A former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, who sought for a third term at the expiration of his second term in office by attempting to amend the country’s constitution has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to contest for a second term at the expiration of his first term next year. Obasanjo who served the country for two consecutive terms, from 1999 to 2007, had made frantic effort to get the National Assembly to alter the 1999 constitution (as amended) to pave way for him to remain in office for a third term. But his hope of remaining in power beyond 2007 was dashed by the federal legislature, with the two chambers of the National Assembly quashing the bill seeking to extend his stay in office. In a letter similar to the one he wrote to former President Goodluck Jonathan in December 2013, Obasanjo yesterday pointed out that Buhari would be more effective should he decide to forget seeking reelection. He alleged that some of Buhari’s policies were not striking the right chord with Nigerians. In the 14-page missive, Obasanjo recalled why he supported Buhari’s aspirations to become president, which had to do with the prevailing circumstances at the time when he expressed the hope that the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), would be able to turn the country around for the better soon. He alluded to what he called the “lice of poor performance in government which has given rise to poverty, insecurity, poor economic management, nepotism, gross dereliction of duty, condonation of misdeed – if not outright encouragement of it, lack of progress and hope for the future, lack of national cohesion and poor management of internal political dynamics and widening inequality”. Obasanjo stated: “All these led me to take the unusual step of going against my own political party, PDP, in the last general election to support the opposite side. I saw that action as the best option for Nigeria.

 

Source: LEADERSHIP