BEVERLY HILLS, February 02, (THEWILL) – With the 2019 general elections still one year ahead, the activities of those drumming support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election appear to have taken the centre stage.
The ball was set rolling with the appointment of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, as the Director General of Buhari’s 2019 bid.
While the dust raised by the untimely action was yet to settle, the Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, disclosed plans to set up a campaign office in the southwest for Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s re-election.
But the recent visit to the Presidential Villa in Abuja by seven governors from the north, endorsing Buhari for a second term, took the issue to its peak.
It is feared that the masses would suffer the more and governance relegated to the background if this emerging trend is not stopped.
At a time when infrastructure decay, herdsmen killings and other security challenges have brought the country on its knees, Buhari has given himself up as an uncaring leader.
In a culture where two of the four-year tenure is often actively dedicated to governance, the economy would be downgraded if electioneering begins more than one year to the general election.
THEWILL considers these activities as undemocratic and a betrayal of the electorate. It is, more so, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is yet to blow the whistle for campaigns to start.
The appointment of Amaechi as the DG of the re-election campaign was too hasty and has put personal ambition over and above national interest.
This development could prompt other political parties to raise the stakes by beginning campaigns across the nation for which no one would have the moral right to question.
It is insensitive of the president to be pre-occupied with re-election bid while he is yet to fulfill his previous promises to the people.
We urge the civil society organisations and lawyers to rise against this brazen culture of impunity in the country. This would make our leaders to sit up and allow good governance to take the front burner.
It is worrisome that those calling for a second term for Buhari are unmindful of the people’s mood, having also abandoned their primary responsibilities to the electorate.
Ridiculous as it may be, those involved in this sinister motive, including the governors and the ministers of transportation and communication must be forced to resign, having abandoned their primary responsibilities.
THEWILL warns against further actions on the matter and urges the president to apologize to the people for heating up the polity.
Shittu took Nigerians for a ride when he declared shortly after a closed-door meeting with Buhari that the president has performed well.
His ironic declaration on security negates the picture on ground where rampaging herdsmen and Boko Haram terrorists are killing defenseless citizens every day.
How contrasting was the communications minister when he said Buhari has performed creditably “In the area of fighting corruption and insurgency, whether in the North East or the Niger Delta.”
The governors’ position and that of ’apostle’ Shittu that the APC-led government has provided jobs and created social stability in the country should not deceive Buhari.
On the contrary, he should use the growing number of unemployed people being deported from across the world to justify whether or not it is time for a re-election bid.
Those urging the president to re-contest should be told in clear terms that they are dancing on the graves of people who have been killed due to the clueless and tactless disposition of the Buhari-led APC.
THEWILL aligns with the position of prominent Nigerians, especially that of a prominent APC leader, Senator Shehu Sani, that: “It is an insult on the conscience of Nigerians and on their moral integrity for anybody to ignore what is happening” and be pre-occupied with the president’s second term bid.
That Buhari has given his nod to these second term syndromes has given him away as a leader who is not competent to seek re-election.
A president who cannot guarantee the protection of lives and property is, at best, a misfit who does not deserve to be given a second chance, let alone campaigning at a wrong time.
However, since elections are for the people to decide, we advise the president to wait until the INEC gives the nod.
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