No, you are wrong. No one could have possibly predicted that political drama season would premiere with a serving minister endorsing another candidate in his sitting room over her principal, the President. She hasn’t claimed to be misquoted or ‘videoshopped’ and the president’s continued retention of her services has kept suspense at ice chill level. Are a select few privy to some existing agreement to step down after his first tenure or is he just playing matured statesman? Ratings are through the roof.
By virtue of her position as Minister of Women affairs, Hajiya Jumai Alhassan’s open support for Atiku Abubakar is a firm ratification of the failure and incompetence of President Buhari’s government. No one tells the smell of a husband better than the wife.
Things took a rather predictable turn from then on with Atiku capitalizing on that epic moment to say afterwards, the Buhari government had let him down .Now with the adrenaline at a controllable level,you get a chance to adjust moods and use a clear head.
Atiku’s theatrics aren’t top notch. As a matter of fact, the ‘Buhari has let him down’ speech had been prepared since 2015 just as it has been prepared for everyone to beat him in an election; primary or general. He is a political hustler who craves power and will go to any length to get it.
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Before the next surge of excitement in the drama series of ours,we must seize this sober period to warn ourselves of the need to prepare well for the new season and what it portends. The need to remind ourselves that the chief protagonist and much heralded bearer of the torch of change has turned out the worst president we have ever had. We may not even have a country again come the next elections.Its that bad.
Every candidate will harp on the dismal performance of President Buhari and everyone will appear good but we must be most wary of those that helped sell him to us.For one, their sense of judgement is what they themselves drag into question when they tell us ‘Buhari has let us down’. What were those promises again? A Boko Haram annihilation in 2 months,a $1-N1 exchange rate,N5,000 monthly stipend for indigent citizens and free feeding for students in primary schools. All appeared unrealistic and that anyone would expect an unintellectual and philistine Buhari to come through on all that bearing in mind oil prices had been on a steady decline since 2014 doesn’t speak too well of those in the APC fold. A party who has been described as a more formidable opposition to itself than even the PDP by embattled lawmaker, Abdulmumin Jibrin.
That some are already clamouring for an Atiku presidency means the desperation to want to see this government leave could very well expose us to a certain type of vulnerability. The vulnerability of settling for anything other than the Buhari government and that might ultimately translate to settling for less like we did with it in the first place.
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Atiku may capitalize on the fact that this administration decided against extending probes past the Jonathan administration to dare anyone to provide any proof of corruption against him but that won’t change what we know.
Though the Buhari administration may make any other before it appear indefectible, we know Atiku helped Obasanjo oversee a government Nigerians deserved more from and only fell out with him because of his presidential ambition.
We must keep our emotions in check,memories vivid and expectations sharp.Enjoy the drama but hold on firm to reality.
Umar Sa’ad Hassan is a lawyer based in Kano.
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Twitter:@alaye26
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