Nation-building is not perfunctory; it is deliberate, planned and decisive. A country as enormous, diverse and delicate as Nigeria cannot evolve organically when a part of it is marooned and confined in the fringes of political exclusion. The argument has always been, “the Igbo are not ready”, and “they are not playing the right politics”. But this argument is classically insipid and hollow.
Some people have also argued that the Igbo are “putting their eggs in one basket”. This is also a moot point. The Igbo are no different from the Yoruba, the Hausa and the Fulani in the game of politics.
A plethora of interests has always driven the politics of these ethnic groups. If we are agreed that interest is the highest common factor in the political calculations of these groups, then we cannot berate the Igbo for choosing to swing whichever way they want to.
For example, the south-west was measured in its vote for Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, but the south-east was generous in its vote for him. And in 2003, the south-west was unwilling to support Obasanjo, but the south-east adopted him, and even voted more for him than for its leader, the late Odumegwu Ojukwu.
The point is, the various ethnic groups have always played the politics of interest. The political exclusion of the Igbo is not because “they are not playing the right politics”, it is rather because of systemic strait-jacketing.
Since 1999, the highest position an Igbo has occupied is “senate president”, a position which the group even lost in 2015, and if we are to go back to the second republic, “vice-president”. Obviously, this is a political chasm. We cannot pontificate on unity when this nagging political sequestration exists.
Really, at this time, it will be hypocritical to discountenance ethnic distribution in choosing the next president in a country that is much fractured and that is unhealing from years of in-fighting.
Also, it will be ludicrous to reduce this important issue to ethnic exhibitionism. We cannot submerge this conversation, no matter how tenuous and irritating it is. We must “jaw jaw”.
I believe healing will begin for Nigerians when political justice is seen to have been done to all. At that point we can build a country defiant to disunity. But political justice must be done to all first to get to this stage.
In the name of all that binds us as a country, we must begin now to work for a “red cap with an asi-agu” in Aso villa in 2023.
Nigeria is for all of us, and we must work towards a society where justice breathes in the busy streets of Aba; where it hovers across the brown roofs of Ibadan, and where it strolls on the fine sands of Sokoto.
Presidential Candidate of People’s Trust (PT), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has congratulated the candidate of the All Progress Congress (APC), President Mohammadu Buhari on his declaration as the winner of last Saturday’s presidential election.
Olawepo-Hashim, in a statement today, Wednesday, asked the President-elect to be mindful of numerous lapses identified in the electioneering process.
According to him, many gaps, including card reader failures, thump printing of ballot papers, allocation of results, violence and killing plagued the polls.
He expressed his gratitude to the team of supporters who broke the bandwagon and showed loyalty to him, making him one of the frontrunners beyond the dominant party candidates.
“I am particularly thankful to the people of Yauri Emirate and Zuru in Kebbi State who spoke through their votes that family ties cannot be easily broken by politics.
“While the APC and PDP remained the dominant parties in Kebbi State, the great people of Kebbi State showed loyalty to the bloodline by making sure that People’s Trust emerged third in most of the States.
“In my democratic struggles for the past three decades, I have never seen our democracy so debased as it was on Saturday, February 23, 2019. 2007 was a challenge, but President Yar’Adua was remorseful. In 2019, it is sad to see those who trampled on democracy thumping their noses down on the Nigerian people.”
These were the words of the Presidential candidate of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku while rejecting the results of the Saturday, February 23 Presidential election, which declared the incumbent President, Muhammadu Buhari the winner today, Wednesday with over four million vote difference.
In a statement today, Atiku said: “consequently, I hereby reject the result of the February 23, 2019 sham election and will be challenging it in court.
“I want to assure my supporters and the entire Nigerian people that together, we will not allow democracy to be emasculated.
“I hope and pray Nigerians will someday summon the courage to defend democracy. That is the only way we can move away from being the world headquarters for extreme poverty.”
Atiku commended Nigerians for coming out in their millions to perform their civic duty this past Saturday, affirmed his oft-repeated statement that “we are brothers and sisters born from the womb of one mother Nigeria.
He alleged that there were manifest and premeditated malpractices in many states which negate the results the just concluded Presidential elections, adding that one obvious red flag is the statistical impossibility of states ravaged by the war on terror generating much higher voter turnouts than peaceful states.
“The suppressed votes in my strongholds are so apparent and amateurish, that I am ashamed as a Nigerian that such could be allowed to happen. How can total votes in Akwa-Ibom, for instance, be 50% less than what they were in 2015?
