2019 ELECTIONS: GO ON, J. J. RAWLINGS TELL SOWORE.

Former Ghanaian Head of State and President of Ghana, Jerry John Rawlings
has called on Nigerian Presidential Aspirant to go ahead, whatever the
outcome in his electoral bid because he has demonstrated youthful power and
has shown that Nigeria has alternatives.
Rawlings made the statement while receiving members of the #take it back
movement led by Nigerian 2019 Presidential aspirant and Activist, Omoyele
Sowore at his office in Ridge, Accra, Ghana.
He said Nigeria alone commands 35 to 40% of Africa’s political power  but
regretted that the Nigerian leadership had so far been unable to utilize
that power.
Mr. Sowore said at the meeting that he had come to the respected leader to
let him know that “your next door neighbor, Nigeria is about to experience
a revolution with the emergence of young leaders in 2019”.
He noted that his news website, Sahara Reporters had consistently exposed
corrupt politicians but he realized that the media alone cannot change
Nigeria but people who were ready to go all the way.
Responding, Rawlings said that he felt Sowore was best suited to continue
his bold exposures on corruption. He went on to say the people of Nigeria
couldn’t take the rot and corruption anymore when they voted for change in
2015.
“Pretty much like what’s happening in your country, people just got sick
and tired and gave their vote to Buhari. It’s so unfortunate though that
President Buhari’s government couldn’t fight the rot without ambushing the
cost of living of the people”.
Whiles acknowledging the complexities within the Nigerian socioeconomic and
geopolitical environment, he added that President Buhari’s government could
have employed some intelligent flexibility; “how do you fight corruption
without allowing it to affect the cost of living in the country,” he said.
He stated that African leaders  don’t teach their people defiance to put
leadership in check but rather they disempower them.
He advised the presidential hopeful to approach the issue of corruption
with caution because Nigerians may dismiss him because “even if this clean
man (Buhari) couldn’t fight corruption, what about him?”.
At the meeting, the former President advised Sowore to carefully think
about his ambition adding that it was going to be difficult not because of
money politics but because some Africans tend to sometimes fall in love
with their oppressors.