Tag: Muhammadu Buhari
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Buhari meets Saraki, Dogara in Aso Rock
President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday night met behind closed doors with the leaderships of the Senate and House of Representatives at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, led the leadership of the two chambers to the State House.
Other Senate leaders at the meeting included the Senate Majority Leader, Ali Ndume; the Deputy Majority Leader, Bala Ibn Na’Allah; Senate Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio and Minority Whip, Philip Aduda.
The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu was absent at the meeting.
Honourable members from the House of Representatives at the meeting included the Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun; and House Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila.
They arrived the First Lady’s Conference Hall venue in a convoy at about 8.45pm.
The meeting started around 9.15pm when Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and some top government officials arrived at the venue.
Journalists were barred from covering the meeting.
Even though the agenda of the meeting was not made public, it was gathered that it was not unconnected with moves to resolve the crisis and reconcile Saraki with the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Saraki, who is being prosecuted by the Code of Conduct Tribunal for alleged false declaration of assets emerged the President of the Senate against the party’s wish.
Another issue that might be tabled during the meeting is the plan by the President to send a supplementary budget to the National Assembly.
The meeting was still in progress as at 10.53pm on Wednesday night
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Abuja blasts: Buhari vows to end violent extremism
President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday reiterated the determination of his administration to rid the country of extremism and eradicating violence.
He made the remark while speaking in Abuja after receiving briefing from a fact-finding team he sent to the parts of the Federal Capital territory which came under terrorist bombings on Friday evening.
According to him, for terrorism to be uprooted from the country, the society must be rid of violent extremism.
“The defeat of Boko Haram insurgency is in sight but to remove violence and make the country safe, we must tackle the prevalence of violent extremism. In doing this, we will learn from the experience of the international community,” President Buhari assured.
A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, quoted the President as directing the security services to raise their surveillance activities to meet the challenges of a retreating, desperate terrorist army and for the general public to remain acutely aware of security in and around them.
He sympathized with the families of the victims of the incidents as well as the families of the more than a hundred others who were killed in similar incidents a few days ago in Borno State.
The fact-finding team visited the Kuje and Nyanya bombing sites and greeted victims of the incidents at the National Hospital and the Maitama General Hospital.
They inspected the wards and mortuaries and consoled grieving family members on behalf of the President.
The fact-finding team was made up of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation,Engr. Babachir David Lawal, the Chief of Staff, Malam Abba Kyari, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health and that of the Federal Capital Territory as well as the police commissioner in charge of the FCT.
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Ministers: Nothing wrong with recycling ex-office holders- Adesina
Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, was guest on Kakaaki, a program of Africa Independent Television (AIT) on Thursday, October 1.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
First of all, let’s look at the President’s October 1 broadcast. What do you make of it?
We must recognise that it is a National Day broadcast, and he started by reviewing the state of the polity, particularly our march towards nationhood 55 years after independence. Are we a nation yet? Are we just a conglomeration of ethnic nationalities? I think on a day like this, that is the most important thing, all the others are ancillary, though important. It was an efficient broadcast, it may be short but it touched a number of crucial issues.
One issue that has been generating lots of reactions is the ministerial list. The President did promise sometime in July that he was going to name his ministers in September. But what we saw was a submission of ministerial list to the National Assembly.
We also need to mind the process and the procedure; Our federal lawmakers would be the first people to kick if the President just reeled out the names of the ministers and their portfolios. That would not be in order. What he does is to nominate and send to the Senate and after clearance, the ministers begin to work. At any given time, procedure must be followed.
Part of the broadcast that a lot of people would have loved to hear more from the President is the issue of national unity and inclusiveness in running the affairs of state. It appears that the President did not dwell on that and a lot of people looking at Nigeria believe that national unity and inclusiveness appear to be quite elusive. One would have expected the President to reassure the country that Nigeria stays as one and this is what I am going to do so that everyone has a sense of belonging.
