For Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), the road to
the presidency has been long and tortuous. But with
persistence, much improved party structures, with the
Nigerian people on his side, and some luck, he eventually
achieved his ultimate goal.
Until March 30, 2015, Abraham Lincoln was probably the
greatest global example of persistence in the search for
elective office by a politician, having lost eight elections
into the state legislature, United States congress and vice-
presidential nomination, before eventually becoming the
president of the United States of America in 1860.
With his emergence as president-elect yesterday, Major-
General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has emerged as a
modern example of persistence in the pursuit of political
office. Before his emergence as president-elect yesterday,
Buhari had ran unsuccessfully for the presidency in 2003,
2007 and 2011, ending his quest on each occasion in
protracted legal battles.
Like Lincoln, he persevered and consistently presented
himself for election in every election cycle for a period
spanning 12 years, which climaxed in a fourth but
successful attempt at the presidency in last weekend’s
election. In all his previous attempts at the presidency, he
emerged the runner-up, garnering millions of votes but
mostly from the North where he hails from.
Those twelve years also saw him pursing his presidential
bids on the platform of three different political parties. First
was the defunct All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) on whose
platform he vied in 2003 and 2007, unsuccessfully. In 2011,
he jumped ship to press on with his presidential aspiration
on the platform of the then newly formed Congress for
Progressive Change (CPC) but lost to incumbent President
Goodluck Jonathan, candidate of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP).
Until the March 28 presidential election, the 2011 election
was his closest attempt at the presidency because of the
clamour for a president of northern extraction following the
death of President Umaru Yar’Adua.
But for a twist of fate, that defeat would have ended his
presidential bid, as he had publicly declared never to vie for
the Office of the President again.
In all those contests, the defeats he suffered were primarily
because of lack of political platforms with a national
spread, absence of funds for political campaigns and the
toga of religious fundamentalist, which he just could not
shake off.
His road to a successful bid for the presidency however
began in 2013 when leaders of the Action Congress of
Nigeria (ACN), ANPP, CPC, and a faction of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), began to hold merger
talks for the formation of a mega opposition party. Even
though he had declared he would not be contesting for the
presidency again, as the parties metamorphosed into the
All Progressives Congress (APC) and with the defection of
five PDP governors, along with several state and national
legislators from their respective states, into the APC, his
presidential hope was rekindled.
His emergence as the APC presidential standard bearer last
December after a keenly contested presidential primary
conveniently placed him on a stronger platform to achieve
his presidential bid. The reason was clear: he had built a
cult-like support base in the North and unlike in previous
attempts, a pan-Nigerian platform which placed him in a
good stead in the Southwest, which with the second largest
voter population was now available to him to achieve his
decade-old aspiration.
This was further boosted by improved financial resources,
well-coordinated campaign rallies, and a campaign mantra
that resonated with voters who had become weary with the
ruling PDP. A combination of other factors, particularly the
insurgency in the North-east which had claimed over
15,000 lives and displaced an estimated two million people,
the perception by the people that Jonathan was ineffective
in tackling the security challenges and corruption in
government, also conspired to boost his presidential bid. In
all of these, he was seen by many as the man with the
solution to the plethora of problems plaguing the country.
For the security challenges, his background as military
general became a plus. And for the problem of corruption,
his track record of his anti-corruption crusade during his
18 months as military head of state was a reference point.
His military postings as governor of the North-east and
Minister of Petroleum in the military era, were also listed as
some of his strong points to tackle the challenges
confronting the nation. These became his selling points in
all his campaign rallies that were driven by the Change
mantra.
Even though the past six weeks had seen the insurgents in
the Northeast pushed back and occupied territories
recovered, Buhari, as President and Commander-in-Chief
from May 29 will now oversee the consolidation of the
gains made by the military. His government will also be
saddled with the onerous task of rebuilding devastated
communities in the North-east and resettling millions of
internally displaced persons.
He would also have to confront the hydra-headed problem
of corruption that many see as the bane of Nigeria’s
development, in addition to reducing poverty and tackling
high rate of unemployment in the country.
Another key issue which his government will have to
contend with is the economy which is currently contending
with dwindling revenue due to the fall in oil prices.
Interestingly, his victory in the 2015 presidential election is
coming 30 years after the military government he headed
was ousted from power. No doubt, this 72-year-old general
will be coming back into office as a democratically elected
president with a wealth of experience.
