The Nation Newspaper

Category: Columnists

  • In search of foreign healers

    In search of foreign healers

    When the immediate past civilian president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and a former military ruler of the country, Abdulsalami Abubakar, were both hospitalised at the same London facility, at the same period, it was a perfect picture of the imperfections of the country’s medical system. 

    Buhari’s death from an undisclosed illness at the elite private hospital known as The London Clinic, on July 13, predictably raised further questions about Nigerian leaders and their penchant for medical tourism. He was 82. 

    After his death, Abubakar, 83, was reported saying he was “in the same hospital together with Buhari but I have been discharged.” He was military head of state from 1998 to 1999.   

    Seeking healthcare in foreign lands is not peculiar to this category of Nigerians. Indeed, it can be described as a “disease” afflicting many Nigerians who can afford to go abroad for medical purposes.

    When political leaders, particularly those at high levels in the political hierarchy, routinely seek medical attention abroad, it suggests that they failed to improve their country’s medical system.  Buhari was reported to have spent at least 225 days abroad for medical purposes during his eight-year period in office.

    His reported medical tourism to the UK as president included six days in February 2016, 10 days in June 2016, 50 days from January 2017, 104 days from May 2017, four days in May 2018, 15 days in March 2021, 12 days in March 2022, two weeks from October 31 to November 13, 2022.  

    It was a historic triumph for Buhari, a retired army general and former military head of state, when he was democratically elected President of Nigeria in 2015 after three unsuccessful attempts in 2003, 2007, and 2011.   He achieved the feat following a significant merger of opposition parties leading to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), his party when he won the presidential election. He had trumped the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – an unprecedented accomplishment in the country’s democratic history. 

    Interestingly, he first ruled Nigeria following a military coup that toppled Shehu Shagari’s civilian democratic government, in December 1983.  This was just four years after the country returned to democracy in 1979, after 13 years of military rule. This military intervention involving Buhari ushered in another long period of military dictatorship that ended in 1999. He was removed in a palace coup led by Ibrahim Babangida in August 1985.

    Buhari’s two-term presidency as a converted democrat, from 2015 to 2023, had promised a three-pronged attack on corruption, insecurity, and poor infrastructure. His decision to enter civilian politics may well have been inspired by a sense of personal unfulfillment and a need to demonstrate that he could lead the country to a better place, considering that a coup had abruptly ended his first regime. However, his entry and self-projection as a reformed autocrat attracted criticism and rejection in some quarters.

     His personal integrity was widely considered unassailable. Given his military background, he was expected to significantly improve security in the country. However, his administration proved to be long on promise and short on delivery. Under him, the anti-corruption fight failed to live up to expectation; and the country’s security crisis, fuelled by terrorism and banditry, outlived his presidential tenure.  But he made some impact in infrastructure, particularly roads and railways.

    Importantly, he inaugurated a 14-bed Presidential (VIP) Wing of the State House Clinic, in the Presidential Villa, on May 19, 2023, just before he left office. His administration had launched the N21bn project in November 2021.  Designed to reduce the need for medical travel abroad, it was described as a specialised Intensive Care Centre to cater for the President, Vice President, their immediate families and VIPs. Against this background, it is ironic that Buhari died while seeking healthcare abroad.

    Speaking on his death, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Bala Audu, was reported saying, “When public officials entrusted with strengthening our health sector consistently opt for foreign hospitals, it raises serious concerns. It shows a lack of faith in the very system they are supposed to be building and sustaining.”

     A former spokesman for Buhari, Femi Adesina, who defended his foreign medical trips, argued after his death, “If he had said I’d do my medicals in Nigeria just for show off or something, he could have long been dead.”

    Read Also: TOSIN ADARABIOYO: ‘Coming to Nigeria for first ‘time feels heavenly’

    The implication that Nigerian medical practitioners are incompetent is “a false and dangerous narrative,” the President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Tope Osundara, asserted.  Audu described the argument as “deeply offensive,” and noted that the issue “has never been about competence.” According to him, Nigerian doctors and nurses “are among the best in the world.”  The real problem, he stated, “is the lack of adequate infrastructure and equipment, particularly in public hospitals.”

    Remarkably, under the Buhari administration, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo made the headlines in July 2022 after undergoing orthopaedic surgery locally – at the Duchess International Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos.  It was reported that some “government and private practice doctors” had advised him to consider having the operation abroad, but he had insisted on a Nigerian hospital and Nigerian medical experts. The success of the operation not only confirmed his faith in the hospital; it also corroborated the facility’s image as a centre of medical excellence.   

    After his treatment, Osinbajo had described the hospital as “world-class, both in the quality of its medical personnel and its management,” adding that “it is living up to its mission to reverse medical tourism by delivering the highest standards of care using the most advanced technology and treatments to give the fastest, most convenient access to the best medical expertise available anywhere in the world.”

    However, it must be noted that the hospital is a private hospital. Osinbajo’s surgery experience there gives the impression that its status as a private hospital was an important contributory factor.

    Are there public hospitals in the country that boast similar standards? The answer to the question may well be negative.  The Federal Government’s insignificant budget for the health sector over the years is mainly responsible for that.

    Notably, under the Remuneration of Former Presidents and Heads of State (and Other Ancillary Matters) Act, the Federal Government is to provide for the medical expenses of former presidents and their immediate families, covering treatment within the country and abroad.

    If this is the case, it behoves the occupant of the office to ensure that there are standard facilities locally that can handle their medical needs, and those of their compatriots, instead of relying on high-cost medical tourism.  Sadly, Buhari’s death underlined the reality that expensive healthcare abroad does not necessarily guarantee life.

    Medical tourism continues at the highest levels of government in the country. This is a damning proof of its underdeveloped healthcare system and underscores lack of confidence in it.   

  • Supreme Court, Akwa Ibom and Cross River

    Supreme Court, Akwa Ibom and Cross River

    It was at the Sheraton Hotel in Lagos, and Rotimi Amaechi was only very early in his first term as governor.

     Beside him was Godswill Akpabio, then the governor of Akwa Ibom.

     Both did not like each other very much and could not conceal it in the presence of editors.

     The matter of contention was 86 wells that the Supreme Court returned to Rivers State, and Akwa Ibom had to concede.

     Akpabio smiled a pained and dignified smile. He knew the facts, and no one ought to court the outraged majesty of the law.

    Akpabio would later smile with triumphal creases when he had to savour another verdict. The Supreme Court restored 76 oil wells to Akwa Ibom. It was agony for then Cross River State governor, and for over a decade, the state has gone to court to try to change the verdict. But no dice. In the Niger Delta, oil is the pepper soup of all dialogues.

