The Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF has described the one-term promise by the Labour Party (LP)’s Presidential Candidate in the last election, Peter Obi, as self-defeating and denying Nigerians the choice of exercising their democratic rights.
While describing the promise as anti-democratic, ACF National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, told Saturday Telegraph that in a democracy, it is only Nigerians who reserve the right of who should do one term or two terms.
He also said the issue of zoning between the North and South has continued to deny Nigerians good leadership with those that have failed to perform hiding under the enclave of their region to look for a second term in office.
Professor Muhammad-Baba said, “The constitution is very clear. A president, a governor, and legislators are elected for a period of four years. Clearly they can run for another four years, but not necessarily consecutively. So that should be clear. The idea that we are choosing anybody for four years and they have to go for eight years is an aberration of the constitution.
The Publicity Secretary noted that there are competent Nigerians across every nook and cranny of the country, and this pursuit of region has denied many people the opportunity to serve the country.
He also said, “Even the recent calls that someone would do one term or the other is also a product of that misunderstanding, misapplication and misdirection of politics. I mean, you cannot say because it is not your turn in the country, you will not contest or do only one term. Suppose you perform very well. Are you saying that we should not, we should forego our right to re-elect you again? I mean, it’s self-defeating.
“Now, it’s time we put this country back on the politics of development, not politics of sharing, not politics of primordial positions, where you are from and so on and so forth. So in my opinion, we are missing the ball. We are just chasing shadows. At the end of the day, what we need is people who will deliver good governance and that’s all.
“Some of these people go in, they are corrupt, they don’t perform well, and so on. So they run to their ethnic, regional and other districts for their self-protection. So in my opinion, I think we are chasing shadows.
“This is not the first time. People are undermining their capabilities by saying I will go for only one term. That is saying that I am just going to satisfy my personal ambition of placing my name in the record. So if I go there, I will rally my own primordial brothers and sisters, and we do our work, because we know that in four years or in ten years, in eight years, we will go. To me, what he is actually saying he’s not the best candidate. He just wants to test the office for one term, and that’s all.
“Late former President Muhammadu Buhari made the same promise in the build-up to 2015, Buhari made that promise. He did not fulfill it. Did we hold him responsible? No. Why? Because it’s not in the Constitution. Many times, when former Vice President Atiku was campaigning, he also said, I will do one term and give it to the South East. He is saying that he’s not competent.
“He just wants to be there for history. To me, all of them are just chasing shadows and selling us dummies. That actually, to me, they are undermining their competence. For God’s sake, if today I run for election in this country, I will do my best, such that people will cry, and say I don’t go. Some people may even try to amend the constitution to allow me to go. If I can, I promise you there are many people in this country who will turn Nigeria into another Singapore, into another Dubai, if they have a chance and if we support them.
“By the way, what we are doing it’s not politics of development. It’s primitive politics, actually, that is what we are practicing, in my opinion. It just doesn’t make sense.”
According to him, four years is not enough to make an impact, “but you can lay the foundation stone for making impact and that is why I am saying that for you to promise you will only stay for four years, you are actually trying to cheat the country of your competence, if indeed you end up being competent.
“If you are not competent and you insist on eight years, you are also robbing the country of a chance to throw you away because you have not performed very well. You now return to your ethnic conclave and hide under those circumstances. So, either way you look at it, let’s practice what the Constitution says. Nobody is voted for eight years. It’s not automatic, and people should sell themselves.”
𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘀𝗔𝗽𝗽 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗧𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗔𝘀 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗗𝗿𝗼𝗽!
