Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to quit as he questions his competence to rule Nigeria beyond his current tenure.
Obasanjo in an open letter warned President Buhari against conceiving any idea of seeking re-election.
This month President Buhari’s special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina is reported by the Punch to have said in an interview that his boss will not seek re-election without considering his state of health as pressure mounts on him to declare his stance on the issue.
The Nigerian leader has not yet declared his intention to seek re-election or not but his supporters are pushing for him to be re-elected.
Buhari who is 75 years has for the larger part of his presidency been plagued by reports of ill-health forcing him out of the country on some occasions to seek medical attention.
One of his key allies, Adebayo Shittu who is also Nigeria’s minister of communications on this month declared that he would chair a group campaigning for the re-election of his boss next year.
“We, his ardent supporters who appreciate his worth on behalf of millions of Nigerians, would urge him to recontest,” Shittu told journalists Abuja after informing Buhari of his plans to head the group.
Shittu said “I know he has not made up his mind but I can say that some of us can assist him in making up his mind”.
But former President Obasanjo on Tuesday in his open letter titled, ‘The Way Out: A clarion call for coalition for Nigeria Movement said “I continue to wish him robust health to enjoy his retirement from active public service. President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice. But whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria needs to move on and move forward.”
“Even the horse rider then, with whom I maintain very cordial, happy and social relationship today has come to realise his mistakes and regretted it publicly and I admire his courage and forthrightness in this regard,” Obasanjo added.
Obasanjo who supported President Buhari in the 2015 elections against then incumbent Goodluck Jonathan said “The lice of poor performance in government – poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality – are very much with us today.
“With such lice of general and specific poor performance and crying poverty with us, our fingers will not be dry of blood.”
Though he commended Buhari’s effort in rolling back the Boko Haram insurgency and his fight against corruption, Obasanjo said he had failed in other areas.
Source: Africafeeds.com