“Another glaring anomaly is the disruption of voting in strongholds of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Akwa-Ibom, Rivers and diverse other states, with the authorities doing little or nothing and in some cases facilitating these unfortunate situations. (See attached links to documentary evidences).
“The militarization of the electoral process is a disservice to our democracy and a throwback to the jackboot era of military dictatorship. In some areas of the country, such as, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Imo states, troops deployed for the elections turned their guns on the very citizens they were meant to protect. This is condemnable and should not be associated with our electoral process in the future.
“I am a democrat and there are democratic avenues available to present the truth to the nation and the watching world. Already, many international observers have given their verdicts, which corroborate our observations. I am sure more will come in the coming hours and days.
“If I had lost in a free and fair election, I would have called the victor within seconds of my being aware of his victory to offer not just my congratulations, but my services to help unite Nigeria by being a bridge between the North and the South.”
“Election is not war, and should never be seen as a do or die affair,” President Muhammadu Buhari advised even as he prayed that all Nigerians wil accept this democratic approach to elections contentious.
The President spoke today, Wednesday when he was formally presented with the Certificate of Return as President-elect on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), by the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu at the International Conference Centre in Abuja.
Buhari expressed gratitude to God for sparing his life to witness another milestone in Nigeria’s democratic development, which is the conclusion of the Presidential election in an overwhelmingly peaceful manner.
He congratulated all the Presidential candidates and their teams on a hard-fought campaign, adding that all of them might have had different views during the campaign, but that the one thing most of them have in common is love of Nigeria and the desire to improve conditions for Nigerians.
“From the comments of several observers both local and foreign, it is obvious that the elections were both free and fair.
“Now that the elections are over, and a winner declared, we must all see it as a victory for Nigeria, our dear country. That was why I encouraged my teeming supporters, in a speech I read earlier today, not to gloat. Our God-given victory is enough cause for joy, without deriding those who were in the opposition. All Nigerians, going forward, must stand in brotherhood, for a bright and fulfilling future.
“I therefore want to assure that we will continue to engage all parties that have the best interest of Nigerians at heart. Our Government will remain inclusive and our doors will remain open. That is the way to build the country of our dream; safe, secure, prosperous, and free of impunity and primitive accumulation by those entrusted with public offices.
“The hard work to deliver a better Nigeria continues, building on the foundations of peace, rule of law and opportunities for all.
“We will roll up our sleeves afresh, and give it our all. We have no other motive than to serve Nigeria with our hearts and might, and build a nation which we and generations to come can be proud of.
“I am very grateful to the over 15 million citizens who voted for me, those who contributed in many ways in the running of our successful campaign, and those at home and abroad who expressed confidence in me and the APC Government. I thank you all.
“I can assure that you will see a country moving to the Next Level, as we consolidate on our fundamental areas of securing the country, reviving the economy, and fighting corruption. Many other focal areas, as stated in our campaign manual, will be added, to the good things we plan for our country.
“Let me pay tribute here to those who lost their lives either through accidents or mindless violence during the course of these elections. My heart and thoughts are with the families of the victims. May God comfort and give them the fortitude to bear the loss.”
President Muhammadu Buhari seems congratulating his second-in-command, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja, shortly after being declared winner, for second term in office, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) today, Wednesday from the Saturday, February 23 Presidential election. The national chairman of the victorious All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, participates in the joy.
President Buhari raised his eight fingers in front of his enthusiastic supporters to signify two term of 8 years.
