ELECTING BUHARI IN 2015

A Call to my Constituency, the Church, to Vote Gen. Muhammadu Buhari in the Coming Election

Introduction

In this article, I will be calling on Christians to vote for the person of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in the forth coming Presidential elections in Nigeria. I am a fellow Christian; a minister of the gospel, who is however convinced that a person like Buhari is one who has the leadership potentials to lead Nigeria out of the unfortunate situation we have found ourselves as a country. I do not know the General personally and I have not been paid by him or his associate to write this.

Why Buhari?

The Nigerian political melodrama is shoring up three individuals that are likely to be the leading candidates for the Febuary 14th, 2015 presidential elections. They are the incumbent president of the nation, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Gen. Muhammadu Buhari. Atiku and Buhari are likely to square it out at the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential primaries, and the political permutations give Buhari the advantage because of his popularity with the leaders of the party. Therefore there is the high probability that the 2015 presidential elections shall be a repeat of the 2011 one that was between Jonathan and Buhari. I hereby state ten quick reasons why Buhari will excel as presidentnt of Nigeriaa.

Buhari's antecedents as head of state of this country in 1984/85 revealed that he is a highly disciplined individual that commands the respect of his associates, and can replicate the very successful War Against Indiscipline (WAI) of that time to help curb the raging corruption almost crippling this nation today.

Buhari as a militarycommander in Borno State in the 80's helped conquer an insurgent group that was troubling that region of the country. When he was head of state, he gave the orders that quelled the Maitatsine uprising. The Boko Haram uprsing, an offshoot of Maitatsine, is certain to be curtailed by this experienced military officer if voted into office.

Buhari's economic prowess as military head of state has been touted the best economic initiative this nation has ever recorded. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, former Governor of the Central Bank, called it Buharinomics.

Buhari has a thing for attracting the best of human associates and permits them the liberty to function. Many owe the success of Buhari's regime in 1984 to the ingenuity of the late Brig. Gen. Tunde Idiagbon. Buhari should however be credited for allowing his associates to function; a fit he is likely to repeat with individuals like Raji Fashola (present Gov' of Lagos State), Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (former Minister of the FCT), Dr. Obi Ezekwesili, and a host of other individuals who are at the moment supporting his candidacy and might be working in his government.

Buhari is not a money bag and will not be buying the loyalty of individuals to support him. Those who do this and then come into political office are the ones that are constrained to steal public money to recoup their "investments".

Buhari's record as head of Petroleum Trust Fund is untainted and examplary. Buhari as an elder stateman is experienced and knowledgeable, and has the ability to translate this to help to solve the nation's myriads of problems. Buhari is not an Islamic extremist. Many of his associates and subordinates in his private life are Christians. The statements credited to Buhari, which his detractors use to label him an Islamic fundamentalist, simply tell of an individual who is true to himself and his faith, and who will not compromise his faith for political advantage.

Buhari is popular among ordinary Nigerians and if he elected will serve these people and not political godfathers. Buhari is a man of truth. He is called "mai gaskya" in the north. This country has the opportunity to elect for the first time in her history an individual who will not lie to us and who will carry out the promises he makes to us in the forthcoming manifesto of his political party.

Goodluck Jonathan

A friend, Bayo Adeyinka, has enumerated ten reasons why President Goodluck Jonathan should be re-elected into office (http://www.bayoadeyinka.com/bayoadeyinka/index.php/entry/goodluck-jonathan-a-balanced-scorecard-by-bayo-adeyinka). These points cannot be disputed and they are commendable indeed. The only trouble with these points is that Nigerians must come to learn that there is a difference between a government's responsibility and its achievements. If government build roads, pay salaries, refurbish the railway, build schools, and permit some stability for the economy, that government has carried out its duties or its responsibilities. It is when that government has done high and above these things enumerated that we can say that government has achieved something upon which it could be considered for re-election. When we consider two things: the speed with which nations are advancing and the amount of resources this country gathers as revenue year in year out, we must of a necessity hold any government in power responsible for not achieving anything. We should not be found praising them for carrying out their responsibilities. Unfortunately, two things act as Achilles' for the presidency of Goodluck Jonathan. They are violence and corruption. The Boko Haram insurgency and the inability of the government of Goodluck Jonathan to quell their activities continue to be a major minus for this administration. For the first time since the Civil War in this nation, a section of the country has been annexed and taken over by religious militants with uncountable number of Nigerian citizens being killed every day in the north-eastern part of the country. Jonathan, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, has not been able to rally them to end this continual dissemination of a section of the country. In fact, many political watchers claim that the president is way too weak to handle the situation and the insurgents seem to have discovered this and are taking advantage of it to the full. Since Goodluck Jonathan came into office in 2011, the country has not been able to celebrate it annual Independence ceremony in public for the fear of attack from insurgents. Despite the havoc Boko Haram has wrecked on the North Eastern part of the nation, Jonathan has only visited them once; and even that was a political statement to stop those criticizing him when Governors in the opposition went and walked the streets of Maiduguri. In spite of the call on the president to show sympathy to the people of Chibok, who lost over 200 of their girls to insurgent activites in Borno State, he has not visited them; citing security reasons. The long and short of this all is the truth that Jonathan has failed to make Nigeria safe and should not be permitted another four years in office.

