Thanks for your commendations, both of you. Opara's unstinted support for
Buhari must have let him bite his fingers on that one! :-)
Moving on....
I sure can live with Buhari as president and Ribadu as his Corruption czar -
but I am sincerely for CHANGE.
Recall that Buhari has been "president" before (albeit a military one) and
Ribadu has been "corruption czar" before. Even Jonathan is currently
president.
So if you are for CHANGE for GOOD for NIGERIA, let us have Ribadu for
President and Buhari for Czar - and GEJ for Ex-Prez!
Triple change, don't you think?
And there you have it! :-)
Bolaji Aluko
On Fri, Sep 24, 2010 at 9:18 AM, peter opara <ogbuonyeiro@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>
> Quite illuminating for don't knows, hard to teach, hard to comprehend
> and refuseniks. Good job by Bolaji...
>
> However, as to the suggestion of Ribadu atop Buhari, we need to understand
> that Ribadu under compromised Obasanjo had teeth only for those Obasanjo did
> not like, whom he, Ribadu, went all out to stop and some he even attempted
> to blackmail.
>
> Buhari as president atop Ribadu, will allow Ribadu teeth to take as much *Bite
> Out of Crime* *and Corrption*, as he pleases.
>
> Ribadu's relative youth comes in handy, too, to deal much freer as "equal
> opportunity" crusader against corruption, having the daring,
> fearless, uncompromised and incorruptible Buhari behind him.
>
> This is argument still for Buhari as the president to clean up Nigeria.
>
>
> --- On *Fri, 9/24/10, peter opara <ogbuonyeiro@yahoo.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: peter opara <ogbuonyeiro@yahoo.com>
> Subject: Re: [NIgerianWorldForum] - On the Relative Putative Candidacies of
> Buhari, Ribadu and Jonathan { Re: 2011: Buhari Tackles ACF, Northern Leaders
> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com, NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com,
> NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com
> Cc: bunmifm@gmail.com, naijaintellects@googlegroups.com,
> ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com, NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com,
> naijaelections@yahoogroups.com, NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com,
> stevek941@yahoo.com, mkghs@aol.com
> Date: Friday, September 24, 2010, 9:09 AM
>
>
> In accord concordia with you, Ola.
>
> --- On *Fri, 9/24/10, OlaKassimMD@aol.com <OlaKassimMD@aol.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: OlaKassimMD@aol.com <OlaKassimMD@aol.com>
> Subject: [NIgerianWorldForum] - On the Relative Putative Candidacies of
> Buhari, Ribadu and Jonathan { Re: 2011: Buhari Tackles ACF, Northern Leaders
> To: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com, NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com
> Cc: bunmifm@gmail.com, naijaintellects@googlegroups.com,
> ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com, NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com,
> naijaelections@yahoogroups.com, NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com,
> stevek941@yahoo.com
> Date: Friday, September 24, 2010, 7:21 AM
>
>
>
>
>
> Bolaji:
>
> As usual--this is an excellent analysis even though
> I have some issues with some of your suggestions
> (e.g. Ribadu as President and Buhari as his
> anti-corruption czar)
> Why not the reverse?
>
> Like you I will not change my citizenship if any
> of Ribadu, Buhari or GEJ or in fact any
> other other candidate becomes the President
> in 2011.
>
> The most important deliverable for me in 2011
> is that the elections be free and fair--
> No RIGGING, but not necessarily NO RECYCLING.
> Let the voters decide!
>
> Bye,
>
> Ola
>
>
>
> ---- Original Message ----
> From: Mobolaji ALUKO <alukome@gmail.com>
> To: NaijaPolitics@yahoogroups.com
> Cc: bunmi fatoye-matory <bunmifm@gmail.com>; naijaintellects <
> naijaintellects@googlegroups.com>; ekiti ekitigroups <
> ekitipanupo@yahoogroups.com>; NaijaObserver@yahoogroups.com; USAAfrica
> Dialogue <USAAfricaDialogue@googlegroups.com>; Naija Elections <
> naijaelections@yahoogroups.com>; NigerianWorldForum <
> NIgerianWorldForum@yahoogroups.com>; stevek941@yahoo.com
> Sent: Fri, Sep 24, 2010 6:57 am
> Subject: USA Africa Dialogue Series - On the Relative Putative Candidacies
> of Buhari, Ribadu and Jonathan { Re: 2011: Buhari Tackles ACF, Northern
> Leaders
>
>
>
> Steve Kueberuwa:
>
> Please do get a few facts right:
>
> 1. Tunde Idiagbon was Fulani - and Muslim. He is of the same genre as the
> Olusola, Bukola, or Gbemisola Sarakis, or the Prof. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari
> or Ilorin Emir Kolapo Sulu-Gambari: Fulanis with a broad and irrefutable
> Yoruba heritage.