In 1861, the American people faced a stark choice between the Southern Confederates who were bent on keeping slavery and the federal government led by President Abraham Lincoln who favoured abolition of slavery. It was a battle for the soul of the American nation that led to a civil war. In the end, the federalists were victorious, and this led to the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which ended slavery in America. The rest they say is history…
Nigeria has just gone through our own battle which will be decisive in shaping the way our country goes forward and our emergence as an African economic giant. The Progressives fought and won a battle for the soul of Nigeria, with the people stating emphatically that they want more of the Buhari/Osinbajo government. In the just concluded Presidential elections, President Muhammadu Buhari of All Progressives Party (APC) got 15,191,847 votes defeating Abubakar Atiku of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who polled 11,262,978 – a margin of nearly four million votes, more nearly doubling the margin of four years ago. Nigerians voted for Progress, Continuity and taking the country to the Next Level. Now we can truly say that the Progressives have come of age demonstrating that the victory of four years ago was not a fluke. The people vote for more of the winning team of President Muhmmadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
This is a triumph of reason over despair. The opposition tried to whip up all sorts of sentiments, lies and wild allegations, with religion and tribalism bubbling just below the surface. Some clergy men even tried to dictate which way people should vote, but Nigerians saw through it all. All manner of dubious interest groups preached divisive and frightful messages. The government explained that yes times were tough, but this was a necessary phase in the quest to fix the country after all the decay, negligence and looting that reigned in the preceding 16 years. The opposition preached fear, uncertainty and doubt. However, Nigerians agreed with Robin Sharma that “Change is hard in the beginning, messy in the middle but beautiful in the end”. Our country is changing for good…
This is a victory for the “common man” Nigerian – the market women, the students, the artisans, the domestic help, the poor, etc. People who just wanted to earn and enjoy the fruit of their sweat. They agreed that the government is on the right path with numerous positive policies like massive investment in infrastructure, tackling corruption, ground-breaking social investment programs, diversification of the economy, driving the ease in doing business, agriculture, encouraging consumption of local goods and materials, increasing exports, reducing our dependence on oil revenue, plugging leakages in the government, etc.
The elections revealed a changing pattern albeit a positive one, with the ruling party losing Oyo and Ondo States (core progressive states), but gaining surprising amounts of votes in Imo, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia States (core South Eastern States) where few expected us gain such number of votes. It validates the report of the both the local and international communities’ report that the election was largely free and fair.
We saw gladiators like Bukola Saraki and Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom State) lose their Senate seats and Governors like Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo State) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe State) failing to secure a Senate seat which has always been the norm and traditionally taken
for granted. The “O to ge” movement in Kwara State that displaced a feudal dynasty that had been lording over them for decades has shown what can be achieved when the people apply themselves steadfastly to a cause. This kind of fervour must go into rebirthing our country.
During our Campaign, we engaged the people extensively with the Vice President introducing novelties like House visits changing the nature of Campaign in Nigeria for good. The people also told us about the issues they felt strongly about and wanted more attention to be paid to. The government must listen to this and address them without delay. The social contract with people that has just been renewed through this mandate must be fulfilled to the people’s satisfaction. We must continue to demonstrate that this is a government that listens and will continue to engage the people and pursue people-oriented policies.
A source of concern is the low voter turnout with only 26.4m voters turning out to vote out of the 72.7m voters who collected their permanent voters’ card (PVC). We need to understand the reasons for this voter apathy and address them accordingly. Nigerians must be encouraged to exercise their civic rights and understand that it is very important we all have a say in who runs our country.
We must now extend our hands to the opposition to join us in building the Nigeria of our dreams. It is time to rally round the government by supporting progressive policies that will uplift our people, invest in human capital, lay the grounds for strong productive economy, provide an enabling environment for all Nigerians to actualise their visions, provide good health facilities and make the country a secure place for all.
I congratulate all Nigerians for this victory, particularly my colleagues in the different organisations and groups that campaign for our party – All Progressives Party (APC). More importantly, the unseen ones – cooks, drivers, cleaners, clerks, logistics organisers, office admins, security people, domestic assistants, etc. who ensured that the campaign ran well despite all the challenges that comes with this kind of huge task.
It must be made clear from the beginning that President Muhammadu Buhari, who just won the Saturday’s, February 23 Presidential election, had never lost election since he began the campaign to democratically lead Nigeria in 2003. He only had been arm-twisted and cheated by the people in power.
I was privileged to be detailed by the editorial management of Daily Trust newspaper where I worked then, to cover Buhari campaign in 2003. The Buhari and his campaign team were magnanimous enough to allow me to accompany them to 35 out of the 36 States of Nigeria. The only State I did not go with them was Akwa Ibom because I played truancy: I dodged the team in Benin as they were about to take off to Uyo, and I travelled by road to my village, Okene, about 80 kilometres to see my mother.
Buhari pulled the kind of crowd everywhere he went, even in the Southeast, that had never been seen in the political history of Nigeria, from Independent; no exaggeration. The campaign movements did not know night and day. As a matter of fact, we arrived in the palace of Alafin of Oyo around 2.30 am and immediately after that, we left for Lagos and arrived by 5.15am. Similarly, Buhari addressed party supporters in Malam Madori, Jigawa State at about 4.35 am even as he was stopped by surging supporters about 15 kilometres to Kaduna on Zaria road at about 12 midnight.
