By TOLUWANI
ENIOLA
A poll
conducted by SUNDAY PUNCH has revealed that many Nigerians will not vote for
President Muhammadu Buhari if he decides to seek re - election in 2019.
The poll
with the title , “ Will you vote for Buhari in 2019 ?” was conducted on The
PUNCH website , www.punchng.com.
It gauged
the opinions of Nigerians using three options for participants .
Those who
want to vote again for the President in 2019 answered by clicking ‘ YES ’ while
those with a contrary opinion clicked the ‘ NO ’ button . The last option was
for those who were indifferent to Buhari ’ s choice .
The poll
went live on Thursday , 5.48pm .
As of 11pm
on Saturday , out of the 9,524 participants who took part in the poll, 58
percent (5,519 respondents) said they would not vote for Buhari in 2019.
Up to 3,588
people , amounting to 38 percent , said ‘ YES ’ to the poll while four per cent
(417 votes ) were indifferent to Buhari ’ s 2019 re - election bid .
The poll,
which has been read over 10, 000 times, confirmed that many Nigerians are not
happy with the performance of the President.
Although
Buhari has not officially declared his intention ahead of 2019, there are
strong indications that he will seek a second term .
Confirming
the speculation that Buhari might seek a second term in office , the Minister
of Communications, Adebayo Shittu , had last week said although the President
had not made up his mind on the 2019 presidential election , he must seek re -
election because he had “done well so far. ”
Shittu
stated this in an interview with State House correspondents shortly after a
meeting he had with Buhari at the Presidential Villa , Abuja.
Speaking
specifically on whether the President will contest , Shittu said , “It goes
without saying .
I mean if
you have a child who goes to primary school and he does well , he proceeds to
secondary school and he does well , and you keep asking if he will be going to
university . It goes without saying .
“ By the
grace of God , we , his (Buhari ’ s ) ardent supporters , who appreciate his
worth on behalf of millions of Nigerians , would urge him to recontest . I know
he has not made up his mind but I can say that some of us can assist him in
making up his mind . ”
Several
chieftains of the All Progressives Congress , including Governor Nasir el
-Rufai of Kaduna State, have also expressed their support for the President ’ s
re - election .
On
Wednesday, Buhari was reported to have reappointed the Minister of
Transportation , Mr. Rotimi Amaechi , as the Director General of his 2019
election campaign .
Buhari
himself, twice last year , hinted that he would seek re -election in 2019 . He
gave the hint in Cote d’ Ivoire during a summit on counter - terrorism and also
during his recent visit to Kano State.
On Saturday
, many organisations , including the Arewa Youth Forum, comprising the northern
youths ; the Campaign for Democracy ; and the Youth Wing of the Christian
Association of Nigeria , kicked against President Muhammadu Buhari ’ s re -
election bid .
The groups ,
in separate interviews with Saturday PUNCH, hinged their rejection of Buhari ’
s second- term bid on the incessant killings in the country, particularly by
Fulani herdsmen .
They said
the clamour for a second term, amidst attacks by herdsmen and fuel scarcity in
the country, was a demonstration of the insensitivity of the President and his
aides to the plight of Nigerians.
It will be
recalled that last week , a Catholic priest and Spiritual Director of the
Adoration Ministries , Enugu , Rev. Fr . Ejike Mbaka , warned President Buhari
that Nigerians will ‘ change ’ him in 2019 if he does not change his style of
leadership.
The priest
advised Buhari against seeking a second term , and warned that the President
risks being ‘ blown away shamefully ’ by the wind of change , which he set off
when he defeated former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
Mbaka , who
had been one of Buhari ’ s most vocal supporters , spoke during a special New
Year ’ s Eve service at the Adoration Ground, in Emene , Enugu .
He had said
, “Mr. President , wake up , sit up . God said you are toying with the
privilege given to you . There is no time . Nigerians are dying in your hands .
People are not happy with your system.
“ Change or
you will be changed – God said that Buhari is in trouble. Buhari is hypnotised
. Buhari is in a horrible bondage . Buhari ’ s mantra has been cannibalised . ”
The results
of the PUNCH poll, which ran on The PUNCH website for three days , indicated
that many Nigerians no longer prefer Buhari.
Those who
opposed the President ’ s alleged re - election bid in the poll justified their
decision with the state of the economy , poor power supply, in security ,
especially the herdsmen attacks which has led to loss of lives , alleged
lopsidedness in the anti -corruption war and appointments, as well as many
other indices of national development .
PUNCH
readers took turns in sharing their opinions . A reader , identified as Ebony
Dollars , stated that Buhari had lost public sympathy and, therefore , should
not run for the 2019 election.
The
respondent , who said he would not vote for the President in 2019 , expressed
disapproval with the way the Buhari - led Federal Government had handled the
herdsmen attacks in different parts of the country.
He said , “
He should not contest (election ) in 2019 . If Buhari does not declare the
Miyetti Allah group as a terrorist group and arrest their leaders for
prosecution , he should forget 2019.
If the
President does not have the guts to query the Attorney General of the
Federation, Abubakar Malami; and the Minister of Interior , Abdulrahman
Dambazau , and reshuffle his cabinet , he should forget 2019.
“ It is
restructuring that we need . The 2019 election cannot solve the problem .
