Dear Mr. President,<\/p>\n
State of the Nation: Available Options and Honourable Path<\/p>\n
Your Excellency, with respect and humility, I greet you in the name of the
\nAlmighty God, the creator of heaven and earth, the merciful Lord who
\ngranted you the opportunity to be the President of the Federal Republic of
\nNigeria at the fourth attempt and who has made it possible for us to see a
\nnew year – 2017. It is my candid prayer that the plan of God for Nigeria
\nshall be fulfilled. Amen.
\nI wish to use this open letter to urgently draw your attention to the
\nimport of a recent statement you made on the Christmas day when you
\nreceived, in the Villa, some senior citizens residing in the Federal
\nCapital Territory, who had come to greet you. I also think it is crucial
\nfor Nigerians to fully understand the consequences of such comments, so
\nthat we could all work collectively to help you.
\nBut let me first congratulate you and your precious wife on the success of
\nyour daughter\u2019s wedding to the son of oil magnate and billionaire, Alhaji
\nNdimi. Obviously, the classical organization of the ceremony, the
\nresources expended in millions of dollars and the array of capitalists and
\npersonalities that graced the event in your honour, will remain very dear
\nto your heart.
\nMr President, I am compelled to put in clear perspectives, the national
\nburden of your well-publicised statement that you are still in a shock
\nsince May 29, 2015, because there was no saving made from oil boom by
\nprevious governments for you to use to run your own government. It is the
\ndegree of hopelessness in that comment, after 18 months in the saddle as
\nthe President, that I intend to interrogate.
\nI do not intend to argue with you on the state of finance you met, simply
\nbecause you are the one who defaulted and failed to match words with
\naction after promising to publish the accounts of the federation, during
\nyour early meeting with Aso Rock media correspondents last year. Since you
\nnever did, it has become increasingly difficult for some of us to buy into
\nyour lamentations, not until you are able to present empirical evidences
\nby keeping to your pledge.
\nSir, the major implication of your \u201cin-the-shock\u201d statement on the
\nworkings and understanding of corporate governance and political
\nleadership is that, up till the time you made that painful remarks, you
\nhave spent about 40 per cent of your term of 4 years without having any
\nidea on what to do about governance and how to address the numerous
\nchallenges facing our endangered nation.
\nIf after 18 months, you are yet to grapple with the reality of governance
\nand you have no clue on what to do about the worsening economy, it is
\nregrettably risky to continue to entrust the fate of our nation in your
\nhand or to continue to remain patient as you have severally admonished.
\nThis is because there is no hope or guarantee that you can ever come out
\nof this shock.
\nWith due respect sir, I concede to you that you have been overwhelmed by
\nthe enormous burden of leadership and responsibilities since May 29, 2015
\nwhen you took over the reign of leadership, and it will be difficult for
\nyou to cope any further, considering the facts that these challenges are
\nnot decreasing. This is in addition to the obvious factor of old age and
\nthe sophistication of handling democratic governance, which is different
\nfrom your known military style that is not in tune with current global
\ntrends.
\nMr. President, you do not have a luxury of time.\u00a0 Therefore, you cannot
\ncontinue to waste the precious time of Nigerians by regurgitating on the
\nsame over-flogged and untenable excuses of being in a shock. It is in the
\ncollective interest of our nation and your own dignity that you may
\nconsider the following plausible options to save our nation and protect
\nyour integrity.
\n– Option One: Due to the biting economic recession and the sheer
\nhopelessness in the land, I sincerely urge you to consider a mid-term
\npresidential election for new hands to take over. Although there is no
\ndirect provision for a mid-term poll in the constitution, yet it is
\nindirectly guaranteed.\u00a0 What is required is for you to prevail on your
\nvice president, so that you jointly resign and handover to the senate
\npresident who, will in turn, conduct a fresh presidential election within
\nthree months.\u00a0 It is a noble path to personal redemption.
\n– Option Two: Since option one could be a difficult process to follow,
\nconsidering the interest of supporters and the pressure from aides, it
\nwill be apposite for you to urgently announce your decision to quit in
\n2019 and quickly ask the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
\nto commence an early preparation for 2019 \u2013 so as to put in place a
\ntransition programme that will usher in capable hands.
