The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Muhammadu Buhari

  • Yoked to inanities

    Yoked to inanities

    As in life, as in death: former President Muhammadu Buhari (PMB) shut down what might have flared into — and still be — a raging inanity.

    That controversy brewed on July 9, at the launch of Garba Shehu’s book, According to the President: Lesson from a Presidential Spokesman’s Experience.  It was set to grow into a media din — until PMB’s death, in London, England, on July 13, squelched it all.

    The old soldier — in death, as in life — brooked no inane quips, no sundry rants! So, his deployment of what Ripples called “strategic deafness” during his presidency.

    The controversy?  Boss Mustapha’s banger: “When you sum up” what “… gave us victory in 2015, the aggregate of the total vote were 15.4 million votes.  So, … what we brought to the table — the other parties … in the merger — in addition to Buhari’s12.2 million votes, were 3.2 million votes.”

    Armageddon!  Differently phrased, all what the APC merger — read the South West huffing-and-puffing, and flexing of messianic muscles — added to PMB’s 2015 win were barely three million votes, in a 15.4 million haul!  Armageddon!

    Those stung would howl.  Those that sting would smirk.  

    The stung South West: for a wilful diminution of its well — and fairly acclaimed — help to, at last, get PMB across the presidential line.

    But the stinging “North” — of Mustapha, PMB’s second Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF): no retreat, no surrender, Nigerian politics being what it is!

    Still, Ripples cares less about these partisan warriors — inside the same party! — for politicians would be politicians. The worry is the media, which reflex always gets drawn into sterile controversies, while critical issues crave attention.

    In truth, Mustapha’s take was a fib — but not because the “12 million votes” were duds. But without the North-West/South West entente that romped APC into life, PMB would — yet again — have laboured in vain.

    But as the South West came through for PMB in 2015, the North West too came through for PBAT in 2023.  The North East though, got the Vice President. 

    That alliance fired President Bola Tinunbu to power; and may yet gift him an encore in 2027 — never mind the palace conspiracy theories and theorists: by Buharists (read the CPC rogue minority); and BATists (read rash players in the BAT ruling court).  Also add: media “we vs them” commentators, that screech shriller than the bereaved!

    Yes, Mustapha’s “12 million votes” claim was provocative. But that wasn’t his only take. 

    His other take was that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu (PBAT) was building on PMB’s policies and programmes: in infrastructure, in agriculture, and sundry sectors, thus from 2015, breathing fresh life, after the PDP-era paralysis of 16 desert years.

    His exact words: “President Tinubu’s administration has not only retained the momentum of governance reforms, but has introduced bold initiatives that further entrench institutional credibility and fiscal sustainability.”

    This is true: with virtually all-Nigeria now construction sites in roads and rail.  That’s an APC legacy, near-absolutely unknown to the pre-2015 PDP years.

    So, why didn’t this second comment get traction, though it would have neatly juxtaposed the APC era with the PDP epoch?

    Again, that’s ode to inanities: to which both politicians, and the often sensational media, are yoked!  No wonder, a good chunk of public discourse is mere junk.

    Little wonder too, political desperadoes, with annoying “me-too” complexes, and a surfeit of pay-as-you-go analysts, are ever ready to drum “we-are-always-a-hopeless-case” dirges, otherwise known as “nothing is happening”!

    With such merry recourse to fashionable self-ridicule, it’s little surprise that at mid-term, the media gets more drawn to shrill voices that bad-mouth; not crack minds that grind out solutions, to long-term hard problems.

    But back to Mustapha’s sweet-sour takes — twin-hyperboles, though.

    PMB’s “12 million” votes might be statistically correct.  But that they romped him into power is wrong.  Had the South West votes not gifted the required national spread, PMB would still have come short.

    No less hyperbolic was the claim that PBAT was, neat and sweet, deepening the PMB policy regime.  That isn’t true in every material particular.

    PMB was brilliant in infrastructure and agriculture, with near-zero cash, setting up new exciting templates, after the PDP years.  But he wasn’t so brilliant in monetary policy. 

    Indeed, he had little choice outside debt capital because the till was empty.  The PDP-era, of gargantuan steal, had cleaned out the till. Under President Goodluck Jonathan (2010-2015), that heist had become an epidemic.

    PBAT, on the other hand, has been sparkling in monetary policy, while maintaining the PMB-era strides in infrastructure, with many legacy projects; but far less glaring in agriculture, though he promises a dramatic upsurge, during the harvest months, 2025.

    The clear elephant in the room, for PBAT, is still the food inflation challenge, though progressive numbers suggest it’s trending down — but not as down as many crave.

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    But these two contrasts build one solid story.  From a suspect monetary policy of its early nativity (2015 to 2023), the APC order, under two presidents, has evolved a far more organic, and certainly, far more coherent and promising economic vista, than anytime during the Obasanjo-led PDP era (1999-2015).

    Yeah, to Nigeria’s brow-beaten citizenry, “reforms” has become a buzz word.  That word, it was, that the Obasanjo lobby waved, as a magic wand, to sell his doomed third term agenda. 

