His Excellency General Mohammed Buhari. GCFR Former Head of State of Nigeria.
10th October, 2014.
Dear Sir,
OPEN LETTER TO GENERAL BUHARI
I have been constrained to write you through the media
because I do not have an alternative way of reaching you. Permit me to share my
opinion on your presidential ambition, which I think is equally shared by many
Nigerians of my generation irrespective of ethnic or religious differences.
Sir, I heard about you first on the 31st of December 1983. Then I was a ten
year old boy in primary six, celebrating with the whole nation on the arrival
of our military Heroes. At least so we thought!
The jubilations were spontaneous. The
nationwide celebrations signalled the demise of the second republic and ushered
in the military dispensation commonly referred to as the Buhari/Idiagbon
regime. Immediately you launched the War Against Indiscipline and introduced
the Nationwide Monthly Sanitation Exercise. The WAI crusade stuck in my brain
and still reverberates up till now. To simplify the message my Teacher
introduced an Igbo acronym for WAI: Wepu Ajo Ihe; which literally translates:
Remove Bad Thing. Sir, I must confess that the image that stuck in me about
Buhari/Idiagbon was that of two no-nonsense characters, straight talkers,
people who meant yes when they said yes and vice versa. This impression I
believe was equally shared by many others in my generation. Today, I am a 41
year old Nigerian. A lot has changed. I see things differently now. I am now a
fully grown man who can analyse issues critically. One thing I believe
passionately is that it is very important for one to set a standard for
oneself, but equally more important to sustain the standard. On the final lap
of your presidential campaign for 2011, you made an open declaration in front
of the media and your supporters, without mincing words you stated emphatically
that 2011 would be your last attempt to contest the Presidency. Going by your
legacy and standard, many People including I took you by your words. After all
Buhari means yes when he says yes. However that promise was short lived. Before
one can say Jack Robinson you have joined the race again for the fourth
consecutive time, contrary to your open declaration. Of course I concede you
have every right to change your mind and contest every election as long as you
live. It is however very remarkable to observe that you shot yourself in the
foot when you reneged on your promise to Nigerians not to contest the
Presidency again. So judging you by your own standard, you have fallen below
expectations. The pertinent question people are asking now is ” HOW CAN WE EVER
TRUST YOU AGAIN”? Another important questing worth asking you is ” WHAT IS NOW
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BUHARI AND OTHER POLITICIANS”? I would say none! Oh yes
you have got the constitutional right to contest, but eating your words has
done your reputation more harm than good. People now see you, and quite
justifiably, just like a typical politician who is unstable and unreliable.
Some of your supporters continue to amuse me by claiming that President
Jonathan allegedly signed a one term pact with them. Unlike you Jonathan never
made any open declaration to serve only for one term. Those of them who
continue to make this ridiculous allegation have refused to produce the
transcript of the said agreement or tender any proof to substantiate this. So
as far as Nigerians are concerned Jonathan never struck any one term deal with
us. But you did promise openly and suddenly reneged. In fact you actually
sealed the promise with your tears. An elder Statesman of your calibre and
pedigree made a promise and shed tears to seal it, that should have been final.
It is very symbolic when an Elder sheds tears in the continent of Africa. It
was a covenant with Nigerians not to contest again. A promise abruptly broken.
