He said the bitter truth; he spoke from his heart. Two things however went wrong. First, he spoke at the wrong place, although he was speaking to the right audience; Nigerians. Second, he said what he said the way only him could say it; because he did so without any semblance of diplomacy.
President Muhammadu Buhari was in South Africa for the 25th Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union in Johannesburg. During his meeting with the Nigerian community there, he told them what we had always suspected but were too carried away by the blinding CHANGE slogan to analyse.
During the presidential campaign, Ekiti State Governor, the not only controversial but loquacious Fayose did allude to the belief that Buhari’s age, which he compared to that of his mother, will not allow him to give his best to Nigerians. Fayose painted an unacceptable picture of helplessness when he said that the president would be sleeping while others sneak away with the nation’s wealth.
I personally thought his comment was a joke taken too far. Although the president’s confession in South Africa was not a direct
confirmation of what Fayose alluded to, it came too close for comfort.
The president was quoted as saying, “I wish I became Head of State when I was governor, just a few years as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do.” This truth is likely to have a negative political implication for him in 2019.
Before Buhari became president, it was always argued by historians that former American President, Ronald Wilson Reagan was “the oldest president in history.” Author of the article, William DeGregorio, has however not indicated whether Reagan was America’s oldest or the world’s oldest president in history.
Reagan was born on February 6, 1911. When he became President of the United States of America in January 1981, he was already a few days shy of 70. At that age, he was three years younger than our dear Buhari who will turn 73 on December 17 this year.
So, as things stand, Buhari is likely the oldest president in history elected to a first term. I am not sure of this but if DeGregorio’s conclusion was based on global historical records, then Nigeria has achieved another first in Buhari.
Reagan did go ahead to win a re-election in 1984 and assumed office in January 1985; just a few days before he turned 74. At the end of his glorious tenure, the cowboy president, as he was known, was just a few days shy of 78.
If Buhari goes for and wins a re-election in 2019, even if you had F9 in mathematics as I shamelessly did many years ago, you can at least guess how old he would be. He will certainly not be the oldest president in office because even now, there are so many presidents in office in Africa who are far older than him.
The only difference is that he is already old at entry point while the existing ones got old through illegal self-perpetuation in office; a project Buhari is not likely to undertake.
Let me go further to state that Buhari has no justifiable reasons to start giving excuses over his assumed non-performance due to old age. First, when he set out to contest for the office of the president and eventually pushed a younger President Goodluck Jonathan out, he already knew that he was an old man.
If it was clear to him that his ability to fulfil his electoral promises will be affected by his age, then he could have stayed out of the race. As things are, not even age will excuse the president from being held accountable to his promises.
Second, the president is also the commander in chief. All that he needs to do is to issue the command and the troops will go to war. In other words, from appointment of ministers to the hand-picking of his personal aides, if the president goes for the right calibre of individuals who share his vision, getting things done will become as easy as sipping a cup of green tea before bed time.
Reagan did just that. A New York Congressman, Barber Conable, said this about him in 1981: “He understands how to use the presidency as a tool of government. He may not be strong on some details, but he knows how to sketch out broad outlines of his objectives and to provide a sense of direction.” That’s what Buhari should do.
Great Jesus! It does not require being so young to be a successful president. It simply requires vision and good policies. Yes, age matters. And being young is of a great advantage; but it is not everything. Reagan, at his age, did so much for the United States that he has become one of America’s few yardsticks for measuring presidential success.
His performance elicited this from then British Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher: “Let us all thank President Reagan for ending the West’s retreat from world responsibility, for restoring the pride of leadership of the United States, and for giving the West back its confidence. He has left America stronger, prouder, greater than ever and we thank him for it.”
Mr. President, pick the right people, articulate your vision in writing, set a goal for all of them, finance their enterprise, provide the required direction, conduct periodic assessment; then sit back and watch them roll. Age has got very little to do with it.