    But unlike the Obasanjo era, these present “reforms” are springing visible projects — roads and rail — aside more reassuring economic numbers.

    Still again, the mighty elephant in the room: reform pains!  These pains condemn the government to rivals’ emotive blackmail.  The pocket still hurts. The belly still rumbles.  That’s the opposition charter, en route 2027 — to milk the people’s misery!

    By fixing PMB-era monetary challenge — which Chukwuma Soludo hyperbolized as a “dead economy” — PBAT has somewhat made the economy potentially more rounded, though traditional progressives continue to rile at his harsh neo-liberal choices, which seem to leave the people — in any case, the most vulnerable — winded and angry.

    On balance though, there would appear a progressive uplift from the PMB years — a rich continuity the ruling order ought to toast, not break into Buharist-BATist free-for-all, as if under opposition curse.

    Proof?  Barely 10 years after PMB’s Lagos-Ibadan-Kano medium gauge rail, PBAT is sighting a bullet train, linked to Lagos-Abuja-Kano; and Abuja-Port Harcourt — in three years!

    That was virtually impossible during the PDP years — except PDP projects as audio tricks (witness the endless stunts pulled on the 2nd Niger Bridge) — even with the Jonathan parting gift of the Abuja-Kaduna rail, which PMB completed and inaugurated.

    So for APC, doesn’t it then make more sense to frame public communication that consolidates its gain from 2015, rather than split hairs between 2015 and 2023?

    Had it done that, it would have taken the wind off the sail of power opportunists, that offer little beyond cheap emotive blackmail.

  • Buhari and his captive 12 million votes

    Buhari and his captive 12 million votes

    By Olabode Lucas

    The late Muhammadu Buhari who was the President of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023 could not by any stretch of imagination be regarded as a dyed in wool politician. A close study of him, right from the time he was a military Head of State from December 1983 to July 1985, through to the time he was a democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, showed him as somebody who had disdain for politics. However, this does not mean that he did not crave for political power when he was alive, as evident by his strenuous three failed attempts at presidential polls in 2003, 2007 and 2011 before eventually taking the political power in 2015.

    Despite the attitude of the late Buhari to politics, he had a cult followership in politics in the northern part of the country and perhaps this was the main reason why a northern political group allegedly drafted him into politics. According to Buba Galadima, a political gadfly and a chieftain of New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Buhari was recruited into Nigerian political space so that he could help to curb Oduduwa Peoples Congress from uprooting Fulani structures in Ilorin. 

    The cult-like followership of the late Buhari in the North was reflected in the votes he garnered in all the elections he contested since he entered political fray. In 2003 presidential election, when he contested under the platform of ANPP, he garnered 12,710,022 votes which was 32% of the total votes cast at the election, while in 2007 when he contested against the late Umaru Yar’Adua, his votes dropped to 6,605,299, which came to 19% of the total votes cast at that election. In the 2011 presidential election when he contested under his newly formed party, the CPC, the late Buhari’s votes rose to 12,214,853 which was also 32% of the total votes cast at the election.

    However, despite his huge votes in the 2003, 2007 and 2011 presidential elections, the late Buhari could not clinch the presidency until 2015 when he was the candidate of APC, a more widely spread party than his former parties. In this presidential election, his votes soared to 15,191,847 representing 56% of the total votes cast. The late Buhari thus failed to get up to his captured votes of 12 million only in 2007 when he contested against Umaru Yar’Adua, another formidable northern politician.

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    Since the demise of Buhari, many political pundits had speculated on who would inherit his cult-like followership in the North together with his captured 12million votes. Some even suggested that the late president had gone to the grave with his votes. It has to be stated however, that  15 million votes of Buhari in the 2019 presidential election was not totally transferred to  Bola Ahmed Tinubu who contested the 2023 under the platform of APC, the party of President Buhari. In the 2023 presidential election which was a three cornered fight, Tinubu was able to win the contest with a score of 8,794,724 votes which translated to 36.6% of the total votes cast. Atiku of PDP came second with 6,984,520 votes (29%) and Peter Obi came third with 6,101,533 votes (25.4%).

    Although President Bola Tinubu won the majority of his votes in the northern part of the country to become the president in 2023, it was obvious that he got a tiny fraction of the captured 12 million votes of the late Buhari in the North. One can only speculate the reasons why this situation happened as electoral votes defy any mathematical permutations. However, one cannot be too wrong to suggest that the tepid support given by the late Buhari to Tinubu’s candidature was one of the reasons why Tinubu could not get most of Buhari’s famed captured votes in the North. The body language of the Buhari during the preparations for the 2023 presidential election showed that he would have preferred another northerner in APC instead of Tinubu to succeed him after his own eight-year tenure. Many felt that his preferred choice was Senator Ahmad Lawan from Yobe State who was the then Senate President.  It was also possible that 12 million votes usually attributed to Buhari were not entirely genuine votes which might have been brought about by over voting, a practice that was prevalent in our elections since 1999. The use of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) in the 2023 election minimized the evil and undemocratic over voting and ballot stuffing which marred our previous elections. Consequent upon the use of BVAS, the recorded turnout of voters of 27% in the 2023 presidential election was much lower than the recorded turnout in 1999 (52.3%), 2003 (69%), 2007 (57.5%), 2011 (58.7%), 2015 (43.7%) and 2019 (34.8%). The ‘low turnout ‘ of voters must have affected the votes garnered by the candidates in the 2023 presidential election. There is no doubt that our present voter registration in the country is inaccurate and unreliable as it contains humungous level of multiple registrations.

