Obasanjo: ‘Brother’ Buhari needs to retire from active public service

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked President Muhammadu Buhari to retire from active public service.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Obasanjo said the time had come for Buhari to join Nigerian leaders whose experience, influence, wisdom and outreach can be deployed on the sideline.

“President Buhari needs a dignified and honourable dismount from the horse. He needs to have time to reflect, refurbish physically and recoup and after appropriate rest, once again,” he said.

“I appeal to brother Buhari to consider a deserved rest at this point in time and at this age.  I continue to wish him robust health to enjoy his retirement from active public service.  President Buhari does not necessarily need to heed my advice.  But whether or not he heeds it, Nigeria needs to move on and move forward.

He said asking more from the ruling All progressives Congress (APC) is like telling people to give what they do not have.

“Let us accept that the present administration has done what it can do to the limit of its ability, aptitude and understanding,” he said.

“Let the administration and its political party platform agree with the rest of us that what they have done and what they are capable of doing is not good enough for us. They have given as best as they have and as best as they can give.

“Nigeria deserves and urgently needs better than what they have given or what we know they are capable of giving.  To ask them to give more will be unrealistic and will only sentence Nigeria to a prison term of four years if not destroy it beyond the possibility of an early recovery and substantial growth.”

Bombarding Buhari for attributing some of the challenges of the country to mistakes made by the past administration, Obasanjo said: “If things were good, President Buhari would not need to come in.  He was voted to fix things that were bad and not engage in the blame game.”

The presidency is yet to react to the statement of the elder statesman.

Obasanjo played the same role when Buhari contested against former President Goodluck Jonathan.

In a veiled reference to one of Obasanjo’s tirade, Jonathan had said some elders were behaving like motor park touts.