₦airaland Forum

A former Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Kofo Bucknor-Akerele, has described as a misplaced priority, President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027.

Bucknor-Akerele deputised ex-Lagos governor Tinubu from May 1999 to December 2002, though Tinubu was in office till May 2007.

The octogenarian was on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief programme on Thursday.

Bucknor-Akerele, a member of The Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, said the Tinubu presidency must rejig the nation’s socio-economic apparatus as a matter of urgency.

She said seeking a second term in office should not be Tinubu’s focus at the moment, but getting the country to work.

Bucknor-Akerele said, “Unfortunately, right now, what I see is that the president is looking for a second term and that seems to be his focus but I think he should try and look at what people like Emeka Anyaoku and so many others of that calibre sat down and they are trying to fashion something that is going to change Nigeria for the future generations.

“I hope that his advisers would be able to tell him that 2027 is not our priority right now; our priority right now is fashioning something that will be able to make Nigeria great again.”

The former deputy governor also warned that dissatisfied youths might stop the selfish ambition of some politicians in the 2027 general elections.

“We need full employment for our youths. Many of them are roaming the streets, and some are graduates who are now working as security men. Is that what we want for Nigeria? I don’t think so.

“It is urgent; it is not something that should be postponed because some people want to be in power.

“The power which they want, they might not get it, because the youths are now restive and let us pray that things don’t happen and we end up in a revolution in this country,” she said.

Bucknor-Akerele said the Anyaoku group’s clamour for a new constitution is to secure the lives of current and future generations.

She said Nigeria is in dire straits and drastic actions must be taken to improve the security, economic and educational sectors of the country.

“We need drastic action right now. We are in dire straits in Nigeria. Look at what is happening in our security, our economy, our education system, and our health system are all in a state of flux. We need drastic actions,” she said.

We need a rejig of our security apparatus, there is no doubt about it. We have been calling for state police for a long time…

“We are also for a reduction in the huge amount that is being spent on recurrent expenditure; recurrent expenditure is taking over our budgets.

“So, we have to change the system and have a system that works and is more economical for the people, so that we can improve our social and economic systems.

“We need to have a system where our children can have free education. After all, there was once free education and free healthcare services in parts of Nigeria,” she added.

Bucknor-Akerele said Nigerians are fed up with the current situation in the country, and the Tinubu administration would have no alternative but to embrace some of the resolutions of the Anyaoku group.

She said, “I believe that if there is enough pressure on this government, they would have no alternative because there is nowhere in Nigeria that people are not fed up with the situation we are in.

“If this government thinks they can continue as they are continuing, then, I am sorry, I think this country is into disaster,” she said.

LordIsaac:
Wrestling power from Tinubu will be equivalent to being rescued from kidnappers and handed over to armed robbers.

Edoreborn:
Anything to remove this frog eyed being is a must

Tjra:
You will remove him in 2031. Just accept that God has placed him over you as your leader despite your bitter opposition.

That's the first step towards having inner peace.

richiemcgold:
She said, “I believe that if there is enough pressure on this government, they would have no alternative because there is nowhere in Nigeria that people are not fed up with the situation we are in.

“If this government thinks they can continue as they are continuing, then, I am sorry, I think this country is into disaster,” she said.

ogascomax:
God did not place him as our leader he shows to disobied God by forcing himself on us.

Trendtips:
This is apt ans clear
I just hope the horrible untrained APC youths will understand what she said and have a rethink

ogascomax:
God did not place him as our leader he shows to disobied God by forcing himself on us.

LordIsaac:
Wrestling power from Tinubu will be equivalent to being rescued from kidnappers and handed over to armed robbers.

aminauiade:
Bucknor-Akerele, a member of The Patriots, led by former Commonwealth Secretary-General Emeka Anyaoku, said the Tinubu presidency must rejig the nation’s socio-economic apparatus as a matter of urgency.

She said seeking a second term in office should not be Tinubu’s focus at the moment, but getting the country to work.

anonimi:
May 1, 2025

May Day: Hunger, unemployment, insecurity real— Tinubu

According to him: “The theme demands our collective attention and serves as a stark reminder of the need to create an environment where every worker feels safe, valued, and empowered to contribute to the growth and prosperity of our nation. As your President, I assure you that this administration is committed to creating such an environment for the common good.”

On the economic hardship, he noted that while it is a global phenomenon, its effects on Nigerians are particularly severe.

Tinubu said: “I am aware of the peculiarities of the economic hardship Nigerians face—rising living costs, hunger, insecurity, unemployment, and the loss of livelihoods. These challenges are real and demand definitive solutions, which I am poised to address as your President.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/05/may-day-hunger-unemployment-insecurity-real-tinubu/

Tjra:
You will remove him in 2031. Just accept that God has placed him over you as your leader despite your bitter opposition.