    Read Also: Nigeria bouncing back on global stage, says Olawepo-Hashim

    Recently the 76 oil wells is boiling over again. Cross River State I pity a lot. It is the only state in the region that cannot boast a pitcher of oil. It is a spoof of Samuel Coleridge’s lines, “water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.” For Cross River State, it is oil, oil everywhere, no derivation fund. But law is not about pity, it is about fact. In Merchant of Venice, when the case became clear to Shylock, he exclaimed, “Is that the law?” The court has ruled twice, and the Cross River has had an oil version of o lule. The matter is simple. Is Cross River a littoral state? Does it have a territory that abuts on the sea? It is not only a legal question; it is a cartographic issue. Maybe we can blame those who mapped out the state, and the people of Cross River may find it hard to do so since a people can only claim a territory where they planted their customs, language, practices and citizens. If that means they are not overlooking any water, then it is what it is.

    In 2002, the apex court ruled that “Cross River no longer has a seaward boundary.” In 2012, the same court asserted that “The facts before the court do not support the claim of the plaintiff to being a littoral state. A non-littoral state cannot claim oil wells offshore, as it has no maritime boundary.”

    No time for bellyaching now. Both states can sit at table to jaw-jaw, not war-war. The law is what it is. But they can arrange for ways that some sort of regional concessions, with the cooperation of the Federal Government, can bring some sort of money to Cross River. Cross River should not do like Shylock who waited for a bitter verdict after he turned his back on mercy.

     “The quality of mercy is not strained/ it droppeth like the gentle rain upon the place beneath.” That is the line Akwa Ibom under Governor Umo Eno wants to take, and I think both states are cousins, and should follow the éclat of peace, not hecklers online.

  • Every inch

    Every inch

    There has been a lot of ballyhoo over the ways of the late Awujale, especially what many of his critics say were indiscretions, that the king stooled on the royal pool. I ponder why such objections have not taken cognizance of irony of the age.

    We live in modern times, crown a modern king and expected an ancient custom. It is the contradiction that we must expect. We crown Christian and Muslim kings and expect fidelity to traditional deity. A king cannot be king if he cannot exercise unquestioned authority.

    What is more important, king or culture e? But that may be the wrong question. Maybe it is whether we can have a king of the future. If we cannot, why do we want a society of the future, with the daring of technology, the atrophy of obeisance, the primacy of reason, the sanctity of rebellion. We applaud all of these, and when a king does it, we shout haba! English history  throws up this contradiction. King Henry VIII abandoned tradition to divorce his wife to marry a svelte vision in Anne Boleyn, defied the Catholic Church and formed breakaway Anglican Church. He at once exercised royal power and defiance. In the 20th century, Edward the VIII did not challenge tradition but abdicated the throne when he preferred regal beauty to regal throne by marrying divorcee Wally Simpson.

     Did Awujale fit into Shakespeare’s line in King Lear: “he is every inch a king.”? In Julius Caesar he writes, “he who dies pays all debts.” Many who comment on Adetona know little about him.

    Below is an excerpt of this essayist’s 2017 review of his autobiography. Enjoy.

    The oba, a tall, robust, charismatic figure, told a story of some of his interactions with the Owu chief. Having written it, he made no bones about howling after the fact. He had written it, and he moved on. Seven years later, the Owu chief is whining and wailing.

    Read Also: Tinubu: Falcons triumph exemplifies Nigeria’s tenacity, national pride

    Oba Sikiru K. Adetona Ogbagba 11 is one of the underappreciated talents and virtues of this age. Perhaps because he heads what we all know as an anachronistic institution, we tend to undervalue what political scientists call “soft power,” a term coined and popularised by Harvard political scientist Joseph Nye.

    He does not need to hold political office, or stand behind an army tank, or be a governor, to wield influence. He had to exercise the force of courage, honesty and the principle of fierce independence.

    It is interesting that, in spite of the ballyhoo of the Owu chief, the Awujale routinely ignored him. News reports say the Owu chief has apologised. It had better be true. The man is not only older than the former president, the Awujale has earned his octogenarian credentials, not by years but the exercise of his dignity.

    The book, titled Awujale: the autobiography of Alaiyeluwa Oba S.K.Adetona Ogbagba 11, unfurls his forthrightness. If he has lashed out at OBJ in the book, it is a little lazy, especially of our media critics and journalists, not to have plunged deeper. Many have restricted themselves to where he narrated Obasanjo’s witch-hunt of GLO chief executive Mike Adenuga. But the monarch has been quite fair to Obasanjo. We all know, Adenuga was targeted in an exercise of hypocrisy when he wanted the same man to help build his Bells University.

    The Awujale worked with Obasanjo to push the presidential candidacy of Professor Adebayo Adedeji during IBB’s quicksand transition programmes. While opposing his actions in government, he praised him for constructing roads that gave access to Ijebu land, and stood against those who wanted to dislodge him from office.

     He had called Obasanjo Judas and made it known he called him so in a meeting in the buildup to the elections that selected him to run against Falae. Yet, in spite of OBJ’s failing, the Awujale thought for the sake of the country and stability, Obasanjo’s rift with Atiku ought to end in order to save democracy. Newspapers ought to pay attention to books as news, not as vapid material for inside pages but virile aspects of our conversations. It is a reflection of the philistinism of today’s news organisations that many of such gems pass us by.

    I was also struck by his sense of balance in the Ogun State governorship sweepstakes. Ever a stickler to be nonpartisan, he said when Gbenga Daniel indicated he wanted to be governor, he advised Daniel to wait out Aremo Segun Osoba’s stewardship. But he didn’t. The Awujale stayed neutral. But when Daniel stormed his palace for a visit, he insisted that he would not attend to Daniel unless he stopped his supporters from throwing invectives at Osoba outside his palace. Daniel reportedly obliged.

    His Awo story also should have made news in 2010 when the book was published. He implied Awo’s AG and UPN resisted dissent or intellectual independence. He said he had doubted Awo’s socialist credentials and wondered if he was a socialist, why was he so wealthy he would not part with his properties as Mahatma Ghandi did. Awo had replied that he would if the society agreed to have full-blown socialism. That was not the same thing with Ghandi. Ghandi led by example. Awo wanted the mass example to lead him.

    During the western crisis, he had tried to play peace maker, but neither Awo nor Akintola obliged. He wondered why Awo wanted everyone in Ijebu-land to line behind him uncritically while he wanted others from other ethnic groups he competed against to abandon their ethnic leaders for him. His tale with Awo dovetailed into his crisis with Chief Bisi Onabanjo, who had dinner with others downstairs in his house with Awo, while he asked him(Awujale) to wait up to an hour upstairs. It began a friction that, once Onabanjo became governor, he deposed him as Awujale. This is the same person he had predicted would betray him after showering hospitality on Onabanjo in London with free accommodation, meals and transport back home when he was sick.

    He even offered to resign as oba when Diya succeeded Onabanjo after the military coup. Diya would not reinstate him even when the courts ruled against Onabanjo. After his military bluster, Diya had to acquiesce because the man said he wanted a plebiscite and if 90 percent or less voted against him, he would resign, support his successor and buy him a car. In spite of this, he eulogised Onabanjo’s exploits as governor.

