders, who spoke in separate interviews with The Point, are canvassing that the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, should take over the mantle of leadership as substantive President, others want Buhari to continue, but not beyond 2019.
The Point’s findings revealed that most of the Northern leaders, who were Buhari’s backbone on his way to power, had, however, regretted their support, especially against the backdrop of the claims that his administration had allegedly been hijacked due to his old age and failing health.
The Northern leaders, who seem to be entertaining fears over the health status of the President, in separate interviews with The Point, advised that Buhari, having tried his best, should forget about coming back in 2019, “if God gives him the grace to finish the current tenure.”
The National President, Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Alhaji Yerima Shetima, while expressing concern over the Buhari administration, told The Point that the Northerners, having known the health situation of the President, had started praying for him to conclude his first tenure.
He said, “As it is, we are praying for him to finish this tenure, because there is a mandate by the Nigerian people. We pray strongly that Buhari should be alive to finish his tenure in these first four years. But the question of his coming back in 2019 is totally unacceptable, because definitely, we will have a better replacement.
“We cannot continue to run a country like this, in a situation where the government has been hijacked, where the man, who is supposed to be in charge, is kept out of the system, and some people take advantage of his age, his health situation, of having been around him.”
Shetima added, “As we speak, they have done nothing more than unleash hardship on Nigerians, deprive the masses of good living, and at the same time, this has led to total bastardisation of Buhari’s fight against corruption, because people are more corrupt in this present administration, while many are in total bondage.
“We appreciate the fact that he is a human being like us; he has good intention, but, unfortunately, he has bad eggs around him, and he alone cannot do it.” He added that President Buhari would have been better appreciated as a cleric than an administrator holding the reins of governance in Nigeria.
“The likes of Buhari are not to lead Nigeria at this particular time. He should be in better places like worship places, where he will be appreciated. But in terms of administration, certainly, he cannot do more than this, because of his age.
But in 2019, we will come up with a younger and vibrant person,” he said. On Igbo presidency, which some Nigerians have been clamouring for, Shettima said, “For me I have no problem with them, but I will appeal to them to allow us to successfully finish this tenure. But as I see them, I can see that they are not ready for 2019.
So, they should prepare for 2023.” A Second Republic lawmaker and convener of the Coalition of Northern Politicians, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, said President Buhari had overstayed his welcome in the governance of the country, calling on the Senate to do the needful by impeaching him, while paving the way for the vice president to take over the highest political office in order to proactively move the country forward.
He said, “The President is clearly incapacitated and that is why we have this economic and political situation, security crises and the rest. I don’t see what he can do if he remains in power till 2019, and if he has no value, why are we deceiving ourselves? “If he cannot go further than this, then his time is up.
The likes of Buhari are not to lead Nigeria at this particular time. He should be in better places like worship places, where he will be appreciated. But in terms of administration, certainly, he cannot do more than this, because of his age. But in 2019, we will come up with a younger and vibrant person.
The Senate should impeach him, and Osinbajo should take over, because already, at the moment, he is the one acting as President.” Mohammed also pointed out that Buhari’s failure galvanised the ongoing agitation for the Presidency by the South-Easterners.
He said, “In less than two years into the Buhari administration, tribal leaders have been speaking on the issues of who will be the next president. Meanwhile, this discussion is coming to the fore front, because Buhari has failed and he doesn’t have what it takes to lead a country like Nigeria.
“Analysts think that, since he became the President, he has never spoken for the North, and he didn’t speak for any region in the country. And you begin to wonder, who does he speak for? And clearly, the North is not with him again.
Only the cabal, which comprises Mamman Daura, his Chief of Staff; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal, and others are his life. And these are the reasons the South East are calling for their turn in the Presidency.”
“As it is, nobody knows what will happen to this government between now and 2019, and given the situation now, it is a season of crises, not only within the ruling All Progressives Congress, but even in government and across the country,” he said.
On Igbo’s agitation for the Presidency in 2019, Mohammed said, “As far as I’m concerned, I don’t have any issue with them, because I know that, someday, there will be an Igbo President in Nigeria. But it is an issue of process.”
A former Governor of the old Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, who is reputed for his frankness, said that the Buhari administration had succeeded in further dipping the country in hardship, and should not exist beyond 2019.
The former governor also said that the solution to Nigeria’s problems was the restructuring of the federation. He said, “My concern at present is the social and economic system that should guide Nigeria. I expect this to guide us into reconstructing the nation.
As it is, this country is wallowing in the midst of backwardness, characterised by high level of corruption, impunity, poverty, insecurity, unemployment and others. “This administration has failed Nigeria and I think they have had it all.”
He also gave his take on Igbo presidency in 2019, saying, “Like every other region in the country, I think it is time they should be given the opportunity to rule the country, because, I think, they are the only section in the country that has been long denied their constitutional right of ruling this country.”
A founding member of the Arewa Consultative Forum and an elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakassai, advised that the President should first consider his health before any national assignment.
Yakassai, a former liaison officer to former President Shehu Shagari, said, “As far as I am concerned now, what we need is praying for him to come back fit. If anyone is sick, I think what people around him should be doing is praying for him.
Though I am not his adviser, and I will not say he should or he should not contest in 2019, for now, I think he should face his health and recover fully before he thinks of any other thing.”
