Allow Nigerians to decide
The recent outcry by two former presidents calling on the incumbent to not contest in the up-coming general elections has ignited a new campaign by the elites to plant seed of discord in the heart of Nigerians towards the incumbent president. Soon after, some columnist, the opposition and former high profile government officials have joined this bandwagon of wailing wailers.
What baffles me about this noise by the elites is how they are trying to strip the incumbent president of his constitution right in the name of advice and how they’ve appointed themselves as the spokesmen of a population of over 180 million people. It leave me wondering why elections even exist in the first place and how they’ve swiftly changed lane from being the masterminds behind the country’s present plights and butchers of our treasury to patriotic citizens that mean very well for the country. Or is it when one is out of power that he gets to clearly discern right from wrong? These former leaders speak with much eloquence and pretence that leaves one to think they were actually the victims of poor governance and not the masterminds behind milking the country’s riches.
As a well-meaning citizen, there is nothing wrong in advising a president to perform well and develop the country. But in a situation where one goes on to advise the president against contesting in an election, then boundaries have indeed being crossed because it is a direct affront on the constitutional right of that president. Such moves will also raise questions such as: what those the person has to fear, hide, gain, or lose that he has to go to such extreme? Has the person lost confidence in the country’s electoral process? When did he become the adviser to the president on personal affairs? Is the country’s government a monarchy that you rule till death? If the person does not want the president to re-contest, why can’t he himself contest or file and support his own candidates? Or is he afraid if the president re-contests, there is every possibility that he’ll be re-elected?
In my own opinion, knowing that elections are there for the president to test his popularity and to either appreciate or regret his decision to re-contest, it is needless of anyone to come out in public advising the president over his personal decisions. Because whether the President remains or leaves power is for the entire country to decide and not some hand-full of opportunists that were never in favour of him contesting in the first place.
Yahya Idris, Abuja.