President Muhammadu Buhari has been called upon to resign with immediate effect in order to prove to Nigerians and the world at large that he is indeed a man of integrity which his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), perfunctorily dressed him up to represent when it hood-winked the nation almost three years ago.
In a statement issued at the end of its meeting in Ekiti State, the Coordinator of the Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM) in the state, Mr. Moses Jolayemi, said Buhari has successfully demystified himself by advertising his gross incompetence in virtually every aspect of governance, the latest being the abduction of the Dapchi schoolgirls two weeks ago.
According to Jolayemi, the recent kidnap which occurred when the nation was yet to come to grips with the mindless massacre of over 70 people in Benue State by rampaging herdsmen has left Nigerians with no doubt that the president lacks the capacity to run the affairs of this country.
He pointed out that Buhari has failed woefully in the two most vital departments of human life-social and economy.
According to Jolayemi, Nigerians are going through the worst economic hardship in the nation’s history while insecurity has never so stubbornly stared us in the face.
“Having demonstrated his incompetence in fixing the economy, one would have thought the President, being a retired Army General would show some degree of competence in ensuring the security of the citizenry. But from all available evidence, this president has left no one in doubt, including his fellow party members, that he is incapable. I am not sure if it was worse than this during the civil war but from what I know, Nigerians have never felt so unsafe in this country.
“In saner climes, we would not have been given the trouble of calling for the president’s resignation because any man who has a modicum of integrity would have willingly thrown in the towel, having failed on all fronts.
‘’It is an insult on the collective sensibilities of all Nigerians that a man who has not fulfilled any of his numerous campaign promises and who has spent a greater part of the time on medical vacation could be seeking re-election when in actual fact, he should apologize to Nigerians for wasting their time and humbly quit office.
‘’In point of fact, bowing out honourably does not diminish the person of the president; rather it will locate him on the right side of history as a leader who placed national interest above personal ambition.
‘’Resigning from office is not anything new. From the 18thCentury, leaders of various countries of the world have been resigning their positions for one reason or the other, the last being Mr. Jacob Zuma of South Africa who resigned, though reluctantly, on February 14.
‘’We have seen Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries like China, United States, Britain, Malaysia, Japan, Germany, Canada, Spain, Israel, Singapore, New Zealand among several others resign for their nations to move forward. The result is that each of these nations is better off today by every standard of definition.
“Those criticising former president Olusegun Obasanjo’s patriotic call on Buhari to retire and return peacefully to Daura and not seek re-election in 2009 should ask God for forgiveness because that was the most candid advice the ex-president could give the serving leader.
‘’One of the reasons Obasanjo gave was the President’s health. In 2007 and 2008, two Japanese Prime Ministers, Shinzo Abe and Yasuo Fukuda respectively resigned on health grounds for the sake of their country.
“In fact, another one, Yukio Hatoyama resigned due to his failure to keep just one campaign promise to close an American military base on the Island of Okinawa while the stupendously rich Silvio Berlusconi of Italy resigned on account of economic crisis and other minor issues.
“Obasanjo has been there and has seen it all. Obasanjo is not perfect and I don’t think he has ever implied that; but no sane mind would compare his two reigns, as military and civilian leader, with Buhari’s two outings. It will be like comparing sleep with death.
“I am very sure that those who intelligently repackaged Buhari in 2015 and sold him to unsuspecting Nigerians could not have envisaged such abysmally poor performance. Not only is Buhari not better than when he was a military head of state over 30 years ago, it is evident that he is far worse.
“The most honourable thing for him to do is to just take a walk and allow his deputy, Prof. Yemi Oshibajo to carry on. That way, I believe his party, the APC will at least have something to campaign on, come 2019. Outside that, I wonder what Buhari and his APC want to say to Nigerians when they mount the rostrum to campaign. I really wonder what will be the story line.â€
