BUHARI’S AUTOBIOGRAPHY: TINUBU’S CONTRIBUTION

This authorized biography of Nigeria’s Leader, President Muhammadu Buhari, attempts a broad characterization of the different stages of his life and professional career.

Essentially, the book explores how his professional career, his personal life and prior experiences in government shaped and prepared him for the momentous assignment he now has.

From the book’s pages, we see a man who has lived his life on assignments that always intersected with vital moments in the nation’s history. He was a man on assignment, when, in the military, he served bravely in a civil war to keep Nigeria united.

He was on national assignment when he became military head of state in a well-intentioned effort to straighten things out, and set Nigeria on a better path. When he ventured into politics and competed for the Presidency, culminating in his 2015 election victory, he was still on assignment, showing that there was no other way for this nation to go but the way of democracy, no matter how difficult the path may be.

Now, as sitting President, he is on an assignment, against time, to undo the wrongs of nearly two decades of bad governance.

Such is the life of this man. Always in the public eye, doing things in his different, disciplined and Spartan way. From this compelling narrative, neatly demarcated into three parts and 24 chapters, the reader is able to glean the quintessential Buhari.

The historical bent of this rendering, no doubt, makes for an educative and informative reading. The book is a timely narrative.

Buhari’s credential as a transformative leader, who has evolved into a committed democrat, is secured in this narrative. The Nigeria project, which occupies the center stage in the book, has been Buhari’s life.

Professor Paden, the author of the book, was on point when he observed that political leadership was critical in keeping Nigeria moving and developing.

The search for that astute political leadership is what produced the Buhari presidency. That same search is what must propel this presidency forward.

The forward written by General Theophilus Danjuma captures the very essence of the book. No one is more qualified to evaluate President Buhari, from the past to the present, other than General Danjuma. As a senior officer to Buhari, they both enjoy a professional and personal friendship, unparalleled in our history. His words confirm that Buhari was a man prepared for leadership ahead of a time like this.

The formation of the All Progressives Congress, APC, is an important event that the book addresses. The merger was the result of teamwork, belief in the democratic will of the people and a commitment to national purpose.

Many of us invested ourselves, our heart, body, mind and soul in this project for national salvation. Many did not want it to happen and fought to undermine the good we sought to accomplish. Many others straddled the sidelines, neither completely in nor completely out, but waiting to see how the prevailing winds might blow before making their move.

Muhammadu Buhari never wavered for one moment on this journey. Proving to be a focused leadership, he acted with single-minded determination that showed no fear or doubt in the rightfulness of the cause we pursued. I know this for an unassailable fact because I was there with him, every step of the way, to fight against, what the realists told us, were un-surmountable odds.

Yet, our determination for reform beat their smart calculations. The desire for a better country was more powerful than their incumbent might.

So many people made contributions that made the historic merger possible. It would be impossible to give each person the accolades they deserve in a concise work such as this one. However, it is an account that we must begin to chronicle fully, and with care, for it is the story of when reform came to the land. Here, I must say that this book makes a good initial contribution toward this objective.

Indeed, the APC is a party born of the quest for democratic good governance. In essence, the party is the embodiment of a democratic promise made between its members as well as a democratic vow made to the public. The APC genesis is truly a historic and an engaging one.

I, therefore, crave your indulgence here to give a bit more insight.

In forming the ‘new’ party, we had 3 challenges. The first was learning the right lessons from the aborted attempt at political cooperation in 2011. Fortunately, both the ACN and CPC regretted our inability to conclude a pact in 2011.

We agreed that there would be no recrimination over what did not happen before. We agreed there would be an intensified effort to forge the united effort that eluded us in 2011.

In 2011, both parties wanted cooperation, but became stuck whether that should take the form of an alliance or outright merger. This difference gave rise to another one, regarding how the Vice Presidential candidate, who would run with the Presidential Candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, would be selected.

Despite numerous good-faiths demonstrated in attempts to resolve these issues, time ran out on finding a solution. In retrospect, we all were perhaps a bit too inflexible and did not realize the extent to which cooperation and flexibility were needed to establish the reform we all wanted.

The result: each party went its own way in 2011. However, the talks of 2011 would foreshadow the discussions, beginning in 2013, which led to the successful merger forming the APC.

Talks mainly between the CPC, led by Buhari, and the ACN, led by myself, later joined by the ANPP and the progressive wing of APGA, would go more smoothly and would reach the desired finish-line this time. There would be a merger and there would be a presidential candidate agreeable to all. A winning combination had been joined.

It would give the PDP, which had boasted of 60 continuous years in power, more than it could handle.

