Somehow, I'm not very keen on 2015 as I was in 2011, where I worked with other Nairalanders to give PDP a fight (with the little resources within our means then - including sponsoring jingle in 5 radio stations in Rivers, Osun, Lagos and Oyo states): https://www.nairaland.com/611008/report-efforts-buhari-bakare-team-here

With the 2011 experience I was almost losing hope in Nigeria. So I'm not very keen at participating actively ahead of 2015 again, hence my passiveness in the threads discussing APC and 2015.

Well, do I believe PDP can be dislodged in 2015? Well, I never believed Nigeria could win Nations cup in 2013.

Here we go again with permutations

Realistic opposition candidates
Buhari
Fashola
Tinubu
Okorocha
Oshiomole
NB: Realistic doesn't mean my endorsement, just the list of those who have chance of emerging, from the list of names being speculated around

Outside chance
Ribadu - he hasn't been active in opposition/political front
Fola Adeola - not active in politics, but a great guy from the private sector

My ideal President/VP combination
One with ability to tackle corruption/indiscipline
One with record of performance(especially in capital projects)
One to bring intellectualism to the table

My preferences
1, Buhari-Fashola - Buhari to do the cleaning of the system, Fashola to bring intellectualism and development-enhancing performance to the table

If, Buhari is dropped based on age/political etc, then:

2, Fashola-Ribadu - Fashola for reason stated earlier, and Ribadu a mini-Buhari (anti-indiscipline czar)

3, Fashola - Sanusi - Same reason as no 2, but Sanusi is very unlikely to join elective politics

To be sensitive to religion/ethnicity (although I think this should the least we should be looking at now)

4, Fashola - Okorocha: (but active fight against corruption is postponed till another time)
5, Fashola - Oshiomole: (Ditto)

Realistic combination (not necessarily the best, or my preference, but strongest to fight PDP)

Buhari - Tinubu: This will give PDP a fight for their life. Buhari to come with at least 10m from the North; Tinubu being on ticket would bring the best of him, campaign and war-chest wise, compared to when he is just campaigning for someone else. South-west guaranteed.

Buhari-Fashola: Buhari votes remain constant; Fashola has more goodwill than Tinubu, but less strong, political-wise. Trade-off. Tinubu may not work actively as he would if he were to be on the ticket himself, but should still be able to deliver SW for BRF

Other combinations

Fashola - Okorocha: This should be able to give good performance too, even though fighting corruption may be postponed till another date. But there is a risk of apathy from a sizeable number of Buhari's constant 10m, no matter how actively Buhari himself campaign for thsi ticket.

Fashola - Oshiomole: Same as above

Ribadu being on the ticket would have satisfied the anti-corruption ticket, but frankly, it's not looking likely that Ribadu can be given chance on the ticket. Too aloof in the current proceedings.

Soludo is another great guy that could be brought into the mix, but it doesn't seem he can have a spot.


Other guys that should be given space in the government (not necessarily president or VP)

Fola Adeola
Godswill Akpabio (yes, he is PDP)

Best four

T.A. Orji-President
Kelechi-Vice President
Alao Akala-Senate president
Kalu orji-Speaker

Off topic;
Sup Jarus, long time

Hummm...let me just book this space for the moment.

But 2015 is going to be a make or mar year for Nigeria.

Eko Atlantic: Best four



Off topic;
Sup Jarus, long time

Bro, I still dey o.

Just busy elsewhere jare

Nicely done jarus. I personally like buhari and if he becomes the president, he'll make some "people" wet their pants. LOL. Its not likely that Ribadu would come out. He's a great guy and I think if given the chance, he MIGHT deliver.

Tinubu is a no no for me! He works better as a strategist. He should stick to that.

Okorocha is another good guy that I like but, he seems to be everywhere. If he can be more co-ordinated, I think his chances are great. Oshiomole, hmmmmm! The guy is losing his steam. Correct me I am wrong

I will go with your realistic combination. Buhari/ Fashola!!! Since Akpabio is a PDP member, I don't see hin clinching the ticket.

@Eko Atlantic, your best four is funny oooo!!!