    He also stood with the NADECO chieftains. He was openly called Oba NADECO and he even hosted the meetings. He had warned Shonekan that he would be dislodged as interim leader and history would call him a traitor.

    He knew very early to enjoy his reign, he had to be financially independent. Chief Odutola had wanted to teleguide his reign as he had done the predecessor. But Adetona resisted him. He launched into commerce and pried himself loose from the antics of government wheel horses.

    This is a good book, not a great book. I had craved his fresh observations of men like Awo, IBB, Abacha, Shonekan, Tafawa Balewa, Oba Sijuade, Adenuga, FRA Williams, etc. He had more than cursory interactions with them and must have greater insights than he revealed.

     Abroad, he met with Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, etc in the Middle East. He mentioned them in passing. It is not his fault but his editors’. They could have debriefed and opened him to bigger revelations.

    The book is uneven, showering details in some areas and stingy in others. But it is a book that gives a window on a man of character, aware of his position and did not take anything he was not ready to do away with on principle.

    Remember he was the only Southwest monarch who did not mince words to Jonathan when dollar softened his peers.

  • Testing, testing 2027: Brief switch to politics didn’t hurt the focus

    Testing, testing 2027: Brief switch to politics didn’t hurt the focus

    Last week marked a decisive inflection point in the political trajectory of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Having dedicated the previous week to the solemn remembrance of his immediate predecessor, the late President Muhammadu Buhari, President Tinubu entered this past week not with the lingering gloom of mourning, but with a firm sense of political resolve. In a span of just a few days, he signalled a clear shift from his earlier posture of political aloofness to a more assertive engagement with partisan strategy — a recalibration driven, not by ambition alone, but by necessity.

    From all indications, President Tinubu’s original game plan was to keep politics at bay — at least until closer to the 2027 general elections. Since his swearing-in in May 2023, the President has consistently framed his mission around national reengineering, economic stabilisation, and institutional reforms. But events do not always wait for intentions to mature at their own pace. With opposition forces gradually coalescing into a more assertive bloc under the African Democratic Congress (ADC), a party fast becoming the convergence point for dissident politicians and defectors, it became increasingly apparent that political detachment would come at a steep cost.

    It was, therefore, unsurprising that President Tinubu chose this past week to abandon restraint and formally activate his political apparatus. He did so methodically and strategically, using each engagement to advance a layered agenda — consolidating power within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), reconnecting with old political allies, neutralising external threats, and reinforcing grassroots mobilisation. In a week that saw multiple closed-door meetings, executive decisions, and symbolic encounters, the President emerged not just as head of government, but once more as leader of the political coalition he founded with others.

    The most visible manifestation of this pivot came on Thursday, at the 14th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the APC. There, Tinubu made a rousing call for party unity and capacity-building, while firmly steering the NEC through the election of new leadership — a long-anticipated “house-cleaning” exercise. The NEC filled three key vacancies: that of the National Chairman, vacated after the resignation of Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje; the Deputy National Secretary; and the National Legal Adviser. These appointments were no mere routine — they were pivotal in recalibrating the party’s internal machinery ahead of a decisive political cycle.

    Read Also: Yilwatda’s emergence as APC national chairman, strategic bolster for 2027, says Wase

    Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, emerged as the new APC National Chairman, a choice reportedly forged through consensus and consultations — a reflection of Tinubu’s preference for cohesion over confrontation. In his address, the President did not hide the strategic intent of the moment. He declared that the party’s doors were wide open, and that more high-profile defections were not just expected but imminent. “We might form the party of elders,” he mused, referencing the influx of political heavyweights eyeing the APC. “More members are still coming.”

    These were not idle boasts. The President confirmed that governors and federal lawmakers from opposition parties were already queuing up to defect. And, in a direct swipe at the3opposition coalition, he quipped that it was “not a bad idea to abandon a sinking ship and be absent from a coalition of confusion.”

    The President’s reengagement with party politics, however, did not begin on Thursday. The groundwork had been laid earlier in the week, with a flurry of strategic meetings. On Wednesday, he hosted the 24-member Progressive Governors’ Forum (PGF), where matters of party unity, grassroots mobilisation, and succession planning were reportedly discussed behind closed doors. Though the official reason for the meeting was to condole with the President over Buhari’s death, few missed the deeper significance — it was a pre-NEC caucus meeting, essential for sealing the consensus on the new leadership slate and preparing the state chapters for the political battles ahead.

    That same day, President Tinubu received a delegation from Ekiti State, comprising Governor Abiodun Oyebanji, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, and — most significantly — former governor Segun Oni, a once-prominent figure in the South-West who had publicly exited partisan politics in 2024. Oni’s presence at the Villa, after nearly a year out of politics, has been interpreted in many quarters as part of a deliberate rapprochement, likely orchestrated to woo him back into the fold ahead of 2027. If successful, this move could help consolidate APC’s strength in Ekiti and perhaps even across the entire South-West.

    President Tinubu rounded off his political outreach on Friday with a lesser-publicised but equally symbolic meeting with his fellow governors from the 1999 class — an exclusive fraternity of political veterans with deep grassroots influence and national spread. This gesture, seemingly nostalgic, was in fact profoundly strategic. It signalled his intent to reactivate dormant alliances and reassure long-time associates of their place in his evolving political blueprint.

    Each of these engagements — from the NEC reshuffle to the consultations with Ekiti leaders and his 1999 peers — had a targeted constituency and a defined political aim. Together, they illustrate a shift from quiet contemplation to proactive consolidation, an early preparation that may ultimately prove decisive in 2027.

    Still, even as he turned his gaze toward politics, President Tinubu did not abandon governance. His week remained tightly interwoven with statecraft and policy execution. On Tuesday, he met with the key members of his fiscal and energy team — including Finance Minister Wale Edun, Budget and Economic Planning Minister Atiku Bagudu, the Governor of the Central Bank, and the FIRS Chairman, Dr Zacch Adedeji. The briefing covered a broad sweep of the national economy — from monetary policy and inflation control to budget performance and oil and gas investment. These engagements served as an assurance to Nigerians and the global business community that the President’s economic agenda remains firmly on course.

    That same day, he hosted Africa’s foremost industrialist, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, for a private meeting at the State House — another nod to the importance his administration places on private sector partnerships and industrial revival. And on Friday, even as he was finalising political realignments, the President convened a high-level meeting with electricity generation company (GENCO) operators, pledging to resolve longstanding liquidity issues. The move was part of a broader push to stabilise the power sector and energise economic growth.

    Also notable during the week was the visit by a World Bank delegation, led by its Managing Director and CFO, Anshula Kant, to discuss a 90,000-kilometre fibre-optic project backed by global partners — a transformative initiative aimed at digital infrastructure development. It served to reinforce Tinubu’s commitment to structural economic reform and his capacity to secure international support for key development goals.

    Beyond Politics: It Was Tinubu’s Week of Tributes, Patriotism Human Touch

    Amid the strategic political engagements that shaped the just-concluded week for the President —especially the recalibrations within the All Progressives Congress (APC)—another equally telling narrative unfolded, marked by acts of remembrance, celebration, and the President’s human touch in matters of national emotion.