The vehicle which was conveying us, members of the press had a near fatal accident at Zaki Biam in Benue State at about 5.30pm and Buhari had to stop the convoy to see to our health and eventually arrived Wukari in Taraba State at about 9.00pm.
All these narrations, which are far in-exhaustive, have been made to illustrate the commitment which Buhari had, from the beginning, been putting in his efforts to lead this country. And that is even besides the point I want to make.
In the 2003 campaign, which he ended in his Daura, Katsina State country home, Buhari invited us, only the journalists in his campaign entourage to his personal house, to thank us for being there for him. And after some healthy exchange of ideas, Buhari threw a very pointed question: “do you think I can win the election in view of the crowd I have been able to pull in all parts of the country?”
My colleagues from News Agency of Nigeria, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, New Nigerian Newspapers and two others were quick to respond, excitedly: “your Excellency, your victory is just a few hours away. You will win sir.”
He then turned to me, as I remained silence: “What do you think, Yusuf?”
I was blunt by telling him that though he would win but that Obasanjo (then President Olusegun Obasanjo) and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would not allow him to enjoy the fruit of his victory.
He shook his head and raised a thumb for me. It was like my observation made him to come to terms with or reminded him of the reality; the political reality of that time.
Of course, he won the 2003 election, but, like I predicted, ‘they’ did not allow him to go home with smile. Buhari victory at the subsequent elections in 2007 and 2011 can never be disputed by rational observers. In other words, Buhari had never lost elections since 2003 when he began his journey into Presidency.
That the then incumbent President, Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat in the 2015 elections, even before the electoral umpire, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), declared the final results, was a testimony of the political weight and clout of Buhari. In fact, Buhari had always been unstoppable, even in the face of incumbency factors and at the time vote buying was a norm and practice as well as when the nation’s resources were being mercilessly deployed just to win elections.
And, therefore, for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to think that they can easily defeat Buhari, because of the well-crafted Dubai strategies and other moves, is to take his political weight and clout for granted.
In fact, when Atiku emerged as the Presidential candidate of the PDP last year, the first thing that came to my mind was that the party had made a wrong choice and therefore made Buhari’s eventual victory easier. I had a number of reasons why I thought so, one being that the two men – Buhari and Atiku – are brothers, Muslims, Fulanis, over 70 years old and diametrically opposed on the issue of integrity and world view.
As a way of confessing, I thought then that the contest would have been made tougher for Buhari if PDP had chosen someone like Senator David Mark, because he is from the North, a Christian, with relative clean record of service to Nigeria and is younger. He would have attracted the support of nearly all Northern Christians and many Muslims whose lives he touched positively in the course of serving the country, the Nigerian youths, professionals, the peasants and a host of other Nigerians.
It is of course, too late in the day for the PDP to be crying wolf over the electoral loss by Atiku, whom it knowing picked to fly its flag, knowing very well where he is said, by his former boss, Obasanjo, to be coming from. More so as he never told the nation how he would run the country differently to make positive impact on the common man other than he would privatize the only nation’s source of wealth, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Or that he would restructure the country as if he would just wave a magic stick and lo, the country is restructured.
Whoever advised him or the party or both to go to court in the case of the just concluded election, is certainly positioning himself or themselves to get more dollars and naira from the party and its presidential candidate. It is not immediately known if such person or people would want the court to take the Presidency from Buhari and hand it over to Atiku; and leaders like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Adams Oshiomhole, Godwill Akpabio, Governor Nasiru el-Rufai and millions of Buhari’s supporters jubilate.
in fact, let’s imagine a situation where at the end of the legal battle, the Supreme Court, of course, takes the victory from President Buhari and hands it over to Atiku, what will Buhari supporters and the leadership of APC do?
In deed, Atiku and the PDP have the right to challenge the result in court, and in fact, it is the only civilised and democratic way, but the question, in terms of stability of the polity is, what purpose is the legal battle being projected to achieve?
Is Atiku not a good student of recent history of the happening in the America’s matured democracy where Donald Trump was virtually rigged into White House and the supposedly winning candidate, Hillary Clinton conceded defeat and congratulated the ‘faulty’ victor? She did not go to court even though there were evidences she could have churned out to reclaim the mandate.
And in the circumstance as it presents itself now, Jonathan’s option should be a lot wiser for Atiku and his overzealous party.
