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It is barely nine months to the 2019 general election. Even though political analysts had told BDSUNDAY on good authority that many prospective presidential aspirants are keeping their ambition close to their chests owing to the perceived intolerant disposition of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration towards the opposition, a number of aspirants are beginning to make themselves known to the electorate.
This is even as the despondency brought about by the failure of Buhari and his party, All Progressives Congress (APC) to deliver the massive change they promised Nigerians in 2015 reaches its peak amid high level of insecurity and violent killings in many parts of the country.
Apart from Buhari, who has finally declared his intention to seek another term in office, other aspirants like former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Kingsley Moghalu, former deputy governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ahmed Makarfi, former governor of Kaduna State, and a number of others, as well as younger aspirants like Ahmed Buhari, CEO of Skylar, Inc., Adamu Garba II, founder/CEO, IPI Solutions Nigeria Limited, and others have been grabbing the news headlines with their increased political activities. Some of the candidates are, however, yet to choose a platform on which to pursue their ambition.
Contenders and their quest
Muhammadu Buhari
Since he announced his second-term ambition to the National Executive Committee (NEC) of his party, Buhari has been busy activating all the machinery that would see him grab the APC presidential ticket and go on to win the presidential election next year.
Pundits say as an incumbent, Buhari’s re-election campaign should be hinged on his scorecard during his first term. But apart from pockets of successes in the fight against insurgency, which in any case have been clouded by the killings in the north-central region of the country, many Nigerians are of the opinion that the Buhari administration has performed abysmally and does not deserve a second term of office. They rate the administration low on the economy and the fight against corruption, the other two anchors of the Buhari policy thrust.
But Buhari supporters argue that the new initiatives introduced by the administration would take a while to manifest.
The administration in 2017 launched the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan to restore sustainable, accelerated inclusive growth and development, invest in the people and build a globally competitive economy. It hopes to achieve the target through stabilisation of the macroeconomic environment, achieving agriculture and food security, ensuring energy sufficiency in power and petroleum products, improving transport infrastructure, and driving industrialisation through local and small business enterprise.
During a recent visit to Nigeria, billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates criticised the ERGP, saying, “The Nigerian government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan identifies investing in our people as one of three strategic objectives. But the execution priorities don’t fully reflect people’s needs, prioritising physical capital over human capital.”
At the campaign trails in 2015, and especially at meetings with members of the private sector, then candidate Buhari laboured to convince Nigerians that he is a converted liberal democrat and would ensure that the country will continue to operate a free market economy. However, his actions and body language since coming to power have all been anti-business and pro-state-led economy approach.
Dissatisfied Nigerians, and they are legion, have been vigorously campaigning against Buhari’s re-election, urging everyone to grab their permanent voter cards (PVC) and get ready to vote out the current administration in 2019.
Atiku Abubakar
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition is not new. This ambition has seen him moving from PDP to ACN to PDP to APC and back to PDP. In all of these parties, he had always fallen short of clinching the presidential ticket.
Now back to the PDP, the party under whose umbrella he served as vice president of the country for eight years, Atiku officially announced his 2019 presidential ambition in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital, in March.
Atiku was elected governor of Adamawa State in December 1998 on the platform of the PDP, but before he could be sworn in, he was picked by Obasanjo, then presidential candidate of the PDP, as running mate. The Obasanjo-Atiku ticket eventually won the February 27, 1999 presidential election.
Atiku is no doubt a political phenomenon who has not only the means and capacity to prosecute elections, but also the sagacity and clout to wield influence and garner sufficient support for his cause. As vice president under Obasanjo, Atiku was a powerful political figure who used his position to build and nurture a formidable political machine that remains a launch-pad for his soaring political ambition till date. Those close to him say he used his period in the APC to build even more bridges across the country’s geopolitical and ethnic divides.
Perhaps the strongest threat to the second-term ambition of Buhari so far, political observers say he is a major aspirant to watch as the struggle for PDP ticket hots up. They strongly believe that if Atiku secures the ticket to run on PDP platform, he would give the APC a run for its money.
Atiku understands the mood of the moment and has been striking the right chords among Nigeria’s progressives. He has been everywhere across the country and beyond “preaching” about restructuring and need for the unity of Nigeria. Observers recall his seminal lectures across the country bordering on the urgent need for restructuring, privatisation, job creation, revamping the education and health sectors, and generally growing the economy.
