2015: Why Jonathan shouldn’t run — Kwankwaso

Rabiu-Kwankwaso

Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State says it will be out of place for  President Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015,because  he will be  ineligible to so contest.

The governor, in an interview in Abuja,argued  that President  Jonathan,having served first as acting  President and now spending a fresh four year term,ought not to seek re-election.

He said  that the generality of Nigerians would have kicked against a similar  move by  any other person.

He said: “ Of course to us, their (Umaru Yar’Adua/Jonathan) term started in 2007. He was two years vice president; he was two years president. 2011 to 2015 will be four years, so if you add the two, whether you want to say eight years or six years, depends on who is doing the arithmetic.

“But for them, they are pretending that they started in 2011. I saw them talking about it on television, that they are just two and a half years old in government. They started long before 2011, almost two years. I am not a lawyer, but I kept on seeing eight years everywhere, and two plus six plus four cannot be eight, that is if you don’t consider his days as vice-president or acting President.

“Even from 2015 to 2019 under normal circumstances, they are looking for extending the four-year term to six years. So, you can see how the extension keeps on moving on and on.”

Describing third term as a taboo,Kwankwaso  added: “Under normal circumstances, many people won’t worry, especially if the economy, if the security, if the development of the country, was moving very well.

“Unfortunately, we all know what is happening. The economy is not good; the security is not good, especially in the North-East and many parts of the North, and I think this is the time for Mr. President, the Commander-in-Chief to come out and do the right thing. The right thing is to come out sincerely to either negotiate or fight what is happening in the North-East and others. I think the days of pretence should be over.”

He said President Jonathan’s performance in office has been below par because he was unprepared for the job.

“From history and statistics, it is very difficult to see anybody who decides to arrogate himself to that level, becoming president, especially in Nigeria. Most of those who were president, including this one, I’m not sure if he ever contemplated coming to be vice president or the president. At a time, it was some people that decided to say it should be Jonathan; I’m sure his mind was not here.I think also that was one of the problems,” Kwankwaso said.

He said that the President   is finding it difficult to publicly declare  his interest in the 2015 race because  “the  temperature is very hot for them now.”

“The temperature is very hot now, it is not easy to say I am declaring. If the President declares now, Ahmed Muazu will run away because I don’t think he will stay there to defend that. And I think as long as the declaration is hanging the temperature cannot get cooler than it is now.”