- By Obidike Peter
The first is with the court of public opinion where he would have to clear himself first of the many billions that were allegedly found in his bank account and for which, if not for immunity, he would have been guest with our brothers at, you know where. The second is that PDP cannot be a fool twice. Having lost the 2015 elections on the altar of serving the past president who even though had the right of first refusal to contest, did not read the hand writing on the wall properly with respect to the yearning of the Northern part of the country whose turn it was to produce that presidency. Any attempt on the part of PDP to field a southerner in 2019 will mean another humiliating defeat and hence their understanding that their next presidential flag bearer must come from the North.
The current President will most likely not contest that election given the present circumstance of his health and his current vice will also not contest for the same reason as Ekiti strong man, which brings us to an open and interesting field.
The task at the moment is for Nigerians to identify the game changer from the crop of politicians we have in the North. We are looking for a young, articulate, vibrant and independent minded fellow who cannot be hijacked or ambushed by the establishment, at least to some extent, given that it will almost be impossible to have such a fellow in our present day Nigeria. We are all witnesses to how the Buhari administration has been frustrated by a couple of establishment politicians who have their hands everywhere. Theirs is to ensure that the status quo remains, so that they will continue to fleece the country of its wealth for their private families’ comfort while the rest lavish in poverty.
Unfortunately, I do not know a lot of the Northern politicians whom I can tag with some integrity capable of meeting my criteria but maybe I can start with Governors Tambuwal, Masari, El Rufai (albeit with some reservations), Senator Sani. I have listed these ones for lack of knowledge on others. Maybe a Jega (former INEC Chairman) kind of person will come up tops for me. Not a Ribadu or Magu, I am talking of not just integrity but the charisma also that goes with such exalted position. Someone who can hold his own and engage in quality conversations even without the need for scripts. Atiku will not pass the court of public opinion for me, not for anything he has done, but for that badge that OBJ stuck to his shirt during their fight for third term. The strong man of Kwara will not pass that test as well, no matter the amount of scheming he does. I do not have much information on the person of Kwankwaso but the little peripheral bias I have suggests he might not fit the bill. HRH Emir Sanusi fits this bill for me and should be ready for national service if this great nation calls on him to do so.
You can imagine how difficult it has been for me to name people of Northern extraction I think can fit the position of the next President Nigeria needs. That is to tell you the urgency in the need for the parties to start sampling their anticipated candidates right away so we can start checking them out. For now, from all the names that came to mind, only HRH Emir Sanusi, Mr. Jega, and Senator Sani are the only ones I can trust to take this country from Buhari to the next level. But my crystal ball needs a lot more names to be able to generate a reasonable robust answer for 2019, and the earlier the political parties provide those for me the earlier we can start engaging our people.
This time around, we will not be caught between the devil and the deep blue sea anymore. Our love must see this time so as to make the right choice. And this is where I expect Buhari to already start grooming and projecting someone he thinks can fit the bill and nudge the person to start taking the centre stage. He owes it as a duty to the country to ensure that this nation is not thrown to the dogs anymore. Just as God delivered Anambra State courtesy of Ngige such that they have made progress ever since, so shall He deliver Nigeria and cause her to make progress from this time onwards. No more impunity in high places, no more fuel importation fraud, no more Strategic Alliance Agreement with the devil (SAA), no more justice to the highest bidder, no more blatant opening of the CBN vaults and carting away of our common wealth in the name of serving the gluttonous insatiable greed of the few to the detriment of the children of God. Governance is serious business and must be seen as so.
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