The long-term goal of Atiku’s key economic agenda as espoused in 2015, analysts say, is wealth generation through infrastructure development and power, education and skill acquisition, security, entrepreneurship and good governance, agriculture and food security and Niger Delta development. He has always maintained that if elected president, he would address habits and practices that currently compromise policy implementation, but also those that would promote the hallmark of good governance through effective policy monitoring, evaluation and implementation.
At a Chatham House lecture in London entitled ‘The Importance of Strengthening State Economic Management Systems’, Atiku promised to offer states a matching grant of $250 million each to challenge them to enhance their Internally Generated Revenue.
Many are of the view that if Atiku gets the PDP ticket, the battle for presidency in 2019 would be between him and the incumbent President Buhari as other aspirants may chicken out and beat a retreat when the battle field becomes too hot and risky to advance further.
An analyst who is rooting for Atiku enumerated three key reasons why he believes the Turakin Adamawa is the right man for the presidency in 2019.
“Our beloved country is in a danger of being plunged into a civil war. There is a feeling of discontent all over the place. It will take a man who is very strong and reads the signs of the times to pull the country from the nadir into which it has sunk. It can also only be done by a Northerner. Nobody from any other part of the country can possibly say he will take over power from the North at this time; any attempt will only result in bloodshed. So, Atiku fits that bill,” the analyst, who pleaded anonymity, said.
“The second reason is that he is very wealthy and would not possibly be interested in stealing when he gets there. The man has seen money and he is using it to touch lives. If he gets there, he can only use the country’s wealth judiciously, giving what he is doing with his personal endowments.
“The third reason is that the man has built bridges across the country. He has friends all over the place. I am impressed the way he is taking the issue of restructuring and I believe that he will do well if he is given the opportunity. My analysis is based on my observations, but I also know that politicians in this country are not predictable,” he said.
The only snag for Atiku, however, is that many perceive him to be corrupt, even though there is as yet no evidence to prove this, neither has he been tried or convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction. Analysts say he will need all the luck to erase that perception from the minds of Nigerians and convince them to give him a chance even after laying out fantastic plans for the economy and the country.
Ibrahim Dankwambo
Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, the sitting governor of Gombe State, is a graduate of Accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria and holds M.Sc. in Economics from University of Lagos and a PhD in Accounting from Igbinedion University, Benin City, Edo State.
Born on April 4, 1962, Dankwambo, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and Nigeria Institute of Marketers, worked at Coopers & Lybrand and Central Bank of Nigeria and served as accountant-general of Gombe State and accountant-general of the federation before he was elected as governor of Gombe State in 2011.
Several articles on the internet are full of praises of the Dankwambo. For instance, Leaders.NG, an online news platform, said Governors Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso (then PDP) of Kano and Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo were undisputedly two of the best governors in Nigeria in the last dispensation.
“Dankwambo’s case was even unique in the sense that he had little resources at his disposal when compared with his then Kano colleague and those of the southern states, yet, his performance rivalled and eclipsed those of his peers.
“Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo became a poster governor for the PDP in Gombe State and the entire northeast, not even the change mantra of the APC and Sai Baba wind was able to sweep him out of office in the 2015 general election. He came head to head with Senator Danjuma Goje’s political machinery and triumphed comfortably. He became the only PDP incumbent governor to deliver his state to the party in the entire northern region,” the news platform said.
Not long ago, a group known as Yoruba Solidarity Alliance (YSA) said it was throwing its weight behind Dankwambo’s ambition as the most marketable presidential material for the PDP who would represent the interest of the youth and defeat the APC.
“It is amply evident that the long-suffering Nigerians have had enough of gerontocracy while majority of them are prepared to do away with this unworkable idea in 2019. What the nation needs at this time of untold economic hardship and insecurity is a much younger president who is fresh with new ideas and innovative concepts and Dankwambo is the only way out in 2019, especially with his proven achievements,” the group said.
In January 2018, Rev. Fr. Ejike Mbaka of the Adoration Ministry in Enugu State had made some predictions in line with the YSA leanings that Dankwambo would replace President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock in 2019.
This did not, however, go down well with some forces in Gombe, especially the Coalition of Gombe State Indigenes. Reacting through Muhammad Jibrin Barde, the coalition insisted that if Mbaka knew the state of affairs in Gombe, he would not recommend Dankwambo as a worthy replacement for Buhari.
It went ahead to list some of the alleged damage done to Gombe State and its indigenes by the Dankwanbo administration.
“I advise Fr. Mbaka to travel to Gombe State and visit the state university, hospitals and water projects in Gombe town and all the other 10 local governments of Gombe State and tell Nigerians his findings,” Barde said.
