After such a miserable performance in the elections last Saturday, General Muhammadu Buhari should do the next honorable thing by withdrawing from the Presidential elections scheduled for Saturday, April 8, and endorse Nuhu Ribadu of ACN for the post of President of Federal Republic of Nigeria. I realize that this will be a bitter pill to swallow for GMB, who has contested the Presidential elections three times in a row, and is obviously yearning with fervency to rule our great country again. We respect the ambition of our esteemed General, which is his inalienable right guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But the people have spoken last Saturday; and their voices ring loud and clear: "Babu Buhari!"

Buhari's further participation in this election will just hand over the Presidency to Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP on a platter of gold. I have great admiration for our President Goodluck Jonathan, but he is surrounded by a decadent chop-chop party which has no plan for Nigeria but more of the same: abandoned projects, bad roads, poor healthcare delivery, insecurity, bribery, corruption stinking to the high heavens, grand-scale larceny of public funds, poor power supply etc. There is still a great opportunity for progressive forces to take over the reins of power for the first time in the history of this country. For once, the votes cast in the elections actually count for something. This is a moment that should not be lost. Buhari can cement his legacy by making it happen: withdrawing from this election which he can never win from his extremely narrow base in Katsina, and throwing his support behind a true democrat and patriot, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu.

If GMB will do this honorable thing, he would have cemented his legacy forever in the history of the Nigerian nation. It is futile and dangerous to wait for a re-run to support Ribadu, because I am pretty sure that PDP will not risk having a re-run. PDP will do everything in its power (remember Akinjide's 12 2/3 of states IN 1979?) to clinch it on the first ballot. If there is a time to salvage our country for the forces of progress, that time is now! This is our finest hour.

OVER TO YOU, GENERAL MUHAMMADU BUHARI. I PRAY THAT YOU WILL DO THE RIGHT THING. IT'S TIME TO TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK. IT'S TIME FOR RIBADU.


Emmanuel O. Fashakin, M.D.; Esq.:-)
Attorney at Law & President/ Medical Director,
Alpha-K Family Medical Practice, P.C.
79-35 153rd Street, Flushing, NY 11367,USA
Tel: (718) 591-1600; Fax: (718) 591-0265
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"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." 1 Cor 2:13

Hope lies in the future, not in the past.

Buhari should have STEPPED DOWN honorably and gained the respect of Nigerians for showing his desire for change.

Perfect answer to this thread:

efisher:

@ Ileke-IdI,
I do not think there is enough time for an ACN/CPC collaboration at the presidential level anymore. It's too late. Whoever steps down needs time to convince party loyals to move over. They also need time to inform people, hence many voters will still vote for the party that steps down! That will be wastage of votes. Also, some voters may get angry and decide not to vote for the consensus candidate. It is very complex and would have been more effective if they had campaigned together.

Yes, that is another angle to it. It is already too late to make any meaningful progress along that line.

The worse to happen is a re-run, GEJ is not going to win any straight away election this Saturday except the votes in SS and SE increases to 30 million overnight.

efisher:

Yes, that is another angle to it. It is already too late to make any meaningful progress along that line.

If nothing meaningful can come out of withdrawing, then why withdraw at all? What's the purpose of confusing Nigerian people? Have we not suffered enough from the last Saturday's brutal election/rigging?

Maybe GEJ should step down?

Ileke-IdI:

If nothing meaningful can come out of withdrawing, then why withdraw at all? What's the purpose of confusing Nigerian people? Have we not suffered enough from the last Saturday's brutal election/rigging?

I have consistently advised you to stop coming to NairaLand, because your posts consistently makes no sense, just another Kobojunkie. Two old hags.

It is foolhardy for anyone to think the way the national assembly elections is an indication of how the presintial elections would go. Ribadu can only come 3rd in this race. Who wants to bet? ACN's succeses doesnt necessarily transalate into votes for Ribadu, fine he wuld get some votes from ACN's popularity in the SW but I dont see him making much inroads into other regions, even in his home state, Adamawa he wuld most likely lose. And as for Buhari, when it comes to Saturday, when its Buhari vs GEJ in the North and not Hausaman vs Hausaman like it was in the national assembly elections, any fool can tell where most almajiri votes would go too.

GEJ doesn't need to win in the NE and NW. He only needs his 25% in addition to his sure votes in SE, SS, SW (minimum 40%), NC (minimum 35%). Buhari needs a lot more support in NC and the whole south (up to 25%) to get the majority of votes. He will not get the needed spread from SE and SS. Also, the morals of those who believe in CPC has been seriously damped by the last election whether we like it or not. It's game over for BB, and more territory for ACN. Buhari missed his opportunity when he had the chance to step down and stand behind Ribadu.

Check this thread for some detailed analysis: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-628352.0.html