The losers of this election is/are certainly not Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party but the many actors who turned a mere political contest to a religious war, to a family feud and regional warfare.
On the top list is former president Olusegun Obasanjo who lost his reverence as an elder statesman to demystified political god drenching in battered rains of shame. Instead of playing the mother who should lie between her two children, he decided to turn his back on one of the children thus exposing him as a biased mother. His posts are enormously riddled with irreparable damage. In his book titled ‘My Watch’, he wrote in permanent ink how Atiku stole silly the Nigerian treasury amongst other unprintable verdicts. Atiku, however, is lucky to have these negative labels on him dropped as he walks away a clean man while Obasanjo is left to lick from his sores of inconsistency and doublespeak.
Religious leaders particularly some pastors and Imans who suspended the anointing and borrowed the oil of politics to anoint one candidate against the other are licking from the sores of their partisan stances. How would they look at their congregation next Sunday and the coming Jumaat? When you decide to dabble into politics that is not your turf, you weaken your spiritual potency. Politics is not a mystery, it is scientific. Invocation does not win elections. Our God is an impartial umpire, like in the game of football, he provides equal opportunities for every team and will never give undue advantage to anyone. We must tow the unbiased path of our Lord. Some pastors and Imams are not helping the sanctuaries of God, they are desecrating the earthly throne of God with their prejudices thus exposing celestial authorities to ridicules.
The friends who turned their friends to enemies because of an election between two Fulani sons are also on the sore losers list. I repeat, you have no right to be offended by the choice of your friends to the extent of begrudging them, that is madness, that is insecurity. Nothing in life should be taken too hard. When you spend time worrying yourself about the choices of others you suffer the disease of paranoia. I have had my person castigated, demonised and wished evil simply for my choice of who to align my inalienable right of choice! Imagine how odd the world would have been if we all align ourselves to one monolithic choice?
In the words of Vincent Unogwu, ‘Do not mock the losers,they did not lose because they are the worst. Do not praise the winners, they did not win because they are d best’. In a contest, only the lucky one takes the lead so that there can be an end to the exercise. Buhari is neither the winner nor Atiku is the loser, the people take the credit for whatever it is their choices. Ultimately, Nigeria is the winner and winning shall we continue to be winning as a nation.
Buhari won’t be seeking re-election again, time it is we drop whatever resentments we have for him and his party. Let’s not waste energy in the negatives like we did in the last four years tabulating and regurgitating the many wrongs of Buhari. This is the time to open our minds to leadership and collectively work together to move Nigeria to the next level.
Congratulations to both the Buharists and the Atikulates, you all made the contest very memorable. May your wish for the Next Level be assured and your wish of Making Nigeria work be fulfilled, in the long run, Nigeria wins.
The victorious President Muhammadu Buhari in the last Saturday, February 23 election has appealed to his supporters not to humiliate opposition, reminding them that the victory is enough reward they should cherish.
In his acceptance speech shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared him winner of the election this morning (Wednesday, February 27), Buhari said: “I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts.”
The President regretted however that what was to be a relatively peaceful election was almost hijacked by troublemakers in a handful of states, vowing that security agencies will bring to justice all those arrested in the process.
“I am very sad at the grievous loss of lives during these elections. Security agencies will step up their efforts to protect voters in the forthcoming State elections.”
We reproduce the full text of the President’s speech:
My Dear Nigerians,
First and foremost, I give thanks to Almighty God Who has spared our lives to witness another victory for Nigerian democracy and victory for our party APC.
I thank the millions of Nigerians who voted to re-elect me as your president for the next four years. I am deeply humbled and profoundly grateful to you for judging me worthy of continuing to serve you and for your peaceful conduct.
In particular, I would like to thank Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for his masterful leadership as Co-chair of the Campaign Council. I would like to also thank the Party Chairman Adams Oshiomhole, the Director General of the Campaign Council Rotimi Amaechi, all members of the Presidential Campaign Council and other various Support Groups.
My grateful thanks to all those who contributed to the logistical expenses of the campaign in such a vast country like Nigeria.
I also thank the millions of volunteers, self-appointed overseers, canvassers, agents, escorts and sentries who sacrificed so much of their time and resources to ensure the success of these elections. I do not have the words adequate to thank them.
Although Saturday’s elections were relatively peaceful, troublemakers in a handful of states attempted to disrupt an otherwise orderly process. Security agencies will bring to justice all those arrested in the process.