Well, let me read this paragraph if you will permit, the President says here, “We have all the attributes of a great nation, we are not there yet because the one commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullness is the unity of purpose .This would have enabled us to achieve not only more orderly political evolution and integration, but also, continuity and economic progress. Countries far less endowed have made greater coherence and unity of purpose.” So, he touched on what you said.
Yes, he touched on it, but what I mean is that he should have dwelled on it, talking about Nigeria at 55.
You should also realize that he is President, and he should not be dwelling on just challenges, rather he should be working to achieve solutions , which is quite better.
There are some agitations that the President seems to favour some parts of the country, so the eagerness to see who and who will make the ministerial list…
He also said that order is better than speed. What Nigerians want in these appointments appears to be speed, so that they can calculate how many are from the North, South, East and West, and all that. But we will get there, that is what the President is saying.
The President wants to manage the country’s resources and he didn’t make any statement about the economy or the real sector, why is this so?
I think we are forgetting that it is a National Day broadcast. It is about Nigeria, our people, the way we have lived together. What are the challenges and how are the challenges being surmounted? All those other things cannot necessarily come into a National Day broadcast, that is what I feel.
How long shall Nigerians wait for the President to say something on the economic direction?
The economic direction is not an opinion of one man but an aggregation of what a team feels and what they have agreed upon. That team is unfolding, we have a list of proposed ministers, that list has not been unfolded and when they are approved with their portfolios , they are the ones that will articulate the economic direction. What if the President as one man has said ,this is the direction and the team comes and feels different?
Not as one man, because he has said that he has been in consultation with the Vice President and some other individual concerning solutions to our problems . Based on that statement, Nigerians are expecting that …
That would still not amount to an economic direction.
Let us talk about some things. It was reported that the President says that his relationship with the Senate president would depend on the outcome of the Code of Conduct trial. Could you confirm that ?
I was at a session in New York when the President was granting that interview to Sahara TV and he said the relationship between them is cordial. The interviewer asked if they communicate and he said , yes, many times. There were some appointments that he couldn’t have made without writing the Senate president. He was further asked what would be the relationship in the light of the code of conduct tribunal trial that is going on, and he said, “Yes, I have to wait for that process to end and that would determine the relationship,” which I think is just right.
Okay, I think that you need to break it down further, when he said that he needs to wait for the process before the relationship becomes cordial. Does it mean, it is not cordial right now?
There is separation of powers between the executive and legislature…
The President and Senate president are from the same party and they need to have a very cordial working relationship for the President to succeed.
Is there an indication that the relationship is not cordial?
From the statement of the President that he is awaiting the outcome of the trial, it has pitched him on a particular level… it seems the President is saying that the Senate president should not come close to me pending when the trial is over, to know whether you are clean enough or not.
What the President meant was that he was not going to interfere in any way and the process must play out. He was emphatic about that and of course if the process finishes, whichever way it goes, it determines the relationship between the two individuals. For a government that pays high premium on transparency and accountability, it is very important that whoever is in a top decision must be seen to be accountable to the people.
One would also ask if the President is conscious of the assumption of innocence until proven guilty.
In all he has said, there is nowhere that assumption has been breached, No way and nowhere that it has been breached. He says that the Senate president is innocent for now and when the process ends, they continue the relationship.
Okay now, let’s look at the ministerial list that was sent (September 30). We understand from what is in the news that just a few names were sent to the Senate, can you confirm this? And when would the rest be sent?
The President himself was clear about that, he said the first batch but nobody knows how many is in the batch
I am sure that you know…
(laughs) … No…No…, you know, you are a news person and you can’t depend on everything you hear. It has been addressed to the Senate president. The list is there, he will unfold it officially. Nobody can say precisely how many. You said a few; you can’t be sure because the Senate president has not unfolded it.
How many people are in the batch?