But those rooting for Dankwambo to become the next president describe him as a professional, a perfect technocrat who, being in his prime, represents the call for generational shift in leadership that Nigerians yearn for.
“What else does Nigeria need in 2019 other than this professional accountant? We gambled in 2015, we can’t afford to toe the same line in 2019. He is a 21st century technocrat who understands 21st century solutions to the myriads of problems in Nigeria. He has no corruption case or any baggage hanging on his neck,” they say.
Kingsley Moghalu
Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu is not a career politician by any stretch of imagination. A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Moghalu believes the time has come for technocrats, intellectuals and experienced people to take power from career politicians.
Moghalu, who only a few days ago announced that he would run for the presidential election on the platform of Young Progressive Party (YPP), hinges his presidential ambition on the need to reposition Nigeria for economic prosperity “by creating an enabling environment for a productive, innovation-led economy, with a better approach to taxation that will reduce dependence oil revenues”.
“The future of Nigeria rests in technocratic interventions. We need thinking people that will take Nigeria from the politics of stomach infrastructure to politics of mental infrastructure,” he said at a recent event.
“My government will establish a productive innovation-led economy that reduces dependence on oil revenues, establish a public-private venture capital fund with a minimum capital of N500 billion (with private sector co-investment to fund could attain a size of N1 trillion) to create jobs by investing in new businesses by unemployed youth, reform the Nigerian Police Force by recruiting, training and equipping a minimum of 1.5 million persons with improved remuneration to create safe and secure communities, empower women with a 50:50 gender parity policy in political appointments, and initiate a constitutional restructuring of Nigeria to restore true federalism for stability and prosperity,” he added.
During his declaration for the presidential election months ago, the erudite professor of International Business had lamented that nearly 60 years after independence, the vision and hope of Nigeria’s founding fathers had not materialized following successive years of misrule. He added that military rule, oil boom and bursts and failures of the civilian political class have combined to rob Nigeria of what seemed its destiny at independence in 1960.
“I am standing with the 100 million Nigerians experiencing crushing poverty, living on less than N300 a day. I am here today because 33 million of our able men and women are unemployed or underemployed, nearly 15 million children are out of school, and only 60 percent of Nigerians are literate,” he had said.
He promised that education would enjoy a prominent place in his government and that he would establish and propagate through the educational system a foundational philosophical worldview for the Nigerian state, around which all Nigerians will unite in a common purpose.
While also announcing his adoption of YPP, Moghalu described the ruling APC and major opposition PDP as “parties of tired old tricks and tired old systems and tired old men”.
“I thought about why I have joined politics, the imperative of a radically new political leadership for Nigeria, one with a vision and the capacity to build a new and different future for our country. That meant almost automatically that I would not be part of the old order of failed and recycled politicians that have run our country aground with poverty, insecurity and corruption as our national legacy.
“I, therefore, decided that I want to be part of a peaceful, democratic revolution that will usher in a new leadership and political order in our country. YPP is a great dare, a tantalizing promise and a notice of evacuation to Nigeria’s recycled political class,” Moghalu said.
The Anambra State-born political economist holds a Law degree from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, M.A. degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a PhD in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and International Certificate in Risk Management from the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), UK.
Moghalu worked at the United Nations before joining the CBN in 2009, where he served as deputy governor (financial stability) and led the implementation of far-reaching reforms in Nigeria’s banking sector after a combination of the global financial crisis, corporate governance abuses and weak risk management left one-third of Nigerian banks on the edge of collapse. He later served as deputy governor, operations.
Analysts believe that Moghalu’s rich background in economic management is a plus, especially at a time Nigeria is in dire need of new thinking and new economic and development paradigm. They, however, add that the task ahead of him is arduous if he hopes to make any significant impact in the 2019 elections.
Oluremi Sonaiya
She was the presidential candidate of KOWA Party in the 2015 presidential election, the only woman amongst the 14 presidential aspirants. Even though a report had then described her as “an underdog in a contest dominated by incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the ruling PDP and his arch-rival, Muhammadu Buhari of the opposition party, APC”, Sonaiya, a professor, remained resolute till the end.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed
A Vanguard Newspaper report of April 6, 2018 describes him as “a young and vibrant Nigerian who has all the credentials to move Nigeria to the next level” and who “is capable of unifying the country and bringing peace to all the regions”.
Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, according to the report, holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Westminster, two Masters degrees and a PhD and worked with Nigeria’s Security Printing and Minting Company in Lagos before entering politics.
