MIXED reactions have continued to trail the advice by former President Olusegun Obasanjo that President Muhammadu Buhari should not seek re-election.
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist Monday Ubani said Obasanjo’s letter was long expected, adding that it was belated. He said the former President had written such letters to everybody that took over from him.
Ubani said such letters were even written to former military leaders like Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha. He added: “Such scathing and virulent attacks on leaders before and after him are therefore not novel. What is novel is that his attack on Buhari did not come at the right time, for some reasons best known to him.
“Most of the times he catches on the mood of the moment to speak frankly to past leaders and usually gather applause for speaking the truth. The issues he has raised this time around are equally frank and straight to the point.
“However, former President Obasanjo should not allow this idea to get into his head that he has become the ‘power and principality’ that will always determine the political direction of Nigeria. Nigerians should always know when they are tired of any government and should determine the fate of their leaders, including President Muhammadu Buhari, if at all he decides to contest in 2019. When they so decide, it would not be because former President Obasanjo instructed them to do so, but because they are tired of the ‘change’.
“My humble take about Nigeria is that the destiny of Nigeria should not be seen to be in the hands of the “supposed powers and principalities” of Nigerian politics, but in the hands of the majority of Nigerians who must always have their way. That is the way for us to go and it is my dream for our dear country.
“Nigerians will not reject President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, because former President Obasanjo says so, but because President Muhammadu Buhari may have wittingly or unwittingly rejected Nigerians. He alone by now should know his status with Nigerians. A word is enough for the wise.”
A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Ebenezer Babatope, said Obasanjo was right in his observations on President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and that he has the right to comment on the administration, just like every other Nigerian.
His words: “Obasanjo has every right to say whatever he wants concerning the administration of Buhari. However, he should leave out my party, the PDP, in his analysis. The only aspect I find offensive in his comment is when he starts castigating my party. What has the PDP got to do with the APC government?
“Let him continue to attack the Buhari administration as long as he wants, but he should stop making reference to the PDP. The two parties are not the same.”
A newly-registered political party, the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN), has commended Obasanjo for writing the letter, saying it is a true reflection of the state of the nation. The ANN Chairman, Dr Jay Samuels, said the alliance of professionals and non-professional politicians which his party represent is the anti-dote suggested by Obasanjo.
Samuels added: “In our analysis of the political space, it became obvious at a point in time that if things continued the way they are, the country would be in dire straits. That is the rationale for the emergence of the ANN. So, the former President Obasanjo is saying the obvious: the two parties that currently domits the polity, the APC and the PDP have lost direction.
“This is an opportunity for all Nigerians, irrespective of religion or tribe to be politically involved and play their role in the enthronement of good governance, in response to the yearnings and aspirations of the average Nigerian.”
A youth activist, Comrade Lawrence Idahosa, believes the decision to seek re-election or not lies with President Muhammadu Buhari. He said “no one can decide for him; it is a personal decision. I don’t think Obasanjo’s letter or advice will influence Buhari not to vie for second term.”
Idahosa said such advice should not come from Obasanjo. He said: “He has had his own share as a military Head of State and a civilian president for eight years. What impact did he make? What changes did he make when he had the opportunity to turn this country around?
“If Obasanjo wants to stage a comeback into full politics, he should come out openly to tell Nigerians. He was talking of a third force. He should tell people to join his new political association that he was indirectly trying to promote, instead of running down the Buhari-led APC government.”
The National Chairman of the United Progressives Party (UPP), Chief Chekwas Okorie, also described Obasanjo’s letter as timely. He added: “Buhari should be allowed to run. In fact, I am praying that the APC should present him in 2019 to make its defeat easy. His not running will make it difficult to defeat the APC.”
The Nation