President Buhari’s no decision on a successor shows his leadership quality -By Tife Owolabi

If the words of the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai are anything to go by when he featured on channelstv. El-Rufai who spoke on Politics Today, last night(Friday ) said he repeatedly asked President Muhammadu Buhari to name his preferred candidate among the five that were presented to him by state governors but the president insisted on letting delegates decide, then it means PMB doesn’t trust his VP competence to continue where he would have stopped, or anyone for that matter, and also to avoid any blame later of handpicking anyone if a thing goes South as in bad!

It is also shown that PMB has no leadership qualities, particularly in grooming successors. How do explain that for seven years you didn’t see any quality around you that can continue your good deed if at all he possesses one?

For crying out loud some people saw the quality in you, rallied around you, and throw you into the public and you became our President, and doing the same gesture is now a big deal to you? Oga, there is nothing wrong with “anointing “ someone to take over from you if you have done well and your shoulder is high not a decorated one hanging on you.

Ensuring a smooth succession with a quality successor should be the desire of any incumbent which I don’t even see in this regime. How can you lead people on even at the last minute where people are allegedly dropping names here and there and milking them dry? And I think your style of leadership should be recommended to Harvard University for learning or other ivory towers.

As an older friend, Frank Ududo puts it,” how do you describe a leader who is almost eight years did not mentor a successor? I’m not disqualifying the winner by any stretch of the imagination but a President should have located a man whom from his interaction would be able to not only continue on his legacies but build on them.”

But let us look at the last moments before the Primaries. Earlier he was reported to have said he would not mention his preferred successor so he won’t be eliminated. This strongly suggested he had somebody in mind. Was he scared to push forward a worthy successor? Or he did not trust any of his aides to be able to do the job?

Again, days to the Primaries, he was also reported to have urged the Governors to allow him to choose his successor just like they have done in their respective states. But when the opportunity to do so eventually came, he dithered, preferring instead, to allow the political dynamics to play their course.

I don’t personally see anything wrong in having a preferred person so long as he is allowed to emerge democratically without arms-twisting tactics. To want to run away from being blamed later is, to me, a poor judgment call.”

Frank Ududo, I can’t agree less, sir and your last words summed it up. Buhari lacks the right judgment. He is the very reason the word “poor “judgment was created because they knew that there will be such an occasion like this where the president of the most populous black nation will be turned into making decisions or not. But he did make his decision and it is best known to him. What I think President Buhari should know is that as a politician, most decisions may not align with your belief but in order to stay relevant onr make a poor decision to keep a bad relationship alive. however, at the time the leader thinks it is a good judgment to bolster a politically-connected relationship

Tife Owolabi
Journalist
Niger Delta
@tifeowolabi