Shettima Usman Yerima, president of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum (AYCF), says the northern region will have to present someone else for the presidency in 2019 because the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has “failed”.
Yerima said the north is unstoppable at the moment, and as such, will need a “vibrant” presidential candidate in the next general election.
In an interview with Vanguard, the Arewa youth leader said age will be a vital factor in determining the “alternative” to Buhari in 2019.
While stating that “we cannot afford to have a president who is not in charge of the affairs,” he said that many Nigerians have become disappointed in the government of the day.
Advertisement
He said: “The hope has been destroyed. So, the state of the nation is neither here nor there. The economy is nothing to write home about. A lot of things are not just right. I think this is not what Nigerians bargained for. And so, in essence, a lot of Nigerians are not really happy. Are you saying you are disappointed in this administration?
“Yes. We are disappointed. Nigerians are disappointed. The Buhari administration is a failure. It is a monumental failure because this is not what Nigerians expected when they gave him the mandate in 2015.
“I think we are going to bring an alternative in 2019. We have to bring a new order in the country because we cannot afford to have a president who is not in charge of the affairs. We have nothing against President Buhari personally but we believe somebody of his age should be home to manage his health.
Advertisement
“So, definitely, come 2019, we must look for a way out of this mess. We cannot continue like this. We need a vibrant president and one who has intellectual capacity. We are going to look into age and a lot of other things to be sure that whoever comes up in 2019 will not be part of this old establishment.
“We, northerners, need to put people in the right places with a view to finding answers to our problems. We need to have a smooth transition to 2019 and then 2023. The North is unstoppable for now and we cannot afford to take any chances.”
2 comments
Yerima let’s face facts, it Yar’adua’s term was the 1st of the north, then this Buhari’s term is the 2nd. For the sake of equity 2019 belongs to the South-South, then Southeast 2023 to 2031, then to 2039 before the North again. So after 2019 the next time for the North is 2039. That’s fairness in this turn by turn leadership system.
I AGREE WITH MAMMAN BAKO, THE PREVIOUS COMMENTATOR. THESE NORTHERN POLITICIANS AND THEIR PEOPLE DONT SEEM TO KNOW ABOUT WHAT WE CALL EQUITY. THEY SEEM TO BE SO OBSESSED WITH POWER, WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING THAT OTHER PEOPLE IN NIGERIA ALSO MATTER. DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE BEEN IN POWER FOR LONGER THAN ANY ONE ELSE, HAVE THEY MADE ANY POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE, LET ALONE OTHERS? NORTHERN NIGERIA REMAINS PATHETICALLY BACKWARD, WHEN VARIOUS INDICES OF DEVELOPMENT ARE APPRAISED. AS TO THE AREWA FORUM LEADER, LET ME ADVISE HIM THAT IF THEY CANNOT SEE THE NEED FOR EQUITY IN NIGERIA LEADERSHIP, THEN THEY MUST BE PREPARED TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THROUGH THE HAND OF GOD.