How the NGF Election Crisis Cost Jonathan His Re-election
By Tokunbo Adedoja
When a crisis broke out in the Nigerian Governors’ Forum
(NGF) in 2013 following a disputed election between Rivers
State Governor Chibuike Amaechi and Plateau State
Governor Jonah Jang, many never thought that the crisis in
the governors’ club would shape the outcome of last
weekend’s presidential election, which was then two years
away.
Many analysts had thought that beyond the unnecessarily
heating up of the polity and distracting the key gladiators
from concentrating on governance, it was just a muscle-
flexing exercise between a “recalcitrant” Ameachi, who was
then chairman of the forum, and President Goodluck
Jonathan. Like in every duel between strong and weak
political combatants, the outcome was erroneously thought
to be predictable – polarisation and eventual death of the
forum, a reduction of Ameachi’s influence among his
colleagues, and an end to the ability of the forum to present
a unified front against the president and his policies.
Yes, the prediction was accurate. The crisis polarised the
forum, weakened Amaechi’s political influence among the
36 state governors, and ended the ability of the governors
to present a common front on any issue where conflict
existed with the federal government.
But two years after, it has dawned on the presidency that it
was a pyrrhic victory. Sadly, it was too late. Jonathan’s re-
election bid has been dealt a fatal blow.
How did the crisis in the forum start? Amaechi, a Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) governor, who was then the
chairman of the forum, was accused of publicly criticising
several of Jonathan’s policies and using the platform to
mobilise his colleagues, a chunk of who were in opposition
parties, to oppose federal government’s deductions from
the revenue accruing to the federation that should have
been shared among all tiers of government.
Even though the presidency could not do much to check
him, it waited patiently for his tenure to come to an end and
hoped that he would be replaced by a friendly leadership.
But emboldened by the strong support he enjoyed among
his colleagues, particularly governors elected on the
platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (CAN),
Amaechi declared his intention to seek another term in
office.
Convinced that he had the support of majority of his
colleagues, for the first time in its history, an election was
called to choose the chairmanship of a forum that ordinarily
should be an assemblage of state chief executives that had
no constitutionally recognised role. The presidency quickly
deployed its arsenal, creating the PDP Governors’ Forum
whose membership constituted the majority in the NGF to
foil Amaechi’s second term bid.
Though Bauchi State Governor Isa Yuguda signified his
intention to vie for the NGF chairmanship position, Jang
was adopted as the consensus candidate of the PDP
Governors’ Forum - a bloc vote that should have been the
killer punch to Amaechi’s aspiration.
But when elections were consequently held at a gathering
that had 35 governors in attendance (excluding Yuguda),
Amaechi polled 19 votes while Jang had 16. Both however
laid claims to victory, a development that factionalised the
forum with each of the two contestants setting up separate
secretariats and retaining the governors that voted for
them.
As the crisis in the NGF widened, it left in its trail, political
casualties. First, the Northern Governors’ Forum had a
direct hit. Some of its members threatened to withdraw
their membership, with Yuguda belling the cat.
Yuguda was one of the two governors that wanted to
contest against Amaechi but later stepped down for Jang.
It was apparent to governors on Jang’s side and the
presidency that the votes of the Northern Governors’ Forum
Chairman and Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu; Kano
State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso; and Jigawa State
Governor Sule Lamido gave Ameachi the victory in the
election.
The PDP Governors’ Forum, headed by Akwa Ibom State
Governor Godswill Akpabio, whose membership constituted
the bulk of those that voted for Jang, was also affected by
the crisis, as those governors who voted for Amaechi
stopped attending its meetings.
The NGF crisis later had insidious effect on the PDP as a
party. At the party’s mini convention in August 2013, seven
of its governors – Murtala Nyako (Adamawa),
Ahmed Abdulfattah (Kwara), Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto),
Lamido, Kwakwanso, Amaechi and Aliyu, as well as former
Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, among others, stormed out
of the convention ground. Other than the outcome of the
NGF election, the seven governors also had issues with the
then National Chairman of the PDP, Bamangar Tukur, who
they insisted must be sacked. But Jonathan refused to yield
to their demands.
That was the beginning of the New PDP, which later
dissolved into the mega opposition party, the All
Progressive Congress (APC), though two of the governors –
Aliyu and Lamido did not defect to APC. With the loss of
five governors, not a few people believed that PDP had been
struck by a fatal blow whose impact would only be felt in a
general election.