After the successful merger and the birth of APC, it was time to pick a flag bearer. At the Lagos convention, President Buhari emerged as the new party’s choice in a transparently-honest process.  His speech to the convention was greeted with ovation, even by those who had opposed him.

In that speech, he said to the delight of all who heard, and I quote him:

“I can’t give you a pocketful of dollars or naira to purchase your support. Even if I could, I would not do so. The fate of this nation is not up for sale. What I will give you, and this nation, is all of my strength, commitment, sweat and toil in the service of the people.  What I can give you is my all”.

This set the tone for the campaign to come.

But first, there was the sticky issue of selecting a running mate. After careful study and discussion, it was agreed that we should field a religiously-balanced ticket given the sensitivities of the moment.

Based on this conclusion, the name of Yemi Osinbajo, renowned law professor and former Lagos State Attorney-general during my tenure as governor, was proposed as an excellent running mate.

Osinbajo was also a Pastor in the largest church in the entire country, and this would answer those who wrongfully tried to paint Buhari as intolerant.

From these events, you can see a portrait of President Buhari as a democrat, more adept, than many would think, at the nuances of coalition-building and political partnership.

During the campaign, he surprised many by his agility and the broad canvas on which he operated.

In tracing the evolution of Buhari, the national leader, the author’s assertion that military rule is based on the power its holders can wield, while civilian rule is based on the legitimacy derived from elections, is a point with which I dare not debate.

Buhari’s career embodies this, hence his transition from being a military ruler to being a civilian leader, who subjected himself to the rigors and uncertainty of elections four times. Thrice he patiently went to court, seeking redress from electoral manipulation.

The author, quite accurately, remarked on the Buhari victory equation, as flowing from Northern grassroots support and coalition-building with the South West as well as with other tendencies.

Professor Paden, in the book, succinctly explains the transition from the Buhari in uniform to one in civilian garb. He notes that in terms of style of leadership, Buhari as a young military head of state was in a hurry.

However, now that he is older and given his experience, he is “slow but steady” in his approach to governance. The author juxtaposes Buhari’s military career and his political career adeptly, weaving them together in a tapestry that evokes the image of a man, who, from day one, had been destined for leadership.

President Buhari made three electoral promises: Security, Corruption and Employment. On security, success has been recorded in decimating Boko Haram. On corruption and the rule of law, Buhari continues to plough new ground.

Chapter 19 of the book entitled ‘Corruption and Law’ is a good examination on his fight against corruption. Unemployment has been a stubborn problem, made even more difficult by the oil price-driven recession, but this administration has shown its commitment toward achieving the structural reform that will bring a durable solution to this and other economic challenges.

On the whole, the book is an important one. It is a logically-presented account of the emergence of the current political dispensation with President Buhari as its central protagonist. The author tried to achieve many things within a relatively small space. He succeeded in the main. He let the reader get a view into the family roots, life and experience of President Buhari. He also told the story of his professional career as a military general. The story of his political career and the journey to the presidency was told in a straightforward manner.

Finally, he attempted a quick evaluation of the President’s first year in office. The author covers a vast amount of territory with an economy of words, yet he manages to give a feel for Muhammadu Buhari, the man. Therein lies the success of the book.

