A former Minister, Mbazulike Amechi, has cautioned Nigerians against reelecting President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, saying the president is an “analogue president in a digital age”.
Amechi, who was Aviation Minister in the First Republic, said it would not be in the best interest of the country to reelect Buhari.
In an interview with The Sun, Amechi also cautioned Buhari against seeking a second term in office because of his age and health condition.
He called on Buhari to emulate Mandela who, though he had the right to seek re-election, chose to go home after the expiration of his first term.
Amechi said, “By the constitution, by the laws of the land, he is entitled to contest for a second term. But then, the question is: is it right; is it in the best interest of this country? Here is somebody who has ruled this country as a military dictator and again after four attempts the country gave him a chance in a democratic election and elected him President. And he is serving out a full four years. If it were a country other than Africa, he would say ‘I’m alright, the country has shown confidence in me.’
“By his age and by his health, I don’t think it is in the best interest of the country for him to contest. Nigeria is developing like any other country in a digital era and it is not in the best interest of the country to re-elect an analogue president in a digital era.
“From his health point of view, I don’t think the man is strong enough to do the rigours of a president in a vast country like Nigeria. And I don’t believe what he gave as his age. That could be the age at which he joined the army and so forth. But I believe he is older than the declared age.
“So, what a true and patriotic Buhari would have done, in my opinion, is what Nelson Mandela did in South Africa, to say ‘I have led the country, the country has shown enough confidence in me. Now by my age, I stand aside. Let somebody else step in’ because we do not want to have a Mugabe in Nigeria.”
The elder statesman also lambasted those endorsing Buhari for a second term, calling them self-serving.
“What do you want me to tell people who are hungry, who want money but will not tell Mr President the truth?
“Are they supporting him because they believe in him? They are supporting him because they want money, they are hungry, they want positions, they want offices, they want to be part of the embezzlement of the public wealth of the country.
“They want to be part of all these. That’s why they fan support for him.”