    On Sunday, President Tinubu stood in Ijebu Ode to pay solemn tribute to the late Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, the revered Awujale of Ijebuland. In his stirring message at the eight-day Fidau prayers, the President urged unity, particularly among the Yoruba, and called on Nigerians to preserve the monarch’s legacy of truth, integrity, and fearless leadership. “Let us cherish his legacy and appreciate him in death,” Tinubu said. “It is left for you and me to reflect the values he represented.”

    That same day, the President honoured one of Nigeria’s elder statesmen, Major-General David Jemibewon (rtd), on his 85th birthday, lauding his patriotism and lifelong dedication to national service. On Monday, he extended similar felicitations to Senator Gbenga Ashafa, whom he described as an “invaluable asset to Nigeria,” and to his Senior Special Assistant, Fredrick Nwabufo, for his bold contributions to public discourse and commitment to unity at age 40.

    Tuesday brought a celebratory tone as the President joined Nigerians in hailing the Super Falcons’ semi-final triumph over South Africa at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. In a post on social media, Tinubu praised the team’s “indomitable spirit” and urged them to secure Nigeria’s 10th title—a moment of national pride amid governance routines.

    Wednesday saw a mix of celebration and reflection. The President saluted Oba Abdulwasiu Lawal, Oniru of Iru Kingdom, on his 55th birthday, reminiscing about the monarch’s days as his aide-de-camp and praising his enduring leadership. The same day, Tinubu mourned Professor Jonah Elaigwu, a towering political scientist who championed federalism and democratic governance.

    On Friday, the President once again donned the garb of mourner-in-chief, grieving the loss of Dr Ibrahim Bello, the Emir of Gusau. “This is a collective loss,” he stated, praising the monarch’s service and leadership. Later that night, President Tinubu received President Adama Barrow of The Gambia, who came to pay respects to the late Muhammadu Buhari, calling him a benefactor and democratic role model.

    In all, the week told a compelling dual story: a President who remains deeply invested in the complex work of national transformation, and yet politically astute enough to recognise that governance and politics are not mutually exclusive — particularly in a high-stakes democracy like Nigeria’s.

    If there was a message in the events of the week, it was this: President Tinubu may have initially intended to stay off politics until closer to 2027, but the evolving political climate has necessitated a change in tempo. Opposition forces, increasingly aggressive and organised under the ADC umbrella, have made it clear that the contest for power is already underway. For a man who rose to national leadership through an unmatched mastery of political chess, Tinubu has simply responded in kind — with quiet confidence, timely adjustments, and characteristic calculation.

    The Renewed Hope Agenda, at its core, remains a developmental blueprint. But last week, the President showed that renewal must also extend to the party that brought him to power, and that hope, to be sustained, must be anchored in both economic revival and political resilience.

    In the weeks and months ahead, more realignments may emerge. Old rivals may return, fresh alliances may be forged, and the APC’s internal architecture may continue to evolve. But what is now beyond dispute is that the 2027 journey has begun — not with noise, not with rallies, but with quiet, strategic moves made behind closed doors and around the negotiation table.

    President Tinubu, long a student and master of political timing, appears to have made his opening move. Whether it proves decisive will depend on how well he balances the two core mandates of his office — to govern effectively and to win politically. Last week, he showed that he is more than capable of doing both.

  • Mai Gaskiya: The life and times of Muhammadu Buhari (1)

    Mai Gaskiya: The life and times of Muhammadu Buhari (1)

    The figure of Muhammadu Buhari emerged into the consciousness of many Nigerians twice before his emergence as military head of state. The first was as the Nigerian National Petroleum C’orporation’s helmsman and then as the General Officer Commanding of the Third Army Division during the Chadian invasion of 19 Islands in the Lake  Chad region of Borno State, where Buhari not only repelled the Chadians but also advanced 50km into Chad with the intention of punishing the invading army. It is important to note that  General Buhari took the decision to invade Chad against orders from his own Commander in Chief , Alhaji Shehu Shagari.

    A man of unwavering principles and quiet determination. His journey from a young military officer in the 1960s to becoming Nigeria’s president in 2015 represents one of the most remarkable political comebacks in African history. What struck observers most profoundly was his persistence in the face of repeated electoral defeats and his consistent message that Nigeria could be transformed through disciplined leadership and systemic reform.

    Upon his emergence as Nigeria’s military head of state on the 1st of January, 1984, the Buhari administration was hailed as the nation’s saving regime. With his reputation as an austere, disciplined leader who abhorred corruption, Buhari and his military side kick in Tunde Idiagbon immediately attempted to cleanse the Augean stables, they moved against politicians who had looted the nation blind handing out severe jail terms and even attempted the kidnap of the Alhaji Umaru Dikko from the UK.

    The War Against Indiscipline, WAI program was the nation’s first major attempt at curbing corruption and Indiscipline as a malaise and for the first time in the nation’s annals there was a well established departure from the usual  lip service and empty hype paid or given to such campaigns in the past. For the first time Nigerians, a people always in hurry queued up in public places and patiently waited their turn, members of the civil service turned up at their duty posts on time and utility workers turned down bribes for fear of getting arrested, the harsh jail terms a number of the class of 79 and 83 received added to such fear, the bedlam Nigeria was majorly known for then was gradually becoming an ordered society. Sadly, whilst the Buhari/Idiagbon administration meant well for the nation, it’s perceived inflexibility, it’s harsh decrees of No 2 and  No 4 and it’s failure to immediately fix the economic woes of the nation did them in, and by August 27, 1985, General Dongoyaro was on air to announce the ouster of the Buhari/Idiagbon administration.

    Read Also: Muhammadu Buhari (1942 – 2025)

    After his detention and release, Buhari was again thrust into the spotlight with his appointment as Executive Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) by the Abacha administration in 1994. Buhari again demonstrated that a Nigerian could hold office without enriching himself or members of his family. Through him, PTF achieved a number of milestones in major sectors and it’s  impact was so resounding that even when the Obasanjo administration attempted to whip up a white paper on the agency with the intention to implicate Buhari and either prevent him from vying for office and challenging Obasanjo for seeking a second term in office, it found nothing on the man and thus had to resort to other tactics including massive electoral heists to deny Buhari the presidency twice in 2003 and 2007.

    His transition to civilian politics and his relentless pursuit of the presidency through democratic means truly revealed the depth of his commitment to Nigeria’s transformation. After losing presidential elections in 2003, 2007, and 2011 majorly through underhand means, many thought that he would  retreat from public life and bemoan the tragic state of the nation and his perceived inability to do little or nothing about it. However by 2014, Buhari was to  take up the gauntlet of  serving his country through the All Progressives Congress, APC, the rest is history.