Founder and pro-chancellor of Baze University, a privately-owned university located in Abuja, and managing director, Baze Research and Data Services Ltd, Baba-Ahmed was elected to the House of Representatives (Zaria Federal Constituency) in 2003 on the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) platform, and to the Nigerian Senate in 2011 to represent Kaduna North.
Said to be a proponent of Security, Economy and Education (SEE) programme, Baba-Ahmed’s main policy thrust would be to stabilize the naira by tackling the current high risk factors, reduce interest rates and “flood the capital market with investible funds”.
Sule Lamido
Born 30 August, 1948 in Bamaina, Jigawa State, Sule Lamido served as foreign minister from 1999 to 2003 and as governor of Jigawa State from 2007 to 2015. He was a member of People’s Redemption Party (PRP) in the Second Republic, national secretary of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the Third Republic during the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, founding member and national secretary of the Social Progressive Party (SPP) during Sani Abacha’s transition programme, and a member of PDP since 1999.
As Jigawa State governor, Lamido initiated major construction programmes, led by the Dutse Capital Development Authority and the Jigawa State Housing Authority. He also embarked on projects to rebuild schools, provide basic teaching materials, and train teachers in core subjects in junior secondary schools.
In 2015, Lamido and his two sons were briefly jailed after being arrested and tried for allegedly arranging for contracts to be placed by companies that they controlled. He blamed this on his enemies.
A close ally of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Lamido got a robust endorsement in 2014 to replace President Jonathan in 2015. Obasanjo, who at the time had grown weary of Jonathan’s style of governance, was looking for every means possible to oust the Bayelsa State-born president from office. Obasanjo had subtly endorsed Lamido at a function in Dutse, Jigawa State capital, and continued to harp on the need for a Lamido-led government.
It is, however, doubtful if Lamido, who is said to be consulting with stakeholders currently across the states and boasts of relationships beyond his Northern bloc, will get the PDP ticket given the array of aspirants on the platform. An analyst who spoke with BDSUNDAY expressed pessimism that with Atiku Abubakar’s return to the PDP, the hurdles have become even higher for Sule Lamido.
It is not clear now whether Lamido is aligning with the Obasanjo-inspired third force, which has fused into the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Analysts, however, say with the new thinking now that Nigeria needs a shift from the older generation to a more youthful generation of leaders, Lamido does not fit into the age bracket that is being proposed for the new Nigeria. Those championing the shift believe the likes of Lamido have overstayed their welcome in politics, particularly when they had been part of the political parties that have foisted poverty on Nigerians.
Ibrahim Shekarau
Ibrahim Shekarau, governor of Kano State from 2003 to 2011, contested the 2011 presidential election on the platform of the defunct All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), but moved to the PDP in the build-up to the 2015 elections. BDSUNDAY gathered that he has since informed his party of his presidential ambition and has also communicated same to various elders, community leaders, opinion leaders, political associates and religious leaders regardless of their ethnic and party affiliations.
Shekarau’s eight-year reign in Kano was remarkable for its giant transformational strides in the state’s education sector. He successfully removed Kano from the list of Educationally Less Developed (ELD) states through the provision of instructional materials, infrastructure and manpower to schools and scholarships for 33,000 undergraduates studying in various institutions nationwide.
Before he came to power, Kano had 3,421 primary schools, 20,526 classrooms, 1,026,300 pupils with 22,084 teachers. But under him, school enrolment improved by 80 percent while his administration established additional 364 primary and 241 secondary schools. Shekarau also served as minister of education under the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.
His opponents, however, say although he is brilliant and well-exposed, Shekarau as governor failed to draw a line between religion and politics, such that he created a local religious police, the ‘Hisbah Guard’, which enforced Sharia law irrespective of the residents’ religious affiliation, and he opposed polio vaccination campaigns on the allegation that they were attempts to render Muslim women infertile.
Shekarau, the son of a police officer, was born November 5, 1955 in the Kurmawa quarters of Kano. After taking a degree in Mathematics/Education at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1977, he went into the civil service. He would later work as a Mathematics teacher and school principal. He was deputy director of education, director of planning, research and statistics, permanent secretary, Ministry of Education and Youth Development, permanent secretary, General Service Directorate of the Cabinet Office, and as chief lecturer (Mathematics), Department of Physical Sciences, State College of Arts, Science and Remedial Studies (CASRS). He later quit the civil service and worked as a secretary to businessman Aminu Dantata, from where he went on to pursue his gubernatorial ambition in 2003.
