Yinka Olujimi
President Muhammadu Buhari last week promised, on his honour, not to seek a third term in office. That is a pity.
By that decision, he is throwing those of us who admire him and want him to continue in perpetuity into despair.
Who will continue the good works that he has started in the country, if he obeys an ordinary paper called the 1999 Constitution which stipulates maximum of two terms?
Is it not the Oyinbo who manufactured the pencil that also made the eraser? What will it cost to amend the constitution now that we have a pliable National Assembly and a judiciary that is after our heart?
The only good thing is that although our dear Baba has denied having any third term ambition, he has not publicly disowned that loyal party man, Charles Enya, who has approached the court on our behalf with a prayer that the stupid constitution be shredded so we can achieve our hearts’ desires.
Have you also noticed that the leaders of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) have curiously been mute about the action of Enya? Who born any dog, called national officer of the ruling party, to disown Enya?
The hate speech bill which stipulates the death penalty is in the works, remember? So, what, really, stands in our way if we press ahead with tenure elongation?
Dear Baba, do not be deceived that arrowheads of the party, especially those at the top, love you and want you to continue in office. They assisted you to power in 2015 and supported your reelection this year only because they wanted to ride on the back of your integrity to power from 2023.
Unpatriotic lot. One was even quoted as saying that he would not mind you being carried on a stretcher to work in so far as he succeeds you after the 2019 election!
Now, if you accede to our request that you reconsider your decision about not continuing beyond 2023, they will come out smoking. That is the time that you will know those who truly love you.
We all know that from the top to the bottom, members of the ruling party are seething with rage against Enya, the litigant. But, do we care?
In this season of selective obedience to court orders, they all know the implication of voicing any concern about our appeal for you to continue in office beyond 2023, possibly forever.
Nigerians now know the meaning of strong-man leader, not that lily-livered Goodluck Jonathan who was always afraid of what the international community would do if he stepped out of the line.
Anyone who queries your moves by citing the fact that Enya is a member of the ruling party, and has not been directly disowned by either you or any of your spokespersons does not know that you are a military tactician.
For now, the country should be content that you are too busy attending to matters of state to be aware of Enya’s moves. I want to see the judge who will throw out Enya’s application. I’m sure the Directorate of State Services (DSS) is on the standby to pay the judge a dawn visit.
We have successfully annexed the judiciary while the current National Assembly is a willing appendage of your imperial presidency. So, who can stand against the moving train that your third term bid will be if you accede to our request?
Of course, we, the several millions of your admirers and active supporters, want you to continue in office. We are acutely aware that eight years is too short a time for meaningful re-engineering of the country.
Besides, as you acknowledged and admonished the top leadership of our great party this week, the danger of the APC falling apart after you step down from power is very real. Why should we allow that to happen? God forbid.
So, if it will take the continuation in office of the good General for the party not to collapse, then we must work assiduously towards it.
Unfortunately, the president will not see things our way. Being a man of integrity – a man whose word is his bond – he will not give us the joy of serving him forever. That he has not called Enya to order is because he has not been aware of the court action.
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Zamfara shining example
Call it power play, or elite in-fighting. One thing is certain, the ordinary people of Zamfara State are the beneficiaries of the apparent frosty relationship between the incumbent administration and the immediate past Governor Abdulazeez Yari .
N10 million whopping monthly allowance for a man who luxuriated on the finances of the state for eight years, is a classic case of official looting of state resources.
It is convenient to troll the ex-Governor for placing such obscene burden on the state, but the truth is that he is not alone on the greedy train. Virtually all states of the federation have one version or another of the law of the greedy, by the greedy and for the greedy.
It is a law which unites all the parties – the so-called progressives inclusive.
Before Yari could continue in his folly of citing a law to compel Zamfara to continue depleting its resources to satisfy his greed, the state Assembly repealed the law and the Governor Bello Matawalle promptly assented to the repeal.
Before you rain abuses on Yari, take a second look at the severance benefits of your former Governors and deputies, as well as Speakers and Deputy Speakers of your states. Then, you will know that the differences that you see in the political parties are limited to the campaign period, Once they occupy the seats, they are united in emptying state resources into their private pockets.
Please don’t ask about the former Governors and their deputies, who have moved to the National Assembly or received ministerial appointments – they continue to draw fat, obscene salaries and allowances from the states, as well as fresh ones from the National Assembly and the federal cabinet.
Yari is not alone.