YERIMA SHETIMA: 'Buhari Has Failed Woefully, Neither El-rufai nor Tinubu Is Good for 2023'

By Mohammed Askirama/Kano// The National President of Arewa Youth Consultative Forum, Comrade Shetima Yerima has enjoined Nigerians to reject any candidate sponsored for the presidency on APC or PDP ticket in 2023 and opt for a broad base political consensus that will provide a platform for Nigerians to produce a fresh leader that is tested, not corrupt or tribal champion.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with our correspondent on Tuesday in Kaduna, Yerima revealed that his group is working on a broad base political platform which will transform into a new political party that they will sponsor a presidential candidate to give Nigerians fresh lease of life different from what all the existing political parties can offer.

Adding that the entire north was mobilized to vote for president Muhammad Buhari in 2015, he said but today, the Buhari Administration has woefully failed to provide purposeful leadership to Nigerians, saying the north in particular have virtually gained nothing from this administration and they don’t have any basis to vote for either PDP or APC in 2023.

“Right from when Buhari was President Elect, that it took him six months to select those that will serve in his government as his ministers, I knew that something is wrong because somebody who has been aspiring to be president since 2003 should have a template that will assist him to choose those that will work with him, but Buhari spent six months looking for who to be ministers in his government and he ended up with worst set of ministers.,” he said.

He also submitted that both Tinubu and El-Rufai are not credible materials that Nigerian’s should vote for in 2023.

Tinubu, he argued, lacks credibility to be president while El-Rufai, who is governing Kaduna like his own Estate should be rejected if he come out to vie for the presidency in 2023.

“In my life, I was severally penciled to be killed by government agents and military juntas, I was severally arrested and detained because of my belief that there should be democratic government in Nigeria, or that Nigerians should be given dividends of democracy, as such, I will not allow or be part of an arrangement that will allow Tinubu or a Civilian dictator like El-Rufai to be president in 2023, even Atiku that wanted to be president in 2019 should go home and rest”.

Yerima maintained that the annulment of June 12, by the Military Cabal led by Former President Ibrahim Babangida has created a serious mistrust between the North and the South. “The Southerners thought IBB annulled June 12 for northerners to continue to be in Power. Far from that, they annulled Abiola’s election because of their selfish desire to remain in power and it has nothing to do with the ordinary northerner who massively voted for Abiola and rejected Bashir Tofa even in Kano.”

He argued that Nigeria is today more polarized than before because of bad government under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari who in-spite of the collective mandate given to him by southerners and northerners, is running a corrupt government.

He disclosed that his association will soon reach out to other youths and stakeholders from the six geo-political zones of the country and mobilize or set up a National platform that will transform into a National Political party or a National Pressure Group to compel this government to give Nigerians a purposeful, corruption free, and security conscious leadership or resigned and pave way for a broad base National Government that will be in-charge before 2023.

“I Shetima Yerima as of today does not have political role model. President Muhammadu Buhari was the man that naturally should be Nigeria’s Mandela because of the massive goodwill people gave him in 2015 but unfortunately, Buhari has failed, and in 2023, we may campaign on the basis of restructuring Nigeria so that power will go back go regions, slightly different from parliamentary also differently from the American Presidential System of Government. All we want is good government for Nigerians and any system that will provide that should be adopted by all of us”.

Yerima wondered President Buhari is still keeping his service chiefs, saying they have outlived their usefulness as some of them are even grown so corrupt that they cannot perform. “The Service Chiefs, namely Chief of Naval Staff, Chief of Defense Staff, Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff should all be retired summarily and new generation of Officers appointed to confront the security challenges we are facing. Nigeria is under siege and we need a drastic action to save our people from massive slaughter by bandits,” he said

He stressed that the youth are tired of the present crop of politicians and the political parties, adding that they are convening a new national platform that will galvanize Nigerians into a united front that will transform into a political party, which will then sponsor a new breed of politician as our presidential candidate.

“Look at the embarrassment that is taking place in Edo State, I hundred percent support Governor Godwill Obasaki for refusing to dance to the tune of his political Godfather Adams Oshiomhole, even if he loses the governorship, he will go down in history as man of courage and character,” he said.