Sometimes ago the Speaker of the House of Assembly was compelled to say that the body language of Mr. President lent support for corruption in the land. The President will later support this position himself when he declared that "stealing was not corruption." If stealing is not corruption, what else could it be? This government has shown great laxity towards matters of corruption, especially those that involve individuals close to the President. The minister of Petroleum, Diezani Allison-Madueke has continually been fingered in one corruption case or the other, but this government has refused to beam any search light on her activities. The NNPC, were she exercises oversight, is brimming with allegation of corrupt practices. The President himself was recently alleged to be worth $100 million dollars by an online news outfit. This allegation had to be dropped after the presidency threatened legal actions against the outfit. Nevertheless many Nigerians argue that anyone could come to any conclusion on how much Jonathan is worth considering the fact that he has refused to declare his assets in public. A question to which our president has responded that he does not give a damn about answering. In this light, Rudolph Okonkwo of the Saharareporters, stated that the President was worth $120 million and he also said that he was ready to be sued for his assertions (http://saharareporters.com/2014/10/14/sue-me-jonathan-youre-worth-120-million-dollars-least-rudolf-ogoo-okonkwo). Since Jonathan came into power, the two apparatus of government that were set up by the administration of Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo to curtail corruption, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), have been rendered useless. The list is endless. A vote for Jonathan is a vote for corruption to continue to disseminate the length and breath of this country.

The Religious Rivalry

It is really unfortunate that the Presidential contest again might degenerate to a religious contest between Muslims and Christians like it did in 2011. I am calling on my Christians friends to rise above these religious sentiments in making the decision of whom to vote for in 2015. What is going on between Muslims and Christians is a simple case of rivalry between two prominent religions in the land. Christians should be blamed for not being political savvy enough to be at the forefront when political candidates for political parties are being selected. We should learn from this and become more politically involved in our nation. For now, we have a sincere, upright, disciplined and visionary individual in the opposition contesting against a supposed Christian; and we should be found making the decision to vote for the Muslim above religious sentiments because we know that he would run our country well. Let us remember that it was a non-Jewish King, the person of Cyrus, that God used to bring Israel out of the political and economic captivity they were in at Babylon.

Today, Nigeria is in a similar situation and it might please God to use Buhari, a Muslim, to save the Christian church, resident in Nigeria, from another political and economic captivity. Conclusion I am again calling on my Christian brethren to vote for Buhari. I use this opportunity to call on Tunde Bakare and the Save Nigeria Group to again rally behind the General, like they did in 2011, to see to it that he is elected into office. The All Progressive Congress (APC), the political party under which the General is running, is not a perfect body that consists of saints. There are indeed individuals there whose records in public office are questionable. But like it has been said so many times in many forums in this country: the problem of Nigeria is a leadership one. If we can endeavor to elect a leader that has integrity, discipline and vision, the team that will work with him will have to follow suit.

Vote Wisely. Vote Gen. Muhammadu Buhari come Febuary 14th, 2015 as President of this country. And may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Amen.

http://yesufu..com/2014/10/electing-buhari-in-2015.html

If you want a party, vote Pdp. If you want a government, vote apc.

