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By SKC Ogbonnia, APC Presidential Aspirant
I told you so. About ten days ago, I revealed to our great party, the All
Progressive Congress (APC), and fellow Nigerians that the world is against
President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term bid. I asserted that the
opposition is coming from “influential leaders within our major allies,
including Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Russia,
China, Canada, etc.” I added “that the emerging consensus among these
nations is that President Buhari’s second term ambition lacks in cogency.
They point to Buhari’s failing health, lack of clear vision, lack of
intellectual capacity, an apparent pattern of torpor, nepotism, wanton
killings, disregard for the rule of law, and a growing sense of disunity
and uncertainty in the land, among many failings.”
However, both the Presidency and the Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr.
Geoffrey Onyeama, vigorously countered my account. According to Onyeama,
“The international community is very supportive of President Buhari. As
you can see President Buhari has transformed our relationship with foreign
countries and also the perception of Nigeria by foreign leaders.”
But the hard truth is trickling in. The trending report by Financial Times
where US President Donald Trump blatantly referred to Buhari as “lifeless”
is a partial testimony. In short, my sources within the White House
confided that Trump believes that Africa has the potential to be fully
independent, “but the countries over there need to get their act together.
They need good leaders who can get things done. Nigeria, for example, has
huge, huge resources and can do much better than what is going on over
there.” This view is popular among the Western nations. I also gathered
that some of the world leaders plan to visit or talk to Buhari soon.
Perhaps, leadership is contingent upon the environment. What is good for
America may not be good for Nigeria and vice versa. But if any
relationship with the outside world is a factor in solving Nigerian
problems, President Buhari has no business touching the APC nomination
form. Further, the Financial Times does not speak for the world, quite
alright, but its report is a part of the pressure from the international
community that will continue to mount as the months leading to the 2019 go
by. Such global campaign is expected to be more robust than what President
Goodluck Jonathan faced in 2015.
Signed:
SKC Ogbonnia
APC Presidential Aspirant