A: Well, it depends on the President. There are certain prerogatives that the President has. Ministers are one of them. He has said that this is the first batch, I think that we should wait and see who are those in the first batch and after that we know how many remains, because the constitution already states that there must be a minister in each of the states. We have 36 states in the country, so when the list is unfolded, we know how many remains.
You have just returned from the United Nations General Assembly in New York, we heard that a lot of things happened there, like missing meetings that the President was supposed to attend.
Now, let me talk about the supposedly missed meeting. The truth is that, you don’t miss meetings that you are not scheduled to attend, That is just the truth. If you are not scheduled for a meeting, can you miss it? No.
Was Nigeria not scheduled for the meeting?
No, Nigeria was not scheduled to be at that meeting. That is the truth.
O’Brien of the UN was reported as saying that he was quite disappointed that Nigeria was not at that meeting.
A: We have a Permanent representative at the UN, Prof. Joy Ogwu. The invitations Nigeria received are seven pages in all. I have them. You won’t see that meeting in any of the invitations that we got. Nigeria was not invited to that meeting and not scheduled to be there. With the passion that our President has on the Boko Haram, do you think that he will receive an invitation to a meeting that will discuss that issue and he will not be there? The truth is that Nigeria was not invited. We have said it and even the President has said in an interview before leaving New York and I guess that should rest the matter. What is happening, as far as I am concerned is storm in a teacup. A lot of people just want to find faults unnecessarily. Nigeria was not invited to that meeting, if she had been invited , she would have been there.
Secondly, it was a meeting on Boko Haram and insurgency. There were two high levels meetings within the General Assembly days and Nigeria was at those meetings. It simply shows that she was not invited to the earlier one. Let me make this statement: it’s like Nigerians have been lied to so much that they find it difficult to now believe the truth. And the truth is that Nigeria was not invited to that meeting.
Even if the President was not invited, was the Nigerian delegation aware of that meeting?
A: How could the Nigerian delegation be aware, when it was not scheduled? I have told you that every meeting that Nigeria was scheduled to attend, I have the list here and that meeting was not there. Nigeria was not scheduled for the meeting.
What would have informed the President’s desire to want to become the Minister of Petroleum, when he is talking about reforming the NNPC, making it transparent? Does he not trust anyone or believe that there are capable people who can be trusted to manage this ministry properly?
I think the question, we will ask ourselves is: What would the President be bringing to the table, if he is going to supervise the petroleum ministry? He has been Minister of Petroleum about 32 years ago. That is a lot of experience. Those were years that things were done fairly properly in this country.
A lot of people will say that things have changed over the years and lots of structures have also changed and those days may have gone….
But there are things that never change in life. These include integrity, transparency, truth and responsibility. Those things never change and those are the things the President would bring to bear.
In the newspaper review this morning, it was reported that 21 names made the ministerial list. Now, based on the constitution, a minister must be selected from every state. So, if the President wants to supervise the ministry of petroleum resources, how will this work out eventually? Does this mean that a particular state will have two slots?
The constitutional requirement you quoted talks about the minimum , it states that there must be 36 number of ministers, at least one from each state. We have lived in this country where we had 46, 48 ministers and all that. That already shows you that 36 is the minimum requirement but this administration is one that wants to cut cost. We don’t expect that it would have a ballooned number of ministers.
What would you say to Nigerians out there, who think that perhaps if some institutions are working, talking of EFCC, ICPC and some other regulatory and enforcement agencies, we won’t be talking about recycling of ministers or minister of petroleum in the person of President Muhammadu Buhari.
What is wrong with recycling if that person has something he is bringing to the table? Recycling would be wrong if that person is adding no value. But if he is adding value, what is wrong with recycling? I tell you that this is one appointment, if you can call it so, that will bring a lot of value to that ministry.
You said earlier that the President is bringing in honour, integrity, truth all those virtues into the ministry’s package. And the President has taken over three months to appoint ministers. I wonder, has he not found a Nigerian with all these qualities to run that office? We have seen in this country, where a former president oversaw this sector and there was not much difference.
