It would be a good idea then to look at the ages of the presidents of the top 5 emerging economies in the world.
1. China           Xi Jiping                                              elected Nov 2012                    Born 1953 (60)
2. India            Manmohan Singh                                 elected 2004.                           Born 1932 (81)
3. Russia          Vladimir Putin                                     elected 1999-2007, 2011         Born 1952 (61)
4. Brazil           Dilma Vana Rousseff                          elected 2012                            Born 1947  (66)
5. Turkey         Dr. Abdullah Gül                                elected 2007                            Born 1950 (63)

I leave you to decide what to make of this statistic. You may also want to read up on how India’s economy is performing under the watch of the 81 year old Manmohan Singh. (Did someone once say Nigeria is similar to India in many ways?)Yet, the fact that a thriving economy like India’s is beginning to falter under an aging president does not mean that a faltering economy like Nigeria’s will not thrive under an aging leader.It therefore becomes necessary to examine some of the reasons why some persons feel a Buhari presidency may not be what Nigeria needs at this point in her history.
1. He was once military: Well Putin was ex-KGB but look how he followed up on gains Yeltsin made and set the Russian economy on the path of growth. He served two consecutive terms between 1999 and 2007 and has recently found his way back into the top seat of government.
2. He is too old: Well he was born 1942, same year as the last President of the People’s Republic of China. Let’s ignore the fact that the Chinese leader was elected in 2003, he steered China through the turbulent econoe.So let’s say this together slowly:

Age is nothing but a number (Good). Personally, I do not see any reason why the General should not contest if his party favours him. What that simply means is that he is the best they have and the one they believe can deliver. (It may also mean that intra party politics flows in his favour. Afterall Medvedev refused to contest against Putin in 2011 even though he had a right to.)But whether Buhari will win is another issue entirely.Let us not forget, if we want younger leaders with power to execute the interests on over 70% of Nigeria’s population, then younger people should be interested in getting into politics. And since intra party politics often involves several years of serving in various capacities and paying dues, entering politics at between 20 and 25 may be a little more like it  if a person chooses to be a career politician.We have had leaders, social commentators, and public affairs analysts analyse our problems: we need water, light, good roads, good services, we need to kick out corruption and in recent times kick out terrorism. This song has been on auto replay for as long as I can remember. Nigeria does not need a leader to point out what is wrong. Even a child who shouts ‘up NEPA’ knows what one of our problems is.What Nigeria really needs is a leader with an action plan, a blue print of reforms that will sanitize the system and one that is borne out of wide consultations. His action plan would have a plan A, B and even C because things definitely will not look the same from inside as it looks when you are outside.We need a leader who has the courage and boldness to implement this blue print to the letter when given the opportunity but at the same time has the flexibility to adjust this blue print to suit prevailing circumstances when he gets into power.Indeed, if you cannot picture your leader in a shirt, sleeves rolled up, ready to dig out survivors from the debris of a burning plane, or eruditely defending his reforms in  a room full of international reporters; if you picture him turning down a chance at presenting or defending his manifesto or stammering a response to questions about things he did in his past; if you picture him leaving behind a trail of contentious comments or only surrounding himself with sycophants willing to sing his praise, then I  must confess, you haven’t found the leader yet. That is why come 2015, Nigeria may again be left with what I choose to call The 2011 Situation. We will be forced to choose between the devil we know and the devil we choose not to know.But then again, it’s our choice.

Hardfact: What happens if Buhari refuses to run?

Hardfact: What happens if Buhari refuses to run?

pheesayor: and I think with continued calls for him to run in 2015, he just might

Hardfact: What happens if Buhari refuses to run?

Demdem:

We will look around and see if we have REALISTIC alternatives that are READY and can defeat the killer party. If we can't, we will BEG him to change his mind and save our future generation

Hardfact: Just thinking. With a Buhari out of the picture what do we do? Will it be right to say we are finished?

noblezone:

Yes na. Buhari is the only hope for Nigeria, both for today, tomorrow and forever! Without him, Nigeria has no HOPE.
The man must not exit this earth oooo, if he does, then it is better for all Nigerians (minus me and all my people) to exit with him.

Emm, fortunately for me, I am actually thinking of who will "lead Biafra" than who will "rule Nigeria".

Demdem:

We will look around and see if we have REALISTIC alternatives that are READY and can defeat the killer party. If we can't, we will BEG him to change his mind and save our future generation