Fellow Nigerians, let me start today’s
epistle by saying time flies indeed. Over a
year ago, the dream of Major General
Muhammadu Buhari to return to power,
after being toppled in a military coup by
Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida and
company, was eventually realised after a
record fourth attempt. History would
record this monumental feat as one of
the biggest miracles of our time. It was a
testimony to the power of resilience and
tenacity.
Not many people would ever have a
second chance in life. In fact, a second
chance is usually a rare and divine
opportunity to correct past mistakes,
make amends, atone for sins of omission
and commission; and move forward to
greater glory. In recent time, only two
former Generals have been so favoured.
The first Nigerian to return to power in
1999 was General Olusegun Matthew
Aremu Okikiolakan Obasanjo. Obasanjo
had left power in 1979, in a most
controversial manner, after handing over
power hurriedly to the newly elected
President Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari.
That election would remain one of the
most controversial in Africa’s most
populous nation but Obasanjo was
determined to quit power and he got a
standing ovation from the global
community.
Obasanjo remained vocal and relevant in
retirement. He attained the enviable
status of a statesman for his dexterous
understanding of foreign affairs as well
as his uncommon courage at fighting for
Africa wherever his avuncular
intervention was required. He was
voluble in his acerbic criticism of his
successors, especially President
Babangida who had metamorphosed from
military to civilian President and
instantly acquired the sobriquet of “evil
genius.” There were rumours that
Babangida did not want to quit power as
attested to by his endless transition
deadlines which eventually culminated
in the ill-fated June 12, 1993 election
debacle and its resultant conundrum. The
refusal to hand over to the presumptuous
winner of that election, Chief Moshood
Kashimawo Olawale Abiola, the Yoruba
generalissimo, would cost Nigeria some
expensive and extensive repercussions.
President Babangida was left with no
choice than to step aside after all his
talismanic experiments failed. He handed
over to a lame duck Interim National
Government, headed by Chief Ernest
Adegunle Shonekan, which crumbled in
a jiffy when General Sani Abacha struck
and sentenced Nigeria to years of
servitude and excruciating dictatorship.
Buhari was assigned a pivotal role under
that dreaded government when he was
asked to manage the Petroleum Trust
Fund. Despite criticisms about his
performance, many would attest to the
fact that he applied the funds frugally
and judiciously.
Abacha was a different kind of military
ruler. Despite his well-known
taciturnity, his actions were
reverberatingly loud. Many of us
dispersed and scattered in different
directions. No one needed to tell us before
we scampered into safety. It was during
this eerie period that Olusegun Obasanjo
and his former deputy, Shehu Musa
Yar’Adua, both retired army Generals
simultaneously got into trouble when
they were charged for treason. Abiola
himself had been picked up from his
home and kept in solitary confinement at
God-knows-where. Abiola was a civilian
warrior who fought ferociously for his
inalienable right to be the President of
Nigeria . Out of the three of them, only
Obasanjo lived to tell the story. The other
two died under mysterious circumstances
yet to be unravelled till this day.
Obasanjo came out of prison looking
gaunt and almost gone but God is
awesome. The Bible-wielding leader
effortlessly migrated from prison to the
presidential villa in Abuja. It was a
matter of destiny which no tribulation
could stop or annihilate. The resurgence
of Obasanjo was a done deal by the
Nigerian Mafia. Chief Oluyemisi Falae,
banker and economist, fought a spirited
battle but failed to stop Obasanjo’s second
coming.
Obasanjo, without doubt, knew Nigeria
inside out and he had his game plan
ready. He was able to hit the ground
running from Day One. His style was
blistering. He managed the economy well
and was able to pay off Nigeria’s debts.
He was fortunate that oil, Nigeria’s cash
cow, sold at a premium. He reversed
Nigeria ’s pariah status in the comity of
nations. He was personable and
accommodating in his first term. But
trouble came as he began to seek the
second time. He wasted enough energy,
time and resources fighting his Vice
President and ancillary and imaginary
enemies. His war against corruption
became vengeful and ruthless. The crave
for an unconstitutional third term was
the height of it all. Whether he
personally wanted it or was lured into it,
this audacious move deemed and
diminished the Obasanjo presidency.
Despite the hoopla generated by the
controversial plot, Obasanjo would be
remembered as a leader who did so
much for his country during his second
coming.