Don’t forget that the buck stops at the President’s table. At the end of his administration, it is going to be called the Buhari administration and not the name of any minister. Therefore, it is very important that what the President feels would make a difference in the country is what he does. At the end of the day, that administration would be rated with his name and not any other name.
The last words from you Mr. Adesina before you go
Well, I will just like to say that Nigerians trusted this President, they elected him into office, let them continue to maintain that trust, and at the end of the day, they will not be disappointed.
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Buhari’s 55th Independence Day speech
55th Independence Day Speech by President Muhammadu Buhari
October 1st is a day for joy and celebrations for us Nigerians whatever the circumstances we find ourselves in because it is the day, 55 years ago; we liberated ourselves from the shackles of colonialism and began our long march to nationhood and to greatness.
No temporary problems or passing challenges should stop us from honoring this day. Let us remind ourselves of the gifts God has given us. Our Creator has bequeathed to us Numbers – Nigeria is the ninth most populated country on the planet. We have in addition:
• Arable land
• Water
• Forests
• Oil and gas
• Coastline
• Solid mineralsWe have all the attributes of a great nation. We are not there yet because the one commodity we have been unable to exploit to the fullest is unity of purpose. This would have enabled us to achieve not only more orderly political evolution and integration but also continuity and economic progress.
Countries far less endowed have made greater economic progress by greater coherence and unity of purpose.
Nonetheless, that we have remained together is an achievement we should all appreciate and try to consolidate. We have witnessed this year a sea change in our democratic development. The fact that an opposition party replaced an entrenched government in a free and fair election is indicative of the deeper roots of our democratic system. Whatever one’s views are, Nigerians must thank former President Jonathan for not digging-in in the face of defeat and thereby saving the country untold consequences.
As I said in my inaugural speech, I bear no ill will against anyone on past events. Nobody should fear anything from me. We are not after anyone. People should only fear the consequences of their actions. I hereby invite everyone, whatever his or her political view to join me in working for the nation.
My countrymen and women, every new government inherits problems. Ours was no different. But what Nigerians want are solutions, quick solutions not a recitation of problems inherited. Accordingly, after consultations with the Vice President, senior party leaders and other senior stakeholders, I quickly got down to work on the immediate, medium-term and long-term problems which we must solve if we are to maintain the confidence which Nigerians so generously bestowed on us in the March elections and since then.
As you know, I toured the neighboring countries, marshal a coalition of armed forces of the five nations to confront and defeat Boko Haram. I met also the G7 leaders and other friendly presidents in an effort to build an international coalition against Boko Haram. Our gallant armed forces under new leadership have taken the battle to the insurgents, and severely weakened their logistical and infrastructural capabilities. Boko Haram are being scattered and are on the run. That they are resorting to shameless attacks on soft targets such as I.D.P. camps is indicative of their cowardice and desperation. I have instructed security and local authorities to tighten vigilance in vulnerable places.
On power, government officials have held a series of long sessions over several weeks about the best way to improve the nation’s power supply in the safest and most cost effective way. In the meantime, improvement in the power supply is moderately encouraging. By the same token, supply of petrol and kerosene to the public has improved throughout the country. All the early signs are that within months the whole country would begin to feel a change for the better.
Preliminary steps have been taken to sanitize NNPC and improve its operations so that the inefficiency and corruption could be reduced to a minimum. Those of our refineries which can be serviced and brought back into partial production would be enabled to resume operations so that the whole sordid business of exporting crude and importing finished products in dubious transactions could be stopped.
In addition to NNPC, I have ordered for a complete audit of our other revenue generating agencies mainly CBN, FIRS, Customs, NCC, for better service delivery to the nation. Prudent housekeeping is needed now more than ever in view of the sharp decline in world market oil prices. It is a challenge we have to face squarely. But what counts is not so much what accrues but how we manage our resources that is important.
