Besides, some party members are said to be tired of Mr. Buhari showing interest in every presidential race in the past three elections and would want him to retire from politics. Another odd against the retired general is his age. He is 72, thus making him the oldest among the five contenders for the ticket. Some are already suggesting that he should give way to younger elements to try their hands in the presidential contest. Rabi’u Kwankwaso: Alhough an engineer with a doctorate degree, Mr. Kwankwaso has had a progressive political career since 1991 when he quit the civil service voluntarily. The Kano State governor, who leaves office in May, next year was Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives in the botched Third Republic. He ran Kano State as governor between 1999 and 2003 on the PDP platform, but lost his re-election bid to the incumbent Education Minister, Ibrahim Shekarau. He returned as governor in 2011, but before then, had held the portfolio of Defence Minister during Mr. Obasanjo’s second presidential term. Mr. Kwankwaso, 57, is arguably a frontline runner for the presidential ticket of the APC, a party he joined last year. His performance as governor has drawn followers to him in the last few years and he believes he can replicate same at the national level. He has repeatedly stated so at every opportunity he has to showcase his achievements. Recently, the governor said he had been studying the problems facing the country over the years and had come to the conclusion that he had the requisite experience and expertise to tackle the issues and give Nigerians and Nigeria a new lease of life. He said he is particularly worried about the nation’s security challenges. According to him, the inability of the Jonathan administration to tackle the situation is not acceptable because millions of Nigerians had been driven into some neighbouring countries. “The situation is so bad that apart from those displaced by the insurgents, many other Nigerians have been hospitalised while others have gone into hiding just to save their lives, while the system continues to give assurance of victory,” he said. “So many Nigerians have also been displaced in Chibok, Gwoza and Bama as well as other places in the country. This is not a good thing for Nigeria and we need to rise up and find a lasting solution to the problem, which is not beyond us.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 09:27:16 +0000
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