It was during Obasanjo’s re-election
contest in 2003 that Buhari threw his hat
in the ring. No one knew how long he
had nursed the ambition of returning to
power. Buhari failed and cried foul. He
headed to the courts but got no joy in
return. In the twilight days of the
Obasanjo government, Buhari tried his
luck again but lost to Alhaji Umaru Musa
Yar’Adua, his fellow citizen from Katsina
State. Again, Buhari cried wolf. In 2011,
Buhari joined the presidential race again
and was taunted as a serial candidate. He
was soundly beaten by the incumbent
President Dr Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe
Jonathan, who had been catapulted to
power after the death of his ailing boss,
President Yar’Adua. Out of acute
frustration, or something else, Buhari
sang a nunc dimittis and literally said
goodbye to presidential contests. It didn’t
come as a surprise to many. At nearly 70
years old, the perennial campaigns must
have taken its toll on the body if not the
soul. Buhari had crisscrossed several
political parties. He had been called
unprintable names including religious
bigot, ruthless dictator, certificate dodger
and forger, terrorist, and so on. But man
proposes and God disposes.
READ Deregulation & The Politics
Of Public Policy By Reuben Abati
Somehow, Buhari suddenly announced
he would run again. When God is ready
for you, you will find succour in your
enemies. Those who would ordinarily not
support Buhari all lined up for him.
Buhari was repackaged and rebranded as
a born again democrat. The recklessness
of the PDP government and the war of
attrition which ravaged the ruling party
made Buhari’s journey a lot sleeker this
time. What was thought impossible in the
past ignited and exploded at home and
abroad. Buhari was funky-fied and he
became a brand we all identified with
proudly.
Thus the expectations were raised for a
Buhari presidency and this would later
put so much pressure on the fledgling
government. Buhari won the election
convincingly this time and President
Goodluck Jonathan was magnificent in
defeat. For the first time we saw an
incumbent Nigerian President concede
defeat and even calling his opponent to
offer congratulations. What if Jonathan
had refused to give up power and chose
to set up the nation in flames? Innocent
people would have been killed for the
sake of political gladiators. The joy in the
land was unlimited. It reverberated
across the seas.
Buhari was sworn in one year less eight
days today. And it has been quite a tough
and rough journey. The first challenge
was how to assemble a good, competent
and efficacious team to run the nation
with the President we all knew to be
incorruptible. That exercise alone took
several months. There is no question,
that sluggishness dampened the fire of
change that had engulfed everywhere.
The rumbling started from that moment
when it seemed the momentum had
waned substantially. The screening
exercise also turned into another
melodrama. It dragged on a bit before
the cabinet was eventually constituted.
The ruling party APC had started on a
precarious note when it could not gently
elect its national assembly leaders. Like a
house divided against itself, APC leaders
have been tearing at each other’s throats.
The battle has taken a full year in
germinating and no one knows when the
harvest time would come and the yield it
would bring to all parties concerned in
the imbroglio.
The economy has suffered miserably. Oil
revenue has gone down drastically.
Exchange rates have hit the rooftops
beyond the ceiling. Imports have
decreased. Government is not able to
meet its commitments to the people.
There have been flip-flops in terms of
dashed or miscommunicated campaign
promises. The social media is now agog
with all manner of caricatures dissing
the Buhari government. A battle is raging
between the Buhari supporters and those
who feel Buhari’s government is failing
and falling apart. Some have already
written off the second coming of Buhari
as an anti-climax. Are they right or
wrong? The answer is neither here nor
there.
President Buhari did not come back at
the right time. The comatose economy
caused by atrocious corruption and
reckless years of profligacy has hit the
country by the jugular. One area the
government has shown total passion
without compassion is in the area of
fighting corruption. The battle has been
fierce and relentless. There have been
allegations that Buhari is on a witch-
hunt to take his pound of flesh on his
critics and perceived enemies. PDP has
been under siege. The banks are not
having it easy over campaign funds that
were warehoused in their vaults. There is
panic in the financial sector. The tension
is red hot. Buhari and his team must
have their strategy and many are praying
and hoping everything is on course and
we shall arrive our destination safe and
sound.
President Buhari has travelled far and
wide within this first year in office. He’s
been accorded the status of a Rock star
globally. He is well respected. How this
would translate to concrete achievements
remain to be seen. On a personal note, I
believe despite the humongous
challenges, it is too early to write off
Buhari. This government has three years
to show Nigerians its capabilities. In my
next piece, I plan to elaborate on what I
think President Buhari can and should do
to redeem his government from the
spiralling attacks. He should ignore the
paranoia of those who are likely to find
enemies where there are none.
It shall be well with our country…