    The socio-political configuration of Nigeria right from the colonial era gave the northern part of our country an unassailable control of the political trajectory in our country. The uneven-handed British colonialists left three unequal regions with the Northern Region overwhelming the two regions in the South in terms of land mass and population which was contrived. Subsequent rulers of the country, especially the military overlords who were mainly from the northern part of the country, compounded the situation to the advantage of the North. From the 12- state structure of 1967, brought about by the Yakubu Gowon military administration designed to undermine Ojukwu’s attempt to break up the country, the country is now configured into 36 states with one capital territory of Abuja. In the present structure, the North has 19 states with the federal capital territory at Abuja, while the South has 17 states unlike the configuration in 1967 when the North and the South had six states each. In addition, the country has 768 local government Councils and six area councils, the distributions of which were skewed to the advantage of the North.

    All these political configurations give an unbridgeable advantage to the North in politics and revenue allocations and presently, nobody can be the president of the country without massive votes from the North. Chief Olu Falaye of AD/ANPP learnt this bitter lesson in 1999, so also were Atiku of ACN in 2007 and Goodluck Jonathan in 2015. In view of this present political reality, the votes of supporters of Buhari in the North would still be relevant in future presidential elections in the country and these votes have to be harnessed. All things being equal, the ruling party, APC, which brought the late Buhari to power in 2015 and 2019 after three failed attempts, should automatically be the home of these votes. However, nothing is certain in politics.

    •Professor Lucas writes from Old Bodija, Ibadan

  • Buhari as elected president: My verdict

    Buhari as elected president: My verdict

    By Ray Ekpu

    The people who packaged Muhammadu Buhari for sale to the public before the presidential election of 2015 must have been public relations superstars. He wore various attires representing the various tribes of Nigeria and then topped it up with a designer dinner suit and bow-tie, something he neither wore before then nor after that.

    After the election he returned to wearing his long gown or agbada. That return was symbolic. It meant that even though his promoters were telling Nigerians he was ready for change, he symbolically told them he was ready to remain his old rigid self. They told us that as a former military leader he was ready, willing and able to smoke out the Boko Haram terrorists who had given President Goodluck Jonathan and Nigerians hell. We believed them. And when Boko Haram was causing mayhem in various parts of the North and Buhari had no answer, he lamely told Nigerians “Technically, we have won the war against Boko Haram.” Nigerians then had to learn the new meaning of technically to mean “failure.”

    And that is a man who told Nigerians at his re-election victory speech that “you shall be able to go to bed knowing that you are safe.” We went to bed without feeling or thinking or knowing that we were safe because we were not safe. The terrorists had become more ferocious, more violent and more daring. Now we are all at their mercy and they are merciless.

    When Buhari was sworn in as an elected president, many Nigerians thought that having campaigned in all parts of Nigeria four times, he knew enough excellent, seasoned and technologically sound Nigerians to appoint immediately into his cabinet. But it took him six months to pick his team and when he did, we did not find any new faces that were capable of bringing innovations into a country that needed innovations badly. Those Nigerians who thought that he would hit the ground running because of the positions he had held in the past were disappointed as he hit the ground crawling.

    Many people admired Buhari for his simplicity, modesty and his belief in a united Nigeria. Others also believed that he was a man of high integrity who was also principled. As he mounted the saddle these qualities were put to severe test. His admirers were happy that he stopped in their tracks the separatists that had been causing problems in Igboland and Yorubaland in their quest for separate countries. It was obvious that someone who had fought in the Nigerian civil war to keep Nigeria one was not likely to yield an inch of Nigerian soil to the separatists. That was something to give him credit for.

    He has also earned some credit for establishing the railway system in some parts of the country, building roads and bridges and linking them with hitherto inaccessible parts of Nigeria. Of particular importance for people in the Eastern part of the country is the building of the second Niger Bridge to ease the traffic gridlock at the first Niger Bridge.

    For the Niger Delta people, the long awaited Petroleum Industry Bill which he signed into law in 2021 after two decades of pussy-footing by previous governments was a welcome development. Even though only a meagre 3% was approved as community development fund instead of the expected 10%, Buhari deserves some credit for the decision. However, his failure to resolve the Ogoni crisis or to respond positively to the 16-point agenda submitted to him by PANDEF was a source of irritation in the Niger Delta. The only item that he attended to was the University in Delta State.