\n– Mr. President, you should never fall for the antics of those asking you
\nto seek a second term. The legacy of allowing an open and transparent
\nprocess for new hands to emerge is fitting enough. However, if you are to
\nconsider option two, I will still expect you to re-jig your cabinet, get
\nbetter hands to manage some strategic sectors and introduce far-reaching
\npolicies that can take Nigeria out of the unfortunate and self-inflicting
\neconomic recession. This is because things are fast falling apart for the
\nmasses and there is chronic hunger in the land. Yet, there are capable
\nNigerians who can help you out.<\/p>\n
I believe that either of the two options, if taken in the first quarter of
\n2017, will automatically bail you out of this unabated shock that is
\nholding you hostage. This will guarantee you a veritable space to enjoy
\nold age with peace of mind and be self-assured with joy that you have
\ngiven the nation an opportunity to decide its own future, one more time.
\nI urge you to deeply reflect on my Open Letter in good faith and see it as
\na genuine expression of my concern irrespective of my standing as an
\nordinary Nigerian who daily yearns for a better nation. Governance is at
\nthe lowest ebb in my country and we have to adopt the principle of
\ncollective sacrifices, no matter the personal cost and pains to
\nindividuals in leadership positions.
\nAll I seek is a courageous, God-fearing, competent, knowledgeable and wise
\nleadership who can assemble the best of the North and the best of the
\nSouth to solve our problems. It does not matter to me if he is a Christian
\nor a Muslim, North or South. A merit based-system that will search out raw
\nhidden talents and bring back our human resources scattered abroad back
\nhome, to work together for the development and prosperity of Nigeria. This
\nis all that I seek.
\nPermit me to raise a few other concerns, Sir. I think you need to address
\nthe desperation of \u201cThe Buhari Boys\u201d who have made power grabbing a
\npolitical conquest that must be achieved by all means. You will recall how
\nformer President Goodluck Jonathan called to congratulate you and concede
\ndefeat without challenging your victory at the tribunal. It was not your
\nmaking but out of his fear of God and genuine concern for democracy and
\npeace.
\nThere is also a new and recent one. The import of the combined display of
\nsportsmanship by Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State and the candidate
\nof the PDP, Eyitayo Jegede, as well as that of Alliance for Democracy,
\nOlusola Oke, must not be lost on you.\u00a0 They have congratulated Rotimi
\nAkeredolu of your party, who emerged the winner of the Ondo State
\ngovernorship poll. In essence, there will be no court cases.
\nThere are lessons for you to learn from all these and everyone is watching
\nto see if you will still allow democratic justice in the political process
\ngoing forward because our democracy is in coma. The desperation of your
\nparty to win everything in the country is sickening.\u00a0 You may need to call
\n\u201cThe Buhari Boys\u201d to order.
\nAlso, INEC now appears compromised by your party, while our security
\nagencies are being influenced to do its bidding in every election.\u00a0 Mr.
\nPresident, following the role some security personnel played in the Rivers
\nState rerun election, there is no longer justification for the sanctioning
\nof some military officers over the 2014 Ekiti State election. For the sake
\nof justice and posterity, you may need to recall them to active service
\nwith full benefits.
\nYour Excellency Sir, Southern Kaduna is the emerging Aleppo of Nigeria.
\nHundreds of persons have been killed in that zone, under your leadership
\nas the President of this nation. It is quite unfortunate that you have not
\nconsidered it necessary to urgently intervene and rescue these oppressed
\npeople. They are as important as the people of Bauchi State that you found
\ntime to address via a recorded message for failing to pay them a visit.
\nI urge you to remember how you once visited Oyo State in 2001 to speak for
\nsome Fulani herdsmen who had clashed with farmers, leading to deaths. You
\nneed to speak for all Nigerians and act in a sincere way to protect them
\nas a father and a grandfather.\u00a0 The Governor of Kaduna State has failed
\nthe voiceless people of Southern Kaduna.\u00a0 He imposed a curfew which
\ncreated more loopholes for the enemies to unleash terror on them.
\nPosterity will judge him and all of us.\u00a0 I know that God will come to the
\nrescue of Southern Kaduna people and other oppressed Nigerians very soon,
\nwhile some of us must continue to stand for them.