In the end, Amaechi, under whose watch Rivers delivered
1.8 million votes to Jonathan in the 2011 election was to
later emerge as the Director General of the APC standard-
bearer Muhammadu Buhari Presidential Campaign
Organisation, and one of the biggest financiers of the
presidential bid of the retired general who had had three
previous unsuccessful shots at the presidency. But this
time around, it was Kwakwanso’s Kano that delivered a
staggering 1.9 million votes to Buhari last Saturday.
Essentially, the NGF crisis that looked like a lambent flame
in 2013 snowballed into an uncontrollable conflagration
that has now cost Jonathan his re-election.
Buhari’s Inside Men
Largely, the presidential aspiration of Major-General
Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) was made possible by the people
who worked closely with him to actualise his 12-year-old
dream to rule Nigeria as a democratically elected
president, writes Olawale Olaleye
Bola Ahmed Tinubu
A former governor of Lagos State and one of the initiators of
the Change platform – the All Progressives Congress (APC)
– Senator Bola Tinubu will easily come to mind whenever
the Muhammadu Buhari presidency is mentioned.
The self-styled progressive has always been an advocate
of change despite some misgivings that often dot his idea
of change. But Tinubu saw change coming early enough
and saw in Buhari the vehicle through which that change
could be made.
The alliance talks that started in 2011 and eventually
culminated in the birth of the APC predated this year’s
general election. And despite the many hiccups and
challenges strewn in the path of change, he kept faith and
pushed through until the dream was eventually reified last
night.
As such, Tinubu is the de facto visionary, strategist and
generalissimo who must be credited with making Buhari
president.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi
At a time many failed to understand his idea of change or
believed that change was possible, the Rivers State
Governor, Chibuike Amaechi, not only saw ahead that it
was possible, he was sure that with commitment and
determination, change could be driven through to a logical
conclusion.
That Amaechi gave his all at very great risk, including huge
financial resources, only buttressed his conviction that
Buhari was worth fighting for. In fact, the opposition in
Rivers State often accused Amaechi of deploying his state’s
resources into the Buhari project.
It was no less a risk that his belief probably would have
sent him to the coolers had the project failed, but Amaechi
forged ahead in his conviction, which was also propelled by
his own personal ambition and instinct for self-
preservation.
In this respect, Amaechi was no less a prominent
personality in the Buhari-for-President project.
Muhammed Sarki-Abba
A close aide of Buhari for over 15 years, Muhammed Sarki-
Abba is one individual who has been saddled with the
responsibility of managing Buhari and his office as a former
head of state. He deals with issues that relate to Buhari and
his office.
As an insider, Sarki-Abba is also one of the few who have
the ears of the retired general and has stuck with him,
believing in his dream until it was realised on Tuesday.
Col. Abdul Hamid Ali
Former Military Administrator of Kaduna State, Col. Abdul
Hamid Ali (rtd), has been Buhari’s Chief of Staff for many
years. As part of his brief, it is Ali who manages the time
and schedule of the former head of state and at the party
level, harmonises his other programmes with that of
political activities for a seamless itinerary.
Ali, it is believed, is the eyes and ears of the general, given
his background as a retired military officer and former
governor, two things they both share in common. He is one
inside man the general does not joke with.
Nasir el-Rufai
The governorship hopeful of the APC in Kaduna State,
Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, is one of the intellectual bulwarks of
the Buhari team. A former Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory, el-Rufai bought into the Buhari project early
enough, having been part of the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC) team that fused into the APC.
He provided intellectual support to the team as well as the
mobilisation of the people. He is one of the few closest
allies of the president-elect from the North.
Kayode Fayemi
Immediate past governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi,
like el-Rufai is another intellectual powerhouse on the
Buhari team. Apart from providing this intellectual support,
Fayemi is also the head of Buhari’s economic team, a
position that has helped the team navigate and cut for itself
some economic initiatives it claimed would help the
country navigate the current economic challenges. Fayemi
has quickly positioned himself as a person to be reckoned
with among Buhari’s men.
Ibikunle Amosun
Unknown to many people, the Ogun State Governor, Senator
Ibikunle Amosun, is perhaps the closest of Buhari’s South-
west allies. The two are so close that Buhari, until his
victory at the presidential election last night, slept in his
house. Amosun, on several occasions, also provided the
vehicles and other logistics for easy movement of the
general each time he visited the South-west.