    Another idea for which he deserves credit was the whistle blowing policy which encouraged citizens to expose corruption for some rewards. Corruption was a major item on his agenda and at the end of his tenure the government said that it had prosecuted and got convicted about 600 corrupt people. But his prosecution of corruption was tepid, very tepid, as there were many corrupt people within his government. Infact, his party leader openly said that anyone who wanted to be free from prosecution for corruption should walk over to the ruling party and his sins would be forgiven. During his inauguration on May 29, 2015 Buhari had said “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” He did not kill corruption; corruption is still walking on four legs though it has not yet killed Nigeria. But it is doing considerable damage to the psyche and reputation of Nigeria. It is killing Nigeria by installments.

    The most devastating policy of his government was perhaps the change of currency approved by him for the Central Bank to execute. It was a savage policy that brought untold hardship to millions of people. On one occasion I went to a bank to withdraw N100,000. The supervisor said to me: “Mr Ekpu, we are only paying N2,000 but as for you, we can pay you N3,000.” She thought she was doing me a big favour. I sighed and went away. Several people committed suicide when they could not get money out of the system. Some of them set some banks ablaze. The worst condemnation of that government’s policy on the change of currency was that several governors of the ruling party led by the governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai dragged the government and the Central Bank to court. The court ruled in their favour. That is what brought some kind of relief to Nigerians.

    Buhari’s human rights record was eminently atrocious. He violently suppressed freedom in the name of law and order and did not care a hoot what the courts said. The cases of Sheik Ibrahim Elzakzaky and the former National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki who were detained for years despite the decisions of various courts that ordered their release. The Dasuki case even went up to the ECOWAS Court which ordered that he should be released. The Buhari government refused to comply. In these two cases Buhari exhibited once again his penchant for tyranny and inflexibility. It is when someone has power that his morality is truly tested. In these two cases among others, Buhari’s morality was tested. He failed the test woefully.

    In October 2020 Nigerians assembled at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos and peacefully protested against police brutality. The government sent soldiers to the place of protest who shot, killed and wounded several people. That was another evidence of cruelty exhibited by the Buhari administration, an indication that even in a democracy peaceful protests were banned.

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    In February 2015, Buhari had a meeting with Nigerians in the United Kingdom. There he made a promise to Nigerians when he said: “We intend to bring back our national carrier, the Nigeria Airways. We shall do this by bringing all the aircraft in the presidential fleet into the Nigeria Airways and within a year increase the fleet to about 20.”

    This is one of the most outstanding failed promises made by Buhari. He stayed for eight years without even mentioning it again and a few days to his departure there were noises about bringing the Ethiopian Airline to come and help Nigeria to establish a national carrier. It all ended like a bar room gossip by drunkards. Today, Nigeria does not have a national carrier. That promise has refused to fly away.

    Also for eight solid years the four refineries owned by the federal government stayed unoperational. Nigeria, an oil producing country was exporting crude oil but importing petroleum products, what an irony? Buhari did not get the refineries repaired and did not get them sold, and did not build new ones. Nigeria remained at the mercy of shylock marketers who corruptly inflated the prices of the petroleum products astronomically. In such matters he was clearly weak, very weak, an insensitive, a very insensitive leader who for eight years played the laid-back game.

    Buhari was accused by some critics of nepotism in his appointments. Some critics also accused him of ethnic and religious irredentism particularly because he failed or refused to rein in Fulani herdsmen who were attacking farmers and destroying their farmlands with their cattle. Instead of seeking to establish ranches for the herdsmen, Buhari thought the solution was to discover grazing routes that herdsmen used in the 40s and 50s. He then discovered that was not a viable solution to the problem because these grazing routes had been overtaken by development.

    For a man who was touted as being a nationalist and a patriot you would expect that he would seek to hand-over power to a southerner. Bola Tinubu, who helped him to get elected was interested. His deputy, Yemi Osinbajo was also interested. He ignored both men and went for another northerner, Ahmed Lawan who was then the Senate President. Did his action show that he believes in one Nigeria? Maybe he believed in one Nigeria that would be in the pocket of the north. The good thing is that some wise northern governors opposed the idea. That way what would have been a serious problem for Nigeria was averted.

     Buhari’s age and ailments were a source of irritation for him. He was away for medical treatment in the United Kingdom for a total of 225 days. If he knew he wasn’t well, why did he not throw in the towel? The reason is that power is sweet, extremely sweet. His health was a handicap, so was his age.

    It is fair to say that in those eight years he must have done his best. But was his best good enough for Nigeria? My verdict. No.

  • Buhari, epitome of simplicity and gritBuhariBuhari, epitome of simplicity and grit

    Buhari, epitome of simplicity and gritBuhariBuhari, epitome of simplicity and grit

    Sir: Most great leaders are more admired in death than alive. Late Muhammadu Buhari belongs to such circle of great men. The avalanche of tributes and memorials that greeted his death recently was a great testament to his unimpeachable greatness as Nigeria’s military and civilian leader.

