Why Buhari should support Jonathan to succeed him in 2023

BY OLADIPO AKANDE

With barely a year to go, Nigerians are already counting down to the end of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. And for obvious reasons, many can not wait to see it span out. It has been generally depressing with an almost endless torrent of deprivation. However, while some may deem it fair to say it hasn’t been all worse; many more agree it could have been a lot better.

Leaders are remembered by their legacies – the footprints they leave in the sands of time, which will speak even in their absence, long after they are gone. President Muhammadu Buhari will be no exception to this reality, so what greater legacy than to leave Nigeria safely under the guidance of a credible, experienced, competent and effective successor?

The dire, multifaceted challenges facing Nigeria puts it in a squalor – a malignant state, which requires timely and strategic intervention from an experienced and visionary administrator. It would be a misnomer to have this country in the hands of neophytes without proven standards of leadership; whose inexperience would naturally condition them to experiment ideas and systems. Certainly, chemistry classes are over!

Nigeria’s next president must not be one who, almost a year after inauguration, will be stuck with getting familiar with the buildings and itinerary at Aso Rock. He must not be one of those politicians who rush in hubris to be ‘Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) and certainly not one who sees the presidency as an entitlement – a repayment for past favours. Rather, he must be a person who knows the grounds and systems; who will hit the ground running with interventions almost immediately to save this country.

Today, the country boils as our ethnic nationalities threaten our very existence. The Biafrans beat drums of secession in the East, the Oduduwa/Yoruba Nation in the West amongst others who seek to disintegrate. Nigeria’s next president must be a symbol of peace and unity, seemingly detribalised and accepted by Nigerians across the regions.

The Naira has remained in free fall post-2015, closing at an exchange rate of N560 – N570 to an American dollar. Nigeria’s next president should be one with defined monetary policies and objectives that will focus on price stability and public prosperity, preferably, someone who has been seen to have done it in the past. A magician’s wand, they say, remains potent and even waxes stronger with experience and time.

As leaders are the conscience of the society, our next president must be visionary, resonating the feelings and pulse of the people. He must be one who has (shown) a duty to set good examples for followers.

When we assess these qualities and conditions for he who will assume Nigeria’s presidency with brimming hopes, goodwill and the much needed fervour, Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan easily fits the description undeniably.

Dr Jonathan’s antecedents ordinarily set him out as a patriot, who shelves his personal ambitions for the considerations and general well-being of Nigerians. His charisma and peaceful disposition is a needed quality that can save Nigeria from disintegration and chaos. He comes with an unmatched experience, having led the economic revolution which kept Nigeria as one of the world’s wealthiest black nations, with public prosperity, stable prices and a handsome foreign reserve.

There’s no gainsaying that a good and reliable product needs no bogus advert campaigns, as its long record of quality, trust and value, would reflect in the positive reviews. Dr. Goodluck Jonathan is undeniably a good candidate for Nigeria’s presidency and President Muhammadu Buhari should support him to take over the mantle after he bows out in 2023, if he truly holds the interests of the country as paramount.

Akande writes from Los Angeles, US. He can be reached on Twitter via @OladipoAkande