Nigerians, choose wisely in 2019

In February 2019, Nigerians will go to the polls and the fight for the plum job (President) is between the incumbent and the a former vice president. Both have tasted power at the highest level before and we cannot boast of any significant achievement they had.


Every government has some positives but the people only remember a government that impacts them in a unique way the most, beyond a few good deeds. Buhari's government like any government before his - GEJ, OBJ, IBB, ABACHA, ABDUSALAM, etc. have a couple of achievements we can point to but none of these governments has led Nigeria on a path of enduring growth. Unfortunately, Buhari's government is not any better - it is all talk-talk, no show and no measurable achievement that has changed important things MAJORITY of Nigerians care about - security, jobs, education, equality, freedom of expression, healthcare - in all, Buhari has failed woefully. Here are my points

Buhari's major flops:

1. Security: Failure in the fight against insurgency - Boko Haram (BH) is stronger today (throughout Buhari's regime) than before him. Dapchi still happened in daylight under Buhari's watch - billions have been spent yet soldiers die like a chicken every day and are crying out that they have no weapon to fight (we heard this during GJE and we said corruption - is this not a result of corruption too?). This is an outright failure of the fight against a group of less than 6,000 untrained fighters. Chibok girls are still not all home, Leah is still the only girl in the prison of BH. Buhari's government has lied four times that they have defeated BH yet they still unleash havoc at will in a landlocked area. It is a BIG shame for Gen. Buhari. Tens of thousands have died and are dying daily in Plateau, Zamfara, Southern Kaduna, Borno, Benue at some point through various ethnoreligious cleanse and crisis - Buhari has been able to have a stronghold on these crises and he has not fired or replaced his service chiefs of Northern extraction.

2. Failure to curb the Fulani terror onslaught and his stubborn refusal to declare them a terrorist organization - instead he cowardly clamped down on IPOB and tagged them a terrorist group.

3. Outright failure in revamping the economy - Nigerians are worse off today than in 2015. Unemployment is now 18.8% from 8% in 2015. More Nigerians leave below poverty lines.

4. Failure in infrastructural development in spite of the stupendous amount of money that the government has had access to, so much than any other govt before it - borrowed money (N11 trillion; 300 to 900% increase in IGR for some sector; unchanged revenue from oil; recovered loot running into billions of dollars - where is the money?)

5. Failure in the fight against corruption that is lopsided - Ganduje is walking free, so is Maina, Adeosun ran to UK without prosecution for using a fake document to get government position, many in his government are complicit in several corruption cases before and during Buhari's tenure e.g. Amaechi and Oshiomole. Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi state is stealing and terrorizing Kogi indigienes and Buhari has not called him to order because he was always the first to contribute state money to support APC. How do you describe the APC rigged elections in Ekiti and Osun? What do you call the alleged money given to Omosore by Oshimole to buy his support for the 2nd governorship election re-run in Osun state?

6. Outright infringement on human rights - Zaki-Zaki, journalist, Dino, and others he has used the IGP to harass.

7. He is biased against other tribes and he declared on BBC Hausa station that the constitution has given him the power to hire anyone he wants. Look at his cabinet, his security chiefs, and many appointments are filled with incompetent people from his domain and he wants to lead Nigeria out of poverty and corruption, is this not corruption in itself? What happened to "I belong to everybody, I belong to nobody."?

Buhari has not kept any promise (go and check his 2014 campaign manifesto) - they keep counting the projects completed and programs implemented but cannot show or prove how these projects have empowered Nigerians. Nigerians are less secure today in their own country, they are poorer, they are called fools (Tinubu to Osun people, Ajimobi in Oyo state, Fayemi in Ekiti - they call the electorates inconsequential), they die of simple illness because our hospitals are undertaker houses - they are empty and there is no avenue for ordinary Nigerians to get a good medical care that Buhari flew to England many times for on taxpayers money; more children (13 million) are out of school than any other country in the world and any other time in our history, more poverty stricken Nigerians (87 million) per capita than ever, our university students spend more time at home now than during the time of the military - education is still under-funded, Buhari and his party has a magic wand for turning corrupt politicians into good politicians if they can just join APC. If they leave APC, they are corrupt again - case in point, Saraki, Atiku, etc.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO VOTE FOR THIS MAN (Buhari) AGAIN? I am tired of the excuse that it takes longer to rebuild - 4 years is enough to see a sign if a government will deliver or not. All the indices of growth in Nigeria in the last 4 years under Buhari are indicating differently and we cannot trust this man for another 4 years it will be a waste of our time as a people. We are more than Buhari - he lacks the intellectual capacity and the will to lead us out of the current quagmire.

Do not confuse my position on Buhari as support for Atiku, far from it. In a sane country, Osinbajo and Obi will be the presidential candidates contesting against the likes of Oby, Moghalu, Sowore, Durotoye, etc. Nigerians have decided to confine themselves to these nonentities, I am bewildered. Wake up Nigerians, please wake up.

Please, check out Adeola's youtube video, where she profiled each of the leading candidates - I found it informative. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JZFPKk59i8