Bayo Adeyinka 10 Reasons Why I Wont Vote For Buhari This Time By Bayo Adeyinka As 2011 approached, I was one of the most vociferous campaigners both online and terrestrial for General Muhammadu Buhari. At that time, I put my money where my mouth was and many wondered why I was a Buharist when it wasnt fashionable to be one at that time. I voted for him then and though he didnt win, I still did not regret voting for him. But the time has changed and the dance steps must change in line with the drumming. I wont vote for Buhari in 2015 not because I now doubt GMBs integrity ( its still intact and he commands my eternal respect) or because I think hes too old ( age is nothing but a number as long as his faculties are still sharp- though I would have preferred a younger element from APC). So why am I not supporting GMB this time? 1. I read his declaration speech and I was very disappointed. It was just full of platitudes, dull and flat. There was no road map for fighting corruption or getting anything else done. Placed side by side with Atikus declaration, it was a no no! That declaration was an exercise lacking in mental rigour. 2. The circumstances of 2011 are quite different from 2015. The dynamics have changed. Goodluck Jonathan has performed creditably in some aspects and I dont see any reason why he should be changed- especially when Buhari has not articulated what he would do better. I will highlight those areas that I think GEJ has done well and those areas he has failed subsequently. 3. On the basis of equity and justice, I think the South South should finish their term. No single region or people should have a monopoly on power. The way APC has gone about this transfer of power back to the North has alienated people like me. Each geopolitical zone is as important as the others. 4. Buharis case is worsened by APC that has not played responsible opposition politics. Apart from insulting the President in press releases, they did not put any solution to any national malaise on ground. APC contributed to polarizing the nation along the religious and ethnic divides as much as PDP did. 5. Buhari lost a good chance by refusing to be a mediator when he got an offer by Boko Haram. He would have become a national hero if he had accepted and his efforts had resulted in a truce. He folded his arms and didnt even condemn their activities until there was a loud clamour for him to do so. Even Obasanjo, who didnt have to intervene, did go to Boko Harams enclave to try and sort this out. It is on record that Goodluck Jonathan went to the creeks to compel the Niger Delta militants to lay down their arms. There was nothing Buhari or APC contributed towards ending the Boko Haram menace. On Boko Haram he said: “Since the leaders now don’t listen to anybody but do whatever they wish, there is nothing the North can do.” (vanguardngr/2012/05/2015-ll-be-bloody-if-buhari/) 6. I dont think Buhari can effect any change if he becomes President given his current political associates. He now runs with the hounds and hunts with the hares. Can he actually stop Tinubu, Saraki and the motley crew from dipping their hands in the cookie jar? Does he have the guts to probe them? 7. Unfortunately, GMB has been unable to shed his toga of a regionalist. He has not been able to reach out to other sections of the country and he had a whole 4 years to do so. I would have expected that he would have some form of vanguard in areas where his perception is very poor, trying to reach out to them through the grass roots. 8. Buhari has contested 3 times consecutively- 2003, 2007 and 2011. I believe the law of diminishing returns has set in and he should step back. Im worried that some people think hes the only one who can combat the scourge of corruption. Im worried about the lack of succession planning. By how, he should be an elder statesman- supporting others and giving them his platform to leverage on. Is Buhari unelectable as Nasir El-Rufai once described him? Time will tell. 9. I was put aback by his statements on the dog and baboon being soaked in blood. This is exactly what he said on May 14, 2012, “God willing, by 2015, something will happen. They either conduct a free and fair election or they go a very disgraceful way. If what happened in 2011 (alleged rigging) should again happen in 2015, by the grace of God, the dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood.’’ No one has a right to talk that way and that is not how a statesman should talk. That statement, for which he has not apologized, is inflammatory and even seditious. 10. His statement on the killing of Boko Haram members referring to it as injustice actually shocked me. I quote him verbatim as he said it on Liberty Radio, “How did Boko Haram start? We know that their leader, Mohammed Yusuf started his militant and the police couldn’t control them and the army was invited. He was arrested by soldiers and handed over to the police. The appropriate thing to do, according to the law, was for the police to carry out investigations and charge him to court for prosecution, but they killed him, his in-law was killed, they went and demolished their houses. Because of that, his supporters resorted to what they are doing today.You see in the case of the Niger Delta militants, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua sent an aeroplane to bring them, he sat down with them and discussed with them, they were cajoled, and they were given money and granted amnesty. They were trained in some skills and were given employment, but the ones in the north were being killed and their houses were being demolished. They are different issues, what brought this? It is injustice”. I personally think GMB has tried his best and he should simmer. Im convinced he will be unable to defeat Jonathan should he finally get APCs ticket. But then Im tempted to ask if Yinka Odumakin, Pastor Tunde Bakare, Rotimi Fashakin, Adeolu Akinyemi and the numerous volunteers who worked tirelessly in 2011 for a GMB Presidency are still with him? If not, then more questions need to be asked. Read it all here bayoadeyinka/bayoadeyinka/index.php/bloghome/entry/10-reasons-why-i-won-t-vote-for-buhari-this-time-by-bayo-adeyinka LikeLike · · Share
Posted on: Mon, 20 Oct 2014 14:14:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015