Younger folks in the fray
Bolstered by the passage of #NotTooYoungtoRun Bill by the National Assembly last July, many young Nigerians, citing lack of confidence in current political leaders to deliver the nation from perennial economic and infrastructural backwardness, are jettisoning their long-held I-don’t-care attitude to politics. The #NotTooYoungtoRun Bill, when it becomes law, would reduce the minimum age for presidential candidates from 40 to 35, the age for governorship candidates from 35 to 30, and the age for the House of Representatives and the State Houses of Assembly to 25.
Also spurred by the examples of Justin Trudeau, who became the Canadian Prime Minister in 2015 at age 44, and Emmanuel Macron, who defied all odds to become the youngest president of France at the youthful age of 39, a number of these youths are warming up to contest for the presidency ahead of the 2019 general elections. Those who have so far indicated interest or hinted that they may contest the 2019 presidency include Adamu Garba II, founder/CEO of IPI Solutions Nigeria Limited; Ahmed Buhari, CEO of Skylar, Inc.; Fela Durotoye, motivational speaker and leadership coach; and Omoleye Sowore, publisher, Sahara Reporters.
Adamu Garba II
Adamu Garba II, founder/CEO, IPI Solutions Nigeria Limited, a leading cloud computing company based in Lagos, wants to rule Nigeria in 2019. Aged 36, Garba, who hails from Jimeta, Yola-North Local Government Area of Adamawa State, attended Kano University of Technology where he studied Electrical Engineering.
In a recent interview with a national daily, Garba listed his strong points to include that he is “strong-willed, able, healthy intelligent and smart”, with “strong emotional balance and all the attributes obtainable in a visionary leader”, and “fully prepared”.
“I think Nigerians should start to prepare for a new Nigerian dream by our great Nigerian renaissance project where each citizen will transparently measure our government in 4 key metrics namely: Better education and training for our children; better standard healthcare facilities for all Nigerians; better market to transact in goods and services, and more money in their pocket as a result of improved trade,” Garba said in the interview.
“We will work extensively to open our market potentials. We will use oil money only to build infrastructure and not to pay salaries and state subventions. The so-called FAAC will be discontinued under our government. With creation of special geo-economic zones in each state, we will support them to create their revenues locally and run their government,” he said.
He also unveiled what some analysts have said are fantastic and actionable plans for education, healthcare, and empowerment of rural women to generate value to the economy.
Ahmed Buhari
Ahmed Buhari, CEO of Skylar, Inc., a Lagos-based ICT company, says he has come to the realisation that young Nigerians should all be very concerned about Nigeria’s political environment because the decisions made by politicians determine their progress as a people and a country. He also spoke of his plans for the country.
He said his strategy for job creation and a reduction in the unemployment indices would focus on agriculture and solid minerals, Information Technology (IT), and education, adding that his agricultural plan has the potential of creating half a million jobs in the first two years.
“We intend to revolutionise the agricultural sector by introducing highly-equipped mechanised farming and unlike the eagerness perceived from our Ministry of Agriculture, we will not be in a hurry to export unprocessed products. My administration will be focused on ensuring that no tuber of yam leaves the shores of this country simply because we want to realise foreign exchange. We must understand that for every tuber of yam that we export, we are exporting jobs. When you understand that the by-products of yam are used in the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries, you will have a rethink before exporting unprocessed products.
“We must exhaust the entire value chain, not just stopping at the farm gates. We must begin to create jobs from the farm gate to the processing plants, then to the storage plant, and then we create openings around branding, packaging and transportation to the end user,” he said.
The young Buhari also promised to ensure that price control mechanisms are clearly addressed so that Nigerians can purchase commodities at the same price all year round, that the marble and tiles imported from China and Spain are sourced from within instead, that the ceramic industry is rejuvenated, that efficiency and accountability are incorporated into the country’s economic reforms, and that the potentials in ICT are unlocked to create value.
“The number of young people today in Nigeria who are able to use ICT to proffer solutions as well as make a living for themselves is amazing. We must ensure that we make electricity and internet hubs available to enable aspiring tech-preneurs explore and develop the new Nigeria,” he told BDSUNDAY in an interview.
Omoleye Sowore
Omoleye Sowore, publisher of Sahara Reporters, who anchors his agenda on a three-pronged policy covering security, power and infrastructure to lift the country from its present state, promises to create at least 250,000 new jobs in the agricultural sector, with commercial ranching operations that would cover 20 million cows.