But this is politics. Everything is possible in this game. Sir, I know you have
many reasons for reneging on your promise but most of these reasons are
laughable. Some claim your supporters put pressure on you to change your mind,
but this is an old excuse which is as old as Nigeria. Even late General Abacha
had people begging him to contest. A principled and disciplined officer like
you should have remained steadfast to your open declaration. Others claim you
are still young, after all you would be only 72 by the next Presidential
election. At 72 you would still be much younger than Mugabe. So they claim! But
they conveniently refused to check Mugabe’s next door neighbour Madiba. Suffice
it to say that Mandela is the very opposite of Mugabe and the ideal role model
for all African leaders. Mandela declined to go for a second term because
according to him , age was not on his side. He could have won a second term and
transformed to a life President if he wished. But he never did. He voluntarily
made way for the younger generation to continue from where he stopped. This is
what is expected of you now to retire voluntarily and join the respected league
of Elders where you truly belong. Another reason which some of your supporters
have tendered is that you are genuinely motivated by service and patriotism. I
gladly take this on board. I can give you the benefit of the doubt that you are
driven by the urge to serve your fatherland. This is a very valid reason. But
Sir, I have an important question here for you. The question is simple, MUST
YOU SERVE NIGERIA AS A PRESIDENT ONLY? IS THERE NO OTHER CAPACITY YOU CAN SERVE
US EXCEPT THE PRESIDENCY? It is very erroneous to imagine that you can only
serve Nigeria only in one capacity. During the regime of late General Sani
Abacha, you accepted the appointment to serve as the Chairman of the then
Petroleum Trust Fund PTF. The general opinion was that you served faithfully in
this capacity. Well done Sir! But you never asked Abacha to vacate office for
you as your former subordinate in the army. Never! In fact that would have been
a dangerous move, if not suicidal. Rather you served faithfully under your
former junior in the army. Sir, imagine if you take on another job like the
Chairman of EFCC or ICPC or NDLEA. Nigerians actually need you to serve in one
of these capacities much more than they need you in the Presidency. Mere mentioning
your name as Chairman of EFCC would drive many corrupt men underground. But you
wouldn’t . Either the Presidency or nothing. So it seems! Sir, let us examine
your service records. I consider your generation a very privileged one, indeed.
In 1975 at the age of 33, you were appointed the Military Governor of the
North-Eastern State, present day Borno & Yobe states. In 1976 at the age of
34 you became the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources. In 1978 at the
age of 36 you became the Chairman of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC). Today the reverse is the case. Most Nigerians at age of 35 are still
unemployed and still living with parents. Many are still not married. During
your time you were already Governor at this age. One major reason for this
unfortunate turn of events is that many elders like you have refused to
voluntarily handover the baton to the next generation. Life should be a relay
race where one runs his race and hands over to the next. In Nigeria many elders
like you have run their races and are still holding on tenaciously to the
baton. When are you going to handover to the next person? It is either you do
it voluntarily or risk disgrace at the polls. In 1983 at the age of 41, exactly
the same age as my humble self now, you became the Head of State. Most
Nigerians in my age have not had the opportunity to serve, but we still remain
committed to the Nigerian project. You should rather be graceful to God and to
Nigerians for the numerous opportunities that have come your way to serve
Nigerians. Others are begging for just one opportunity to serve. Sir, you have
to accept the stark reality on ground that you have served your time already.
That is life for you. You run the race, you handover the baton for others to
run, you cannot hold on to the baton more than is necessary. As a former head
of State you are already a member of the Council of State Meeting. You have
every avenue to channel your views across. You don’t necessarily have to be in
a frontline role, you can serve in an advisory capacity. That is still service.
In conclusion, let me state that the greatest beneficiary should you emerge
candidate of the APC would be President Jonathan. It is crystal clear that you
cannot defeat President Jonathan in a free, fair and credible election, even in
Katsina State. Sentiments aside, Jonathan would cruise to a landslide victory
should you emerge candidate of the APC. In fact many political analysts believe
that President Jonathan wants you to emerge as the APC flag bearer in order to
secure a cheap victory. In fairness to you, any of your Children would pose a
serious challenge to Jonathan more than yourself. I do not see Nigerians
electing a 72 year old former Head of state to lead us in this Digital era.
With due respect to you Sir, you belong to the Analogue age and therefore, will
not fit in as president in this digital era. This is the blunt truth. Please do
not enter the Guinness book of world records on a negative note. Losing four
consecutive Presidential election would not augur well for your reputation. It
is in your best interest to assume your position as an elder statesman and
allow others to serve. Nigeria does not belong to you alone. It belongs to us
all. Respectfully Submitted. Edozie Okeiyi Director of Media & Strategy
Great Nigeria Movement
No comments:
Post a Comment