    As military head of state between 1983 and 1985, most Nigerians misunderstood his real motives as a result of what many termed his highhanded approach to governance of the people and Nigeria’s patrimonies. But for his deposition in a counter coup of 1985 by Ibrahim Babangida and his military cohorts, the War Against Indiscipline which Buhari established in 1984, like the NYSC established by Gowon in 1973, could have been one of Nigeria’s greatest legacies.

    He was a man imbued by a honest intention and a sense of purpose, an astute mindedness for a greater Nigeria in a comity of nations. A highly incorruptible man whose simplicity of lifestyle understood life’s philosophy, that we came to the world with nothing and shall also exit it with nothing.

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    A tarcitum like late President Musa Yar Adua, in and out of office, Buhari’s carriage was with aplomb, imbued with simplicity and devoid of any air of arrogance or disdainfulness towards anyone. He was a friend to the talakawa, mekunnu and the hoi polloi of the society. This was the magic wand behind his cult-like following, particularly in the North. Like the late Sir Ahmadu Bello, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Adegoke Adelabu (Penkelemesi) and of course the Zik of Africa, Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, late Buhari was a political colossus with a name that was inspiring.

    Buhari was a forthright man who never forgot those who helped him at one time or the other. In other words, he was a gratuitous man who was fond of remembering good deeds done to him and tries to repay back. After series of political failures at the presidency, prior to 2015, precisely in 2011, he broke down in tears and vowed never to contest again. But the then editor of Daily  Sun, Femi Adesina wrote a piece encouraging him not to throw in the towel, but to throng on in the hope of winning one day. In 2015 Buhari won and his first appointee was Femi Adesina as his media adviser.

    As human beings, we have our failings but the late Buhari in spite of his few shortcomings as a leader, did raise Nigeria’s pedestal of greatness higher than most of his predecessors.

    Finally, Buhari is a Nigerian meteor in the pantheon of Nigeria’s First Republic rulers.

    •Sunday Olagunju, Ibadan, Oyo State

  • 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.

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    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.

  • Our leaders keep failing the health sector

    Our leaders keep failing the health sector

    Sir: News of President Muhammadu Buhari’s death in a London clinic is a moment of deep reflection, not just on the life of a former leader, but on the failure of a system that continues to betray the trust of its people. Why do our leaders always run to Europe, India, the United States, or even Egypt when they are sick? Why have we failed to invest in the Nigerian health sector, despite being the largest black nation in the world and one of Africa’s biggest economies?

    We are blessed with some of the best medical doctors, not only in Nigeria but across the globe. Nigerian doctors are performing wonders in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and other developed countries. Ironically, these are the same places our leaders go when they fall ill. From 1999 to 2025, not one of our leaders has built a world-class hospital that even they trust enough to use. Why?

    It is painful that the spokesman of the late President Buhari once said his boss would have died long ago if he had relied on medical care in Nigeria. That statement alone is a deep insult to the thousands of dedicated Nigerian medical personnel working day and night in difficult conditions. How are they supposed to feel when the very government that employs them has no faith in their ability?

    The sad truth is that we have the resources. We have the human capital. But we lack the political will. In the 1970s, Saudi royals came to Nigeria for medical treatment. Today, Nigeria sends its leaders abroad for what should be basic care. Our best doctors are running away, taking any opportunity to leave the country for better working conditions. It is a national shame.

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    Gimba Kakanda once reminded us of a powerful story. In 1989, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had a heart attack. His doctors advised surgery in the United States, but he refused. He insisted on being treated at home in Malaysia. He said, “I had to have faith in our Malaysian doctors.” He knew that if he, the Prime Minister, did not trust local doctors, the people would never.

    He stayed in Malaysia and got treated. After that experience, he went on to build world-class hospitals. By 2018, at the age of 92, Mahathir was re-elected as Prime Minister. His people remembered his courage, his honesty, and his leadership.

    That is the difference. In Nigeria, we have had leaders who flee the country when they are ill, who fail to leave behind even a single hospital that the average citizen can depend on. They do not lead by example. They do not show faith in their own country. How can we expect young Nigerians to believe in Nigeria when even their leaders do not?

    It is not too late to change. But it will require more than words. It will require a leader who, like Mahathir, is ready to take risks for the good of the people. A leader who will build a health system that works for all, not just for the rich or the powerful. A leader who will choose to live and die with the people, not escape them.

    Nigeria deserves better. Our doctors deserve respect. And our people deserve leaders who will build a country we can all trust, even in sickness.

    •Baba Abdullahi Machina, <abdullahibabamachina@gmail.com>

  • 2025-27: Don’t waste 20 months!

    2025-27: Don’t waste 20 months!

    The needless, selfish, calculating, shortsighted, diversionary, derisive but definitely carefully  orchestrated earthquake upheaval and tsunami turmoil in the political landscape throw up many obstacles on the formerly anticipated smooth road to the 2027 election and the ‘traditionally agreed’ cyclical double term amounting to eight years for southern power. Compounded by the death of former president, Muhammadu Buhari, commanding 7-12million votes it, has brought the 2027 election into sharp focus. It is already negatively impacting politics, political alignments and especially political performance and political planning.