.

Jarus:

Bro, I still dey o.

Just busy elsewhere jare

Alright, be safe.

I think we actually have a chance to kick PDP out for good or at least mortally weaken it.The new merger is off with a good leverage;10 states governors and loads of national assembly seats.though acn guys have shown disappointing half hearted measures so far but with pdp in sight they are very manageable.
I would suggest an Elrufai/Okorocha ticket. El rufai though very talkative and unstable has got strong sense of character and will be good enough as we desperately need a sense of direction.
Okorocha is someone i don't really pay much attention to but joining the alliance upped my perception of him ,it reflects his maturity when others in his neck of the woods are virtually slobbering over pdp. One of the reasons why he would be good on the ticket is to make those from the East who just think they have a lot of unspent political capital in JOnathan have a rethink.The man has nothing to offer himself talk less of the East,under his watch the SE has been virtually cordoned by daring kidnappers.

My combination wont happen because I strongly believe a South westerner will definitely be on the ticket to assure the Acn. wing of the alliance so i would go with a northern governor and Kayode Fayemi of a Ekiti state;He is the only Christian Governor in the acn core.
A muslim/muslim ticket will be a tough sell(Buhari/fashola)right now

I'm personally not a big fan of el-Rufai. Somehow unprincipled and inconsistent IMO.

Good record as public servant, but I'm not convinced about his style of politics.

Throw his recent religious own-goal into the mix. And he is also not popular, even in the north.

Not sure he is my ideal candidate.

I'm fine with a Fayemi VP.

I feel the most credible combination is Buhari/ Fashola, but Nigerians aren't politically matured for a same religion combination.

Considering the high percentage of Northern electorates,a northerner should be part of the combination(also considering the number of Northern Mafia in the PDP),but apart from Buhari,there isn't any competent/popular Northerner actively involved in this merger unless if El Rufa'I can be managed to come in as Vice president for Fashola, but Buhari has to campaign vigorously for them in the North.

Fayemi na paper weight. We need to stop settling for "noncontroversial mediocre candidates." That has been the history of Nigeria from Shagari, to Obj, to Yaradua, to Goodluck. Think about it for one second. Nigeria always elects "noncontroversial mediocre candidates" for President. Fayemi may be better than his PDP predecessors but he is not on Fashola's level. Fashola's record as governor is more impressive than Fayemi's and I will not vote for Fayemi simply because he is a Christian. In fact, I would prefer to be at home on facebook and nairaland than vote for Fayemi if Fashola is alive. Despite the perceived drawbacks of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, I would encourage the leaders of the new opposition party to conduct scientific polling to determine if it is a real problem or just an excuse by some politicians to deny Fashola the chance of being on the ticket.

Well said danjohn

I donated to Buhari's campaign in 2011. It was my first time giving to a political campaign. I campaigned hard, best I could to try to convince folks, but Buhari was a hard sell especially to christians because of his past statements and actions on religious and regional matters. So I think he should stay away this time, campaign hard for his party's ticket and if they win, he can still be an influential anti-corruption voice in the ruling party.

Gov Fashola and Ribadu should work well. I think each has the better track record from both South and North among non-retired military, younger politicians. I do hope christians will understand that with politicians, religion is rarely a matter of moral conviction, just political expediency. It definitely hasn't stopped them from looting us dry so far, so why should it count?

I don't know how Pat Utomi would function as an elected official but I've always admired him as a leader. I think he should run for governor or senator soon, as a stepping stone to the presidency. The man has a compelling vision and knows what ought to be done.

At the end of the day though, they should avoid anointing a "consensus" candidate and do nationwide primaries like they do elsewhere and let the best candidate win. A consensus VP can be picked afterwards.

Jarus: I'm personally not a big fan of el-Rufai. Somehow unprincipled and inconsistent IMO.

Good record as public servant, but I'm not convinced about his style of politics.

Throw his recent religious own-goal into the mix. And he is also not popular, even in the north.

Not sure he is my ideal candidate.

I'm fine with a Fayemi VP.

