What southeast leaders should ask from Atiku

Sir: The President, General Muhammadu Buhari (GMB) has greedily doubled himself as the Petroleum Minister and the legislators cannot scrutinize any of his ministers holding sensitive financial positions, let alone himself. GMB’s presidency is demonizing the legislators to promote himself, yet his own party-members are also many in the legislature. Nigerians should sack him and his All Progressives Congress (APC), and work on Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop carnage and economic destruction of Nigeria, as necessary for progress. Corruption is not new and it must be seriously checked, but financial corruption is not worse than carnage and economic destruction being perpetrated by GMB and his APC.

The purpose of this letter-article, however, is to appeal to the southeast people not to insist that Atiku should accept a single term of four years, if the law permits him two terms. The world is not about to end in 2023 or soon after. What is more important is legalisation of rotational presidency for established political order, which can facilitate political discipline, equity, sustainable peace and progress. Besides, should the southeast support third term presidency for the northwest, it implies sanction of chaos and might is right, as in the case of Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan who truncated rotational presidency against the north. Legalisation is the only thing that can guarantee which zone will produce the next President. What Jonathan rode-on, and GMB is trying to ride-on is that there is no legislation on which zone produces the next President.

Without that legislation, even GMB cannot guarantee which zone will produce the next President. Don’t you hear Raji Fashola, one of his cronies, telling the southwest to support GMB in 2019 and produce the President in 2023? What further evidence do Nigerians need that legislation on rotational presidency is necessary? It is not only necessary but also in tandem with Nigeria’s federal character policy.

If I were Atiku, I would also not accept a single term unless a law or my health stops me, even though some people would rather die in office, as if it is necessary for heaven. OBJ from the southwest served two terms. Jonathan from the south-south also served eight years in Aso Rock. GMB from the northwest is serving the second term that the late Yar’Adua could not serve. To balance, presidency should go to the north-central in 2019; to the southeast after eight years (not 2023), and then to the northeast before southwest again.

Since PDP was not ready for rotational presidency but unregulated survival of the fittest as usual, and the Third Force coalition is neither here nor there, Nigerians have to choose between PDP and APC. Pressure on Atiku should be to stop carnage and economic destruction of Nigeria; do restructuring, include legalisation of rotational presidency, etc to reposition the nation for peace and sustainable progress. Providentially, Atiku is from the northeast that has not produced the President in the new dispensation.

Beyond what Fashola said, Jonathan and GMB have demonstrated the need to legislate rotational presidency; many people are inconsiderate. Why is the General Government saying that it cannot pay N30, 000 minimum wage unless the federal legislators cut down their earnings? Are the legislators earning more than those in the presidency, including GMB and Osinbajo? How many millions of naira is GMB earning monthly, and how many N30, 000 can be derived from a single million? Yes, they are all thieves, and not just the legislators and the governors. GMB is hideous and treacherous.
Prof. Oyeniran Abioje, PhD, University of Ilorin.