Buhari, it is believed, is very comfortable with Amosun such
that he would discuss anything with him. Given their
closeness, it was rumoured at a time that it was Amosun
who encouraged Buhari’s fourth attempt at the presidency
after the retired general had said he would no longer
contest for the post.
Senator Hadi Sirika
Senator Hadi Sirika, a former pilot and a senator from
Katsina North Senatorial District, is currently the Vice-
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Millennium
Development Goals (MGDs). A very close ally of Buhari,
Sirika is one person who stood the cause, despite the
challenges.
Also a member of the Senate Committee on Aviation, Sirika
has also spoken severally on President Goodluck
Jonathan’s poor grasp of his brief and on a number of
topical issues, trusting that whenever Buhari emerged
president, things might begin to take a different turn.
He is close enough to cause a change in the Buhari team
and a trustworthy ally of the president-elect.
Alhaji Mamman Daura
Alhaji Mamman Daura, a cousin of Buhari, is a journalist
from Katsina State, who edited the New Nigerian
newspapers and served as the company’s managing
director. He was briefly a member of the Oputa panel
charged with investigating human rights abuses in the
country; served on the Dina Committee in 1968 as well as
the Aboyade Technical Committee in 1977.
When Buhari emerged head of state following the 1983
coup, he was one of those who played an advisory role in
his government and was a highly influential personality
during the period. In the late 1980s, he succeeded his
relative, Ibrahim Dasuki, as Chairman of the African
International Bank and also served as chairman of the
board of the Nigerian Television Network.
Given his closeness to the retired general, Daura, despite
his age, is expected to play a behind-the-scenes role when
Buhari takes over the ship of state.
Jonathan: The Making of a Statesman
Some called him clueless, others called him ineffectual, but
an insightful assessment of President Goodluck Jonathan
has shown that he is a true statesman and Nigeria’s
ultimate pacifist, with the interest of the country always
foremost on his mind, writes Shaka Momodu
At exactly 5.15 pm on Tuesday, President Goodluck
Jonathan wrote himself and Nigeria into the history books
by calling the president-elect, Major-General Muhammadu
Buhari (rtd), to congratulate him on his victory at the
presidential poll. Many had feared violence would erupt
following the president’s defeat at the polls considering the
acrimonious and personal attacks of the campaign season.
The international community was so concerned that it had
to severally plead with candidates and their supporters not
to tear the country apart. The palpable tension across the
country was therefore understandable.
But the president’s action to concede defeat has
dramatically moved the country several notches away from
the brink of violence and disaster. It is such statesmanship
that has for too long been missing in the country’s
democratic march.
He was vilified and insulted. There is perhaps no sitting
president in the history of Nigeria that was taken to the
cleaners the way Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was. But he has
emerged the winner. Not of an electoral contest but his was
a triumph of simplicity and calmness.
He suffered an electoral loss but he has secured a moral
victory. While he takes a bow and retires to his country
home, his place amongst the community of statesmen is
assured.
Jonathan could have taken the shorter but dangerous road
towards infamy; where his name would be written with a
pen soaked in blood of his countrymen and women. Like he
always said, he felt his ambition was not worth the blood of
a single Nigerian. He lived by this principle throughout his
campaign. He chose the high ground of moral and
operational engagement.
Like an observer told THISDAY last week: “This is the first
time an election would be conducted and there won’t be
any high profile killing or political assassinations. I think
President Jonathan should take the credit.”
As he superintended over the affairs of the country, even his
staunchest critics concede to him the fact that he recorded
landmark achievements. Perhaps, he focused more on his
transformation projects and forgot that he was a politician.
He did not seem to understand the vicious nature of the
nation’s politics. But even at that, his legacies will surely
outlive him.
Jonathan’s greatest achievement was broadening the
democratic space. While Nigerians are aware that they are
practising democracy, it is a known fact in Africa that
incumbents often deploy state powers to muzzle the
opposition. Members of the opposition are harassed and
state institutions are often deployed to intimidate them and
shut them out of the democratic space.
But not a certain Goodluck Jonathan. Some of his
associates and aides believed that his tolerance of the
opposition led to his loss of the election. But what many
might have taken to be his weakness has turned out to be
his strength and symbol of a legacy that will outlive him
forever. He has also raised the bar in statesmanship to the
extent that he might have unknowingly put those who
benefitted from his “political tolerance” in a moral tight
corner to do the same when they too are faced by a
determined and relentless opposition.