We have seen in the last few years how huge resources were mismanaged, squandered and wasted. The new APC government is embarking on a clean up, introducing prudence and probity in public financing.
At an early stage, the federal government addressed the issue of salary arrears in many states, a situation capable of degenerating into social unrest. The APC government stepped in to provide short-term support to the owing states and enabled them to pay off the backlog and restore the livelihood of millions of Nigerians.
Fellow Nigerians, there have been a lot of anxiety and impatience over the apparent delay in announcement of ministers. There is no cause to be anxious. Our government set out to do things methodically and properly. We received the handing over notes from the outgoing government only four days before taking over. Consequently, the Joda Transition Committee submitted its Report on the reorganization of Federal Government structure after studying the hand over notes. It would have been haphazard to announce ministers when the government had not finalized the number of ministries to optimally carry the burden of governance.
Anyway, the wait is over. The first set of names for ministerial nominees for confirmation has been sent to the senate. Subsequent lists will be forwarded in due course. Impatience is not a virtue. Order is more vital than speed. Careful and deliberate decisions after consultations get far better results. And better results for our country is what the APC government for CHANGE is all about.
I would like to end my address this morning on our agenda for CHANGE. Change does not just happen. You and I and all of us must appreciate that we all have our part to play if we want to bring CHANGE about. We must change our lawless habits, our attitude to public office and public trust. We must change our unruly behavior in schools, hospitals, market places, motor parks, on the roads, in homes and offices. To bring about change, we must change ourselves by being law-abiding citizens.
HappyIndependence Celebrations. Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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Reps mandate Speaker to meet Buhari over Saraki’s trial
In what seem to an interesting political development, the leadership of the House of Representatives is set to meet President Muhamadu Buhari over the perceived travails of the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, who is currently standing trial before the Code of Conduct Tribunal.
The decision of the House followed a motion brought before the House under matters of urgent Public Importance by a member, Hon. Raphael Igbokwe with the title: “a motion on Nigeria’s 55 years of independence: need for vigilance.”
The President recently said he has no hand in the trial of Saraki who is facing a 13-count charge, bordering on corruption and false assets declaration before the Code of Conduct tribunal, and that the case will run its course .
The lawmakers in their resolution passed “a vote of confidence on the leadership the National Assembly, urged all institutions of government to be guided by the rule of law and due process and avoid being used to undermine any arm of government.”
Sequel to an amendment by the Minority Leader, Leo Ogor, and Hon. Patrick Asadu, members at plenary yesterday mandated the leadership of the House to meet with the President ” with a view to politically resolve all outstanding issues relating to National Assembly in the interest of Nigerians”
His amendment to the original motion, which was also granted included mandating the Speaker “to intervene in the issues and challenges being faced by the Chairman of the National Assembly ( Saraki) with a view to finding a political solution and protecting the institution of the National Assembly as a whole for the interest of our democracy.”
Members while congratulating Nigerians on the 55 years of independence, urged Nigerians to continue to live in peace, harmony and charity to one another.
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Hajj: Buhari condoles with victims, seeks correction of flaws
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the colossal calamity which occurred on Thursday in the Saudi Arabia, claiming the lives of hundreds of pilgrims, including Nigerians.
According to President Buhari, the stampede at Mina in which a notable Nigerian Journalist, Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf, Prof. Tijjani El-Miskin and others lost their lives is a monumental tragedy, not only for citizens of the countries involved, but for the global Islamic community.
In a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the President also extended condolences to the families of the over 700 pilgrims who lost their lives in the disaster in the Holy Places which occurred less than two weeks after a crane collapse in Mecca that claimed more than a hundred lives.
He commiserated with the Nigerian Guild of Editors and the Nigerian Union of Journalists on the sad loss of Hajiya Bilkisu, an exemplary, dedicated, knowledgeable, very credible, highly-respected, outstanding editor and columnist who, even in death, will remain a glittering role model for journalists, within and outside Nigeria.
