A former Lagos State chairman of the defunct African Renaissance Party (ARP) and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Chief Charles Udo Udeogaranya, has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari should hand over the mantle of leadership to someone younger than him in 2019.

He says the mood of the nation calls for a young president, who he believes could take Nigerian out of its political and economic quagmires.

Udeogaranya, who faulted calls for restructuring of the nation, insisted that Nigeria’s problems have nothing to do with its current structure or system of government but with those at the helm of its affairs.

“I have listened to the arguments for restructuring and my word to the agitators is this: The problem with Nigeria is not the system; it has to do with the operators of the system”, he told Sun.
“Some are saying we should go back to the parliamentary system. But they simply forget that we have practiced it before and it failed. Some say it is the military that suits us; but they seem to forget that we have had several of them and it wasn’t as welcome as it should be. Some are saying we should go back to regionalism, but we were in regions before and that also failed.

“So, the problem with Nigeria has nothing to do with restructuring the country but more to do with constitutional amendments. Most of the things people are asking for can be achieved through constitutional amendments. We don’t have to go all out to restructure. However, with the typical mindset of a Nigerian today, which is all about go in there and loot the treasury, give him any system and he will make a mess of it.”

Asked if Buhari deserves second tenure, Udeogaranya says, “I think that is his personal opinion. If you seek the opinion of majority of Nigerians, President Buhari has given his best, but Nigerians are clamouring for more. President Buhari had said himself that he would have wished the Presidency came to him at a younger age”.