By Usama Dandare,
In their last minute desperation to elude the inevitability of facing General Muhammadu Buhari in the much anticipated March 28 presidential ballot, President Jonathan and his cohorts are now capitalizing on the gullibility of some few to weaken the support base of the presidential candidate of APC on account of age that at 72, Buhari is too old to hold an elective office with the intent to market their much younger but unmarketable commodity. It’s amazing that President Jonathan and PDP hasn’t realized the need for old-aged politicians to pave way for younger hands to take Nigeria to moon all along, until now that they augured an imminent defeat in the hands of Gen. Buhari come March 28.
Despite series of opprobrious campaign to weaken the popularity of Gen. Buhari and decrease the massive support he’s currently enjoying from a vast majority of eligible voters, the presidency has failed in all divarication to assassinate the character of the people’s general and it seems any such move in whatever form only attracts positive publicity for Buhari and indeed turnout to extends his support base, much against the adore of the buhariphobics. So far, all the demons casted against Buhari hasn’t succeeded and surely, they will never succeed.
After failing woefully in all their errands and sorties to wile the possibility of an open contest with the general at all cost, the presidency should have showcase the achievements attained under Jonathan’s stewardship before Nigerians and convince voters with visible facts that can warrant the re-election of President Jonathan but instead, they have now diverted all efforts toward campaigning against Buhari using age as a determining factor or prerequisite for public office.
Let me tell you this for free. Age is nothing but numbers, nobody grows old merely by living a number of years but by loosing focus and becoming short of ideas, the credibility and integrity in a man matters most than the number of years he’d lived. It’s more preferable to have a 150 year old sitting on wheelchair but full of positive significances for growth and development, than a clueless 57 year old whose only idea is self-enrichment and nothing but corruption.
At this chronology the PDP and the presidency has surprisingly metamorphosed into youths activists overnight, agitating for youths participation in governance and politicking against electing old-aged men, let’s remember not to forget that the same PDP and President Jonathan had severally appointed old men into various public offices with some, even older than the general in question. I believed we all have details of old men that served or serving under Jonathan led-government, permit me to name just few among for the emphasis of record and educate the ignoramus.
Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau state is 71, PDP imposed Jang as the governor of Plateau against the interest of the masses and President Jonathan went extra miles to the extent of abolishing the constitution just to make Jonah Jang the chairman of Nigerian Governor’s Forum (NGF) against all decorum. Did anybody came up to say Jona Jang shouldn’t be elected governor or NGF chairman since he’s too old? Hypocrisy at it peak.
General Ali Gusau was born May 18, 1943, just few months younger than General Buhari and he’s still the minister of defense under the same President Jonathan who is now campaigning against electing aged men into power, didn’t Mr. Jonathan realized Ali Gusau was too old and an expired product before appointing him as a minister?
Tony Anenih, whom President Jonathan fought hard to appoint as the Chairman Board of Trustee (BOT) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) was born August 4, 1933, about 82 years now and unless i got it wrong, Tony Anenih is presently the BOT chairman of the same PDP that are roaming around and coumoflaging under the shed of age to castigate the people’s general.
Alh. Bamanga Tukur, a former National Chairman of PDP and now Chairman Board of Nigerian Railway was appointed by the same President Jonathan and it’s worthy to note that Bamanga Tukur was born September 15, 1935, almost seven years older than General Buhari.
Dr. Amadu Ali, a former PDP National Chairman and now the Director General of Goodluck Jonathan National Campaign Organization is another classical example of old men serving under President Jonathan but yet, we were told not to elect Buhari because he’s too old and cannot govern well. Amadu Ali was born March 1, 1936, almost six years before General Buhari was born.
Dr. Bello Mohammed Haliru was born October 9, 1945, he was a minister of defense under Jonathan’s administration and once an acting head of the Peoples Democratic Party appointed, he was also the Chairman of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Declaration Committee and now the northwest leader of President Jonathan Campaign. Bello Halliru is almost the same age with General Buhari and i can’t remember if his age stopped him from holding public offices under President Jonathan.
At the age of 72, Muhammmadu Buhari is not the oldest Nigerian to seek elective office. Nnamdi Azikiwe was 75 years when he contested the presidential elections in 1979 on the platform of Nigerian Peoples Party (NPP). Obafemi Awolowo was 70 when he contested the Presidency on the platform of Unity Party of Nigeria in 1979 (UPN). Both Azikiwe and Awolowo were about four years older when they contested the Presidency again in 1983 and i can’t recall if any among these notable men lost elections on account of their old age despite contesting twice.
One must wonder who President Jonathan and his vuvuzelas were trying to deceive by insisting General Mohammed Buhari (since some of my friends are finding it difficult to differentiate between Muhammadu and Mohammed) was too old and as such will not be able to govern well, what are they trying to tell us here? If the old cannot govern well, are they telling Nigerians they didn’t know the real ages of all these old men they appointed into leadership positions or were they appointed not to contribute to our development but to serve their selfish personal greed (as in goat and yam)?
Well, the buhariphobics can only deceive their likes, the illiterates ones and those gullible Nigerians that are blindfolded by ethnic and religious sentiments, and those benefiting from the highly established corruption nurtured by the present regime to their topmost advantage. General Buhari is and still remain the only hope for Nigerians and the choice of the common man. We are tired of PDP’s 16 wasteful years of mismanagement, corruption, insecurity, hunger, poverty and impunity. This time around, our mandate is not up for bargain, Nigerians have spoken. Never again!!
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