That's the first step towards having inner peace.

Irony1:
Oga at this state of this country, any funny attempt by Tinubu to hold on to power will set this country on fire

thisweekng:
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Chief Olawale Edun has said the last time Nigeria’s economy looked stable was about a decade ago.

He made this statement during his maiden press conference as Minister of Finance where he outlined President Bola Tinubu’s vision, agenda and strategy for the economy.

He said, “I think as we all know, we are not where we should be. The economy is barely growing above the rate of population growth.

“But it was not always so, and I think in trying to look at the way forward, if we now have a situation of slow growth, double-digit inflation, weak/depreciating exchange rate, as well as security concerns that are resulting in an economy that is not growing and not taking Nigerians out of poverty.

“If we think back to the last time when the economy was stable- when it was growing, when inflation was low, and the interest rate was affordable, that period was about a decade ago. Growth was about 6% in 2013 and 2014.”
Private sector to drive the economy

https://nairametrics.com/2023/09/01/the-last-time-nigerias-economy-was-stable-was-about-a-decade-ago-wale-edun/

BeeNG3:
Mama!! Special envoy niyin, e calm down, join the progressives😔

Babasessy:
The Awolowo rebirth in the Southwest has inspired gongs, songs and rhetoric of sorts. But they have missed one point.

It occurred to me in Abeokuta last week amidst the big crowds and euphoria of the swearing-in of Senator Ibikunle Amosun as governor. In all the states from Lagos to Edo, where Awo has witnessed ideological resurgence, hardly a single family member has played a role.

So we have an Awo family without an Awo. That is an irony. But history overwhelms us with this sort of twist. Obafemi Awolowo toiled for his reputation. His roots were lowly, he toiled to school both home and abroad, launched into careers in law, business, journalism and eventually politics. He carved a niche for himself, and became the first methodical and charismatic leftist in our history.  Other leftists abounded but they did not inspire comparable drama and following.

He faced tribulations, went to jail, failed in elections, won a few, but he imprinted his ideas and legacy in the country, and no single mortal has beaten him in the history of this country. His greatest achievement was in the area of ideas, and that was how he fashioned a family. Most families are born of biology but his issued from ideology. That family suffered with him.

In a spoof of Jesus Christ, these were the men who followed him in his teachings, and endured with him in his temptations. So he formed a kingdom for them in the Southwest, in the old Western Region, presiding over his projects, his legacies and people.

In all of these, the family he had was not his flesh and blood. In another spoof of Christ, who were his family anyway? Those who were with him must be counted as his family. So, I combed in the ambience of Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), and I found none. I went to Ogun, I frisked the crowd under Amosun’s bower, hardly any. Around Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola in Osun, I could not lay a finger. With Governor Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti, where are the forbears of Awo? Yet, I can hear the chants of Awo. Hardly in any of the inaugural speeches or any of their other public intervention would you miss the philtre and filter of Awo from these gentlemen. To parody Novelist Joseph Conrad, they are the sparks from Awo’s sacred fire, the messengers of the might within the man.

Already all of them are pursuing the legacy ideas of Awo: free education, free health services, infrastructural development, urban renewal and economic engineering.

Lagos has posted itself as the John the Baptist. The others are putting up valiant efforts, and the world of course is watching to see how well they will perform. It will call for great work, resourcefulness and cooperation. They are the real Awoists, and Awo was a man of rigour and vigour.

The Awo son that many expected to take after the father was Olusegun, who unfortunately died in a car crash. We shall never know if he could have pulled it off.  But the others have not shown much of the paterfamilias’ brio and depth. In the past decade, under this republic, they have blended with the wrong crowd. Even H.I.D, hobnobbed with Alao-Akala, who brought illiteracy to governance; with Oyinlola who turned the grace of office into a hell-hole of despots; with Daniel who could not arrest his quick fall into megalomania.

I wrote once that this woman whom Awo once described as the jewel of inestimable value has lost value to his cause. If he came back to life, he would have committed the extraordinary act of divorce after death. Even his newspaper, The Tribune, has so stumbled and fallen that it swims in Awo’s vomit.

                                                                             http://www.thenationonlineng.net/2011/index.php/columnist/monday/sam-omatseye/index.1.html

Irony1:
Oga at this state of this country, any funny attempt by Tinubu to hold on to power will set this country on fire

ogascomax:
God did not place him as our leader he shows to disobied God by forcing himself on us.