I'd rather have Buhari ruling than some of these vampires on parade.

Nigeria lacks visionary leadership, mechanics, block layers, capenter, welder, electrician etc but we have great scientists all over the globe.

Tell why any sensible person will not support Buhari for goodness sake see his records :

* He was a governor of Old Borno state
* He was Minister of petroleum Under general Obasanjo
*He was Major general
* He was Head of state
* He was PTF chairman

YET

*He doesn't have a house in Abuja infact he has only two houses one inherited from his father which locatedin Daura LGA and the other one is his present house in Kaduna which is a five bedroom flat in malali GRA gotten through owner occupier

* He doesn't have any flashy Car

* Nobody know his children yet he has plenty because they are all like you and i

* Nobody knows his wives despite being former president in fact in his regime there was nothing like office of the first lady

*When he was PTF chairman The late Abacha government was busy stealing and left all the work to PTF tell me which federal institution was not touched by PTF, tell me Which federal hospital was not touched by PTF, Constructed over 10,000 KM of road yet all PTF got was 300 Billion, what Aneni got for Nigerian roads only in the four years he spend as minister of works.


My people age is nothing but a number, believe me all we need is the person that will bring the positive change either young or old.

FACT: Mr Buhari plotted a coup and overthrew a civilian government. He receives certain benefits as a former Head of State which we may argue he is simply not entitled to. As some have said here on this board, he should be tried for treason.

But his coup succeeded. If it had failed, we wouldn't be discussing this here - he would probably have been jailed or shot. Maybe what we the people should do is begin the fight to remove all former military heads of state from the NEC - it doesn't quite add up for coupists to do their thing, seize power and then be rewarded with the status of statesmen. But that's a topic for another day.

I should also say I personally would not vote for Mr. Buhari. He granted some interviews to the press a few months ago and I was expecting a lot more detail from him on his policies if voted in. Unfortunately, I saw a lot of general statements which several other candidates have also made verbatim. So what's the difference between him and them? I am yet to be fully convinced about the merits of a Buhari presidency. Perhaps i will change my mind - only time will tell.

But having said all that, the full story of the buhari regime is not being told. As some have pointed out - the excesses and brutality of some soldiers during that regime is common knowledge. But we all lost something - all of us - when the WAI programme was thrown out of the window. Some of those posting on this board were too young then to understand, but Nigerians were beginning - albeit slowly - to understand the need for some order and structure in public space. Sure, some of the enforcement was messy and arbitrary, but it was a start, and it WAS beginning to take root. I never thought I would put pen to paper to say something good about the Buhari years, but the evidence is before us. Twenty five years later and Nigeria is real marlboro country, more lawless and indisciplined than you could ever have imagined.

Some other posters have drawn up a report card (or it a charge sheet ) for the buhari years. I will join the debate very soon. But I think its only fair to present a balanced picture of the man and his regime.

And another thing - buhari is often criticized for the prominent role that late idiagbon played in his adminisration - buhari is made out by critics to be a weak leader who relied excessively on his 2-i-c.  When i hear this being said i shake my head and wonder if human beings will ever be satisfied. The buhari regime was a military junta, whose principal members (buhari at least) seemed largely without the massive egos that we have come to accept as prerequisites for leadership. Is that really a bad thing?

It is not a character weakness or deficiency if you delegate responsibility or authority. It seems we think it is. Maybe this explains why Nigeria has been cursed with dictators - perhaps deep down Nigerians have a perverse love for overly authoritarian leaders.

To his credit, Buhari did not have anything to prove and so late idiagbon carried out his duties as CoS, SMC, without any hindrance. Imagine, if in Nigeria's ethnically charged polity, buhari had listened to the warmongers of today and decided to 'cut idiagbon to size'. some of those criticizing buhari as 'weak', would have found a whole new set of epithets to describe him. Which is why i find it sad that Atiku could say (oh the irony of it!) that "even when he (buhari) was military head of state others were governing for him". Atiku has told the whole world of his tribulations as VP in the hands of his principal. I find it strange that he should criticize Buhari for having the very qualities which OBJ was roundly (and justifiedly) criticized for lacking.

Just my thots.

