2019: President Buhari under pressure to jettison plan

Pressures are continuing to mount on President Mohamadu Buhari to reconsider the option of withdrawing from the presidential race and face his retirement. And he appears to be in a dilemma on what to do.
Since the former president Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired General, released a statement advising Buhari to leave the scene for younger generation, all have not been well with the presidency. And it was compounded with another release from another president, Ibrahim Babangida, who, through his spokesperson, Kassim Afegbua, reiterated the Obasanjo plea.
While Obasanjo’s letter forced the president to sign eight bills that has been lying on his desk for months, Babangida letter elicited outrage that resulted in security agencies hounding the media aid. After being invited by the police, who later apologized for the invitation, the Directorate of Security services, DSS, again invited him. He visited their office for two days where he underwent mental torture.
This was followed by calls from his own constituency, the Northern elites, who kept reminding him it is time to go in many for a. Northern elders recently said his presidency never benefited the North but the region is bearing the brunt of his indecision over the herdsmen issue. People like Tanko Yakasai are in direct offensive.
The immediate reacting of Buhari to the issue was to invite Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the National leader, and Bisi Akande, a south west elder, to sound them out on Obasanjo letter. It was learnt that they told him in no uncertain terms that the release by Obasanjo was really a reflection of the national mood. But the cabal kept telling him to have no fear that everything is under control. They advised him that Tinubu is only playing politics, and that his loyalty is under question. According to their advice, the only way to rope him in is to make him the head of APC reconciliation committee. He heeded their advice.
Hence Tinubu is torn between the devil and the deep blue sea. Until erstwhile supporters like Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka crossed over to the critic’s corner. And then the local government elections.
With the local government election n his home state showing a narrow winning margin even after using security agencies for intimidation and alleged rigging, the All Progressives congress, APC, won by a low margin, which made analysts believe that the Peoples Democratic party, PDP, could have won if the election had been free and fair. The Kano elections were marred by the scandal of underage voters that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, had been struggling to distance themselves from.
All these made him realize that the four musketeers of Abdulsalami Abubakar, Olusegun Obasanjo, Ibrahim Babangida and Theophilus Danjuma have made up their minds about him. He summoned Abdulsalami Abubakar to discuss the issue, and it appears that their decision has not changed. He summoned Tinubu and Akande again. Though it is not clear what was agreed on it is clear the pressures are on. Even the offices opened for the aim of campaigning for him in Lagos and Abuja has become a ghost town since uncertainty follows his intention.
If he decides not to run, the dilemma is who will be the APC candidate after him that will command clout like him. It is alleged that Obasanjo is sponsoring candidates in both APC and PDP in the persons of Rabiu Kwankwaso and Sule Lamido, while looking for a balancing alternative in the third force. Rumpors of Abubakar Umar/Donald Duke ticket is flying about, while Nyesom Wike, the new PDP power broker is rooting for Aminu Tambuwal, who he expected to decamp to PDP before the PDP convention. And there is Senate President Bukola Saraki, who is nursing his own PDP ambition .