Regional autonomy is what we need and that is what the public is clamouring for
right now . Can you imagine his (Buhari ’ s ) attitude towards the killing of
innocent people by the herdsmen ? He is too sick to be proactive and address
issues of national concerns . ”
Another
PUNCH reader , Oghale Ralph, asked why the President was considering a re -
election despite the state of the country.
“ After
everything , Buhari still has the mind to say he wants to contest again .
People are wicked, ” he wrote in the comment section of the poll.
Also
responding to the poll, Tony Ezeifedi reviewed the state of the country ’ s
economy and scored Buhari low, adding that he would not vote for him if he
decides to contest in 2019 .
Citing
millions of job losses in Nigeria between 2016 and 2017 as reported by the
National Bureau of Statistics, Ezeifidi described the Buhari government as the
worst in the country’ s history.
“ This is
the worst performance by any ruler in Nigeria since 1914 , ” he said .
Another
PUNCH reader , identified simply as Izonkeme , said the failure of the APC- led
Federal Government to tackle the menace of herdsmen killings was unacceptable .
Izonkeme
described Buhari as a “ disaster , ” adding that he would lose if he decides to
contest the poll.
He wrote, “
Buhari has destroyed Nigeria and he took us 50 years backwards within two
years. Do you know how many lives the Fulani have taken since Buhari got into
office yet he has not made any condemnation of their grotesque farming
activities ? As far as the majority of Nigerians are concerned , PMB is a
disaster to Nigeria . ”
Also
responding to the poll, a PUNCH reader identified as Langa Langa wrote, “ Vote
Buhari again in 2019 ? I can ’ t do that even if I’ ve gone insane . God forbid
!”
Commenting
with the pseudonym, Bluethroat 101 , another respondent listed five reasons why
he won ’ t vote for Buhari .
He said he
was not satisfied with the way Buhari had handled national security , the anti
- corruption war , economy and infrastructure.
He drew an
analogy between the way the President treated the herdsmen crisis and the way
he reacted to the Biafran agitation by the Indigenous People of Biafra , adding
that the president was biased .
He wrote , “
I was among those who praised Buhari for flushing out IPOB because I thought he
would also use similar measures to end the Fulani herdsmen killings.
Buhari is
also biased with this anti - corruption campaign . If not for the Nigerian
Senate , we won ’ t have seen people like the former Secretary to the
Government of the Federation , Babachir Lawal , face partial justice.
“ I call it
partial justice because Lawal is still walking freely . The infrastructure
situation in the country is still very poor . There is no stable power supply
and people rarely have access to water.
The economy
is in bad shape because of his bad policies and measures . Look at how he
implemented the Treasury Single Account Policy . Look at the number of jobs
that were lost in banks . May God deliver us from this mess . ”
Another
respondent , identified as Ify simply wrote, “No , I won ’ t vote for Buhari .
He lacks a clue to do anything well. He is so archaic to be a leader in this
computer age . He is disconnected from his subjects and specialises in divide -
and-rule (tactics) . He is the President of the North, not the President of
Nigeria. ”
While many
openly condemned the President and his policies, others praised Buhari , saying
they would be proud to vote for him in 2019.
Many ardent
supporters of the President took turns to share their reasons for preferring
him above others for a second term in 2019.
One of them
, identified as El Patron, attributed Nigeria ’ s woes to the Peoples
Democratic Party ’ s tenure , arguing that though Buhari had disappointed some
people , he remains the best candidate in 2019 .
Patron
wrote, “I hate PDP so much . They are the cause of 99 per cent of our problems
since we commenced democracy . This (poll) is a tough question ; I will either
stay away in 2019 or hold my breath and vote Buhari . Although he has
disappointed many , he has some good sides . ”
A similar
view was expressed by another Buhari supporter , Leke , who wrote, “ I will
vote him anytime, any day. ”
Another
commentator, Ibrahim Dauda , claimed that Buhari ’ s outing in the PUNCH poll
was low but would be different in 2019 when the real election would be
conducted .
Dauda said ,
“ Buhari will win with more votes in 36 states of Nigeria . Where are the
credible candidates without a political party ? The so - called credible ones
are not in politics ; the credible ones in our political parties are waiting
for their turn .
“ We shouldn
’ t judge Buhari until after his second term in office . APC and Buhari will
rule for 16 solid years before we can complain .
Where are
the party and the people to contest against him ? Is it the PDP or which party
? PDP is dead and can ’ t win any national election in this country again ,
even in the South - South and South - East. ”
According to
Alhassan Adamu , another PUNCH reader who reacted to the poll, there is no
candidate in Nigeria that is as credible as Buhari .
Responding
to the poll, he said , “ Yes , I will vote PMB again . There is no credible
candidate other than him . The North will finish eight years and return power
to the South - West . ”
Another
supporter of Buhari , Femi , wrote, “Victory is sure , where are the opponents
? Can somebody mention just one? Sai Baba . ”
Olawale
Jacob Rasheed said he would vote for Buhari because “ I know when a new party
comes into power, the first tenure is not always easy because this is Africa .
I will give him a second chance. ”
Yaqub Muktar
wrote , “Yes ! I am 100 per cent in support of Buhari , I voted for him in 2015
and by God ’ s grace , I will be ready to do the same thing in 2019 . ”
0 Comments