Am not total sold on El rufai too but he is the only relatively credible Northerner i can really think of at the moment.Ribadu isnt a politician at all,he doesnt have the skills that was so glaring in the last election and remember Apc will be full of the usual Nigerian politician with past records so Buhari candidacy will make them squrmish like spongebob squarepant
Whatever they choose to do,they have a real chance if they show serious political maturity.

danjohn: Fayemi na paper weight. We need to stop settling for "noncontroversial mediocre candidates." That has been the history of Nigeria from Shagari, to Obj, to Yaradua, to Goodluck. Think about it for one second. Nigeria always elects "noncontroversial mediocre candidates" for President. Fayemi may be better than his PDP predecessors but he is not on Fashola's level. Fashola's record as governor is more impressive than Fayemi's and I will not vote for Fayemi simply because he is a Christian. In fact, I would prefer to be at home on facebook and nairaland than vote for Fayemi if Fashola is alive. Despite the perceived drawbacks of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, I would encourage the leaders of the new opposition party to conduct scientific polling to determine if it is a real problem or just an excuse by some politicians to deny Fashola the chance of being on the ticket.

To be honest religion wasn't really a political issue,especially for most southerners but the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan has made it one and they are going to use CAN again for the same purpose unless true Christians stand up to save that body.
Fashola would be the most ideal candidate if APC can convince the Northerners to drop their sense of entitlement to the 2015 top tickets.Secondly, build a robust response to expected use of religion as a wedge issue by pdp

danjohn: Fayemi na paper weight. We need to stop settling for "noncontroversial mediocre candidates." That has been the history of Nigeria from Shagari, to Obj, to Yaradua, to Goodluck. Think about it for one second. Nigeria always elects "noncontroversial mediocre candidates" for President. Fayemi may be better than his PDP predecessors but he is not on Fashola's level. Fashola's record as governor is more impressive than Fayemi's and I will not vote for Fayemi simply because he is a Christian. In fact, I would prefer to be at home on facebook and nairaland than vote for Fayemi if Fashola is alive. Despite the perceived drawbacks of a Muslim-Muslim ticket, I would encourage the leaders of the new opposition party to conduct scientific polling to determine if it is a real problem or just an excuse by some politicians to deny Fashola the chance of being on the ticket.

good

Buhari? I wonder why should anyone be angling for Buhari. By the way, what can Buhari do that the likes of Adams Oshiomole, Fashola, Pat Utomi can't?

I find it very very annoying when people make it look as if ONLY Buhari has what it takes to rule this country. Buhari should understand that he can never and will win election in modern day Nigeria. It is practically impossible for that to happen.

A young, vibrant and intelligent mind is needed. A man that ruled this country when I can barely seat want to come back and rule again when my son can barely stand?

No, sir! Mr. Buhari, you don't have monopoly of righteousness.

miiraaj: I feel the most credible combination is Buhari/ Fashola, but Nigerians aren't politically matured for a same religion combination.

Considering the high percentage of Northern electorates,a northerner should be part of the combination(also considering the number of Northern Mafia in the PDP),but apart from Buhari,there isn't any competent/popular Northerner actively involved in this merger unless if El Rufa'I can be managed to come in as Vice president for Fashola, but Buhari has to campaign vigorously for them in the North.

Guys, a northerner will be president in 2015. Since the military era, southerners would have been the president 14 out of the 16 years. So the powers that be will zone the presidency to the north.

Realistically, the credible northern candidates are Buhari, Ribadu, El Rufai, and Sanusi.

Of the 4, Ribadu is probably the most electable.

We want someone in the mold of Buhari to come and clean the system. He's fearless and has no godfather. His deputy should be a good administrator and a technocrat. I'm for an Igbo VP and will go for a Rochas Okorocha. Though Fashola will make a better VP but the fact that he's a Muslim has spoilt the show for him. he still has an opportunity. He should convert to his wife's religion and convert back after bthe election so that people who're blinded by religion can rest.

The only candidate that stand the chance of dislodging PDP from the center is Buhari, EVERY other candidates are just paper weight with marginal electoral value to create upsets.