The statement reads: “The President has taken note of the assurance by the Government of Saudi Arabia that Thursday’s catastrophe will be investigated and urges King Salman to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that will identify any flaws in Hajj organisation with a view to avoiding a recurrence of such tragedies during the annual pilgrimage.
“In the knowledge that it is not within our powers to question the will of God, President Buhari prays that Almighty Allah will comfort the families who lost their beloved ones in the stampede and receive the souls of all those who died in the Holy Land while fulfilling the religious obligation of the Hajj,” It stated
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Replace Nigeria’s patrimony of oil with politics of hope
For too long, Nigerian leaders have acted as though the only decisions they had to make concerned who should get what. When Muhammadu Buhari, the newly elected president, announces his ministerial appointments at the end of the month, he should make clear that his government will follow a different course. He and his colleagues have the power to improve the fortunes of all Nigeria’s people.
Africa’s most populous country faces huge challenges. Its economy, which is also the continent’s largest, has been battered by external shocks, which have been amplified by its excessive reliance on crude oil revenues. As oil prices have fallen, several states became unable to pay workers salaries and have had to be bailed out by the federal government.
Unemployment is high, and growth is faltering. After security, engineering a turnround is the greatest challenge for the Buhari administration.
In part, the country’s troubles reflect its failure to save up for a rainy day when oil prices were high. Foreign reserves have been eroded and the country’s currency, the naira, has been devalued twice in the past year.
It also reflects the country’s excessive reliance on volatile natural resources markets. Yet efforts to diversify Nigeria’s economy are hamstrung by the parlous state of its infrastructure. Consider the electricity sector, which generates only one-tenth the amount of power produced in South Africa, in a country that has more than three times as many people. Remedying this shortfall provides an opportunity for foreign and domestic investments.
To make this happen quickly and ensure sustainability, much of the emphasis should be on off-grid renewable energy; Morocco provides the model.
The Nigerian central bank has recently taken measures to control the depletion of foreign reserves, imposing strict controls on foreign exchange transactions in order to prevent the currency from falling further. That has led many in the financial markets to question Central Bank’s independence; JPMorgan, the US investment bank, removed the country from its Emerging Markets Government Bond Index earlier this month, citing a lack of liquidity in the foreign exchange market,
Yet the Central Bank must demonstrate that it is independent, not only from the government, but also from vested private sector interests including investors. Although some observers believe that JPMorgan’s action will force foreign investors to sell billions of dollars worth of bond holdings, the extent of the damage may be overstated. (China and India have both sustained years of impressive growth despite never having been listed in JPMorgan’s index.)
Even so, there is no doubt that Mr Buhari believes the state should play a big role in managing the economy. He has so far proved reluctant, for example, to abolish wasteful petroleum subsidies, apparently believing that to do so would hurt the poor. He is wrong about that. The subsidies overwhelmingly benefit the rich and the middle class. President Buhari would achieve far more by doing away with them, and targeting the resulting savings at conditional cash transfers to the indigent.
The real test of strategic economic nationalism will be how long it takes Nigeria to achieve a diversified industrial economy that can support the value of its currency and reduce the structural impact of dependence on commodities. This is the crucial task that faces President Buhari’s cabinet. For the factors that weigh on Nigeria’s economic prospects are largely political constraints, which create incentives for officials to pursue misguided policies.
President Buhari needs to devolve more powers, responsibility and accountability to the constituent parts of Nigeria’s federation. The federal system, which concentrates too much power in the capital Abuja, has proved dysfunctional and remote from the people it is supposed to serve. Constitutional amendments are needed to create incentives for economic activity.
Oil patrimony is the result of an unimaginative politics, which assumes that government cannot do anything to enlarge a country’s economy, and that its only role is to divide the spoils. Politicians have therefore concentrated on rewarding their supporters — and as the bounty has diminished, that debate has become more and more bitter.
