The words of elders, they say, are the words of wisdom. When an elder speaks, he does not speak for speaking sake. He either speaks to warn or to admimish. Those who know Muhammadu Buhari know that he is neither a man of too many words nor a man who speaks frivolously. He chooses his words with the wise head of an elder. He knows what to say, when to say it, and how best to say it. Like an elder full of wisdom, he uses the language which only the wise will understand. Like an elder, what he sees while sitting down, cannot be seen by a child or a child-minded person, even if he climbs an iroko tree.

A few days ago, Muhammadu Buhari warned his party, the APC, not to give its presidential ticket to the highest bidder. That this came from Buhari is an indication that there is more to the quest for the APC presidential ticket than the ordinary people know.

Buhari knows all the APC presidential aspirants like the palm of his hands. He knows what each of them stand for. None of them is a stranger to him. Some of them are his political allies. He has worked and associated with them over the years. He knows those who are morally upright and those who are morally bankrupt. He knows those who have a conscience and those who have long sold theirs. He knows those who desperately want to succeed him just for the sake of realizing their lifelong ambition, and those who truly want to serve the nation. Buhari knows them more than anyone.

When Buhari handed down the warning, he was directly talking to the delegates. He was indirectly telling the delegates beforehand that they will be tempted with money by those too desperate to become president. He was telling them the collosal consequences of exchanging their votes for immediate material gains. Like an elder, he has foreseen that some delegates will want to compromise by trading off their consciences for a plate of porridge. He was telling them not to mortgage the future of their children and grandchildren.

As a delegate whose vote will decide the fate of this country for many years to come, it is necessary that President Muhammadu Buhari's warning be heard. Would you choose a corrupt aspirant over a person of integrity? Will you choose money over the survival of the nation? Will you give your vote to the highest bidder instead of the man with the highest level of capacity and intellect? Will you choose a selfish and aging aspirant instead of a leader who has the zeal for service? As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Make a choice you shall remain proud of.

The rest of us who are neither Buhari nor delegates are only interested parties. We watch with vested interest what the delegates will do. We should not only hold the delegates accountable, but also hold the delegates responsible for their actions at the primaries. Therefore, Buhari, the delegates and the rest of us should do all we can to ensure that the APC ticket does not fall into the wrong hands.