I just read with utter dismay, where President Muhammadu Buhari’s special adviser on legislative matters; Mr. Abdulrahman Sumaila said his Principal (President Buhari) is strong enough for the 2019 electoral battle. I am just wondering: which Buhari is he talking about? Is it that same that appeared so weak and fragile after last week’s Jumat prayer at the national mosque; being flanked by people in case ‘baba wan drop’? Sometimes I wondered why we are like this in this part of the world. We need to understand that being a servant leader is not an easy task. It is a responsibility that requires mental strength, physical strength and all the vigor you can garner to execute your duties.

The truth is: President Muhammadu Buhari is sick and the least anyone should be doing right now (be it cabal or some special advisers) is deceiving him to run come 2019. If perhaps he is able to complete this present assignment, it would be a wise thing if baba retires from active politics. It is not compulsory that a sitting president should rule for two consecutive terms- even if the constitution allows it. I know many of us haven’t taken time to find out why Francois Hollande of France didn’t not re-contest in the just concluded French elections that produced one of the youngest presidents in the word and in France’s history- Emmanuel Macron.

One would wonder why Hollande didn’t toe that part. The person he took over from (Nicolas Sarkozy after all spent two terms). Francois Hollande became so unpopular in France and because of that became the first French president to not consider a second term. The good news here is that it is not as if Muhammadu Buhari is unpopular: his government has done quite really well especially in the areas of security and the return of the Chibok Girls. But his health has not been allowing him perform his constitutional assignment. The administration will just be two years old come May 29; the president had traveled a couple of times outside of the country for medical vacation. The latest medical leave he just embarked upon is even indefinite as he had said that his doctors would determine his length of stay.

It is share un-seriousness for the likes of Abdulrahman Sumaila to compare the state of health of the president in 2015 to what it is currently now. Even if people within the presidency are blind toward this obvious fact, Nigerians aren’t blind. We know the President Muhammadu Buhari we voted for in 2015: things have changed drastically about his health. In the interest of all stakeholders in the country, the president should not contest in the next general elections. As a Nigerian, I will continue my prayers for him that God gives him the strength to graciously complete this current tenure (that is if the praise singers and the cabals didn’t see the need to advise him to resign) in peace.

What the party should be doing right now is to start looking for a worthy successor: someone like the current Vice President who understands the job and knows what it takes to lead on every side. It is no doubt that this current administration would have been thrown into some great confusion under the current state of health of Mr. President had it been there was not a worthy and credible vice in the person of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. Since coming to power in May 2015, it is the fourth time Prof. Osinbajo will be acting on behalf of his boss. This is one of those good times in our democracy where the Vice President would be seen up and doing. We all know how it had been in the past. It would be a grave mistake for the all progressive congress to come up with a Buhari in 2019.

And lastly, the President’s letter to the Senate names his Vice as “Coordinator of Nation’s Affairs” and not “Acting President” as of the last time. What is really the matter this time around? I thought our constitution makes provision that the Vice President can act in acting capacity in situations where the President is un-able to discharge his duties. Where then is coordination of nation’s affairs coming from. Like I wrote in my last opinion: Nigeria One day, one drama. This is the latest of the drama. I rest my case.