    When Buhari finally ascended to the presidency in 2015, it marked a watershed moment in Nigerian politics. His victory represented the first time an opposition candidate had defeated an incumbent president through the ballot box, demonstrating the maturation of Nigeria’s democracy. The campaign had been built on three fundamental pillars: fighting corruption, improving security, and revitalizing the economy. These were not mere campaign promises but reflected genuine challenges that had plagued Nigeria for decades.

    The early days of the Buhari administration were marked by significant symbolic gestures that reinforced his anti-corruption credentials. The launch of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system helped consolidate government finances and reduce opportunities for financial malfeasance.

  • Indigeneship Bill: Dishonest push to redefine indigeneity in Nigeria

    Indigeneship Bill: Dishonest push to redefine indigeneity in Nigeria

    Indigeneity is defined as the “fact of ORIGINATING or OCCURING NATURALLY” in in a particular place – that is what some people are dead set to change.

    “Azikiwe: “Let us forget our differences.”

    Ahmadu Bello: “No, let us understand our differences. I am a Muslim and a Northerner. You are a Christian and an Easterner.

    By understanding our differences, we can build unity in our country” -being arguments during the campaign for the federal elections of December 12, 1959 when the man who most exemplified division in Nigerian history, coyly preaching unity because he erroneously believed that his people will Lord it over the other parts of the country.

    Sequel, among other stratagems, to Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma’s remarks  on the Indigeneship bill at the South East Public Hearing in Owerri, a

    highly perspicacious Press Statement, in the form of a WhatsApp post, trended throughout the past week.

    Authored by  Otunba A.J Odunowo, it read as follows:

    “RE: My Position on HB2057 and the Push to Redefine Indigeneity in Nigeria

    I have observed with deep concern the recent push to alter the legal definition of “indigeneity” in Nigeria, particularly as proposed in HB2057, sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and echoed by Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma in his constitutional reform remarks at the South East Public Hearing in Owerri.

    While I support every Nigerian’s right to dignity, inclusion, and development wherever they reside, I firmly reject the dangerous attempt to legislate indigeneity as a residency-based privilege.

    Indigeneity is not a status that can be assigned by fiat. It is rooted in ancestry, cultural lineage, and historical custodianship of land. It represents a community’s identity, heritage, and connection to its homeland. To redefine it as something that can be acquired through birth or prolonged stay undermines the very fabric of our multicultural nation.

    We must not confuse civil inclusion with cultural inheritance.

    My Position Is Clear:

    1. Indigeneity is non-negotiable.

    It cannot be transferred, awarded, or diluted by residency or “good conduct.” No serious nation legislates away the ancestral rights of its native peoples.

    2. Equal rights for settlers must not come at the cost of indigenous rights.

    Nigerians living in other states already enjoy full civil liberties the right to vote, own property, do business, and hold public office. What they are not entitled to is custodianship of cultures they do not descend from.

    3. HB2057 is anti-indigenous and unconstitutional in spirit. If passed, it will breed resentment, escalate land disputes, and deepen cultural dislocation. It threatens traditional institutions and undermines the federal structure.

    4. The National Assembly must refocus its energy on the real demands of the people, that is, restructuring Nigeria into federating units aligned with ethnic and cultural heritage, equitable resource control, and strengthening state-level governance, including state policing.

    I encourage all well-meaning Nigerians, particularly traditional rulers, indigenous associations, and civil society organisations across all regions, to reject this bill in its entirety.

    Nigeria cannot build unity by erasing identity.

    We can only build a truly inclusive nation by recognising and respecting the diverse foundations upon which this country stands.

    Let us defend indigeneity not to divide, but to preserve the integrity of our shared heritage”.

    I am allying myself with this press statement as it is very much in tandem with my position in the article:’Taking the wind out of Hon Kalu’s indigeneship bill’

    of 4 May, 2025 which reads as follows:”Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu CON, of the All Progressive Congress, is an Igbo politician and current Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He represents the Bende federal constituency of Abia State.

    It is not surprising, therefore, that he is the sponsor of the Indigeneship Bill now before the House of Representatives. The Bill

    seeks to grant indigene status to individuals who have resided in a state for 10 years or married a native for the same length of time.

    It is coyly proposed as a progressive bill intended to cohere the country like the National Youth Service which mandates Nigerian University graduates below a certain age to serve for one year in a part of the country different from theirs.

    But nothing can be further from the truth.

    Given Igbo’s very small piece of territory which, besides its size, is landlocked and impedes their truly industrious proclivities, they are spread so thin all over the country that there can be no community in the country, no matter how

    small in which you will not find an Igbo.

    While this in itself is not bad, Igbo’s inexplanable, but totally unchecked, desire to own things, belonging to others, especially other peoples lands, is the elephant in the room. This abhorrent characteristic of theirs has rendered them completely otiose to other Nigerians in literally every part of the country.

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    But please, do not take my word for it.

    Rather, see below a WhatsApp dialogue, moderated by a so- called Okonkwo and several other Igbos, concerning Yoruba land, especially Lagos, which they love to call a ‘No Man’s Land’, and for which they would readily kill without batting an eyelid:

    DISCUSSION THEME: Ndigbo Will Conquer and Rule Oduduwa Republic.

    “We must take Lagos. We must. Those who want to keep it are fighting themselves.Those of us who want to take it must fight harder. The people who want to keep it are threatening, we that want to take it must be prepared for that threat.

    There”s no new thing they are going to do now in Lagos. We already know what they will do. Therefore we must prepare ourselves in large numbers …”

    “Because if we do not take Lagos, I do not know if you can still stay in Lagos.To remain in Lagos, for your parents to go to that church, for you to enter that estate, enter that bus, Igbos just must take Lagos” – mind you, they don”t even want to win but TAKE Lagos”.

    “… the only way is to defeat them; so we can lock them up and send them to jail”.

    That is what motivates all this rambunctious fight for an indigeneship bill.

    It is ill motivated.

    The quoted portion above was spoken in a stentorian voice that could only have reminded one of Ojukwu’s efette boasts shortly before he led millions of them to their early graves in an unnecessary war, after which he promptly evaporated”.

    But that is not all to the Igbo plan, to consummate which Hon Benjamin Kalu is now feverishly at work in the Peoples’ House.

    They went further:

    “We will join Afenifere and soon be part of the powerhouses that will be eligible to be crowned Obas -(these are a people without Obas, historically without leaders.)

    We will get married to the daughters of Oduduwa , build mansions in their towns and villages and only visit our country home in the land of the rising sun, once a year, as usual. Gradually we will turn Oduduwa Republic into one of the most ethnically mixed countries in the world.

    Can a war plan be more detailed?

    What Igbos are saying is that they would do anything to win Lagos state – rig, burn, kill etc,  come the next election.

    All these also remind me of my article of 16 February, ’25

    titled: Non – Indigenes Should Be Barred From Contesting Governorship, Senate, House Of Representatives and Council Elections wherein I wrote:

     “If for the sake of equity amongst all Nigerian states,  representation in the senate is set at 3 members per state, and constituency, determined by population, is the basis for allocating the number of Reps a state can have,  why are non- indigenes allowed to  contest for these positions outside their state of origin?

