Opinion: Give Me General Buhari Now! By Joe Igbokwe

I am one of the thousands of delegates across
the country that will gather in Lagos, the
centre of excellence, the glory of Nigeria,
the land of aquatic splendor, the land of limitless
possibilities and opportunities,the economic nerve
centre, a powerful destination in Africa, the land of
hope, ideas and values, to nominate the APC
Presidential candidate for 2015 presidential
elections.

I have been waiting for this day like a patient bird
to do the needful, to take a decision and to be a
partaker in the struggle for a new Nigeria where
mediocrity, hypocrisy, impunity and corruption will
be reduced to the barest minimum. Today at the
Teslim Balogun Stadium Surulere, Lagos I will
cast my vote for General Muhammadu Buhari
(GMB). I will cast my vote for him because he
stands out as the hope for the new Nigeria of our
dream.
I will vote for him because he understands the
problem of Nigeria as a country. I will vote for
GMB because he has done it before and he will do
it again. All the contestants, Okorocha, Atiku,
Kwankwaso, Nda Isaiah and GMB are
eminently qualified because each and everyone of
them is one hundred times better than President
Jonathan but only one person will step
forward today. I appeal to all the delegates to help
Nigeria move away from the wrong side of history
by picking GMB. I appeal to the delegates to
return Nigeria back to normalcy by standing up for
GMB. I plead with the delegates to stop this idea
that Nigeria is a bad advertisement of governance
in Africa. I urge the delegates to think
NIGERIA today outside primordial sentiments,
ethnic and religious preoccupation.
Nigeria cannot continue to nose dive in the age of
success. The late Professor Chinua Achebe in his
book: The Trouble With Nigeria, said: “The
trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a
failure of leadership. There is nothing basically
wrong with the Nigerian character. There is
nothing wrong with the Nigerian land or climate or
water or air or anything else. The Nigerian
problem is the unwillingness or inability of its
leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge
of personal examples which are the hallmarks of
true leadership." According to Achebe, this is
where the problem lies.
Nigeria has remained for years a place where
wealth accumulates and men decay, a dream in
search of reality, a cobbler whose children go
without shoes, a natural idea in search of
fulfillment, a problem in search of solution. Nigeria
is equipped with talents and resources to make a go
at National reformation and transformation but the
recurrent cycle of human stupidity has been choking
everybody. Nigeria is a great country with great
potentials manifested in its abundant resources and
this condition makes development a must but we
have been failing almost in all fronts.
In Achebe’s words again “I know enough history
to realize that civilization and development, both
human and material do not fall from the sky, it has
always been as a result of peoples’ toil and sweat,
the fruit long search for order and justice under
brave and enlightened leaders”. Today history
beckons on us to rise to the occasion and seize the
moment. APC has walked a thousand miles,
crossed a thousand bridges, scaled the highest walls,
and faced monumental challenges and tomorrow we
will have to showcase to the world that we have
come of age. Only one person will
emerge tomorrow and I expect that GMB will
pick the ticket, all things considered and I do hope
that the other powerful candidates will disappoint
APC critics thereafter.
General Buhari is an honest man who is worth
more to the society than all the crowned ruffians
that ever existed. He is most disciplined, the most
courageous, the most incorruptible, and the most
outstanding in terms of experience and track record:
A former Head of State, a retired Army General,
a former Minister, former PTF Chairman, and a
committed patriot. He has been tested and therefore
can be trusted.
Nigeria produces strong men and women with
national awards every year instead of strong
institutions to drive democracy and growth. We
must reverse this dangerous trend. We have to stop
the momentum of those who torment and abuse us as
a people. This is our chance!
John Knox, a Scottish reformer, clergy and
writer says "give me Scotland or l die." Today I
say give GMB or l...
Joe Igbokwe
Lagos