I am very sad at the grievous loss of lives during these elections. Security agencies will step up their efforts to protect voters in the forthcoming State elections.
I would like to commend our security agencies, as severely overstretched as they are, for handling the difficult task of securing the country during the election period.
I will like to make a special appeal to my supporters not to gloat or humiliate the opposition. Victory is enough reward for your efforts.
We give thanks also to our Domestic and International observers for contributing to the success of our elections and for their interest in our country and our developing democracy.
The new Administration will intensify its efforts in Security, Restructuring the Economy and Fighting Corruption. We have laid down the foundation and we are committed to seeing matters to the end. We will strive to strengthen our unity and inclusiveness so that no section or group will feel left behind or left out.
I thank you for your support and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
It is now crystal clear that Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress is heading for a crushing defeat of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
There had been surprises and upsets in many states as the results were announced, but not predicted was that the APC candidate, vilified on social media by PDP warriors, on the pulpits by bigoted hate preachers, would return a resounding victory against PDP.
Here are some of the lessons learnt in the February 23 election:
Social media power overrated: If elections are won on Twitter and Facebook, President Buhari would by now be writing his handover notes and be preparing to tend his cows on his farm in Daura. But the limitations of the social media platforms especially Twitter have just been exposed by the results of the election. The candidate of the PDP got more retweets, more likes for tweets by supporters on Twitter, but such preferences count for nothing in the real voting. For information, although there are over 92 million Nigerians using the internet, not all of them are connected to the social media platforms.
According to some verified statistics, about 25 million Nigerians use Facebook, with 16 million being active users.
Twitter users are in several millions, representing just 8.83% of social media users. At 8.29 %, users of Pinterest are surprisingly close to users of Twitter. Instagram commands just 2.0 per cent and Facebook 78.47 per cent as at 2018.
This may explain why the orchestrated campaigns of falsehood and calumny against the APC candidate did not get much traction going into the election. As past elections had shown in Nigeria, the people who vote are the ordinary people, the peasants, petty traders, artisans who are not wired to the social media platforms. And they have spoken in favour of the candidate they believe is the greatest friend of the ‘Talakawa’.
Elite power, pulpit power have been smashed by the results of the election. Those hate preachers who abused the pulpit to command their congregation to vote for the PDP have been put to shame. Elite in the north and south who believe Buhari has been ‘bad business’ and worked vigorously to dethrone him, now also know their powers are limited. The ordinary masses hold the master key to ‘people power’. Buhari, like in 2015, has overcome elite gang up and conspiracy of the churches. In Abuja, the votes recorded in Kubwa, Garki, Mbappe and some other places with a wide Christian population and civil servants against Buhari were to some extent offset by farmers living in the villages around the capital.
Politicians who put a lot of score on endorsement now should know better. The Afenifere in Yorubaland and the various political groups largely failed to mobilise the votes for Buhari in the region, despite their endorsement. The results in Lagos, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo were too close to show that the people did not heed the instructions of the groups. Ohanaeze was also rebuffed to some extent in the south east states. The Northern Elders Forum of Ango Abdullahi, the Middle Belt Forum, the Arewa Consultative Forum need some reality checks about their power as opinion moulders.
The fourth lesson is that Igbo appeared to have learnt some lessons from their one-basket political disposition in 2015. In 2019, they did not put all their eggs in one basket, as they gave Buhari more than 25 per cent in Ebonyi, Abia, Anambra and Imo. Only Enugu gave Buhari the snub as the opposition recorded a thumping victory here, 355,553 votes to Buhari’s 54,423. In Lagos, however, Igbo voting pattern like suspected in 2015, unsettled their Yoruba hosts, leading to threatening inter-ethnic hostility. Yoruba believe that Igbo should always support their interests, afterall ‘When in Rome, one is expected to behave like the Romans’.
All politics is truly local. Kwarans demonstrated this in the way they humiliated the PDP and its chief strategist, Bukola Saraki, rejecting the campaign of ‘better Nigeria’, ‘making Nigeria work again’, for home grown wild fire campaign of ‘O To ge’, which translates to “Enough is Enough’. The campaign dethroned Saraki from Kwara central senate seat and smashed the PDP into political irrelevance, with the APC recording 308,984 votes, two and a half times more than the 138,184 votes recorded by the PDP. In Daura, Katsina, voters showed the APC senatorial candidate that he needed to settle with them as they clobbered him, by voting for the Accord Party candidate, in the same polling unit, where Buhari recorded over 700 votes to three for Atiku. In Kogi state, Dino Melaye won a return ticket to the Senate despite all the controversies he generated. He will need to thank fumbling ex-police chief, Ibrahim Idris for making him popular with his people. And in Bauchi, speaker Yakubu Dogara survived his expected political demise and won fourth term ticket in his Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal constituency.