Going by the latest happenings in the rank of the APC, where some elements are against Buhari candidacy, probably due to age, I see no hope of the party taking over now, at least not in 2015.

Election in Nigeria is largely swayed along sentiment line, and not party line, the outcome of Ondo State election is still fresh in our minds despite Tinubu antics to whip up hatred against Mimiko, and even using Fashola as the poster boy of what ACN administration can do for the State.

I don't see how most of the names bandied around can spring any surprise come 2015.
Buhari and Okorocha ticket should do the magic if Tinubu can work on broad spectrum of ACN supporters in the SW to change the impression on the person of Buhari, Okorocha will try complement from the SE while Buhari will churn out the deciding vote from the North.

Fashola, Oshiomole, El-Rufai, Ribadu, and Okorocha will fall flat against GEJ, the most likely PDP candidate in 2015.

And while the permutation continues, opposition parties should better start mobilizing at grass root levels now, despite PDP leaking umbrella, the party has strong tentacles across the polity far more than any other party in Nigeria.

Afam4eva: We want someone in the mold of Buhari to come and clean the system. He's fearless and has no godfather. His deputy should be a good administrator and a technocrat. I'm for an Igbo VP and will go for a Rochas Okorocha. Though Fashola will make a better VP but the fact that he's a Muslim has spoilt the show for him. he still has an opportunity. He should convert to his wife's religion and convert back after bthe election so that people who're blinded by religion can rest.

If you want an Igbo VP, choose a credible one like Ezekwesili or Okonjo-Iweala. Even Nnaji or Soludo is way better than Rochas..

You must be thinking backwards.
Fall flat?
The only thing that is flat is GEJ's competence
You need to stop thinking with your pocket!!!

Maxymilliano: The only candidate that stand the chance of dislodging PDP from the center is Buhari, EVERY other candidates are just paper weight with marginal electoral value to create upsets.

Going by the latest happenings in the rank of the APC, where some elements are against Buhari candidacy, probably due to age, I see no hope of the party taking over now, at least not in 2015.

Election in Nigeria is largely swayed along sentiment line, and not party line, the outcome of Ondo State election is still fresh in our minds despite Tinubu antics to whip up hatred against Mimiko, and even using Fashola as the poster boy of what ACN administration can do for the State.

I don't see how most of the names bandied around can spring any surprise come 2015.
Buhari and Okorocha ticket should do the magic if Tinubu can work on broad spectrum of ACN supporters in the SW to change the impression on the person of Buhari, Okorocha will try complement from the SE while Buhari will churn out the deciding vote from the North.

Fashola, Oshiomole, El-Rufai, Ribadu, and Okorocha will fall flat against GEJ, the most likely PDP candidate in 2015.

And while the permutation continues, opposition parties should better start mobilizing at grass root levels now, despite PDP leaking umbrella, the party has strong tentacles across the polity far more than any other party in Nigeria.

My ideal candidate is a man who sees the true potentials of Nigeria, and has skills to harness it fully.

His name is Charles Chukwuma Soludo

I have a feeling that until Jonathan leaves, Soludo will stay low under the radar. As soon as Jona leaves after 2019, my candidate shall rise.

I may have to sponsor him with my own money.

Soludo is the only solution.

Afam4eva: We want someone in the mold of Buhari to come and clean the system. He's fearless and has no godfather. His deputy should be a good administrator and a technocrat. I'm for an Igbo VP and will go for a Rochas Okorocha. Though Fashola will make a better VP but the fact that he's a Muslim has spoilt the show for him. he still has an opportunity. He should convert to his wife's religion and convert back after bthe election so that people who're blinded by religion can rest.

Spoken like a typical Lagos/Abuja Igbo. Shame on you for wanting to settle for an Igbo VP. Look around Nigeria, do you think if we go by merit, Igbo won't dominate the presidency based on qualification. Ndigbo by far parade the most qualified men in terms of requirement for running a country. So forget all these hype on Yoruba media.

If Buhari cannot sacrifice his selfish ambition to rule this nation once again,we might as well be stuck with PDP and Jonathan .....