Very interesing that there is a constant stream of posters saying thy cannot vote for Buhari.

Yet none of them has taken up my challenge to dispute any of Buhari's major achievements that I had listed, or come up with anybody running ofr election else that has a proven track record thatcould match Buhari's.

More facts:
when Buhari left power:

he had reduced inflation from 23% to 5%.

The Naira was close to parity with the Pound Sterling.

Corruption was almost eradicated.

Crime levels were very low and streets were safe.

Free primary education was available in all areas of the country.

reduced our debt.

People were more disciplined (e.g. forming orderlt queues)

All the above in only 1.5 years in office

Which over leader since Buhari, can boast such improvements on leaving office?

You should now understand that IBB is an enemy of Nigeria for overthrowing Buhari, he has probably put our development back 40years.

@VolvoS60 ,
Buhari did not lead the coup he was appointed head of state, after the coup.
In any case, I believe the coup was justified given that the Shagari government had looted us to our last Kobo and had rigged their own re-election.

Idiagbon died in 1999, 14 years after Buhari was overthrown.

Ironically, those who say they cannot vote for Buhari have not come up with genuine reasons besides the fact that they think he's old, he's been there before, he plotted a coup (very debatable), he gagged journalists, we need fresh ideas, yet most of these Nigerians agree that Buhari's era as a millitary HOS was the last good regime we've had to date.

How many innocent Nigerians compared to real crooks did Buhari take on when he held sway? How many law abiding Nigerians did his so called draconian rule affect?

I can go on and on, but would only want to stop to enjoin Nigerians to assess every single candidate based on their merits, past records and achievements before we take another leap into another abyss.

^ Gbam!

You cannot give what you dont have.

You people should not forget that it was the 'Cultural Elders" who sold the children of their brothers and sisters into slavery. The same Elders and their grand children "Nigerian Politicians" have now devised a new method of selling their neighbours children into slavery.

The problem now is that whereas before the slaves were taken away from their homes and fatherland now the "Nigerian Politicians" and "Corrupt Leaders" are selling both you the people and the very land itself. Lets Kill Goliath. Goliath today is made up of the elders like obj, his houseboy ibb, their gays gej and atiku and the labour prefect Buhari. Nigerians Lets Kill Goliath

Defender1:

You people should not forget that it was the 'Cultural Elders" who sold the children of their brothers and sisters into slavery. The same Elders and their grand children "Nigerian Politicians" have now devised a new method of selling their neighbours children into slavery.

The problem now is that whereas before the slaves were taken away from their homes and fatherland now the "Nigerian Politicians" and "Corrupt Leaders" are selling both you the people and the very land itself. Lets Kill Goliath. Goliath today is made up of the elders like obj, his houseboy ibb, their gays gej and atiku and the labour prefect Buhari. Nigerians Lets Kill Goliath

Valid points, but I beg to totally disagree with your inclusion of Buhari with the reast of the zealots. Provide us proves of how Buhari made life miserable for innocent Nigerians.

One thing for certain is that if Buhari wins, the following people will spend the rest of thier lives in jail. Babangida, Obasanjo, Abdusalami, and the rest of the Kaduna Mafia. Buhari is governed by intergrity, make una no forget war against indiscipline

jason2010:

One thing for certain is that if Buhari wins, the following people will spend the rest of thier lives in jail. Babangida, Obasanjo, Abdusalami, and the rest of the Kaduna Mafia. Buhari is governed by intergrity, make una no forget war against indiscipline

Jason2010 Please wake up from your dreams. Buhari will not win. No right thinking Nigerian will vote for him. Pardon me. I accept you are a patriotic true Nigerian. But Buhari? No. The fact is that the rogues, the thieves, the political bandits, the SLAVE SELLERS, the Election riggers, the 30 percenters, have the money and the will to win. verywhere in the world the children of darkness have more cunning than the children of light. Goodnight!!!

