Borno state governor, Kashim Shettima has said it is insane for anyone to be talking about succeeding President Muhammadu Buhari at a time when he is addressing his health issues.
The governor was reacting to a statement allegedly by the deputy Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Danlami Kubo, who said governor, Kashim Shettima, should be the next man to rule Nigeria.
But reacting in a statement by Isa Gusau, spokesperson of Governor Shettima, the governor said he has been trying to reach Kubo to clarify the report whether he granted that interview or the media misinterpreted him.
The statement reads: “In the meantime, Governor Shettima feels it would amount to moral insanity for any Nigerian to be discussing issues of succession at a time a very popular, highly experienced and capable sitting president is managing his health.
“We have a sitting President, a popular one that we are all proud of for working more than anyone would have done in fighting the Boko Haram insurgency which is our number one problem in our state, the north-east and the Northern region.
“How can anyone in his right thinking be talking about succession when a cherished President is dealing with his health?“What has gone wrong with our moral values?
“Has politics taken over our sanity? What is most precious to me is to have Boko Haram brought to an end and I don’t think anyone would have done better than what President Buhari is doing for us. “This call does not represent the slightest of my thoughts.
The Borno governor further stated that most presidents in Nigeria’s history, Buhari not excluded, were invited to contest without actually nursing any aspiration.
“Only a mad man blindly aspires to be Nigeria’s President if history is anything to go by. From 1979 to date, nobody with aspiration for the presidency has achieved it,” Shettima said.
“President Shagari was invited to contest without aspiration in 1979; President Obasanjo was invited to contest without aspiration in 1999; President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was invited to contest without aspiration in 2007; President Jonathan who eventually succeeded
“Yar’Adua was also invited to become Vice President without aspiration. Even President Buhari with his electrifying popularity didn’t win the presidency in his 2003, 2007 and 2011 aspirations until in 2015 when he was invited to contest.
“This is the complexity of Nigeria’s politics and any person with the slightest wisdom must learn from history and face his business of the day,” Shettima added.
