Just like many decent Nigerians, I am not happy by what TIME 100 has done this time. How can you put the name of a mass murderer on the list of most influential people? This is just too wrong.
Nigeria's President-elect Muhammadu Buhari, has made the TIME’s list of 100 most influential people in the world. But also included in the 2015 list are a former Minister of Education and an advocate of the #BringBackOurGirls Group, Obiageli Ezekwesili; award-winning novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, and leader of the Boko Haram terrorist group, Abubakar Shekau.
The TIME 100 is an annual list of 100 most influential people in the world whose works are changing the world, regardless of the consequences of their actions.
Described as "a new choice for Nigeria," TIME’s Africa Bureau Chief, Aryn Baker, said Buhari made history by becoming the first candidate to oust a sitting Nigerian President through the ballot box.
“Now he has to live up to voters’ expectations. From battling the Boko Haram insurgency to tackling endemic corruption, Buhari has many challenges ahead. The greatest may be overcoming his past as a military ruler, who seized power in 1983.
“Already the born-again democrat is demonstrating the inclusivity necessary to lead a nation driven by ethnic and religious tension. It’s a promising start for a President-to-be, who wants to leave a legacy to match the historic conditions of his election,” Baker noted.
The last Nigerian to make the list is Shekau. He was described as the “scourge of Africa” by Gen. Carter Ham (retd.), a former Commander of US Africa Command from 2011 to 2013.