Even though he has begun to traverse the length and breadth of the country making his intention known to some key figures in the country, many Nigerians see him as a joker.
When in February this year he declared his intention to run for the presidential election, pulse.ng, an online news platform, reported that Sowore insulted everybody while putting himself forward as the candidate to beat in the 2019 presidential contest.
“If I should run this country, Nigerians will be happy. I can run this country in my sleep better than Buhari can do. Ambode can’t govern a county in the US,” pulse.ng quoted Sowore as saying.
“Jagaban (Bola Tinubu) has taken every piece of land you can find in Lagos. Saraki has taken over Kwara.
“Buhari has no brain. If you ask Nigerians about the economic plans of Buhari, they’ll point to the British accent of the finance minister. How does accent create jobs?
“Buhari is not even analogue. He is worse. He can’t even use a telephone by himself.
“As activists, we can run Nigeria. If a goat gets the kind of waiver Dangote gets, the goat will be rich,” he was quoted to have said.
Fela Durotoye
Fela Durotoye, a Lagos-based motivational speaker and leadership coach, says he is ready to serve Nigerians in whatever capacity including as president in 2019.
“The problem with Nigeria so far is that we have not yet seen a system that produces natural good people in governance. The leadership system we have in Nigeria is what I call ‘seletocracy’; it is a kind of system whereby the access to position of authority and power is to a large extent determined by a few people who have a higher interest in themselves and their own selected interest than they have in the interest of the general public.
“It now time for us to lead, but remember it is not just about the people being led, it is about us the people, choosing how to make life better, that we have to make our mission. Because we have woken up, now we have chosen to accept our responsibility for the wellbeing of our nation. Now we believe ourselves that our generation can do this; now we are committing our time and resources, rather than sitting in our comfort zones and most importantly, we are determined.
“I am ready to take up the task in whatever capacity it is. I will love to serve my people and create a desirable nation to live in first, which we can do. If I were to serve in the highest office in Nigeria and I am given the right condition, I will be honoured to serve my people in any position, including the presidency,” he said.
There are expectations that more presidential aspirants will be challenged on their economic agenda as the 2019 elections approach.
The questions
Many observers have expressed the opinion that there is the need for the electorate to “look very well this time around before they leap”.
Tony Mmadu, a Systems analyst, told BDSUNDAY that his zeal for voting has died following what he described as huge disappointment being experienced in the present administration.
“From what I have seen in the last three years, nothing tells me that there is going to be a change in the next 10 years. You want to know why I said so? If President Buhari returns, we go deeper into crisis; if any of the old brigades step in we return to square one, and if any of the neophytes coming up should grab power, we go back to the laboratory as they will begin to carry out all manner of research of ABC of leadership. Honestly speaking, Nigeria is really in a deep problem,” Mmadu said.
Speaking in separate interviews with BDSUNDAY, some political leaders commended the youths who have summoned the courage to declare their ambition to contest the presidency, stressing that the older generation has failed Nigeria over the years.
They said that it would serve the country well to key into the world order as youths are now taking over leadership positions even in advanced countries.
Fadahunsi Fajuyitan, Lagos State chairman of the KOWA party, said that it was good development for the country that many youths, more than ever before, are aspiring and showing interest in leading position in the country ahead of the 2019 general election.
“It is a good development. Personally, I am looking forward to a day when a 25-year old or 24-year old would lead the country, But if you look at the situation, this people are taking us for granted because we are not ambitious enough. The likes of Atiku have been there for years, what have they, the older generation done for the country? They have continued to milk the country, all of them, without exception.
Tijani Yusuf, national chairman of the Action Democratic Party (ADP), noted that Nigeria was endowed with industrious and intelligent youths who could lead the county out of its current woes if given the chance.
Yusuf added that though the experience of the present crop of leaders was important, it was also necessary that they learn to give the youth a chance when the need arises.
“We are seeing more youths aspiring which is good for us, if you look at advance countries, youths are taking over, our youths are intelligent, industrious and have the vigour to lead us out of our current woes if given the opportunity; but I would add that our youths need to be more daring,” he said.
Wale Ogunade, president of Voters’ Awareness Initiative Lagos, welcomed the increase in the number of youths aspiring for elective position in the country, but expressed worries that the present crop of leaders was not ready to relinquish power.
Ogunade stressed that it was obvious that the world has advanced beyond the present crop of leaders in the country, while charging Nigerians to vote out corrupt and re-circled leaders in the 2019 general election.
CHUKS OLUIGBO and INIOBONG IWOK