I tell you my people and I lie not, Buhari can NEVER rule this nation again . The handwritten is on the wall,it's so simple as ABC .

Ufeolorun:
Am not total sold on El rufai too but he is the only relatively credible Northerner i can really think of at the moment.Ribadu isnt a politician at all,he doesnt have the skills that was so glaring in the last election and remember Apc will be full of the usual Nigerian politician with past records so Buhari candidacy will make them squrmish like spongebob squarepant
Whatever they choose to do,they have a real chance if they show serious political maturity.

To be honest religion wasn't really a political issue,especially for most southerners but the emergence of Goodluck Jonathan has made it one and they are going to use CAN again for the same purpose unless true Christians stand up to save that body.
Fashola would be the most ideal candidate if APC can convince the Northerners to drop their sense of entitlement to the 2015 top tickets.Secondly, build a robust response to expected use of religion as a wedge issue by pdp

Dude, sorry to say but have you been on Mars for the last 2 years? EL Rufai is finished as a politician !!! "Credible" is the last thing associated with him these days !! Try "Insanity", "insincerity", "immaturity", "extremist", "liar", "highly strung", "unstable", "divisive", needlessly pugnacious" etc. As things stand, El Rufai has damaged himself beyond repair. He has made himself very 'scary' , unappealing and off-putting.

@topic.

Jarus, the order is going to be Northern Presidential candidate and Southern VP. These sort of threads, where everyone gets to speculate and produce 'wish lists', are enjoyable but when we come to the reality of things the Only realistic Presidential candidates are Buhari or Ribadu. Simple as that. Buhari, by far, remains the greatest vote winner in the North and I am betting the APC will calculate that, with good work, it will be easier to neutralise his 'unacceptability' in the South than risk losing the election all for the sake of the "fresh blood" those of us who are educated and informed are asking for.

The analysts and statisticians in the APC will know it is a majority of emotional, divided and clannish people who will be voting not Nigerians with two masters degrees rooting unrealistically for Utomi. If GEJ gets the PDP ticket, the North will vote even more passionately for Buhari because, beyond emotion, everyone knows things have worsened for the North under GEJ, especially security, and no sane person votes for the continuity of a very abject and bleak situation. If a Northerner gets the PDP ticket, I doubt he will still poll as many votes as Buhari but certainly votes will be split in the North and other regions will have more importance in this scenario.

Whatever scenario, I think APC will pragmatically settle on Buhari with the notion of addressing his 'shortcomings' outside the North because we all saw how poorly Ribadu performed in the North in the last election yet he is the next visibly obvious choice to Buhari as a Northerner who is now an "experienced" Presidential candidate . It may be too much hard work, just because some are hankering for change, to gamble on pushing Buhari aside for someone like Ribadu only for the APC to then completely rely on successfully selling Ribadu to the North. It is an experiment that may fail flatly and I doubt it will even be regarded as a safe bet to entertain.

Ultimately, opinion is likely to be that Buhari remains surest banker in the North and that there is plenty of time to make his overall candidacy appealing to the south with a VP like Okorocha. Sadly GEJ has 'primed' the religious antenna of most Nigerians and this may play against Fashola as VP choice. If GEJ loses the PDP ticket to a Northerner, as I expect will happen, said Northerner will likely run with a Christian southerner as Atiku planned to run with Soludo last time. The APC may therefore not wish to gamble with a moslem-moslem ticket because these are not the best of times to expect Nigerians to be politically sophisticated and rise above bias. It is a battle for hearts and mind and the current policy of the PDP is to divide Nigerians, stoke paranoia and highlight sectional/religious differences. The APC may have no choice but to play the game.

If Buhari is forced to stand down by the stakeholders within the new Party, then the APC will have resigned itself to the hard work of marketing 'junior Buhari' (Ribadu) in the North assured in the knowledge he would be relatively popular in the South paired with a visible Southern performer and 'good guy'.

It is really the VP slot I cannot predict accurately but I think, as much as we all rate Fashola, the APC may consider the currently toxic and rancorous pulse of the Nation and decide to play safe with a Christian Southern VP. Then again, if one man has the broad appeal to make folks look beyond religion then it is Fashola. Many in the APC may argue his case from the perspective that Fashola is trusted and respected by all. Their argument may carry the day to ensure Fashola is the VP cnadidate for the APC.