    I consider this grossly unfair in a country like ours where, for instance, some states in the Southeast geo- political zone would not tolerate a Catholic cleric, even of the same Igbo ethnic stock, as their parish clergy – even if appointed by the Pope himself – if he comes from outside their state.

    This we have seen severally.

    It could, in fact, be far worse, as happened when the entire indigenous peoples of Aba Ngwa not only rose, like one man, to reject a non- indgene as the Mayor of Aba, but  dared their  governor, Alex Otti, to do so – see  Vanguard October 19, 2023.

    These are the same people who come loaded with money, from all manner of sources, to try everything  to contest elections in Southwest Nigeria in particular”.

    Why would Igbos not understand that this is nothing short of long throat. Why are they ever so desirous of that which belongs to others, even when they would not extend such privileges to non- Igbos anywhere in the entire Southeast?.

    This is the same reason  IPOB’s map of Biafra extends far beyond Ndigbo territory into far away Edo, Delta, even  Bpenue.

    LHowever, the time has come for them  to apply the brakes. They must not only know that enough is enough, they should realise the following facts as put together by another writer on Hon Kalu’s bill:

    “… if passed, the bill will undermine the fundamental essence of indigenous identity, thereby jeopardising the rights and cultural heritage of Nigeria’s indigenous communities.

    The fundamental problem, as the  writer put it,  lies in its attempt to replace birthright, ancestral lineage, and deep-rooted cultural identity with superficial, time-bound criteria since idigeneity is not something one acquires through mere residence or marriage.

    It is an inheritance passed down through generations, woven into the very fabric of a people’s history to tamper with which wil undermine the very essence of our traditional societies.

    All the points being adduced in justification of the bill fall flat because they fail to recognise the spiritual, historical, and cultural depth that define an indigenous person. In Yoruba land, for instance, being an indigene is tied to ancestral lineage, not just a length of stay. This bill therefore seeks to erase the sacredness of identity in favour of some generic, politically motivated re-definition, all for the purpose of exploitation by a people who are never content with what God has given them.

    Finally, if they are not being selfish, they should ask themselves questions as to how many non – Igbos would benefit from this law, if passed, in places like Enugu, Onitsha, Aba, Owerri etc even when whole Igbo cities would literally empty themselves into other parts of the country just to take undue advantage.

    The National Assembly sure has its job already cut out if its members would like to be on the right side of History.

    Potential for exploitation and marginalisation

    Opening the gates of indigeneity to non-indigenous individuals through residence and marriage introduces the risk of opportunistic claims, which could lead to the marginalisation of authentic indigenous populations. As history has shown, policies that do not adequately safeguard native rights often result in the displacement of the very people they should protect. If enacted, HB.2057 could enable those with no genuine ancestral connection to a land to claim indigene rights, potentially sidelining original inhabitants from economic opportunities, governance structures, and access to local resources.

    Threat to local culture and governance

    Every indigenous community in Nigeria has a distinct governance system, deeply rooted in traditions that have been carefully upheld for centuries. The passage of HB.2057 would create an avenue for those without historical ties to a land to participate in and influence its governance, often without understanding or respecting its cultural nuances.

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    Yoruba land, for instance, has a long-established system of monarchy, chieftaincy, and traditional councils that regulate societal structures in line with historical traditions. Allowing external influences to dictate the affairs of an indigenous community would disrupt these systems and gradually erode the unique governance identities of different ethnic nationalities.

    Questionable motives behind the Bill

    HB.2057 was introduced by Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu and six others under the guise of national integration and unity. However, its political undertones cannot be ignored. If truly aimed at fostering national unity, why was there no broad-based consultation with traditional leaders, cultural custodians, and grassroots communities before its presentation? The bill appears to serve a larger agenda—one that prioritises political convenience over the preservation of Nigeria’s diverse ethnic identities.

    Our stand: The preservation of indigeneity

    As Yoruba people, and as Nigerians committed to the protection of our cultural heritage, we stand firmly against HB.2057. Indigene status is not just a label—it is an embodiment of ancestry, tradition, and history that should not be compromised for political expediency. We, therefore, call on the Federal

    Government, the National Assembly, and all stakeholders to:

    (i)Reject HB.2057 in its entirety. This bill is a direct attack on the foundational identity of indigenous Nigerians and must not be allowed to stand.

    (ii)Preserve the original meaning of indigeneity. Indigenous status should remain a recognition of those with deep, historical, and cultural ties to their communities, not something that can be obtained through temporary residence or marriage.

    Engage traditional institutions in any discussions on indigeneity.

    The Nigerian government must recognise and involve community leaders, traditional custodians, and indigenous groups in any discourse surrounding national identity, governance, and resource allocation. Such a crucial matter should not be decided in the corridors of political power without consulting the true custodians of heritage.

    Conclusion: A call to action

    Indigeneity is not up for negotiation. It is not a status that can be handed out based on convenience. It is a sacred right that has preserved communities, cultures, and traditions for generations. HB.2057 is an assault on this legacy, and we must resist it with all our might.

    We call on all Yoruba sons and daughters, and indeed all Nigerians who value their heritage, to reject HB.2057 and demand its immediate withdrawal. Let us unite to ensure that our birthright is not sacrificed in the name of political convenience. Our ancestors fought to preserve our identity—now, it is our turn to defend it.

    • Bokini wrote on behalf of Yoruba Nimi Empowerment Foundation.
  • SNAPSONG  263 

    SNAPSONG  263 

    Super Power

         Killer Power

    How can a civil world

         Survive this explosive madness?

    My bomb is bigger than yours

         My rocket is a ruthless arrow from hell

    I own the piece of sky above your house

         I can send death on countless errands

    From a thousand million miles

         Our missiles can spot your innermost hideaway

    We can strike you in your bedroom

         And pluck you clean from the bosom of your wife

    Our missiles never miss

         And when they ‘obliterate’ unintended targets

    We possess the Super Power Impunity

         To ‘obliterate’ our crime

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    Nothing is ever wrong

         Unless we say it is

    Never ever right

         If we decree it’s never so

    Super Power corrupts

         Super Power corrupts dangerously 

    Too many deadly toys in the hands

         Of those who act before they think

  • That petition against Okpebholo

    That petition against Okpebholo

    LAST Monday, a civil society organisation, the Leadership and Accountability Initiative (LAI), submitted a petition to the United States embassy in Nigeria pleading with the US to place a visa ban on Edo governor Monday Okpebholo and his family for allegedly threatening the life of former Anambra governor and Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the last election, Peter Obi. The petition alleged that the governor warned Mr Obi, leader of the volatile and irascible Obidient Movement, not to visit the state due to security challenges. The governor was further alleged to have said that should Mr Obi remain obdurate, ‘whatever he sees, he should take’. The governor’s threat, the civil society organisation wailed, threatened ‘democratic stability and political coexistence’. It is unclear whether the US would pay attention to LAI’s inane request.