\nI also want you to review your stand on the Islamic Movement of Nigeria
\n(IMN \u2013 the Shiites) and the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB). Only
\njustice can heal the wounds that have been inflicted on them and their
\nmembers by security forces. If you have once shown willingness to dialogue
\nwith Boko Haram to free our Chibok Girls and you still have a place in
\nyour heart for the herdsmen irrespective of the atrocities some of them
\nare committing, it is equally important that you dialogue with IPOB and
\nthe Shiites. \u201cPeace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by
\nunderstanding.\u201d – Albert Einstein. There will be justice for all one day.
\nLet me quickly mention the issue of corruption.\u00a0 Dear Mr. President, a
\nfriend once described the type of corruption going on under your watch as
\n\u201cGarrison Stealing\u201d and this is not far from the truth based on the
\nemerging revelations about some of your kitchen appointees that took you
\nrecord five months to search. Stealing from Internally Displaced Persons
\n(IDPs) is a crime against God and humanity and this is going on under your
\nwatch with reckless abandon. It is quite unfortunate that you are
\nfoot-dragging in addressing this issue. This has lowered your rating,
\nfrittered away your humongous goodwill and reduced your anti-corruption
\nfight to a mere persecution of opposition since it is obvious that the
\nprocess lacks justice.
\nYour anti-corruption crusade has lost its sincerity of purpose. Going by
\nyour much flaunted pre-election anti-corruption credential, nobody thought
\nanyone will last 24 hours as your appointee after the kind of damning
\nrevelations against the secretary to the government of the federation. But
\nunder your watch, two persons standing corruption trials emerged the
\ncandidates of your party for governorship elections.\u00a0 Your supporters on
\nsocial media have now reduced this argument to \u201cour corruption is at least
\nbetter than your corruption.\u201d Shameful!
\nSir, the only reason your aides are fighting to undo one another is
\nbecause of corruption.\u00a0 Your house is not in order and the infighting has
\nbadly affected the outlook of your government, locally and
\ninternationally. There is so much wisdom in what your wife told the whole
\nworld not too long ago.\u00a0 Kindly let her be your main adviser and she is in
\na good stead to help you to unravel the ongoing mess.\u00a0 She loves you and
\nwants you to succeed.\u00a0 Also a major political strategist that could have
\nhelped your government, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been displaced by
\nthe hawks that now control Aso Rock.
\nI have so much to write on, but I will leave the rest for another day. Mr.
\nPresident, there is no reason for you to go on a personal vendetta against
\nanyone.\u00a0 At 74, the Almighty God has been very kind to you, and all you
\nneed to do is to ensure social justice for all Nigerians, irrespective of
\ntribes and religions. I do not want you to follow the path of notorious
\ntyrants who have brought shame to humanity. Mahatma Gandhi once said:
\n\u201cThere have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem
\ninvincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it, always.\u201d\u00a0 Mr.
\nPresident, there is a Mandela to emulate: he refused to pursue vendetta
\nagainst the Whites despite all the inhuman treatment he was subjected to,
\nand his people.\u00a0 Think about this dear President Muhammadu Buhari and
\nallow God be the judge of all.
\nThank you Mr. President.\u00a0 If there is any reason to write to you in
\nprivate or in a similar fashion in future, I will not hesitate to do so.
\nBut lest I forget, I want to plead with you to drop the idea of the 30
\nbillion U.S. dollars loan, which is capable of mortgaging our future.\u00a0 I
\nassure you that we can get out of the current economic mess without such a
\nloan.\u00a0 Yes, it is possible with the right leadership and team: it is a no
\nbrainer at all.\u00a0 I also hope you will forward the name of the acting Chief
\nJustice of Nigeria, Justice Nkanu Onnoghen to the Senate for screening and
\nconfirmation. The world is watching.
\nMay God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
\nMy name is Ariyo-Dare Atoye.\u00a0 I am a member of several civil society
\ngroups but I will like to be seen as a concerned citizen of Nigeria
\nwriting a letter to his President. You can reach me at
\naristotle001us@yahoo.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dear Mr. President, State of the Nation: Available Options and Honourable Path Your Excellency, with respect and humility, I greet you in the name of the Almighty God, the creator…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n