All in all I think it will be Buhari/Ribadu paired with Okorocha/Fashola or Oshiomhole. If we are talking APC, folks should forget all talks of Fashola/Okorocha or any other Southerner for President. The characters and considerations behind the merger remains the same as in 2011 when it was Northern President and Southern VP. The case is even far stronger for that combination today. Folks can be as emotional as they want but a pragmatically big part of things for politicians, that the average man on the street remains too emotional to appreciate, falls on 'appeasing' the system to gain peace. This is very important to the politicians and not many will want 4 more years uncertainty and hesitancy that holds an entire nation to ransom. GEJ was a gamble in 2011. Today all doubts are removed and the entire world knows he is unconcerned about dealing with the insecurity of Nigeria. Even the West, in self-interest, would covertly work against GEJ returning because it is another 4 years of harder work for everyone. Even in the PDP, a Northerner would likely fly the flag in the end, all Presidential 'gra gra' and spending accounted for.

Some of us cannot and will never think like politicians. The thing they all want, worldwide, is the peace to lead or loot. Let us face it. GEJ will always be resisted. Had it being he is one to be brave in tackling security passionately, then some , to include even the West, may fall behind him in the spirit of confronting "evil" head on. As it is, no one, on any side, will be a fan of GEJ's dithering inaction and preference for praying and pleading while the nation burns. At the end of the day, Nigeria is bigger than GEJ. Those above me and you who make things happen, before we head to the polling booth, will appreciate this. It won't be what some immature and clannish folks want to hear but I believe the system will settle on a Northern President and Southern VP in 2015. For the APC, there is no best 11. More like a choice probably restricted to around 6 individuals.

Genius100: Guys, a northerner will be president in 2015. Since the military era, southerners would have been the president 14 out of the 16 years. So the powers that be will zone the presidency to the north.

Realistically, the credible northern candidates are Buhari, Ribadu, El Rufai, and Sanusi.

Of the 4, Ribadu is probably the most electable.

My brother, in my opinion, you are right except for the statement that Ribadu is the most electable. In the South yes but I believe the politicians would be looking at issues from a perspective of nationwide efficacy. I think many southerners make the mistake of seeing Ribadu's candidacy with southern preponderance. Buhari enjoys cult-like popularity in the North. The sort that means his name will be the only one Northerners will see if written on a paper with the names of Ribadu, EL Rufai and Sanusi.

The other names might as well be written in indelible ink for most ordinary Northerners who ultimately matter above the educated, well-fed and exposed class. The opinion may be that it is not worth sacrificing Buhari's sure banker vote-winning status in the North in an effort to tackle his unpopularity in the South when that problem could be addressed with a charismatic and liked Southern performer like Fashola or Okorocha.

The consideration, for political tacticians, would be the dilemma of gambling on trying to make Ribadu or any other 'young gun' popular enough in the North to sweep the region as Buhari can. Let us bear in mind that the analysts who are stakeholders will not be as emotional as we are here. They will pragmatically accept what the average Nigerian voter is and try to accommodate his rigidity and dedication to voting according to considerations that should not and does not matter elsewhere.

If I have learnt anything from 2011, as a passionate Ribadu supporter who wanted change anchored around a young technocrat, it is to accept that the ordinary Nigerian, as unpalatable as it is to take in, is a totally sentimental individual. Tacticians must account for that and not go gambling with 'sophisticated' choices the polity simply lacks the requisite sophistication to appreciate and support dogmatically.

Let us face the fact. For what the world is today, Ribadu was probably the best choice for the thinking man in 2011. In most Nations, where voters are sophisticated enough to eschew sentiment and biases, Ribadu would most likely have won comfortably given a combination of things that matters to politically sophisticated folks worldwide such as youth, vigour, efficacy in public office, patriotism, innate bravery, dedication to duty and to the people, undoubted record of inspired solutions provisions, etc.