This politics of oil must be supplanted by something more enlightened. The buck stops with President Buhari, but he cannot bear the responsibility alone. He and his government must set Nigeria and its people on a new and more prosperous course.
The writer is a professor at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and was a deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
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Buhari mourns HID Awolowo’s death
President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the passing away of Chief (Mrs.) Dideolu Awolowo.
In a statement by Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, Buhari extended his commiserations to the children, grand children and great grand children of the “Jewel of Inestimable Value” on the death of their famed matriarch, just a few weeks before her hundredth birthday.
The President said Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo will be long remembered and celebrated as the famous spouse and pillar of strength of the late nationalist, political leader and sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
He added that Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo will always be honoured too for the indelible legacy of very significant, behind-the-scene contributions to communal, state, regional and national development which she has left behind.
The President prayed that God will comfort Chief (Mrs.) Awolowo’s family, relatives, friends, associates and admirers, and grant them the fortitude to bear her irreparable loss. -
The Muhammadu Buhari Odyssey
In Homer’s Greek poetic masterpiece, The Odyssey, the hero, Odysseus, was, by and large, depicted as a man of outstanding endurance, courage, wisdom, eloquence, loyalty, honour, magnanimity and skill. From his heroic feat during the Trojan War to his wandering travails, which lasted for 10 years as he struggled to return home after the Trojan War and reassert his place as rightful leader, Odysseus’ bravery and skill are represented throughout the epic.
Every so often, through the ages, providence points out a person with the conclusive resolve, features or personality traits of a great leader.
In the case of Muhammadu Buhari, his odyssey started from birth, continued through his career and did not end after his retirement.
The name Muhammadu Buhari means different things to different people. Some erroneously claim he is an Islamic fundamentalist, while others say he is an ethnic bigot. However, the vast majority of the Nigerian people regard him as one of the most incorruptible individuals in the country and the man that can pull the country back from the precipice of self-destruction to which it is heading. This pervasive impression is founded on the performance of the military administration he once headed almost a generation ago. During election times, his person and reputation are consistently targeted. In other words, he is viewed in some quarters as one who loves his religion, Islam, and is proud of his Hausa/Fulani ethnic identity. But that does not automatically mean that he has an aversion to other religions or ethnic groups. As is usual, when trying to get a better understanding of people, it is important to look back at their origins.
General Muhammadu Buhari was born on a Thursday, the 17th of December, 1942 at house No 14 Waziri road in Daura town, Katsina State, Northern Nigeria to a Fulani father and a Hausa mother. His mother was the daughter of Musa Sarkin Dogarai (Head of the Daura Infantry) who was also the son of the Kauran Daura Lawal (Head of the Daura Armed Forces) during the period of fierce battles between the Hausas and Fulanis for dominance in Daura in the early 1800’s. His maternal great grandfather, Mallam Adamu, was the son of a Kauran Kukawa, who was the head of the army during the fierce battles with the Rabe of the old Borno Empire. So it could be said that soldiering is in his blood. At the time of his birth, the world was still reeling from the horrors of the Second World War. On that day in December, 1942, the Allies issued the Joint Declaration by Members of the United Nations. This was the first time the Holocaust was publicly acknowledged.
Unlike many other Northerners who were born into aristocratic or royal families, and rose to prominence by riding on their family names and prestige, Buhari was born into a noble but humble family. Having lost his father, Ardo Adamu Buhari at the age of three or four, there were limited opportunities for the young Buhari as he was the 23rd child of his father and the 13th and last child of his mother, Zulaihat. His mother was a widow with seven children before she went on to marry his father.
Muhammadu Buhari lost his father early in his life at the age of four. All he could remember of his father was that he was tall and fair in complexion. Though his father was the Ardo of Dumurkol Village near Daura, the title didn’t have much bearing on his life, neither did it elevate his status in any way. At the time the only feasible alternative was to be a cattle herdsman. Muhammadu Buhari, not being one to cower in the face of adversity strove hard to excel in primary and secondary school.
