By Kehinde Adeoye
Lawyer and social commentator, Liborous Oshoma, has advised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider fielding the current Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, as their presidential candidate in 2023 general elections.
He said this during a live political programme on Arise News TV, Tuesday afternoon, speaking on the topic: “Politics of Succession in Nigeria,” with keen focus on the forthcoming 2023 elections, the politics and theatrics of rotation.
Oshoma, the Head Attorney at the Liborous Oshoma Chambers, said he expects that the party would look the way of Vice President Osinbajo in their choice of candidate for the 2023 elections, especially with the way he handled himself as Nigeria’s Acting President.
He said: “One would have expected that with that kind of arrangement, naturally, you begin to groom or look at the direction of your Vice President who people had belief in that he has the capacity.
“We saw what happened the few times he acted as the President, and how he was able to calm nerves, calm tension and give purposeful leadership. But what happened thereafter, people didn’t like it,” Oshoma said.
Speaking further on the choice of party candidates, he said rotation should be secondary. He emphasized on the need to place a premium of competence.
“When it is time for critical thinking, actually pick that person on the basis of competence, but we leave out competence and anybody is thrown at us, and that’s why we have consistently sacrificed our best at the alter of rational presidency, mediocrity and what have you.”
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“Look at President Buhari’s résumé, look at his Vice President’s today, they are poles apart, but then the man is just seated there, his competence is not even tapped into and then people say resign, he should have resigned. In Nigerian government, the moment you resign, you are demarketing that government.”
He said that President Buhari got an immense support during the 2015 elections solely because people believed in Prof. Osinbajo.
According to him: “A lot of people supported President Buhari from the South simply because of the belief that Prof Yemi Osinbajo had the capacity and we saw what he did in Lagos State, all the innovative ideas that he brought on board.”
Oshoma made allusions to the time of Obafemi Awolowo and Olusegun Obasanjo, indicating that most of their close associates only imbibed their political philosophy and way of life while neglecting the aspect of grooming and mentorship.
