He has every reason to beat his chest. Amidst widespread apprehension in the build up to the presidential election on March 28, Emmanuel Ehiemua, the Convener of Build A Nation Initiative and CEO of popular accounting firm, Oracle Nigeria Limited, insisted that the election would be very peaceful. That was at a time a good number of Nigerians were relocating their families abroad because they anticipated that the elections would be very violent. Their fears were accentuated by a prediction allegedly made by the United States of America that the country would break up in 2015.
Speaking with The Nation after the elections that saw the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan accepting his defeat from the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), the renowned accountant reiterated his earlier position that God Himself was in absolute control of the elections because He had designed Nigeria to be of immense blessing to Africa and the rest of the world.
“The elections were largely peaceful,” he recalled. “The anxiety expressed before the elections turned out to be unfounded because the elections were well planned and well carried out. It was not a perfect election, but then, we didn’t expect perfection, especially when a new technology was being used. It was by the grace of God that it turned out the way it did.
“At Build a Nation Initiative, we believe that we express the will and purpose of God, because God created Nigeria for a purpose and that purpose must be fulfilled.”
Ehiemua believes that the emergence of Jonathan as the President in the election he also contested with Buhari in 2011 was designed by God to provoke Nigerians and jolt them out of their slumber in matters concerning governance.
He said: “In the sight of God, there are no coincidences. In 2011, you had Jonathan and Buhari, and God decided to use Jonathan and he became the President. But God also gave him a mission to provoke and wake Nigerians up, and this he did admirably. By the time the election came, Nigerians had become so mobilised because they suddenly realised that they had powers that they could use. As it turned out, by the time the Nigerian people expressed their power, President Jonathan was defeated at the polls and Buhari was elected.
“The way they came out, you could see that the people were enjoying a new awareness of their importance in the governance of the country. The use of Jonathan was meant to create awareness in the minds of Nigerians. It was meant to provoke them, and that was what happened. That was why the two gentlemen contested again in 2015.
“So, Jonathan has finished his mission as ordained by God and has now passed the baton to Buhari in a seamless manner because these are all within the will of God. It is now left for Buhari to do what is called the heavy lifting. Even the way President Jonathan reacted caught everybody by surprise. It is consistent with the fact that he was acting as an agent of God. He demonstrated quite clearly that Nigeria was the winner.
Asked whether Buhari fits into his earlier description of the father figure he said Nigerians needed to pilot the nation’s affairs, he said: “My response to that is that time will tell. We cannot conclude that now. Buhari, by virtue of his age, has that natural advantage. But until we go through his administration, we cannot really tell how history is likely to judge him.
“The final credit has to go to God. Like we said in Build A Nation Initiative, God is in full control of the affairs of Nigeria. It is He that is directing everything. So, even the election, though not perfect, still reflected the will of God because the voice of the people is the voice of God.”
He charged all Nigerians of goodwill and purpose to pray for Buhari who he said has a very big task ahead.
“The pre-election promises he made to Nigerians would challenge him. His promise to fight corruption and insecurity and his promise to fix our economy are all major promises. The other thing is that Nigerians have now become aware, knowledgeable and impatient. These are terrible combinations for any leader to handle,” he noted.
He said the most urgent of the tasks ahead of the President-elect is to unite all sections of the nation. “When you look at the election, I think Buhari scored about 15 million votes while Jonathan scored about 12 million. It was a difference of two-point-something million, which means a significant population voted for Jonathan. Since he has promised to deal with issues like corruption, impunity and so on, it is expected that he will live up to his promises.
But the easiest way to cause disaffection in the country will be the perception of selective application of his campaign promises. When a party wins an election, there is always that temptation to marginalise their opponents in order to settle scores and things like that.
“Happily, the president has warned his supporters not to molest or harass the opposition. So we pray that he enforces that directive. But clearly, he is the one that is going to be involved now in executing his campaign promises.
“I would add here that Buhari is also a sleeper who has now been activated just like Jonathan was activated in 2011. So, it is victory for Nigeria and a confirmation of the love that God has for Nigeria. He has created Nigeria for a purpose and that purpose must be fulfilled.”
Reminded that Buhari had previously said that his administration would not probe anyone, contrary to what is going on now, he said: “We cannot prejudge God’s plan for Nigeria. When we say that God is in control, we say that with caution. Buhari had said he would let bygones be bygones, but he is not really the one in control but God. If God decides that He has to take certain actions He considers necessary in shaping the Nigeria He has created, nobody can alter that. So everything depends on God.
“But look at it from the human angle. Buhari said the past would be treated as the past. But, I’m sorry, this is not a matter for him to decide; it is God’s will that will be done because the election was a reflection of God’s will for Nigeria at this time. His victory is consistent with God’s will. Therefore, his subsequent actions will also be determined by God’s will.
“Nigerians have been awakened but the issue now is how this awakening is going to play out. There seems to be a vacuum at the moment. Nigerians have been awakened, but the question is to what? At Build A Nation Initiative, we believe that Nigeria was created for a purpose and that purpose must be fulfilled. Nigeria was created to be a blessing to Africa and also to the entire African people in Diaspora.
“You know the black race is at the bottom of the hill. Forget about all our millionaires. When you talk about the comity of nations, the black people are at the bottom. But we know that there is a movement in the world and God’s will is playing out in the world and a lot of changes are happening.
“From Nigeria’s election, the whole world is now aware that a new super power has been awakened. Remember that the world was still celebrating Nigeria for overcoming the outbreak of Ebola in the country. That was something that even advanced nations would find very difficult to do in similar circumstances. And the euphoria was yet to die down when we proved to the world that we are capable of conducting free, fair, credible and peaceful elections in spite of the doubts nursed by the entire world.
‘So, forget about what you see around you. You need to be able to see the happenings from a higher level. A new super power has been awakened by the conquest of Ebola and the power of the elections. We have to channel the awareness properly so that God’s vision for Nigeria will be fulfilled.
“Once we are able to get on track, there is no limit to how far we can go. I would even say that knowing the resilience and doggedness, the intellect and wisdom that Nigerians are able to express, a lot of the issues that are confronting Buhari will be resolved by Nigerians.
“Therefore, he has to be very careful and vigilant. He must not encourage too much of foreign meddlesomeness. Let the solutions come from Nigerians. Home-grown solutions are best for Nigeria. You cannot try to be cleverer than God. What information do you have that is not already available to Him?”