During his childhood, Muhammadu Buhari was fondly nicknamed and called “Leko.” This was due to the fact that he was born after a set of twins that died. Leko was the Hausa nickname given to a child born after twins who died. He spent his early childhood days playing around the dusty lanes and tree-lined roads of the vibrant Daura Township. Muhammadu Buhari’s most vivid childhood memory, which he still recalls hitherto was falling off a horse (a strawberry roan) on his way to the village well. He still recalls the fright he felt lying down between the feet of the enormous animal. He could see the horse’s big belly heaving and the five-stripes on its forelegs flashing before his eyes. At that instance, he thought to himself that the beast could kick or trample him to death. Still in pains, he hurriedly stood up, dusted his clothes, remounted the horse and continued his journey to the well.
He commenced his primary education at Mai Adua Primary School in 1948-1952, where his senior brother Mal. Dauda Daura was the head teacher of the school. As a child Muhammadu Buhari was known to have a childhood disdain for going school and this resulted in naughty and mischievous behavior that often got him into trouble. Consequently, his break time was usually forfeited as punishment. According to his nephew, Mamman Daura, who is two and a half years older than Muhammadu Buhari and was also his senior in primary and secondary school, “Buhari was above average academically and more than usual naughty.” Similarly, Muhammadu Buhari himself also adds; “I was a truant in primary school. I spent a lot of my time playing around, but when I went to secondary school, I changed.” His classmates in primary school still fondly remember him as a fast runner and the centre-forward for the school’s football team. Another major attribute of his, which he was known for since primary school and which has stayed with him is that he is always very smartly dressed and neatly turned-out.
He later attended Katsina Middle School in 1953-1955, Katsina Provincial Secondary School (now Government College, Katsina) 1956-1961.
His uncompromising knack for sticking to his principles no matter what, go as far back as when he was in secondary school. A story was related of how the young Buhari became a lone ranger of sorts when he refused, on a matter of principle, to join in a strike of his classmates despite the fact that he was the youngest and the smallest in the class.
Some of his classmates recall some of his glowing attributes: Malam Mukhatri Zango, a former classmate of Muhammadu Buhari once stated, “He used to baffle me. He was strong-willed and principled. He always stood his ground and would not follow the crowd.”
Another childhood friend of his, who grew up with him in Katsina before they joined the Military and rose through the ranks together, and who was the Deputy head boy to Muhammadu Buhari, the late former Vice President, General Shehu Musa Yar’adua also opined that, “He was reserved. He was one of the few boys in the school that was trusted by his classmates and who was quite dependable.”
Some of his classmates at Katsina Provincial Secondary School included the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi as well as the former Inspector General of Police from 1993 to 1999, serving under the military governments of Generals Sani Abacha and General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Ibrahim Comasie. Inspite of this evidence of fact, during the campaigns that preceded the 2015 elections, it was alleged that Muhammadu Buhari did not attend or finish secondary school.
General Muhammadu Buhari is one of the most decorated Generals in the Nigerian Army. He is the recipient of numerous awards such as the Defence Service Medal, National Service Medal, General Service Medal, Republic Medal, Loyal Service and Good Conduct Medal, Forces Medal, Independence Medal and Congo Crisis Medal.
‘Coming soon,’ a thoroughly gripping and intricate insight into the full journey of a fascinating patriot; born to lead a nation towards positive change, the services he rendered to his country in various capacities, the challenge that saw him rise above incarceration, suspicion, defamation, persecution, to show the strength of character to be the ‘change’ he desired for his country, the ideal upon which he built a movement that, once again, gave a people a reason to believe.
It is the odyssey that defines the calling of General Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR from military leader, to head of state, to military/political prisoner, as well as the long political struggle that saw him, against all odds, emerge as the 16th president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
This article was first published on this page in August 25, 2015.