LetterPresident, Goodluck Jonathan

Amanze Obi

His Excellency, President Goodluck Jonathan. I address you today with utmost sense of respect. My choice of this open medium is deliberate. It is aimed at ensuring that others who feel as concerned as I do help in calling you to order. Our dear former President, information reaching us has it that you are considering standing for election in the 2027 presidential race. We hear that you are being propelled into this project by those who feel that what the North needs in 2027 is a southerner who will serve only one term to complete the turn of the South at the Presidency. Since President Bola Tinubu is not an option for the North, or for any Nigerian for that matter, the North, which claims to have the numbers, is shopping seriously for a credible southerner that will spend only four years in office. Those goading you on to throw your hat in the ring are telling you that you will be the best option for the North, since you cannot spend more than one term in office, having been there before. Your prodders are also telling you that your candidacy will appeal more to the North than that of Peter Obi, who has declared that he would serve only one term of four years, if elected President, for the simple reason that Obi’s avowal can only be taken with a pinch of salt. If this permutation is what is goading you on, I advise you, my former President, to shun that temptation. It will not work. If anything, it will end in painful regrets.