Beyond his unequalled tolerance of opposition, Jonathan
made the improvement of the nation’s infrastructure his
priority. It is in this area that many of his critics have been
forced to concede that he performed creditably. From roads
to agriculture, water resources to food security, power to oil
and gas, Jonathan ensured that Nigerians were made to
feel the impact of government.
Many have said that he was too busy with this that he
became unmindful of the need to secure his political base
and second-term ambition.
In the area of road construction, Jonathan got a high score.
For a long time, many felt the Sagamu-Benin expressway
was cursed. So also was the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
For eight years, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, an All
Progressives Congress (APC) sympathiser and a harsh
critic of the president, could not do anything on those
roads. But Jonathan took on these roads and worked on
them. The portion of the Sagamu-Benin road that stretches
from Ore to Benin City was totally reconstructed. This was
a road that travellers used to spend nights on before its
rehabilitation.
Today, the road is one of the smoothest in this part of the
world. Not only has it been totally reconstructed, it has also
been expanded with good lay-bys to make life easier for
drivers in cases of emergency.
The Lagos-Ibadan expressway is also being reconstructed
and expanded from the initial four lanes to six lanes. In fact,
the reconstruction is being handled by two construction
giants – Julius Berger and RCC Limited. In the northern and
eastern part of the country, the story is the same. He has
reconstructed many roads and built new ones.
Six hundred and sixty five kilometres of roads in the South-
south were either constructed or rehabilitated under the
Jonathan administration. Components of some of the road
projects completed include the dualisation of East-West
Road; Warri-Oron (Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers & Akwa ibom
State) which stretches to 338 kilometres.
Reconstruction of the Owerri-Elele road, Imo/Rivers State
(35.15km). Government is also constructing 12 other roads
spread across the zone. Many of these are at various
stages of completion.
Given the dire state of roads prior to 2010, the completion
of these projects has brought the much needed
improvements to the experience of both passenger travel,
and transportation of goods. The improvements to roads
have also opened up access to new and existing markets
which has led to a boost in economic activities between the
zone and the rest of the country.
It is not only in the area of road construction that Jonathan
attempted to improve the nation’s transportation system.
He also improved on the state’s rail system as well as
waterways. For the first time in almost two decades, the
nation’s rail system started working again with optimum
capacity. There has been an increased use of inland
waterways to stimulate economic activities following the
dredging of over 572 kilometres of the Lower River Niger
under his administration. In addition, passenger travel on
inland waterways grew from 239,330 in 2010 to over 1.3
million in 2012, and turnaround times at ports and harbours
in the South-south has reduced on average from 6.8 days in
2009 to 5.7days in 2012.
In the aviation sector, Jonathan had three airports –
Margaret Epko International Airport terminal, Calabar,
Benin Airport and Port Harcourt Airport – remodelled and
upgraded alongside eight others across the nation. A total
of 11 airport terminals were upgraded in 2013, and work on
the remaining 11 is ongoing.
The manufacturing policies of the president’s
administration also led to increased industrial activities,
creating jobs and raising government revenues. Before the
elections, the government was working assiduously to set
Nigeria’s first Gas City at Ogidigbe in Delta State. The
industrial park, which will consist of 5,000 small and
medium enterprises (SMEs) to manufacture and produce
goods and services in over 100 different sectors/areas of
economy, will be a replica of the model in Ankara, Turkey.
Government through the Niger Delta Ministry has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ostim of Turkey
for the establishment of even more industrial parks. The
technical work on the project has commenced.
His achievements notwithstanding, Jonathan was slow to
act in certain areas. He was weak in the area of
guaranteeing security to the Nigerian people, misread and
mismanaged the Boko Haram crisis till it was too late and
cost him dearly at the polls.
He also failed to follow through on his own successful
execution of the power sector privatisation programme such
that he left out a strategic, integrated plan for gas and
transmission infrastructure, which would have boosted
electricity supply to consumers. He also failed to be firm on
executive graft and oil theft, which hampered the country’s
finances and led to the depletion of the country’s foreign
reserves and oil savings.
Eventually, the Nigerian people felt he did not deserve a
second term in office, and he has heeded their decision. In
so doing, he demonstrated what no Nigerian leader has
ever done. As he bows out of office, he has transformed into
the ultimate pacifist.