Yes!
Sai Buhari.
Even my pastor want this man.
There's no going back. Change is a MUST.

op are u high on toothpaste ?

we nigerians are now wiser,dey can use religion to divide us anymore,am votin buhari no goin back

Biased judgement!! If he did so well thirty years ago as you said,then he has no business coming back there. The baba should rest and give vibrant people a chance

OP even before you post am....GMB has my vote. I wish I could contribute to his campaign financially...I won't mind to spear my few bulks for him.

And i suppose jonathan is vibrant

My vote is for Buhari.... Buhari all the way!

Lets hope he is what peeps claim he is...

Too much religion in politics is killing the Nigerian politics

Take ethnicity and religion out of every sphere of this country and watch it grow to an alarming height.

Did he forgot something on that seat the last time that he wants to come and take? The old man should go home, he needs rest, he doesn't need to die on seat biko. We need younger people to take over, why must thesame circle of people be leading us from time immemorial? We are the leaders of tomorrow indeed.

front page things

@Op are you a political agent for buhari? the man already led Nigeria before. I think its time new leaders emerge to steer Nigeria to its destination.

My believe is that Nigerians are wiser now and should see beyond religion this time around to do the right thing.
Jonathan himself knows that if he was not the president and not contesting, ge would not only support Buhari candidacy but also vote for him (assuming he meant well for Nigeria).

Buhari has his flaws just like very many of us. But given the mess we find ourselves, wr need someone of his character to bail us out of the corruption and indiscipline quagmire we are entangled in.

danielblessing:
@Op are you a political agent for buhari? the man already led Nigeria before. I think its time new leaders emerge to steer Nigeria to its destination.

Suggest one leader that can lead us to that destination pls. Surely not Jonathan except you want to keep deceiving yourself.

Seun
Mynd44
OAM4J
Mukina2
Obinoscopy
etc

please move this thread to the politics section. Thank you

As far as I am concerned buhari's 'qualities' are overrated and the best he can do is to send Nigeria back to the stone ages. His sole mission in govt is a vendetta mission whilst assuaging his bruised ego. It is very glaring to me even from buhari's utterances that he has no economic agenda for Nigeria neither does he have a clue of what to do to move the country forward.

He claims to be a man of integrity yet he can bank roll four presidential elections which costs several billions to do in this country and he is also in cahoots with some of the most notorious criminal politicians(Jagaban) in this country whom he hopes to finance his presidential lust for power.

That said no matter how much buhari and his cohorts deny it, going by previous well documented statements he made in the past and even his body language of recent, he remains a core tribalist and a religious fundamentalist who cannot rise above his primordial sentiments.

As far as achievements is concerned I fail to see any meaningful achievement he as done on his own as the much touted WAI and the anti corruption success of his regime was championed by idiagbon whilst buhari was assisting his cohorts to launder 53 suit c0ases full of money or is it his roll in the missing $2.8 billion we want to talk about. Also his days as chairman of PTF cannot be forgotten since there was massive corruption going on right under his nose and 90% of PTF projects were executed in the north. Even as he claimed he didn't steal money in PTF and so much money was stolen under his nose, it only means he was completely incompetent. Or is this not the same buhari that told us that Abacha was a honest man despite all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary One wonders what buhari's standards and parameters of honesty really is if he can declare Abacha as a honest man.

One thing is very clear to me, buhari has absolutely nothing positive to offer Nigeria and voting for him would be a vote for retrogression. The blood of the over 1,000 Nigerians killed by his supporters after the 2011 elections as a result of his unguarded statements remain on his head and may his likes NEVER smell power in Nigeria again in Jesus name. Amen

PS: this post is not an endorsement for GEJ as it is obvious to me that he leads the most corrupt govt in the history of Nigeria and his incompetence to tackling the security situation in the country is really appalling.

JEITO:
Too much religion in politics is killing the Nigerian politics

...And too much politics in governance. I don't know which of them is to be trusted jare.

Nigerian's birthright has been sold out to politics and politicians in exchange for ignorance,greed and lack (that's what the people got in return in the exchange).

We need a technocrat who has the fear of God and genuine concern for the people.

Thank you mods.