>
> 2. Buhari was NOT the only military ruler to share power. Mohammed with
> Obasanjo; Obasanjo with Yar'Adua; IBB with Aikhomu; Abacha with Diya (in
> early part) were examples in sharing military power. Notice that those were
> all North/South, Christian Muslim pairings, while Buhari/Idiagbon was a
> North/North, Muslim/Muslim pairing. The only virtually total military
> rulers were Ironsi, Gowon (who shared his powers with his AFRC though),
> Abacha (in his later days) and Abdusalami Abubakar (partly with Akhigbe).
> One will admit that Idiagbon was probably the most powerful deputy of the
> lot, in the same manner that Gore was to Clinton, and Dick Cheney to
> "Dubya" Bush.
>
> Thought that I should make those corrections, for the record.
>
> All-in-all, having studied the man closely, I am of the firm conviction
> that Buhari, despite all the myths:
>
> 1. is virtually incorruptible, and the kind of Nigeria needs to combat
> that hydra-headed monster;
> 2. is NOT an Islamist or Fulani supremacist;
> 3. is not blood-thirsty, and certainly not as a civilian politician. His
> (in)famous military harshness was a reaction to the times.
>
> However, part of Buhari's political problems are that:
>
> 1. he has allowed accusations of him (as a blood-thirsty dictator and a
> fundamental Islamist/supremacist) to fester too long without countering
> them, particularly in the South that is deeply suspicious of him. Again,
> despite its salutary effect, the Buhari/Idiagbon was the only
> clearly North/North, Muslim/Muslim pairing so far atop the leadership helm
> of the country. This is probably because he did not conceive of himself as
> an electable politician for a long time, and hence did not at some
> point care what people thought or said about him. [Abiola had similar
> problems.] There was a time (for example) when he was completely withdrawn
> to himself, between 1983 (when he was toppled by IBB) and 1994/1995 (when he
> emerged as Abacha's PTF Chairman).
>
> 2. he has not developed a broad base of identifiably-close advisors around
> him, leading to him make a number of policy mistakes in the main political
> party that he has been in (eg in making Ume Ezeoke both Chairman and VP
> candidate in the ANPP, who ended up messing him up; his very naive
> endorsement of Maurice Iwu on the eve of the 2007 election, only to be
> messed up royally in the worst election ever held, etc.) This may have been
> attempts to soften his public image as a stern fellow. His emergence as
> ANPP presidential candidate, particularly in 2007, was not necessarily
> exemplars in democracy (see for example, the recent interview given by Chief
> Harry Akande).
> 3. As a general and Head of State from 1983-1985 - more than 25 years ago
> - he is just rightly considered part of the Old Guard - albeit a more
> respectable part of that guard - but still in the same genre of Obasanjo
> and IBB. It is very difficult to argue with a straight face against
> Obasanjo and IBB coming back, and not maintain the same with Buhari.
>
>
> Personally, like Bunmi Fatoye-Matory I LOVE the prospects of a Nuhu Ribadu
> over Buhari as President, with Muhammadu Buhari as his anti-corruption
> czar.
>
> 1. Ribadu is much younger and more vibrant.
> 2. Ribadu has never been accused of Islamism or sectionalism.
> 3. Yes, Ribadu may be more PLIABLE (in terms of corruptibility and
> stern-ness; more pragmatic, let us say) but he has demonstrated a clear
> anti-corruption zeal as EFCC chairman, and would have a more willing ear to
> listen to advisors than the much older Buhari with a long-standing military
> background. Ribadu, as a former policeman, also has some para-military
> disciplinary background, but did not progress from a "wetin-you-dey-carry"
> status like policemen like Anenih, Tafa Balogun, etc.
>
> Unlike Bunmi, for me, it cannot be Jonathan over Buhari. GEJ in the grips
> of a PDP administration may turn out to be terrible, especially because of
> all the developing pre-election turf wars that are yet unfolding. If he
> eventually wins the Presidency - and that is a big IF, because who knows
> whether he will still be a candidate sef?
>
> 1. corruption and incompetence might go on un-abated; they are sytemic and
> endemic in the PDP world;
> 2. he will have a weak presidency not only as he tries to assuage wounded
> post-election minds within his party and the Northern constituency, and:
> 3. he would be LAME-DUCK from Day One (since he says that he would be
> going only for one term), and a battle for succession, either from the North
> (who would want it back, since a Southerner would have been president for 6
> years effectively) or from the South-East (since GEJ says that he would be
> merely completing a Northern term), would ensue because of the uncertainty
> that his presidential candidacy is currently generating.
>
> So my choices - if they become candidates - are Ribadu, Buhari and GEJ in
> that order - and be assured that I would not change my Nigerian citizenship
> if any of them became/remain President in 2011.
>
> Those are the facts, as different from fantasy - and so there you have it
--
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