Open Letter To Presidential Candidate -By Prof Abdussamad Umar Jibia

Your Excellency the Presidential candidate of his party 

You are right. My name sounds familiar. I wrote in support of the Muslim-Muslim ticket before the APC primaries. I am a supporter of that ticket. I would like to believe that if Nigerian Christians had the numerical advantage Muslims have, no Muslim would smell the number two position, much less dream of becoming the President of this great country. 

No worries. I am not writing to ask nonMuslim presidential candidates to step down. Nigerians will step down anyone they don’t like, many thanks to Buhari for making the votes of Nigerians count. Before 2015 many Nigerians had resigned to fate and watched helplessly as PDP wielded the power to rig anyone it wanted in and out of office. May we not have a repeat of that era.  Amin.

I write to sympathize with you for being foolish enough to seek to rule 200 million people. The implication of this is that you will stand before God for judgment with 200 million people, their children and their great grandchildren yet unborn. There, you will explain how you generated and distributed their commonwealth. You are also expected to prove that you equally distributed every opportunity among Nigerians as required of a just and true leader.  That you did not corner any part of it for your children and cronies.  That you did not leave any opportunity that will better their lot without seizing it. That as their leader you did not sleep well in Abuja while people in rural areas are awake, unsure of when next they will be attacked.

I am surprised how you wash your face and look into the faces of Nigerians and tell them that it will be rosy when you become president. Something must be wrong with you; but not you alone. The people around you who do not tell you the truth and the thousands of poor masses who collect peanuts to come out to the streets to hail you should also be examined. 

 I wonder where you will start. Our Educational system? Which part of it? Primary and Secondary Education? The tertiary education? Polytechnics, universities or colleges of Education? Where are you going to start? Will you give free education or you will commercialize it a little? Who will pay? The majority of Nigerian parents who cannot give two meals to their families in a day? Will it continue to be free? Where would you get the money to steal if all of it goes into educating the children of poor people? 

Do you think our educational system as it is now is okay for an underdeveloped economy like ours? The last major reform we had in the Education sector was more than 30 years ago with migration to the 6-3-3-4 system. Since then nobody cared. People like you vie for election, win and appoint ministers of Education whose primary objective, just like your Excellency, is to make money. They finish their days, others come and life continues. 

May be you would look at the health sector first? What incentive do you have for health professionals to stop their mass exodus to foreign economies? Do you know that native doctors are establishing their shades in the vicinity of our hospitals? Their medicine is cheaper than the unaffordable drugs being prescribed in our hospitals. Are you going to spend Nigeria’s money to give healthcare to poor people? This one, like Education, will leave no money to steal. Remember, you would need money when you come to seek reelection. 

Is it Energy? I am afraid some of the people being accused of embezzling monies meant for the creation of new Generation stations may be among those working hard to make sure that you become. Are you going to investigate them? 

Let me not take much of your time.  When I sat to write this piece I had only one thing in mind. Insecurity. My local Government is one of the worst hit in terms of insecurity in Nigeria. The problem is soluble; unfortunately you cannot solve it. You are either part of it or you are currently struggling to win the hearts of those who are behind it. So why should I say it all here?  

If I say all I wanted to say I will either be in my grave or some ‘correctional’ centre by the time you or one of the other candidates will be sworn in May. And in any case it will not be implemented. So the best thing is to watch and pray.

Prof Abdussamad Umar Jibia