Yet how well did Ribadu do against GEJ and Buhari? My brother, I thank God for my exposure, education and good fortune but I am no longer under any illusions as per what the average Nigerian is. My people? Yes they are and I would never deny them. Yet do I wish they could be different? Hell yeah !!! Until they are, I must account for their 'peculiarity' and work with their idiosyncrasies. That will be the conclusion of APC tacticians also.

Gbawe,

Could you put your last two posts together as an article and let's get published in newspapers. Too scientific to be limited to Nairaland.

Inbox me at jarusnairaland@yahoo.com

Buhari guarantees a huge northern following!

Whist GEJ is playing the SS\SE card, a woman such as Oby E would not only split eastern votes, but would appeal to the honest, sincere plus bring in the feminine gender.

And while many easterners believe other Nigerians hate them, Oby would prove there's NO iota of hatred - she as a serious anti-establishment VP would be the natural choice after to run as president!

oily_ngbati: Spoken like a typical Lagos/Abuja Igbo. Shame on you for wanting to settle for an Igbo VP. Look around Nigeria, do you think if we go by merit, Igbo won't dominate the presidency based on qualification. Ndigbo by far parade the most qualified men in terms of requirement for running a country. So forget all these hype on Yoruba media.

I've always held the opinion that when it comes to qualification, that Igbos probably have the most qualified personel to run the affairs of this nation but it's a shame that political, we don't really have a structure. So, we have to wither depend on PDP which will most likely return Jonathan unopposed or present a Norther or an APC that will most likely present a northern candidate. So, as it is, having an Igbo VP is more plausible.

Onlytruth: My ideal candidate is a man who sees the true potentials of Nigeria, and has skills to harness it fully.

His name is Charles Chukwuma Soludo

I have a feeling that until Jonathan leaves, Soludo will stay low under the radar. As soon as Jona leaves after 2019, my candidate shall rise.

I may have to sponsor him with my own money.

Soludo is the only solution.

No doubt, Soludo is the kind of president we should have but Nigeria has not gottent to that level where technocrats mount that exalted seat in Aso rock. The best he can get for now is being someone's VP. Politicians will most likely emerge for a long time to come and Soludo is not a politician.

APC should be wise and present Buhari in 2015 because what no one in the north has the kind of following that Buhari has in the north. A ribadu cannot pull off a Buhari in the north as he's a political nonentity. Using any other candidate other than Buhari will reduce the votes drastically in the North. Also a popular souther VP like Rochas, Fashola or Oshiomole should be picked and not Bakare or Fola Adeola. WTF is Fola Adeola. I was surprised in 2011 when two political nonentities were picked as presidential candidate and vice to represent ACN. Is it that these were just playing to the gallery or just trying to be funny. Fola Adeola is not even a recognizable name in NIgeria.

Gbawe:

Dude, sorry to say but have you been on Mars for the last 2 years? EL Rufai is finished as a politician !!! "Credible" is the last thing associated with him these days !! Try "Insanity", "insincerity", "immaturity", "extremist", "liar", "highly strung", "unstable", "divisive", needlessly pugnacious" etc. As things stand, El Rufai has damaged himself beyond repair. He has made himself very 'scary' , unappealing and off-putting.

@topic.

Jarus, the order is going to be Northern Presidential candidate and Southern VP. These sort of threads, where everyone gets to speculate and produce 'wish lists', are enjoyable but when we come to the reality of things the Only realistic Presidential candidates are Buhari or Ribadu. Simple as that. Buhari, by far, remains the greatest vote winner in the North and I am betting the APC will calculate that, with good work, it will be easier to neutralise his 'unacceptability' in the South than risk losing the election all for the sake of the "fresh blood" those of us who are educated and informed are asking for.

The analysts and statisticians in the APC will know it is a majority of emotional, divided and clannish people who will be voting not Nigerians with two masters degrees rooting unrealistically for Utomi. If GEJ gets the PDP ticket, the North will vote even more passionately for Buhari because, beyond emotion, everyone knows things have worsened for the North under GEJ, especially security, and no sane person votes for the continuity of a very abject and bleak situation. If a Northerner gets the PDP ticket, I doubt he will still poll as many votes as Buhari but certainly votes will be split in the North and other regions will have more importance in this scenario.