NOW I  KNOW NIGERIANS HAVE BEEN BRAIN WASHED,SO MUCH THAT THEY CANT EVEN THINK ACCURATELY. ALTHOUGH BUHARI WAS A MILITARY HEAD OF STATE CORRUPTION WAS AT ITS LOWEST IN 19834-5.MANY OF YOU ARE TOO YOUNG OR NOT TOO INTELLIGENT TO REMEBER.
MY FRIENDS JONATHAN IS NOT CONTESTING ANY ELECTION HE'S JUST OBJ'S PROXY. YOU TELL ME TO VOTE JONATHAN?FOR WHAT REASON?BECAUSE HE IS SOUTH SOUTH?AND THEY'VE BEEN MAGINALISED FOR MANY YEARS? THEN WHY DONT WE VOTE JOHN TOGO THE MILITANT? HE HAS THE SAME QUALITIES WITH JONATHAN.1.HE'S SOUTH SOUTH.BUT  I DONT KNOW WHO'S DUMMER.LOL
FELLOW NIGERIANS JONATHAN HAS NOTHIN TO OFFER NIGERIA.WE STILL HAVE NO ELECTRICITY AND THERE'S REALLY NO HOPE IT WILL GET BETTER.STILL IMPORTING FUEL.ETC,
MY FRIEND JONATHAN IS NOT STANDING OUT.I'VE OBSERVED THAT MOST OF HIS SUPPORTERS HAVE NO GOOD REASON WHY THEY WANT HIM TO BE PRESIDENT.YOU CAN NEVER SEE AN INTELLIGENT NIGERIAN,WHO WANTS THE WELLBEING OF THIS COUNTRY SUPPORTING JONATHAN.
BUHARI HAS THE EXPERIENCE TO RECONSTRUCT NIGERIA,AND BETTER STILL HE SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH HIGHLY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE.MY VOTE GOES TO HIM.JONATHAN IS CORRUPT AND OBJ IS JUST TO SCARED OF AN UPRIGHT NIGERIAN IN POWER.BUT HE CAN NEVER ESCAPE GOD'S JUDGEMENT.I REALLY I'M SORRY FOR HIM.

A vote for Buhari is at least a vote against PDP . . .

Kobojunkie:

A vote for Buhari is at least a vote against PDP . . .

@ Kobojunkie My dear lady who is PDP. Is PDP from Angola? or is PDP Iraq? or Iran? or Somalia? No my good lady PDP is Nigeria. The truth is that the same evil, selfish, greedy and satanic and inhuman people who sold their brothers and sisters into slavery are the same people who today are selling the very air that we breathe in Nigeria. Wake up. Stop complaining. Join us! Register today and Lets Kill Goliath.

@ kobojunkie
"Agressive minority should not force their views and tastes on everyone !" Its true my dear lady. The forcing of their views and tastes on everyone is the prerogative of the Aggressive Wealthy, Cheating and corrupt minority. You must have heard of the Paretto Principle. PDP is but a minority of Nigerians but the are forcing their views and tastes on everyone. Good Morning!!

kcng:

NOW I  KNOW NIGERIANS HAVE BEEN BRAIN WASHED,SO MUCH THAT THEY CANT EVEN THINK ACCURATELY. ALTHOUGH BUHARI WAS A MILITARY HEAD OF STATE CORRUPTION WAS AT ITS LOWEST IN 19834-5.MANY OF YOU ARE TOO YOUNG OR NOT TOO INTELLIGENT TO REMEBER.
MY FRIENDS JONATHAN IS NOT CONTESTING ANY ELECTION HE'S JUST OBJ'S PROXY. YOU TELL ME TO VOTE JONATHAN?FOR WHAT REASON?[b]BECAUSE HE IS SOUTH SOUTH?AND THEY'VE BEEN MAGINALISED FOR MANY YEARS? THEN WHY DONT WE VOTE JOHN TOGO THE MILITANT? HE HAS THE SAME QUALITIES WITH JONATHAN.1.HE'S SOUTH SOUTH.BUT  I DONT KNOW WHO'S DUMMER.L[/b]OL
FELLOW NIGERIANS JONATHAN HAS NOTHIN TO OFFER NIGERIA.WE STILL HAVE NO ELECTRICITY AND THERE'S REALLY NO HOPE IT WILL GET BETTER.STILL IMPORTING FUEL.ETC,
MY FRIEND JONATHAN IS NOT STANDING OUT.I'VE OBSERVED THAT MOST OF HIS SUPPORTERS HAVE NO GOOD REASON WHY THEY WANT HIM TO BE PRESIDENT.YOU CAN NEVER SEE AN INTELLIGENT NIGERIAN,WHO WANTS THE WELLBEING OF THIS COUNTRY SUPPORTING JONATHAN.
BUHARI HAS THE EXPERIENCE TO RECONSTRUCT NIGERIA,AND BETTER STILL HE SURROUNDS HIMSELF WITH HIGHLY INTELLIGENT PEOPLE.MY VOTE GOES TO HIM.JONATHAN IS CORRUPT AND OBJ IS JUST TO SCARED OF AN UPRIGHT NIGERIAN IN POWER.BUT HE CAN NEVER ESCAPE GOD'S JUDGEMENT.I REALLY I'M SORRY FOR HIM.