    Disgracefully, many politicians want Nigeria to stop and to suddenly appear in 2027. They behave as if the entire remaining five months of 2025 and 12 months of 2026 governance year and two or three months of 2027 do not matter. But that intervening time is real time. It is almost 20 months. Nigerian cannot lose or waste 20 months to political inertia. Twenty months is an instant in the life of a politician. But that real time is 20 months of real lives of the 160million Nigerians in urgent need of positive infrastructure impact by the current already voted in governance structures at federal, state and LGA.

    Incumbent politicians, contractors and civil servants must become razor-focused on the 20-month welfare of the entire population which includes the electorate that voted for them in 2023 and also all living Nigerians be they potential voters or not.  This time before the actual election must not be abandoned to campaigns with zero delivery politics.

    The 2027 electorate, including most of those reading this article and several million additional 18-22 year olds, ‘2027 FIRST TIME VOTERS’ who are currently growing into the 18+electoral population, will be faced with ‘the usual’ deceptions, bribery and corruption of fact and fictional claims and denials, and pressures  up to and on the day of the election in 2027.

    What a wonderful thing it would be if we could offer our new young voters an honest @abiola standard 2027 election and of course a non-Babangida annulled result. But before then, we the people must not allow the political class to take their eye off the ‘Good Governance’ part of their contract with the people. The electorate will not and must not tolerate neglect of ‘good governance’ by those we have elected in 2023 who have our vote, our mandate and our money to do the ‘2023-2027job’.  If they fail, they should be put to the test and if confirmed to be found wanting, removed at the next election 2027 regardless of their political party to make way for others more willing to serve a full uninterrupted four years and not truncated in 2030 for a repeat performance of the ongoing 20 month pre-2027 campaign.

    For years Nigeria has routinely ‘lost a year to irresponsible pre-election politics’ causing government paralysis every four years. We must immediately combat this risk of 160million Fellow Nigerians losing 20 months of Good Governance in this election cycle. In order to force  the current set of  politicians at federal, state and LGA to fulfill their mandated responsibility, for which, we tend to forget, they volunteered it would pay all the governments at federal, state and LGA to begin to PUBLISH WEEKLY OR CERTAINLY MONTHLY REPORTS in all areas of public/ people, public/politician interface. The NGOs which specialize in governance monitoring, naming and shaming, evaluation reports, must redouble their efforts and widen their efforts and the publicity during these 20 months pre-2027 to ensure Nigeria and Nigerians are at last given the best possible ‘Political Service Delivery’ and ‘Good Governance’ available.

    This will take a greater sense of responsibility and commitment to Fellow Nigerians and Good Governance on the part of the current incumbent political office holders, their advisers -special and ordinary, the surrounding civil service, regardless of political party.

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    No political party has delivered anything close to the needs of the people when compared to what they collectively consume as ‘politics management fee’-the huge cost today of political service delivery by the presidency, NASS-Senate and Reps, the cost of minsters, special advisers, ministries etcetera.

    Nigeria cannot continue to carry on its head, a calabash of the greedy needs Nigeria’s political class. The political calabash is so heavy it is crushing Nigeria’s neck bones and spine and reducing our performance. Nigeria exemplifies the fact than no country can grow if political class values itself so highly above the citizenry. We do not need to catalogue the woes that have faced and are still facing Nigerians in daily life. They are summarized in the poor supply of power, water, health, education, security, shelter everywhere.

    If all the money corruptly diverted and ‘corruptly overpaid’ to politicians as salaries, allowances and unearned pensions had been used directly on the citizenry, many of these problems would have been solved just like in many other countries.

    Ask yourself – ‘Why are our standard targets ‘Minimal Standards?’ No country can grow if it uses ‘minimum standards’ as its goal, because goals are usually never met. That is why doing nothing passes for doing something in Nigeria. So politicians have failed us even before we set out to succeed. We must ask ourselves what do governments actually do well and what will they do between now and 2027? They are very good at getting hyper-paid for undelivered services. Come 2027 politicians must campaign for and we must vote to markedly reduce political overheads.

  • No guarantee

    No guarantee

    Former President Muhammadu Buhari’s death from an undisclosed illness at an elite London hospital on July 13 predictably raised further questions about Nigerian leaders and their penchant for medical tourism. He was 82.  

    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. 

     Speaking on his death, the President of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Tope Osundara, was reported saying, “If those in the corridors of power cannot trust the very system they are building, it raises serious questions about why medical tourism continues despite all the advocacy against it.”

    Also, the President of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Prof. Bala Audu, was quoted as saying, “Healthcare is a personal matter, and people follow their doctors wherever they go, even across borders if they can afford it. But 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.” 

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    Interestingly, 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.”

    The implication that Nigerian medical practitioners are incompetent is “a false and dangerous narrative,” Osundara asserted.  Audu described the argument as “deeply offensive to the many competent Nigerian doctors and nurses saving lives every day under difficult conditions.” He 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.”

    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.

