Reasons Why President Buhari Should Resign - ThankGod Ukachukwu

What a child uses chair or support to climb and peep over the fence, the elderly person seating down has already seen what the child is itching to see and will ignore, admonish or warn the child about such things. I will consider myself an elderly person in the case of the predicament of President Mohammadu Buhari because I was an adult in 2009 with the ability to discern national and wide ranging issues after deep considerations. In those days, I had come to the conclusion that the president of the day in 2009 was a foregone conclusion.
I went ahead to publish 10 reasons why he should resign as Nigeria’s president. You can read the blog http://ourdreamnigeria.blogspot.com.ng/2009/ here. I supported late President Yardua to the presidency but as at the time of that thesis, while many gave his presidency the pass mark, going by my lofty standards, his presidency was performing below expectation. But the hall mark of that declining period was the consternation created by his ill-health which affected his performance greatly. Not long after I published that series, President Yardua died, may his soul rest in peace. Therefore, when the issue of Buhari’s ill-health came to the fore after his many medical checkups prior to 2017, I have always had this sense of de javu. I feared for Buhari for what happened in 1985 when his government was cut short in a bloodless coup should not repeat itself again. I actually wished as a human being that he breaks that jinx of not surpassing two years at one stretch as military head of state or civilian president. I refrained from publicly commenting or writing extensive articles on the president’s health status, because I wish him well and I also care about the stability of Nigeria which is imperative for sustenance of democracy and progress.
While this conspiracy theory may not be true, we have President Buhari not able to complete his two years tenure comprehensively as he was away in London like he was in prison in 1985 when he was supposed to celebrate his two years in power. Not many know why the former NSA chief is in prison, it’s not solely about corruption but the president and his strategy team would have reminiscenced about 1985 and the fact that Dasuki has so much power and wealth at his disposal in the present, could re-enact 1985 (without IBB) and this remains the reason I will presume he is behind bars. However, it was the physical that stopped Buhari in 1985 but in 2017, the spiritual has deterred him from completing two years the second time in his life as the head of government of Nigeria fully in the driver’s seat. Buhari’s current predicament isn’t new to the country, before the elections in 2015, when he appeared at Chatham House, one of the defining moments of the election year; I had these words spelled out.
“Until Buhari appears at Chatham house, I will not dwell on speculation. Sometimes, you wonder if Nigerians remember the past. Maybe they think like Buhari who has said that Nigerians should not judge him by the past, only by what he will do in the future which only God knows. Re-enacting those two years of stagnation in our country is not something many Nigerians would wish for. For those who continue to defend the fact instead of the APC to clear the air on the exact health status of Buhari, they see it as a ploy by the PDP to sway sentiments and votes.”
Earlier this year, I reiterated, “As I write, President Buhari is not in the country, just like his government ended two years after his first stint in the 80s, seems nature is about to repeat itself. Ag President Osinbajo has taken over the mantle of leadership and as we have witnessed twice in the past 8 years, we are about to have yet another accidental president. This is not good for democracy but I believe that given the academic pedigree and clean past of Osinbajo, he can write his name in gold, hold the mantle till 2019 and take a walk for marginalized regions to partake in Nigeria’s top leadership. However, as we speak, salvation is not insight. For Nigeria to make progress, a radical shift from the way the country was run in the last two years need to be made else we might continue heading down the hill without any wedge to stop the drift and that movement might even be truncated along the way. I pray that our democracy will be sustained and those planning to become a clog in the wheel of progress will have a rethink.”
During the charged atmosphere of elections in 2015, we had people like Fayose, FKK and Mama Peace amongst others that have access to classified information most ordinary citizens don’t have warning the populace about Buhari’s health status. However, many were cajoled that these people were professional liars and propangandists. Even today many are so deeply enmeshed in their ethnic bigotry and prebendalism that they believe that sick or incapacitated, Buhari must be president. We have heard words like even if he’s on wheel chair, we will vote for him in 2019, the exact kind of sentiments that have stagnated Nigeria for the past two years. We will remember when they said things like “even if Buhari robs a bank or has NEPA certificate, we will vote for him”. Permit me to remind you that this is the second time Buhari has left the country in 2017 to London for medical tourism. The first time he completed 50 days and the second time, Saturday August 5th 2017 marked 90 days the president left and that is a total of 140+ days out of 182 days that make up half of a year. A man at 75 that has spent 4 out of 6 months, half of the year completed is not in any good shape to take up the hectic job of the president of Nigeria.
According to the 1999 constitution of Nigeria, S.143 and 144 details how the president can be removed from office and one of which is through the establishment of a medical panel which shall certify the president incapacitated such that he cannot discharge his functions any longer. There is no gainsaying that after such long period of inactivity and given the information we have been given that Buhari is undergoing “fattening”, alongside all the transplants and surgeries and transfusions he has undergone, recovery from such sickness is far-fetched. According to one learned person, he stated that the president of Nigeria is entitled to 60 days annual leave and the constitution to the extent of my knowledge is silent on how long the president or vice-president can proceed on medical vacation. We have yet a reasonable length of time for the National Assembly to begin to consider setting up the medical panel as stipulated by the constitution. Some will argue that Buhari handed over to his vice and I ask, how long shall he remain abroad and the VP acting, indefinitely, 6 months, 1 year or more? Let me also inform you that such a scenario in which Buhari finds himself tends towards terminal period of an active life. I have had cases of old people over 70 and even young people pass away in my family and once a human being goes through such complicated medical procedures, chances of reinvigoration within one or two years if that person will survive are extremely low.
As I write, Acting president Osinbajo is caged in Aso Rock, he is reduced to cosmetic and coordinating aspects of governance while the cabal does everything possible to package Buhari and bring him back. Their plan is to ensure he is perpetuated in any state till 2019 so they can continue to devour the treasury and share contracts amongst themselves but he needs to at least work from home and receive visitors but from the prevailing situation, he lacks the fitness to function anywhere near optimum and fulfill their expectations. While Senate President Saraki has had his travails, I doubt he will be the one to instigate Buhari’s removal via medical panel as APC and Buhari supporters will interpret any such move as grand betrayal given that there has been no love lost between their camps since he mounted the saddle as Senate President. Would Jagaban Borgu pull such stunts, because it will be of his best interest since his protégé will president? It remains an unknown case study. Speaker Dogara has been a Buhari sycophant from day one and the main opposition party PDP would not want to mull such with their clout in NASS so they will not be held liable for any crisis that Buhari’s removal will precipitate. Consequently, Nigeria is at crossroads and “the greatest gift Buhari can gift Nigeria is to send in his resignation letter as it is obvious he lacks good health to continue as president. Let him choose peace and heed the voice of reason.”