Averting The Run Of Play By Cinwon Alli-Bob

Since 2015 Nigeria and the African continent as a whole has witnessed a diversion from the norm in the political space. It was clearly witnessed in the 2015 general elections in Nigeria where for the first time an incumbent president lost to the major opposition, another instance was in Gambia where Yahaya Jammeh was defeated by Adama Barrow after 22 years in power and finally late last year in the gold coast where the then Incumbent John Mahama was defeated by NPP’s Nana Akufo-Addo.

With the aforementioned it is clear the African continent and her people are certainly not happy with the leadership style of “business as usual”. One thing that is clear is we are tired of the present state of things. There is a wave of discontent, a public outcry for help and a strong will for real and genuine change; not repackaged old dogs trying to play new tricks or hope sellers marketing false hope. We are in dire need of visionary leadership and leaders of tested capacity.

In all this, Nigeria is not excluded from this wave of discontent. the giant of Africa has had its fair share. It was this exact wave that brought in the present Buhari led federal government and if care isn’t taken it will serve as the same wave that will graciously lead them out of power come march 2019. President Muhammadu Buharis emergence as President of the world’s most populous black nation was on which was well celebrated and ushered in with a great breath of hope and a milestone in our democracy.

Following President Muhammadu Buharis “glorious emergence” the country was positively hopefully, highly expectant and considerably patient which we feel has been taken for granted. The regular body language antics and unending blame games couldn’t do it. Propaganda lost its allure in the face of massive suffering, poverty, hunger, mass unemployment and soaring crime rates.

After about six months in office Africa’s biggest economy had no functional government cabinet, reports from vanguard newspaper categorically stated that in 2016 alone foreign investments inflow dropped by $4.5 billon, the National Bureau of Statistics {NBS} stated that capital importation into Nigeria fell by 46.86% from $9.646 billion in 2015 to $5.12 billion in 2016, Transparency International a well renowned global anti-corruption watchdog ranked Nigeria 148th least corrupt out of 180 with a score of 28/100, Trade Economics; “unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 18.80% in the third quarter  of 2017 from 16.20% reaching an all-time high of 16 million unemployed Nigerians in 2017 {NBS}

Also statements credited his past colleagues and closest allies like Tunde Bakare his former running mate who said, “no matter how you look at it, this is not the government we all hoped for. This is not what we thought the government that promised change in the beginning will perform so woefully. Any right thinking Nigerian will agree with that. They could have done better than what they have done so far. They themselves know that.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo who was one of the key players in PMB presidency in 2015 after 3 unsuccessful attempts has said “the government of President Muhammadu Buhari has failed in all fronts and warned Nigerians to reject the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in the forthcoming general elections” and the most worrisome of them all was a statement from his wife Aisha Buhari who said “He is yet to tell me if he’ll seek re-election but I have decided as his wife, that if things continue like this up to 2019, I will not go out and campaign again and ask any woman to vote like I did before. I will never do it again,”

In a nutshell, I will like to pass a honest note of advice to His excellency President Muhammadu Buhari not as a government critic or a nay-sayer, but as a citizen of the federal republic of Nigeria strictly guarded by sincerity of purpose and good conscience. I think it’s time His Excellency takes a bow and stepped aside as his tenure comes to an end in 2019. Having served Nigeria as Head of state (31 December 1983 to 27 August 1985), Governor of the North-Eastern State  {1 August 1975 to 3 February 1976}, Federal Commissioner (position now called Minister) for Petroleum and Natural Resources { In March 1976}, the Chairman of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was created in 1977, a gallant combatant of the armed forces, Civilian President amongst others. At age 75 I think its time he retired to a more serene lifestyle and adorn the elder-statesman regalia (if he so pleases) leaving room for others more capable, physically, emotionally and mentally to steer this country to greater heights. Thank you Mr president…you have done well to set the wheels in motion… we will drive it from here.