Whatever scenario, I think APC will pragmatically settle on Buhari with the notion of addressing his 'shortcomings' outside the North because we all saw how poorly Ribadu performed in the North in the last election yet he is the next visibly obvious choice to Buhari as a Northerner who is now an "experienced" Presidential candidate . It may be too much hard work, just because some are hankering for change, to gamble on pushing Buhari aside for someone like Ribadu only for the APC to then completely rely on successfully selling Ribadu to the North. It is an experiment that may fail flatly and I doubt it will even be regarded as a safe bet to entertain.

Ultimately, opinion is likely to be that Buhari remains surest banker in the North and that there is plenty of time to make his overall candidacy appealing to the south with a VP like Okorocha. Sadly GEJ has 'primed' the religious antenna of most Nigerians and this may play against Fashola as VP choice. If GEJ loses the PDP ticket to a Northerner, as I expect will happen, said Northerner will likely run with a Christian southerner as Atiku planned to run with Soludo last time. The APC may therefore not wish to gamble with a moslem-moslem ticket because these are not the best of times to expect Nigerians to be politically sophisticated and rise above bias. It is a battle for hearts and mind and the current policy of the PDP is to divide Nigerians, stoke paranoia and highlight sectional/religious differences. The APC may have no choice but to play the game.

If Buhari is forced to stand down by the stakeholders within the new Party, then the APC will have resigned itself to the hard work of marketing 'junior Buhari' (Ribadu) in the North assured in the knowledge he would be relatively popular in the South paired with a visible Southern performer and 'good guy'.

It is really the VP slot I cannot predict accurately but I think, as much as we all rate Fashola, the APC may consider the currently toxic and rancorous pulse of the Nation and decide to play safe with a Christian Southern VP. Then again, if one man has the broad appeal to make folks look beyond religion then it is Fashola. Many in the APC may argue his case from the perspective that Fashola is trusted and respected by all. Their argument may carry the day to ensure Fashola is the VP cnadidate for the APC.

All in all I think it will be Buhari/Ribadu paired with Okorocha/Fashola or Oshiomhole. If we are talking APC, folks should forget all talks of Fashola/Okorocha or any other Southerner for President. The characters and considerations behind the merger remains the same as in 2011 when it was Northern President and Southern VP. The case is even far stronger for that combination today. Folks can be as emotional as they want but a pragmatically big part of things for politicians, that the average man on the street remains too emotional to appreciate, falls on 'appeasing' the system to gain peace. This is very important to the politicians and not many will want 4 more years uncertainty and hesitancy that holds an entire nation to ransom. GEJ was a gamble in 2011. Today all doubts are removed and the entire world knows he is unconcerned about dealing with the insecurity of Nigeria. Even the West, in self-interest, would covertly work against GEJ returning because it is another 4 years of harder work for everyone. Even in the PDP, a Northerner would likely fly the flag in the end, all Presidential 'gra gra' and spending accounted for.

Some of us cannot and will never think like politicians. The thing they all want, worldwide, is the peace to lead or loot. Let us face it. GEJ will always be resisted. Had it being he is one to be brave in tackling security passionately, then some , to include even the West, may fall behind him in the spirit of confronting "evil" head on. As it is, no one, on any side, will be a fan of GEJ's dithering inaction and preference for praying and pleading while the nation burns. At the end of the day, Nigeria is bigger than GEJ. Those above me and you who make things happen, before we head to the polling booth, will appreciate this. It won't be what some immature and clannish folks want to hear but I believe the system will settle on a Northern President and Southern VP in 2015. For the APC, there is no best 11. More like a choice probably restricted to around 6 individuals.

Lol. You definitely have issues to work out with Elrufai,Oloun.You don't like him at all, he's still better than all the Northern governors out their and would be a sane choice if Buhari or Ribadu's candidacy do not fly(as it appears right now ). All those words you used in describing Elrufai actually depicts a typical politician.