Naij.com’s guest author Chinedu
Rylan tries to determine if the All
Progressives Congress, headed by Gen.
Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), are capable of
delivering the revolutionary “change” they
have promised in their 2015 election
campaign.

Before I delve into the nitty-gritty and crux
of this exposition, I must categorically
state that I have no overt or covert party
affiliation. I have only put this piece
together in my capacity as a concerned,
patriotic Nigerian who will never stand by
with arms crossed over his chest while a
bunch of political careerists and crooked
opportunists take this beloved country and
its loving people for a joyride.
That being said, what manner of change
can we, Nigerians, expect from the All
Progressives Congress, the APC?

It is becoming clearer even to the “mentally
blind” that the so-called “Progressives” , led
by the twosome of the retired Major-
General Muhammadu Buhari and former
Lagos state governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
are totally and pitiably incapable of
effecting the change they are promising to
deliver to Nigerians if elected into office.
Rather, the only change that can be
realistically expected of them at this point
in time is retrogressive change.

Before going further, it will be sagacious to
consult some of the world’s most reliable
and reputable dictionaries and thesauruses
to see what they have to say about the
word change . The Oxford Advanced
Learner’s Dictionary (OALD) – the most
available to, trusted and cited by Nigerians
– defines change as “an act or process
through which something becomes
different”. In the same vein, the Merriam-
Webster Dictionary – considered the gold
standard by most Americans – gives a
similar description, authoritatively opining
that change is the “act, process, or result of
changing”. Likewise, an App-based mobile
dictionary gives us the definition of change
as “the process of becoming different” .

Undoubtedly, Nigeria will change under a
Muhammadu Buhari presidency. Yes, the
country will definitely become different
under the “pure” and “stainless” GMB-led
APC government, should their wishes and
cravings come to pass. This, however, begs
the question of how Nigeria will be different
under them . What kind of change will the
APC, Buhari, Tinubu and co. bring to the
table if elected? Will it be progressive or
retrogressive?

Going by the goings-on in the country
whilst simultaneously peering into the past,
it is really very easy to come at a definite
conclusion.

Despite the adjective progressive being
affixed to their name and adopted as a
party slogan, it is crystal clear to all and
sundry, Nigerian or not, that the best
anyone can expect of the APC is a reversive
change. A change for the worse. What
manner of change can a certified military
dictator, who usurped and forcibly seized
power from a democratically-elected
government, possibly offer? Buhari staged
a coup that sacked what was only
Nigeria’s second democratic dispensation
since independence – the first in 13 years.
In an ironical twist of fate deserving of a
Greek epic by Homer, it is the same
general, albeit now refined, rebooted and
baptized as the sinless “peoples general,”
who is now at the mercy of the same
democratic process he truncated 32 years
ago in order to clamber into power once
again.

What manner of change can we realistically
and dispassionately expect from a thin-
skinned ex-dictator who was intolerant of
even the slightest of criticisms during his
ultimately ill-fated military regime? This is
the same Buhari who jailed anyone who
was bold enough to speak up against his
autocracy that lasted from 31 December
1983 to 27 August 1985. Journalists, who
now enjoy unprecedented and once
unimaginable levels of freedom under the
present Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
administration, were put behind bars in
droves.

Opposing politicians and statesmen were
also not spared. It is on record that
Buhari jailed Alex Ekwueme, the Vice
President of the administration he
overthrew, for several years; its President,
Shehu Shagari , was put under house arrest.
Jim Nwobodo, a democratically elected
state governor, was unceremoniously jailed
for 301 years by a kangaroo court
sanctioned by the general. Others who
found themselves on the wrong side of the
general and ended up being jailed for their
“insubordination” include two other
democratically-elected governors, Sam
Mbakwe and Bola Ige , as well as Bisi
Akande, a fellow stalwart in the present
APC, and Obafemi Awolowo, the ideological
leader of the South-Westerners. How can
we expect the man to uphold and respect
courts of justice and the rule of law when
he had demonstrated such flagrant
disregard for them?

What manner of change does the APC have
to offer with a leader who probably believes
that a woman’s rightful place is her
husband’s house, her only duties
housekeeping and child-rearing? During his
dictatorship that lasted nearly 3 years, he
hadn’t appointed a single woman in his
Supreme Military Council. Most recently, he
has strongly indicated that women would
play a minimal role in the government he
envisions by asserting that he would
abolish the position of the country’s first
lady. He went further to declare that there
is no official role for the wife of a president.
He seems to be oblivious of the fact that
the wives of presidents, heads of state and
government all over the world are accorded
special status and assigned important
roles. That is why the First Lady of the
United States (FLOTUS) is such an
influential figure both within and outside
her country. His modus operandi reeks of
someone who is out of touch with reality,
divorced from the trends and aloof with
happenings elsewhere in the world.
I could go on and on, but it would take
more than a short news-length article to
comprehensively thrash out the laundry list
of the things that make Buhari and the
APC totally incapable to deliver the
promised “progressive change”.

I have absolutely nothing against the
person of General Muhammadu Buhari. As
a matter of fact, he’s a man I have an
undiminished respect for . But I still do not
believe he’s the leader that 174 million
Nigerians need at the moment, especially
considering the party he’s coming from,
how rigid and resistant to change he has
always been, and how detached from
Nigerian realia he has become.

It is my wish that Nigerians would wake up
from their slumber and disenchant
themselves from the hypnotism, fine-
sounding words and unattainably lofty
promises of the APC. There is still enough
time to avoid a big mistake.

Nigerians, vote wisely.

Mr. Rylan may be contacted via his Twitter
account, @ChineduRylan . You’re welcome
to submit your own opinion articles. Make
sure you go through our Guide for guest
contributors, and feel free to contact us at
info@naij.com!

http://www.naij.com/377150-chinedu-rylan-can-buhari-apc-deliver-the-change-theyve-promised.html

Yes.

An APC led FG will diversify the economy, open up new channels to generate revenue, by clamping down on corruption funds that sink in those holes will stop and will be used for development and funding various Government initiative. Put together a competent team of experts, professional, entrepreneurs and other competent Nigerians to better manage various programmes of Government.

Decentralizing power from the centre will give State Government better influence and power to pursue programmes that will better serve their States. The FG under APC will pay more attention to Electricity Generations rather than just distribution.

The proposals of APC are very much achievable - and only a team like Buhari and Osinbajo can pull it off. Sai Buhari.

GMB has never even changed a tire in his life let alone change a nation.

The only change you can expect from GMB is his constant change of attire.

Buhari is playing with stroke o. Everyday walking about nigeria doing campaign

Buhari is playing with stroke o. Everyday walking about nigeria doing campaign

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Bifwoli:
GMB has never even changed a tire in his life let alone change a nation.

The only change you can expect from GMB is his constant change of attire.

Lol