Buhari is the only politician in Nigeria today with a solid home base. President Buhari has proven once again that he is the Awolowo, Aminu Kano of our time, posting overwhelming victory in his home state of Katsina and other states, such as Kano, Zamfara, Kebbi, Kaduna, Jigawa in the North West that he had consistently won since 2003, when he made the first bid for Nigeria’s presidency. Buhari also showed commanding presence in the North east. Atiku failed to show such political force in his state of Adamawa that he won with a few thousand votes. Then to show how Buhari has gathered much political traction since elected in 2015, he had a strong showing in states, such as Benue, Plateau, Taraba, Nasarawa, with high Christian population, that Atiku thought he would have won convincingly, based on the propaganda that Buhari is anti-Christian. Buhari similarly cut inroads into South South and South East states, denying Atiku any Tsunami effect from the zones.
Finally, lies, falsehood do get their comeuppances in the fullness of time. This election has proven this. Buhari in the run-up to the poll was the target of so many vicious lies and propaganda. The most reprehensible lie was that he was a clone from Sudan planted in Aso Rock. He was also painted as a hater of Christians, who allowed Boko Haram to seize a Christian girl Leah Sharibu. They accused him of promoting an Islamisation agenda and of being an ethnic bigot who favoured his region in appointments. Some even said he had finished Nigeria with foreign debts, a claim that was not supported by available facts. The opposition will need to invent new lies now as the President has posted a most crushing defeat of their candidate.
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Presidential Candidate of People’s Trust (PT), Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim has congratulated the candidate of the All Progress Congress (APC), President Mohammadu Buhari on his declaration as the winner of last Saturday’s presidential election.
It must be made clear from the beginning that President Muhammadu Buhari, who just won the Saturday’s, February 23 Presidential election, had never lost election since he began the campaign to democratically lead Nigeria in 2003. He only had been arm-twisted and cheated by the people in power.
It is now crystal clear that Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress is heading for a crushing defeat of Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.
With Buhari’s 4+4, Igbo Presidency In 2023 Non-Negotiable, By Fredrick Nwabufo
Some people have also argued that the Igbo are “putting their eggs in one basket”. This is also a moot point. The Igbo are no different from the Yoruba, the Hausa and the Fulani in the game of politics.
A plethora of interests has always driven the politics of these ethnic groups. If we are agreed that interest is the highest common factor in the political calculations of these groups, then we cannot berate the Igbo for choosing to swing whichever way they want to.
For example, the south-west was measured in its vote for Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, but the south-east was generous in its vote for him. And in 2003, the south-west was unwilling to support Obasanjo, but the south-east adopted him, and even voted more for him than for its leader, the late Odumegwu Ojukwu.
The point is, the various ethnic groups have always played the politics of interest. The political exclusion of the Igbo is not because “they are not playing the right politics”, it is rather because of systemic strait-jacketing.
Since 1999, the highest position an Igbo has occupied is “senate president”, a position which the group even lost in 2015, and if we are to go back to the second republic, “vice-president”. Obviously, this is a political chasm. We cannot pontificate on unity when this nagging political sequestration exists.
Really, at this time, it will be hypocritical to discountenance ethnic distribution in choosing the next president in a country that is much fractured and that is unhealing from years of in-fighting.
Also, it will be ludicrous to reduce this important issue to ethnic exhibitionism. We cannot submerge this conversation, no matter how tenuous and irritating it is. We must “jaw jaw”.
I believe healing will begin for Nigerians when political justice is seen to have been done to all. At that point we can build a country defiant to disunity. But political justice must be done to all first to get to this stage.
In the name of all that binds us as a country, we must begin now to work for a “red cap with an asi-agu” in Aso villa in 2023.
Nigeria is for all of us, and we must work towards a society where justice breathes in the busy streets of Aba; where it hovers across the brown roofs of Ibadan, and where it strolls on the fine sands of Sokoto.
Fredrick is a media personality.
Twitter: @FredrickNwabufo