# Politics section

OP thank you very much. General Buhari shall be returned as Nigeria's President come May 2015, By the grace of God

kestolove95:
we nigerians are now wiser,dey can use religion to divide us anymore,am votin buhari no goin back

God bless you....

nonsoafm:
Biased judgement!! If he did so well thirty years ago as you said,then he has no business coming back there. The baba should rest and give vibrant people a chance

Vibrant people like whom if I may ask??

Well said op

Gombs:
Thank you mods.
# Politics section

I too could protest the moving of this thread to the politics section because the thread clearly states "Calling Christians...", the plea is to "religious people", Christians; thus the reason the OP thought it wise to put in the religion section at first. But I will not. I respect the decision of the moderators.

I however request the same mods who moved the thread from religion to politics, should also consider it for front page as the OP is a subject of interest for many Nigerians.

Nice one @OP

PassingShot:


Suggest one leader that can lead us to that destination pls. Surely not Jonathan except you want to keep deceiving yourself.

definitely not jonathan for Heaven sake. Buhari is a fan of sharia law. as for me,I will vote for someone credible not someone whom is a suspect of sponsoring boko haram as well as the incumbent president jonathan whom has deteriorated nigeria's wealth.

danielblessing:

definitely not jonathan for Heaven sake. Buhari is a fan of sharia law. as for me,I will vote for someone credible not someone whom is a suspect of sponsoring boko haram as well as the incumbent president jonathan whom has deteriorated nigeria's wealth.

Forget that Sharia law thing. Are you insinuating he will impose Sharia law on Nigeria? Do you really think it's possible by any stretch of imagination? Not possible in the 80's and never will it be possible in Nigeria to impose any state religion.

And if you beleive Buhari sponsors Boko Haram, then you are brainwashed. Simple as ABC. The real sponsors of Boko Haram belong in PDP. It's not rocket science to know that if the opposition was responsible for Boko Haram palava, the PDP government would spend all their resources to expose them, embarass them and bring them to justice. Do you imagine how much boost and political points PDP will achieve by revealing the sponsors of BH to Nigeria and the whole world? Their continuation till 2019 and possibly beyond will even be more assured. but because they know that the sponsors are within them, they're unable to act.

I also see that you don't know the Nigerian who is better equipped than Buhari but you agree it's not Jonathan who can deliver us.

The article in the OP should actually engender a healthy debate among Nigerians and this response from PastorKun is very welcome. Hopefully as we rub minds on the matter, our mindsets will change and we can all make informed decisions before casting out vote in 2015 and not vote on religious or ethnic sentiments. So thank you PastorKun for the detailed critique of the OP but permit me a rejoinder here. I will start with your last statement.

PastorKun:

PS: this post is not an endorsement for GEJ as it is obvious to me that he leads the most corrupt govt in the history of Nigeria and his incompetence to tackling the security situation in the country is really appalling.

Sir, while you will have us believe that Buhari is not our messiah, you also will not recommend Jonathan. So what do we do? The OP clearly showed that the political indices are veering towards three individuals Jonathan, Atiku, and Buhari. Whatever our prejudices are against these fellows, we must choose one of them. The OP is simply making a case for the best of the lot. Truth is that most Nigerians will wish some other individuals will run for this exalted office. But as the case is, these are the options we have. It is on this premise, I believe, that the OP is making the case for Buhari.

PastorKun:

As far as I am concerned buhari's 'qualities' are overrated and the best he can do is to send Nigeria back to the stone ages. His sole mission in govt is a vendetta mission whilst assuaging his bruised ego. It is very glaring to me even from buhari's utterances that he has no economic agenda for Nigeria neither does he have a clue of what to do to move the country forward.

I do not believe Buhari's qualities are overrated. In fact I think they are underrated. He was serving Nigeria faithfully in Borno state when IBB and his Boys overthrew Shagari. He was called to head the govt as the most senior officer. When he blocked means for the boys to be enrich themselves, IBB told him the boys are complaining. Buhari told him if they were unhappy with his rein on corruption they could have their govt. He was overthrown two weeks later. Outside this, most other commentaries on his private and public life are excellent. A colleague in my office who served in the NYSC with Buhari's daughter said that she kept her identity hidden. The soldiers later learnt who she was and were going to give her a private room. She refused it, Saying her father must not learn of it. My elder brother who lives close to one of Buhari's nephew home told us the story of how the young man, also named Muhhamadu Buhari, went around govt offices collecting contract using his uncle's name. When Buhari learnt of it, he ensured he returned each kobo and got him a legitimate job to do. The stories on this man abound and others can testify here too. So it is not overrated at all.