  • Muhammadu Buhari: A leader of unwavering conviction, enduring legacy

    Muhammadu Buhari: A leader of unwavering conviction, enduring legacy

    By Barr Halima Alfa 

    The passing of Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday July 13, 2025, at the London clinic marked the end of an era in Nigerian politics. As a former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Buhari left an indelible mark on the nation’s history. His life was a testament to unwavering conviction, dedication to public service, and a relentless pursuit of progress. This tribute article celebrates his achievements, contributions to Nigeria and its people, and humanity in its entirety. 

    Essentially, being Baba’s political daughter, I will be remiss to not add my voice to the  outpouring of tributes that followed last week’s passing of a  leader, who stood tall and proud fighting corruption, and speaking loud for the rights of the people;  a man that gave his all, and let the nation’s hope stand tall in his heart. 

    Born in the native city of Daura some Eighty -Two years ago, President Muhammadu Buhari (Baba Buhari as we mostly call him) lived a lovely life that traversed intimate family involvements, an eventful military career and a remarkable political trajectory that admits significant milestones of successes and challenges. 

    It would be recalled that Buhari’s rise to power began when he served as the country’s Head of State from 1983 to 1985, and in between 2002 – 2003, foraying into mainstream democratic politics with a presidency bid under the platform of the platform of the All Progressives Party (APP) and eventually winning Nigerian the presidency in 2015. 

    My remarkable engagements with Baba were forged through the APP/ANPP alliance, and involved many memorable and interesting moments, covering both personal and national scenarios. His dedication and humility served as an inspiration to many, and I remember with great fondness,  during one of the Presidential Election campaign rally in ABA, Abia state when the campaign podium collapsed while we were all standing together with Baba on it. What he said in reaction, both resonating his deep sense of humour and humanness, all intended to reassure everyone of safety, share in the grief of people who suffered from the incident stands him out as a good human being.

    Finally, I cannot completely end my tribute to the memory of late General Mohammadu Buhari without sending my sincere appreciation and thanks to our present President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu for bearing the burden of leadership at this time of our collective national grief with the same simplicity and dignity like his late friend, ally and predecessor, General Buhari and towing the leadership line he left behind and showing all that leadership is not about personal comfort but about sacrifice. I commend the courage of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in fighting corruption and repositioning the economy of the country just like General Buhari. Sir, your policies in agriculture, infrastructural renewal and energy reforms is today shaping the nations development. You promised during the campaigns for the 2023 general elections that you would continue if elected from where President Buhari stopped and you did not disappoint because your vision and that of our late President was clear when you came together in forming the All Progressive Congress(APC); a Nigeria that can feed itself, build it’s roads, power it’s homes and educate it’s children. By continuing with the Buhari’s development plan and goals you have shown that you can be trusted. 

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    We all can see you working tiredlessly everyday inorder to fulfil that dream. Sir, we take consolation that even though Buhari no longer with us in body, we know that he will be very proud of you where ever he is right now. We share in your grief because personally we acknowledge that you have lost a great political friend, ally and a father figure In General Buhari; a man who taught us that integrity is not negotiable. We shall always remember your unwavering stand and contributions towards making the state burials for the late President Buhari a success.

     For many of your opponents and critics who daily since the death of General Buhari saying that you are using the burial to score cheap political goals and to achieve cheap political gains, I say to them sir”a pessimist is a well informed optimist” because the success of the state burials had just affirmed your eternal respect for the late President who to you was a moral compass for our generation and that to come because he was a man whose name is synonymous with honesty and deserved the respect of our nation.

    I want to also use the medium of this tribute to thank the President for naming the University of Maiduguri after the late General Buhari who fought till the last days of his Presidency to make the Northeast geopolitical zone a safer and peaceful place to live in by confronting head on the dreaded monsters of insurgency called the Boko-Haram sect who represented the greatest axis of evil that have confronted our nation. 

    General Buhari deserved this singular honour for also investing heavily in the education section because of his fervent believe that it is the greatest tool for the advancement of man and making the knowledge economy entrenched in our nation . This gesture of yours sir is deeply respectful to the former President and it goes only to show that our nation will always remember him with dignity and not done to score cheap political goals.

     You showed leadership by not trivializing this period of national mourning just to generate media attention. Your relationship to General Buhari was grounded in mutual respect and shared Democratic ideals and commitments to national developments. Your participation in the memorial events reflects statesmanship and not opportunities.

    I want to also use the opportunity of this tribute to sympathis with my state governor, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo of Kogi state for the death of one of his political father figure and also my leader, the former governor of Kogi state, the white lion,Yahaya Bello for this irreparable loss. General Buhari who we mourn today played a critical role to the growth and development of Kogi state by his guidance, leadership and advise to our young leaders. Sir, I wish he was still alive to see you implement all your visionary and strategic plans and moving the state forward by its growth and development  in all it’s physicality. As you both mourn today, we also mourn and may the Almighty Allah give you both the wisdom to bear this great loss.

