Thoughts on “Only Buhari!” “Sai Buhari!” – by Olulana Alofe
224 viewsOlulana Alofe
This is the thing. Where Nigeria was at the time — 2014/15, it needed a personality like Buhari to first of all remove Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and his band of merry thieves, go after those who looted the treasury from every sector and still keep the military and other interest groups such as Obasanjo and his pack of hovering former leaders, powerful enough to destabilize Nigeria, in check and also try to stem the hemorrhaging of the economy which has been a very difficult task which this government is finding very challenging I must admit.
I do not see anyone else in today's Nigeria who could have done that and it is the reason 'Only Buhari' made sense to me. A transitional role is what I saw for him and still do. If God wills, he ends that role in 2019 and hands off a nation with better structures… hopefully to his successor. That is the plan I campaigned for though I have no part in its implementation. However, it is the part I saw and see Buhari playing in Nigeria's march towards sustainable progress.
While I believe there are many other Nigerians who would have been better at managing the nation with respect to the economy and manpower in various sectors, they would most likely have stumbled at the delicate hurdle of coping with power blocks jostling for position at the center. Buhari has influence they would not have had; those power blocks fear and respect him. That is the blunt truth. Like it or not. See what happened to Goodluck Jonathan.
Obasanjo pulled the plug and down the drain he went! Jonathan was and still is one of the 'small boys' of Nigerian politics. You might not like that since he became president but do not forget how he got there — providence which did not extend beyond 2015 was his launching pad. His good luck eventually ran out! After a while, fortunate circumstances will no longer align perfectly to give one an unexpected end. Reality sets in.
While I believe there are many other Nigerians who would have been better at managing the nation with respect to the economy and manpower in various sectors, they would most likely have stumbled at the delicate hurdle of coping with power blocks jostling for position at the center. Buhari has influence they would not have had; those power blocks fear and respect him. That is the blunt truth. Like it or not.
It is also why Obasanjo was able to be as effective in the role of the president as he was. They, Buhari and him belong to that rare group of Nigerians who can command respect from every sector. I do not believe one of the other light-weight politicians would have fared as well as Buhari has if they had been able to unseat Jonathan, considering what he left for his successor to carry on with. Who believes it would have been easier? Think about how President Buhari has navigated extremely troubled waters; mistakes here and there. Yes. Some being self-inflicted injuries but still, his stature has been vital to the emergence of a Nigeria that can move on in spite of very trying times.
We hope President Muhammadu Buhari leaves a Nigeria in which that need for a figure like his is not necessary as president for stability to be maintained.