PastorKun:

He claims to be a man of integrity yet he can bank roll four presidential elections which costs several billions to do in this country and he is also in cahoots with some of the most notorious criminal politicians(Jagaban) in this country whom he hopes to finance his presidential lust for power.

It is public knowledge how Buhari finances his campaigns. He alluded to this when he spoke of having to pay for the nomination form. He complained the cost was to high but said that he usually ensures he buys those forms himself. It betrays the fact that all other funds spent on the campaign come from people's good will. But his integrity will not allow him collect money from friends for the forms. He usually ensures he pays that himself.

On his political associates, I believe this reference is to Tinubu. The OP also answered that question in the last few paragraphs. Politics is a game of numbers. The more, the merrier. So a political party will consist of the good the bad and the ugly. A govt is different. The spirit and direction of a govt is usually that of the head. Buhari will certainly prevail over the corrupt elements in his party. As Christians we should pray that he does.

PastorKun:

That said no matter how much buhari and his cohorts deny it, going by previous well documented statements he made in the past and even his body language of recent, he remains a core tribalist and a religious fundamentalist who cannot rise above his primordial sentiments.

Again, here is an untrue statement. Buhari as head of state, military Commander and politician has shown to be an individual that is not driven by primordial tribal or religious mindsets. His detractors have continued to use it against him and have never been able to prove it. It's the usual practice in politics to give a dog a bad name so as to hang it. I might have to request that you provide the statements he made that made you conclude this on him or I will have to believe that you have taken this position from hearsay alone, like most Nigerians, and not from your own investigations.

PastorKun:

As far as achievements is concerned I fail to see any meaningful achievement he as done on his own as the much touted WAI and the anti corruption success of his regime was championed by idiagbon whilst buhari was assisting his cohorts to launder 53 suit c0ases full of money or is it his roll in the missing $2.8 billion we want to talk about. Also his days as chairman of PTF cannot be forgotten since there was massive corruption going on right under his nose and 90% of PTF projects were executed in the north. Even as he claimed he didn't steal money in PTF and so much money was stolen under his nose, it only means he was completely incompetent. Or is this not the same buhari that told us that Abacha was a honest man despite all the overwhelming evidence to the contrary One wonders what buhari's standards and parameters of honesty really is if he can declare Abacha as a honest man.

Again we have another set of unsubstantiated claims here.

The success of Idiagbon are Buhari's successes bc he was his boss. Same as his failures would have been blamed on him.

On the suitcase saga, no such thing happened. Prof Tam David West, a man who worked closely with Buhari in those days, had explained many times that those stories were manufactured by his detractors. No one till date has provided proof that it happed bc it didn't.

On PTF, every region and state in this country had PTF projects. Contracts were awarded fairly and contractors duely paid. OBJ govt investigated Buhari's time at PTF and found nothing on him.

As for his opinion on Abacha. The man was his boss at the time. I cannot see him criticizing him. In 2011, its on records however that Buhari's party, CPC, distanced themselves from Abacha son, who was vying to rum on that platform.

PastorKun:

One thing is very clear to me, buhari has absolutely nothing positive to offer Nigeria and voting for him would be a vote for retrogression. The blood of the over 1,000 Nigerians killed by his supporters after the 2011 elections as a result of his unguarded statements remain on his head and may his likes NEVER smell power in Nigeria again in Jesus name. Amen

The killings in the north after the election was two ways: Christians and Muslim were killed. There were many Muslim villages destroyed. Buhari should not be blamed for this. Rather, the govt of Jonathan, which lacked foresight because it was blinded by its rigging machinery that it didn't know that there was a potential for reprisals. It is this same lack of foresight we are still suffering from as a nation.

We have the choice of choosing the good or the better; or the bad or the worse. It is obvious which one we should choose. If you think Jonathan is good, is it not obvious that Buhari is better? If you think Buhari is bad, don't you see that Jonathan is worse?

I will love to read your response to this PastorKun.

Oga,how much them pay you ni?

Only after Nigerians have made a terrible mistake, will they realize their error.
Experience is always the best teacher.

I can't believe my eye
Drummaboy