     For me personally, it is a great loss because General Buhari in his life time was so familiar with the pain of our country than with compassion though he was intrinsically compassionate by living for others. I pray for the repose of his soul and for God comfort for his family and the entire nation.Our nation has lost a great leader who dedicated his life to the service of our beloved nation as chronicled in the book written by Adamu Kyuka Usman which I guided,  launched and endorsed by him titled”Mohammadu Buhari:The spirit of man” long before his death. I want his family to take consolation in the fact that In his life time he served the country with unwavering commitment, integrity, convictions and was a tireless advocate for justice and good governance. I recall his dedication to the common good and his unwavering belief in the potential of all Nigerian.

     To his beloved wife, Her Excellency,  Hajiya Aisha Buhari, his children, grandchildren and entire family, I extend my heartfelt condolences. May you find solace in the outpouring of love and support from a grateful nation. Please know that your grief is shared by all of us.

     I say good bye to a leader, a father and a dear friend and an exceptional human being whose existential significance as a  statesman and humanitarian impacted our lives in more ways than most cared to know.

    President Buhari’s memory shall, willy-nilly, live on in hearts; he will be remembered for his solidarity with the talakawas, his abiding grace and simplicity, his uncanny sense of humour and his unrelenting faith in the common good and our common humanity. May his noble soul rest in peace.

    Rest now, dear Baba Buhari, your work is done

    May your soul find peace, beneath the setting sun

    And may your memory remain, a blessing to us all

    A leader, a statesman, who gave his all.

    Barr Halima Alfa PhD, is a prominent Kogi State politician and staunch Buharist, known for her roles as Northern Zonal Coordinator of Sure-P, Zonal Chairperson of Arewa Consultative Forum, and Chairperson of the Senators’ Wives Association in the 9th Senate.

  • Buhari family expresses gratitude to Tinubu, Nigerians, global leaders for outpouring of support

    Buhari family expresses gratitude to Tinubu, Nigerians, global leaders for outpouring of support

    The family of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari has extended heartfelt appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, global dignitaries, and the Nigerian public for the overwhelming show of solidarity during the former leader’s final rites and period of mourning.

    Speaking on behalf of the family, Malam Mamman Daura, the most senior member of the Buhari household, on Sunday, conveyed their deep gratitude for the tributes, condolences, and presence of dignitaries from across the nation and beyond.

    The statement was made available to the media by Garba Shehu, former presidential spokesperson and longtime aide to the late President Buhari.

    “It is truly comforting to receive such support from the President and the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who went to the United Kingdom and later to Daura, together with ministers, during the mourning period. These have instilled confidence in all of us to face this loss with courage”, Daura said.

    He praised President Tinubu for his thoughtful gestures, including the declaration of a national holiday in Buhari’s honour and the renaming of the University of Maiduguri after the late statesman, saying “we are deeply grateful to the President”.

    The family also acknowledged the condolences received from international leaders, noting messages from King Charles III of the United Kingdom, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, the Chairman of the African Union, and the leadership of ECOWAS, as well as Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar.

    Describing Buhari’s death as “an irreparable loss” and “pain beyond words,” the family said the immense national and international sympathy had given them strength in their time of grief.

    Special appreciation was extended to Vice President Shettima and his wife, along with governors across the federation who offered their condolences in person or through representatives.

    Particular mention was made of Governors Dikko Umar Radda of Katsina and Babagana Umara Zulum of Borno, and visitors from Adamawa, Kano, Kwara, Lagos, Kaduna, Imo, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Sokoto, and Kebbi States. Former governors, including Dr. Peter Obi, were also acknowledged.

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    The family thanked former Vice Presidents Atiku Abubakar, Namadi Sambo, Yemi Osinbajo, and Ambassador Babagana Kingibe, as well as the leadership of the National Assembly—Senate President Godswill Akpabio, House Speaker Tajudeen Abbas, and Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin.

    Equally appreciated were the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; his predecessor, Boss Mustapha; Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila; and his predecessor, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, as well as former and serving cabinet members who participated in the funeral arrangements.

    Traditional rulers were not left out in the wave of gratitude. The Sultan of Sokoto, the Shehu of Borno, the Emir of Gwandu, and the host emirs of Katsina and Daura were among those commended for their solidarity, alongside other monarchs and chiefs from Nigeria and neighbouring countries.

    Malam Daura also acknowledged the presence and prayers of religious leaders from Islamic, Christian, and other faith communities, as well as the massive turnout of politicians, youth, women’s groups, and civil society actors who converged on Daura to pay their respects.

    The statement further expressed thanks to past and present military, police, and intelligence leaders; senior civil servants and bureaucrats; media practitioners; and community-based organisations for their roles in honouring the late President.

    In a significant nod to the private sector, the Buhari family expressed appreciation to business leaders who visited Daura, including Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Alhaji Muhammadu Indimi, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, Kola Adesina, and Nasiru Danu.

    “We also take this opportunity to thank the entire citizens of this country and those of other nations represented by their missions in Nigeria. All of Nigeria came out in force to bury Buhari and condole with us and pray for him”, the statement read.

    The family concluded by calling for continued prayers and asking God to bless all who stood by them during their bereavement.

    “May the Almighty Allah bless and reward you all,” the statement said.