#nIGERIADECIDEs: How Buhari, against naysayers’ rumours, has supported Tinubu to succeed him

By KEMI KASUMU

“None of us wants Atiku to win, none of us wants Peter Obi to win because we particularly know some of their antecedence.  We however will prefer an Atiku because of his experience but not an Obi that we know what will happen to Nigeria by his Presidency. But, watch my lips, and I say ‘But’, no one is going to foolishly allow a candidate presented on the platform of ethnicity like Tinubu’s supporters are now doing to be President of Nigeria. Thank you,” the public affairs observer said.

Against naysayers’ peddled rumours, President Muhammadu Buhari is the biggest support that All Progressives Congress (APC)’s Presidential Candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has had so far.

The rumours going the rounds have been that President Buhari and his Presidency were more tilted towards supporting either Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or routing for Interim National Government.

But President Buhari, who apparently has nothing to fear about Life-After-Office, has vehemently indicated standing his ground that, since Interim National Government is undemocratic, he would conduct a free, fair and credible election that will enable him handover the reign of powers to his successor come May 29, 2023.

What is more is that the President has continued to be specifically hopeful, while he will create enabling environment and level playing ground for every Nigerian’s vote to count, that his successor will be APC produced next President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Although, unlike Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s era of Do-or-Die electoral exercise of militarized democratic process, President Muhammadu Buhari has given all Nigerians the freedom of ‘time and space’ to go all out on Saturday February 25, 2023 and vote for presidential candidates of their choice as he will make sure there is no one who will be able to disrupt the process with armed or unarmed thuggery that has usually accompany election exercise in Nigeria.

To further show his commitment to seeing that his party, APC, does not end with his exit from office, the President, in far away Addis Ababa, Ethiopian capital and headquarters of African Union (AU), did a recorded video in which – as now acknowledged Leader of the party, Tinubu has always assumed to be – he appealed to Nigerian electorates to vote for candidate of his party, APC’s Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to succeed him to continue the good legacies he will leaving behind.

President Buhari, who has also been praised at the AU summit over his respect for term limit that is not power-drunk to ever think of succeeding himself with a Third-Term, also seized the opportunity of the event to show his interest in having Tinubu succeed him.

“As developing states, we have to follow through on the correct steps to achieve development. I thank you for being a good neighbour and the consistency of your friendship. I will brief my next successor from my Party on keeping this important relationship. Congratulations on your emergence as the Chairperson of the AU,” Buhari said in Addis Ababa.

From all that have been stated and have been happening, it is clear that those who say President Buhari is working against Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as his successor are merely naysayers finding means to create implosion within a doing well ruling party, it was gathered from a respondent who asked to merely be identified as ‘public affairs observer’.

“I don’t think there is any need for anyone to begin to accept defeat before the contest. The fact that all the requests for extension of election dates and extension of old money withdrawal are by presidential candidate and leaders of ruling APC and not even of most afraid opposition PDP shows it is APC leaders themselves that must go and work hard.

“If they fail in this election, they should not blame President Muhammadu Buhari but themselves and whoever reads any ethnic or regional sentiment to cause trouble afterward should know that the armed forces and security agencies of the Federal Republic of Nigeria are there for no more than internal and external security and defence of the nation either against rebellions within or without.

“However, I see APC’s Tinubu as winning.  All those supporters who are demarketting the candidate as they now paint him more as an ethnic Presidential Candidate instead of the Nigeria’s Presidential Aspirant that he should be, should stop, if they want Tinubu to win.

“None of us wants Atiku to win, none of us wants Peter Obi to win because we particularly know some of their antecedence.  We however will prefer an Atiku because of his experience but not an Obi that we know what will happen to Nigeria by his Presidency. But, watch my lips, and I say ‘But’, no one is going to foolishly allow a candidate presented on the platform of ethnicity like Tinubu’s supporters are now doing to be President of Nigeria. Thank you,” he said.