The bolded mirror my posts on GEJ a few weeks back---SOUTH-SOUTH-SYMPATHY and TIRED-OF-THE-NORTH SUPPORTERS. For surely those are reasons they've given so far for supporting him.

ShangoThor:

[size=20pt]Meritocracy required to produce visionary leaders![/size]

The problem is that we don’t have a meritocracy and potential visionary leaders are not likely to break through all the way to the top, nevertheless, things are slowly changing.

Imagine someone like BRF (Fashola) with clear purpose, vision and leadership and ask yourselves if he could get to be President in today’s Nigeria, and if your answer is no, then why not? Furthermore, whilst considering his traits, and all he has strived to achieve, imagine how much he could really achieve if he had dictatorial powers (not that I’m advocating this, I’m just citing examples).

If we turn to a meritocracy, and start getting the right personnel into positions then progress and development would flourish

Are you a Christian? If yes do you believe in the bible? If yes do you believe that David Oyedepo preaches that his members will get jobs beating those who are more qualified than them? How is that for meritocracy?

And dont blame Oyedepo he is just preaching what he got from the bible.
Forget meritocracy forget visionary leadership. Why because God has said "The race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, " Ecclesiastes 9:11.
What does Ecclesiastes 9:11 mean

Nigerians stop complaining. Join us and lets Kill Goliath

I strongly believe that IBB and Obj's main goal in life right now, is to prevent Buhari being elected at all cost.

They know very well that a Buhari Government would call them to account.

nigerians are actually a strange people! we crave for change yet don't want to take a step! the root cause of nigeria's problems is indiscipline whether taking a piss on the streets,stealing govt money,driving on the curve when theres traffic hold up or collecting bribe! with all his weaknessesi think buhari stands out amongst the lot,if he did not enmasse wealth as a young military head of state and as ptf chairman is it now in his twilight years that he will do that?in three months of buhar's administrationnigerians felt the change he brought with thunderous effect! sentiments aside my vote goes to buhari

I am yet to see any concrete criticism against Buhari, i am beginning to like this man and i am likely to vote for him, i want to see the likes of OBJ, IBB and Atiku in jail.

Defender1:

@ Kobojunkie My dear lady who is PDP. Is PDP from Angola? or is PDP Iraq? or Iran? or Somalia? No my good lady PDP is Nigeria. The truth is that the same evil, selfish, greedy and satanic and inhuman people who sold their brothers and sisters into slavery are the same people who today are selling the very air that we breathe in Nigeria. Wake up. Stop complaining. Join us! Register today and Lets Kill Goliath.

I really meant what I posted there.

A Vote for Buhari, in my opinion, is a vote against PDP, and hopefully, a vote against the USUAL Agberos/riggers who have plagued this system for well over a decade now. It is time we rest from all that nonsense, even if for some minutes.

We need to get rid of the corrupt leaders currently with stranglehold on power.

Nigerian press is culpable and colluding with the present system

I watched an hour of NTA International News today and only GEJ got coverage, no other mntion of other Aspirants.