    LAI is one of the many civil society organisations informally and fanatically loyal to the spirit of the Obidient Movement and to Mr Obi in particular. The movement has been captured many times on record threatening, shaming, and bullying dissenters who denounce their nefarious methods and causes. The affiliated civil society organisations turn a blind eye to these constant and repeated cyberbullying by the Obidients. Now, after alleging that the Edo governor had ‘threatened’ their idol, they have begun to flex muscles. Mr Obi himself has said little about the governor’s travel advisory except insisting he would visit whenever he wanted to, but he is widely known to bask in the cultic following the Obidient Movement gives him, in addition to reveling in their aggressive posturing against his detractors. Clearly, trouble lies ahead. The Edo governor has of course doubled down on the travel advisory he issued to Mr Obi, insisting that the former LP candidate was no ordinary person and was too polarising not to be capable of provoking a breakdown of law and order. It may seem farfetched, but Mr Okpebholo seems to want to err on the side of caution.

    The Edo governor may have been strident about the travel advisory to Mr Obi, but his action appears to reflect and react to the frothing political undertones of the state. It is well known that the Obidients are a little more energized and unscrupulous in Edo than in most other South-South states. They are uppity, more voter conscious than the natives, and hunt like a wolf-pack. Mr Okpebholo is not unmindful of the dangerous undercurrents he faces in the state, and may be desirous of defanging the fanaticism many Edolites observe in the Obidients in Edo. The very nature, political dynamics and ethnic pastiche of the state, which harked back to the civil war era, ensure that the tug of war between the political factions in the state will continue for a while. It will take deft politicking, particularly ensuring that Edo continues to experience three-horse election races in the state, to tame and pacify a group as relentless, immoderate, and seasonal as the Obidients.

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    But much more than the hysteria displayed by the petitioning civil society group, LAI, is the more rankling decision to petition the US, yes the same US now presided over by probably the most anti-democratic and narcissistic president in US history, Donald J. Trump. In 2020, when Mr Trump lost his reelection bid, he encouraged his supporters to storm America’s democratic citadel, the Capitol. The assault was defeated, but not before substantial damage was done to American prestige. Who called for a travel or visa ban on Mr Trump and his supporters? In fact, as recent as a few weeks ago, the US president threatened his former ally, billionaire Elon Musk, not to lend support to the Democratic Party. That threat, on which Mr Trump has doubled down, is a hundred times more severe and frightening than any threat the Edo governor allegedly issued against Mr Obi. In the past few months, the US has ceased to be the chief promoter or custodian of democracy as the concept is known. But it is to a country repudiating democracy and belittling global leaders that the anachronistic Nigerian civil society group has appealed for help.

    American embassy officials are not morons. They will of course take receipt of any petition by any group, whether the petition makes sense or not. But they will be secretly amused, if not appalled, by how foolish a group can be to elevate a travel advisory against their hero, even if questionable, to a global issue that portrays Nigeria in a bad light. The Americans will confirm what they had long suspected that many Nigerian groups and even public officials display inferiority complex by reporting themselves to the prefectural US. Even if the Americans sneer at the petition, and they will be justified to do so, they will still take secret delight in the fact that many Nigerians continue to manifest the worst forms of neocolonialism. They can’t of course do anything about the Nigerian malaise, nor should they take it as their responsibility to decolonise the minds of Nigerians. However, their job is to represent the US as best as they can, and reinforce actions that elevate the prefectural image of America globally.

    Unfortunately, there is no law in Nigeria banning the self-deprecation many civil society organisations operating locally subject their country. They are too dimwitted to know the difference, too stuck in the past to know that even if Nigeria has its limitations and defects, the anomalies are best resolved internally. To that extent, there may not be an end, in the immediate future, to Nigerian groups and even political leaders reporting their country and leaders to Washington and London. There will sadly be no end, it seems, to some Nigerians making a spectacle of themselves before the whole world.

  • Hope rising for PDP

    Hope rising for PDP

    The Acting National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Umar Damagum, was probably right in suggesting that his party’s problems were largely self-inflicted, but his analysis of how far back that problem went remains unpersuasive. Speaking at a pre-National Executive Committee meeting last week, he said: “But we must also confront the hard truth. Much of the injury the PDP has suffered has been self-inflicted. From the Obasanjo era to this moment, we have too often jettisoned ideology in favour of personal ambition. This has cost us dearly. Yet, there is still a beauty that exists only in the PDP: our founding vision, our commitment to internal democracy, our enduring mechanisms for dialogue and reconciliation, and our true national outlook.”

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    Ambassador Damagum may be uncomfortable acknowledging that his party has been supplanted by the APC in all the attributes he mentioned, but he was at least forthcoming in accepting the fact the current problems had their roots way back in the Olusegun Obasanjo administration. Chief Obasanjo ignored the salient task of laying a solid and democratic foundation for the PDP, having ruled both Nigeria and his party like a despot, a culture that ossified over the years. But for the party chairman to suggest that the PDP often abandoned ideology for personal ambition appears cynical. The party never achieved nor enjoyed clarity in ideology.

    The acting chairman’s boast that the party would regain its beauty, which he highlighted in his remarks, is heartening. Nigeria may take solace in the fact that the PDP is less fanatical and irrational than either Labour Party (LP) or the coalition vehicle, the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The Nigerian political system needs the contributions and opposition of the PDP. It should rediscover itself and offer the sensible, firm and measured opposition it is famed for. For the PDP, it is hope rising.

  • The sympathetic undertaker

    The sympathetic undertaker

    It was a spectacular display of public mourning, never seen in the annals of the nation. A benumbing enactment of political distress, it sent signals far and wide to the most remote of political congregations and the innermost sanctuaries of power. Some incurable cynics have dubbed it the ultimate example of political grandstanding enacted for audience present and absent, seen and unseen, near and far away  for the purpose of securing some political advantage or gaining some electoral equities. “It is the twelve million votes!” they mumbled like a thief about to be robbed. Whatever it is, the master choreographer who put it all together made sure that he was in total and absolute control from start to finish. There was no room for any margin of error in this kind of political necromancy. The would- be ethno-religious pallbearers were banished to the margins of utter irrelevance where they choked on their own bile while the opportunistic interlopers could only watch proceedings in anger and from the shadows of self-banishment. It was an emphatic display of the awesome capacity and capability of the postcolonial state to control the crowd in life and death.

    The state funeral of General Mohammadu Buhari was the first of its kind ever witnessed in the history of the nation. It was an event watched by millions of his compatriots, a signal parting draped in exquisite ironies, symbolism and the mystery of final and irreversible departure. From the moment his death was announced till the moment the remains were lowered into mother earth after a thunderous gun salute, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took absolute charge and made sure the state funeral proceeded according to his wish and willpower. The picture of the Nigerian president emotively hugging the coffin of his predecessor as it was about to be lowered into mother earth would remain a fetching symbol of patriotism and pan-Nigerian possibilities for a long time to come.