Copyright 2016 TheCable. Permission

RECENT SUPREME COURT JUDGEMENT AND FUTURE ELECTIONS by Obong Victor Attah

Obong Attah with Akwa Ibom APC leaders

I HAD always believed, and I hold it to be true, that every judgment, every sound judgment, must promote the course of social justice. Since the Supreme Court is the apex of judicial adjudication, the pronouncements from that hallowed bench should be so awesome as to command respect and indeed some reverence. Why then have the recent Supreme Court judgments in respect of the governorship elections in Akwa Ibom and Rivers States attracted so much criticism amounting almost to opprobrium?
Sadly, the Nigerian Bar Association, rather than accept that evil thrives when good people refuse to prevail against it, chose instead to threaten sanctions against any of its members that would further criticise those judgments.
I have read the lead judgment by Supreme Court Judge Nweze in respect of Akwa Ibom state governorship elections and my first shock was to find such exclamations as “Haba”, “Holy Moses”, “Wonders will never end” all in reference to the decisions reached by fellow judges at the lower court and the tribunal. Perhaps I was wrong, but what I had expected was such superior reasoning as would evidently confound the arguments of the lower court. I was disappointed.
Let me be the first to admit and accept that our judges, including the Supreme Court Judges are human and therefore cannot be infallible. Besides they are Nigerians and products of the Nigerian society. Still it cannot be denied that the society has the right to formulate its own expectations of people who hold certain offices of reverence.
Quite early in the judgment, the petitioners were said to have “marshalled a whooping number of fifty two witnesses”.
In the ordinary use of the word, “whopping” suggests a very large, and may be excessive, number. But towards the end, the judgment insists that “The only mode of proving disenfranchisement, as shown above is by calling, at least, one registered voter polling unit by polling unit”. In Akwa Ibom State that would have meant calling 2,982 witnesses, which is the number of polling units in the state. I think I can be excused if at this stage I should exclaim “Haba”.
Earlier on, with the reports of mindless violence and all sorts of criminal activities that had marred the elections and were likely to disrupt the tribunal’s sittings, the Supreme Court had agreed that the tribunal could relocate from Akwa Ibom State to Abuja. But the judgment insists that criminality was not established because it was not proved beyond reasonable doubt. A careful reading of the judgment seems to suggest that the only way this could have been done is if those criminals that are now freely roaming the streets and calling themselves “the powers that be” had been arrested, tried and convicted. Does a petitioner in an election matter have the means, and the time to do that; is it no longer true that “election petitions is species of civil suit and not a criminal one”?
On the issue of over voting, let us be reminded that the total number of votes said to have been cast at the governorship election in Akwa Ibom state is 1,122,836; the accredited number of voters in the electoral register which was tendered is 448,307; the card reader report shows that only 437,128 registered voters were accredited. (Note how close the number of accredited voters in the voters register is to that given by the Card Reader Report).
The Supreme Court Judgment insists that this is not sufficient to establish over voting because no probative value should have been placed on the Card Reader Report. But what about the voters register – when this could not be denied or rejected, the Supreme Court held that it was “dumped” on the lower court.
I do not know if anybody had suggested that the Supreme Court judgments in respect of Rivers and Akwa Ibom states were influenced to warrant the limp protestation by Ahuruka Isah who is said to be the media aide to the CJN.
Ahuruka’s write up in my opinion is sad and unfortunate. He succeeded in exposing a template that reveals what can only charitably be described as a herd mentality which is, by far, the easiest in the world to control and influence. It has happened and it has happened but it has left a very sour taste in the mouth. It may not be the last time that it would happen and it certainly is not the first. There was the issue of an election matter affecting Akwa Ibom state where the Supreme Court ordered that a new tribunal should be set up and the matter be tried “de novo”. That is Latin and we all thought we knew the meaning of “de novo”. But before the new tribunal could be set, it was declared that the 180 days for tribunal sittings had been exhausted. Suddenly Latin turned to Greek and nobody could understand anymore what the Supreme Court was saying.
Our concern should be whether these judgments have served the course of social justice; whether they have established the foundation on which future elections can be conducted freely and fairly with respect for the sanctity of the ballot box and the safety of the electorate; can the judgments ensure the safety of INEC officials and offer the opportunity for the people to indeed be able to vote for the people they want to represent or govern them? How far can these judgments go to curb electoral malpractices; have these judgments deepened democracy? To what extent therefore can these judgments be considered sound and beneficial?
Our prayer and hope must be that someday our hollowed chambers will be populated with a sufficient number of biblical “Daniels” to ensure that justice is not only done but is seen to have been done.
Obong Attah is former Governor of Akwa Ibom State.

DONALD DUKE NOW A FULL-TIME MUSICIAN?

Much has not been heard of former Cross River State Governor Donald Duke, since his failed bid to be nominated by the People's Democratic Party to be their standard bearer in the 2007 presidential elections. Other than appearing in few government functions in Calabar, it seems he has retired quietly from politics. Or maybe he has lost his flair for politics. He certainly has not lost his passion for the saxophone.

 

The man Nigeria will fondly remember not just for being the most handsome politician to ever govern in the country, but also for his extensive campaign to market his state as one of Africa's frontline tourism destinations. Africa's biggest street party, the Calabar Carnival is a brainchild of his administration, as is Tinapa and the upgraded Obudu resort. Calabar has not been the same since he left, and that is unfortunate.

But is he now a full-time musician? That will be left for the Run-way Jazz concert, an event holding in Lagos as seen on the image attached.

Akwa Ibom's First Free & Fair Elections Favours PDP

The Saturday Rerun Elections that held in Akwa Ibom were the first Free, Fair and Credible polls to be witnessed in the State since May 29, 1999. And it ended in favour of Pdp.


Analysts believe that the results may encourage PDP, a party that have consistently exhibited a neurotic

desire to win elections through rigging - and indeed APC, who won the 2015 elections through rigging - to consider the morality of electioneering without fraud and bloodshed. And if that can be achieved in Akwa Ibom, other Nigerian states may learn the virtue as well.

Of 59,430 of votes cast, PDP scored 52,790, which is 88.8 %. APC had  10.87%, Accord party had 0.12% and Labour party had 0.18%.