It may not surprised me if some people are even unaware that Buhari is running for election sef.
We need to ensure we are pro-active in getting the right people in power.

genbuhari,

i agree with some of your points. i sometimes think of what might have been - if buhari had not been pushed out. But things have changed a lot since the early 1980s. I agree with you that Buhari has a moral stature that the other potential candidates (Atiku, GEJ, etc) lack. There are big, (very big indeed) question marks surrounding Atiku's wealth . I also remember the furore and public anger without which GEJ would not have declared his assets - he refused to do so until long after late UMYA had made his own asset declaration. GEJ also has the moral burden of a spouse who has been linked with some shocking revelations . (Although i should add that Buhari's critics point to his tenure as petroleum minister in the late 1970s - the story goes that a lot of public money grew wings and flew out of the window under his watch. Knowing you, i'm sure you will rebut this in your next post )

But Nigeria of today needs a lot of work. And Buhari's plan so far seems very vague. I do not know if this is deliberate. He granted some interviews to nigeriavillagesquare and the specifics of how he intends to save the Republic were simply not there in that lengthy interview. I''m not asking for micro-details of his plan for Nigeria, but the vague, broad generalizations buhari made in that interview do not show an appreciation of the rot in the system. What are Buhari's views on the Land Use Act, and how to unlock the true potential of land as a factor of production (the way its been done in South America and other developing country blocs?) How does he intend to fix the Nigeria police? How will he turn around the expenditure profile of the FGN - a profile in which recurrent expenditure still dwarfs capital expenditure (the way it has done for decades)? How will he bring the issue of taxes (and how Nigerians view taxes) to the front burner and restructure the whole citizen-state relationship in relation to the tax burden we bear? You may argue that he's keeping his cards to his chest and doesn't want to show his hand too early. That may be true. But we have passed the stage of generalizations - i leave the the empty generalizations to the typical nigerian politician. If buhari is a cut above the others, let him prove it.

He has a plan. Its up to him to show this.

VolvoS60:

genbuhari,

i agree with some of your points. i sometimes think of what might have been - if buhari had not been pushed out. But things have changed a lot since the early 1980s. I agree with you that Buhari has a moral stature that the other potential candidates (Atiku, GEJ, etc) lack. There are big, (very big indeed) question marks surrounding Atiku's wealth . I also remember the furore and public anger without which GEJ would not have declared his assets - he refused to do so until long after late UMYA had made his own asset declaration. GEJ also has the moral burden of a spouse who has been linked with some shocking revelations . (Although i should add that Buhari's critics point to his tenure as petroleum minister in the late 1970s - the story goes that a lot of public money grew wings and flew out of the window under his watch. Knowing you, i'm sure you will rebut this in your next post )

But Nigeria of today needs a lot of work. And Buhari's plan so far seems very vague. I do not know if this is deliberate. He granted some interviews to nigeriavillagesquare and the specifics of how he intends to save the Republic were simply not there in that lengthy interview. I''m not asking for micro-details of his plan for Nigeria, but the vague, broad generalizations buhari made in that interview do not show an appreciation of the rot in the system. What are Buhari's views on the Land Use Act, and how to unlock the true potential of land as a factor of production (the way its been done in South America and other developing country blocs?) How does he intend to fix the Nigeria police? How will he turn around the expenditure profile of the FGN - a profile in which recurrent expenditure still dwarfs capital expenditure (the way it has done for decades)? How will he bring the issue of taxes (and how Nigerians view taxes) to the front burner and restructure the whole citizen-state relationship in relation to the tax burden we bear? You may argue that he's keeping his cards to his chest and doesn't want to show his hand too early. That may be true. But we have passed the stage of generalizations - i leave the the empty generalizations to the typical nigerian politician. If buhari is a cut above the others, let him prove it.

He has a plan. Its up to him to show this.

Besides Atiku, whom you've summarily condemned there is no other candidate out there who has spoken on specifics of their planned policies. They have always been generalizing their plans. Hence we can place them all on the same pedestal with reference to the specifics of their plans. What sets Buhari apart from the crowd is that he has moral standing which you alluded to. Buhari also has track records of his achievement in every political/military office he held, another important factor which the rest of the pack lack.
Nuhu Ribadu is probably a good candidate, but he comes up a distant 2nd in my list, behind Buhari, 'cos he also has some moral burdens wrt the case of GEJ & Dame Patience.
Amongst the crop, BUhari stand out head and should above them all.