      It was a moment of radical epiphany, as if in death, General Buhari was admitting to possibilities and political permutations which he refused to entertain while alive. Twice in this column in the past we had broached the possibility that the north may yet be rescued from its morass of underdevelopment, de-education and millennial immiseration by a historical figure originating from outside the region. We had thought that with his vast following among the northern masses, his mystique and messianic authority combined with the aura of irreproachable integrity and pious irritability with injustice and inequities, the general from Daura was the obvious candidate to rescue his beloved people from the quagmire of multi-dimensional poverty and Stone Age suffering. Throwing money at the people was an early sign of fumbling incompetence that was unsettling in its arrogant ignorance.

       It reminds one of Emperor Haile Sellasie throwing coins at his stricken subjects in a condition of dire famine and biblical hunger. In the light of General Buhari’s failure to rescue the north, attention began to be shifted somewhere else outside the region. Let’s face it, enlightened self-interest dictates that the north must be helped out of its misery. For as long as we remain one entity and the north remains the way it is, we are going nowhere. Just consider this fact. The north often inflicts its misery and trauma on the rest of the country by brutalizing it to corporate compliance with its parlous plight. This comes in the guise of periodic pogroms, frenzied ethno-religious assaults, regular offloading of economic miscreants and zealots, forcible occupation of choice farmlands and deliberate infiltration of its cities by armed gangs. No nation can witness any meaningful development or political stability with this level of internal destabilization and disruption.

      As soon as it became obvious that General Buhari was in no position to fulfill what appeared to be his manifest destiny, it became imperative to look outside the region for a nucleus of compassionate leadership sympathetic to the plight of the elites without shirking its responsibility of rescuing its teeming masses as they transit from feudal serfdom and servitude to modern citizenship. In the run up to the 2023 elections, this column cautioned the northern leaders to moderate and modulate their hostilities to the then Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu because in the light of the dramatic interplay of structural contingency and human agency playing out at that point in time in the nation’s history, the former senator represented the best hope of the north. Tinubu is obviously not antagonistic or hostile to the core economic interests of the north or the political aspirations of its leadership as long as they recognize the implicit power sharing arrangement encoded in the constitution of all major parties in the country. This sensible devolution of power between the competing and countervailing power elites of the nation is what has helped the Fourth Republic along in its fraught and perilous journey towards a “more perfect” democracy.

       With their old format and dogmatic mindset about power-sharing, it was clear that General Buhari and his fanatic followers, particularly the anti-democratic political mob that held him in messianic awe, were going nowhere whether they were in APP or ANPP and even CPC. If the general from Daura liked, he could have cried from here to eternity and nothing would have changed. The truth is that in a fractious multi-ethnic nation seething with tension and polarities, no section of the country can impose its narrow, circumscribed views and vision on the rest of the country without momentous consequences. This was how General Buhari and his frenzied supporters were compelled by exigent circumstances to reform themselves particularly after the presidential elections in which both the dog and the baboon were soaked in blood in conformity with the general’s dire predictions. But it was to no avail. As a shrewd man of force and violence himself, the general knew where the balance of power resides despite the orchestrated arson and vicious bloodletting. The following was how this writer described the unfortunate circumstances in an article titled: Between the Messiah and the Militia. (2011)

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    “Anybody who has watched a Buhari rally in recent times, or the crowd waiting to receive him in public places must come to one conclusion. This is not an exultant crowd waiting for a political emancipator. This is a traumatized mob waiting for a messiah.

       There is a feral frenzy to these fellows; there is the manic glint of the politicized fanatic in their eyes; there is an all -consuming raw anger which is implacable in its thirst for vengeance; there is a wild and merciless ruthlessness of resolve which does not recognize the template and rubric of law and order, or its corollary of logic and rationality. Law and order have come a sorry pass because they are not always at the service of justice and equity. Unhappy indeed is the land that needs a hero. This is not your run of the mill multitude that will accept any result however fair or some digitalized fantasies for that matter. But the rest of the country must also fear. A mob is not a democratic crowd. Because of its traumatized antecedents and psychic disposition, this crowd is not rooting for a political saviour but its anointed messiah. It will vote all right, but the vote is merely the lightning rod for its high wattage of savage inquisition.   In case you still don’t get it; in case the fancy language gets in the way of clear understanding, what we are saying is that the genie of massive revolution has berthed in the north of the nation. We have on our hands a rampaging horde radicalized by hunger, brutish want and millennial misery. Like an awakening mammoth, the stirring has been slow, but it has been there for the discerning to glimpse. This is what you get when a self-pampered political elite decide to commit suicide as a result of greed and lack of vision. It is the messianization of politics. The twelfth imam is here with us.

     Everything predicted in the column came to pass a fortnight after. But this column also cautioned the general and his rampaging mob that they must never hope to accede to power in Nigeria unless they changed tack and their modus operandi. “As it is, the Buhari ticket cannot gain complete ascendancy over the whole nation without dissolving itself into a pan-Nigerian coalition of progressive forces which will modulate and temper its dangerous messianism.” The old Buhari movement seemed to have taken this cautionary advice to heart by teaming up with South West progressives who taught them how to stay and protect their vote after voting. They also helped to spruce up the general and soften his image as a stern and uncompromising unreformed and seemingly unreformable autocrat and military despot. The rest is history. Needless to add that humongous resources must have gone into this project.

      You cannot step into the same river twice.  There cannot be two Buharis in the same generation. The Buhari block vote and warehouse are gone forever. Whatever remains are like stragglers after a major battle waiting to be mopped up. Given his stellar performance at the state funeral for the departed general, his genuine empathy for his family and his inspired role in the transformation of the Buhari inflammables into a regular movement and electable commodity, President Tinubu is in pole position for prime vote harvesting. Unless there is a subsequent catastrophic slippage somewhere, this makes him virtually unstoppable in the presidential sweepstakes come 2027.  By then, what rolled out of Lagos in 2007 as a beaten and dominated political rump after General Obasanjo’s electoral heist would have become the dominant political tendency in the country.

     And this is where the paradox turns on its head. The sympathetic undertaker himself needs our sympathy. While total dominance and political supremacy based on deal-making and the construction of ingenious alliances among different factions of the political elites will do for electoral triumph, hegemony is more enduring and more deeply rooted because it is based on a set of ideals forged in the political imaginary of the people and burnt into their consciousness. This is why the Buhari tendency will fade off and fizzle out in a matter of years. Beyond an emotive identification with the northern masses and divisive recourse to ethnic exceptionalism, Buhari never set down his ideals in writing, unlike Nasser with his Pan-Arabic nationalism and Muammar Ghadaffi with his anti-Western polemics. You cannot give what you don’t have. Buhari was never a man of ideas and never pretended to be an intellectual. But this is also why after almost a decade in power he could not make a serious dent on the condition of the northern masses, unlike Nasser and Ghadaffi. President Tinubu should avoid this trap of power pragmatism in which holding on to power is all that matters. It is the graveyard of enduring legacy.