Let us begin this brief discussion with the obvious. General Muhammadu Buhari, former head of state, 1984-85, is in the presidential race for the fourth time since 2003. It is thus easy for his detractors to put it down to his consuming ambition to rule this country for the second time. I think it should now be possible for us to be fair and open-minded about him, what he stands for and what motivates him to weather his disappointments and maintain his focus towards his objective of leading a competent and dedicated national team to salvage our dear country ravaged by termites. It has been his obsession for 31 years now.
It is difficult not to admire his courage. Three times he ran the race and three times he lost. Each time, believing that the verdict by the electoral umpire did not reflect the true decision of the people, he pursued his case all the way to the highest court in the land. In 2003, he spent more than three years trying to persuade their lordships to listen to him and do justice to him, the electoral system, the rule of law and the country. The courts failed him each time because politics trumped justice in the temple of justice. The system failed him each time with palpable injury to our collective sense of justice. Yet, he was not, to use the popular saying, even shaken. Each setback fired his resolve. It seems to me that only he could see the rainbow where the rest of us see the dark clouds of despair and lost hope. I have no intention of couching his political ambition in sacerdotal terms but a man this faithful to his cause and belief is an inspiration.
It is no longer difficult to see that the general is clearly motivated by nobler and higher objectives than his alleged greed for power, whatever his detractors might say. For one, his quest is clear evidence that unlike many, he has not lost faith in the present and the future of our country. Buhari believes that our country is not a lost cause.
Many of our compatriots have more or less given up on the country because they are convinced that like Nazareth, nothing good will come out of this lumbering giant of Africa. You can’t blame those who feel that way. Nigeria seems condemned to being a permanently potentially great country. Lesser African and other Third World countries have pulled themselves up by their bootstraps but ours seems content to hold the candle to such countries. This country has squandered its riches and opportunities and overdrawn from its bank account of international goodwill. It evokes more pity than pride. Its once loud voice in the comity of nations has been reduced to incoherent whining. Its once commanding presence in the international arena has been reduced to a black fedora at photo ops at the gathering of world leaders.
Buhari told TheNews magazine at an interview in December 2003, “I think this country is in a mess.” He has consistently demonstrated his belief that the mess could be cleaned up and it would be morning again in Nigeria. If good people run away from the mess, it would only get messier. This has been his mantra since January 1984. He told us on his assumption of office as head of state: “This generation of Nigerians and indeed future generations have no other country than Nigeria.
“We shall remain here and salvage it together.”
The general is still in the salvage operation. In 1984, Buhari came into office as an angry general. He was disappointed that in only four years and three months or so, the politicians had managed, quite remarkably, to put the economy in serious “predicament.” Our country was “afflicted” by a “crisis of confidence.” Nigeria became a risky country to do business with. Its trading partners denied it lines of credit. Young Nigerians were checking out in search of greener pastures elsewhere.
His appearance on the political scene in 2003 was a big surprise to many, yours sincerely not excepted, who believed that Buhari hated politics and the politicians. How could he keep the company of those who worship in the shrines of untruth and who verily believe that corruption is merely a smart way of being “better pass your neighbour”? There were obstacles in his path in the shapes and sizes of some of those he put behind bars in 1984-85. They had become the party moguls and the deciders-in-chief of political fortunes and misfortunes in the country. How could they let the general on to the turf? They obviously feared that if Buhari came again, he would head them back into jail again. Time sharpens the edge of revenge.
Buhari looked beyond that and surprisingly showed that he understood the elementary facts of a presidential contest. He did not come into it as a joke. He did so with serious-mindedness. He was the only presidential candidate that year to publish his manifesto – an impressive document that lamented our lost opportunities but wasted no tears over them or indulge in a puerile and futile blame game. His manifesto detailed his appreciation of our national challenges and his informed approach to meeting and defeating them.
Twice Buhari stood on the platform of his party, ANPP, and twice the wily politicians used him as a bargaining chip with the ruling party. Thus compromised and happy with it, the politicians also made their party history. Their vengeance was to make Buhari a political orphan. By the 2003 general elections, the party had lost all but two of the seven states it won in 1999.
Buhari understood the game. He took an unprecedented step. He formed his own political party, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, on whose platform he contested the presidential election in 2011. Was he doing all these because of his greed for power? It does not add up.
Buhari is the most misunderstood Nigerian of his generation since his whirlwind 20-month rule. Much of the misunderstanding is a product of the fear of the man they refuse to understand. He has been tarred and feathered as an alleged religious fanatic whose alleged objective in seeking power is to Islamise Nigeria. Yet, his detractors find it convenient not to remember that in his quest for the presidency, Buhari has not carried his campaigns to mosques or Muslim groups anywhere in the country. Religion has never featured in his campaigns. Political leadership is not about the god you worship. It is about serving that god by serving the people.
On the other hand, unlike Buhari, President Goodluck Jonathan is busy mining religion for his political benefits. It is no secret that he hops from one obscure church to another, seeking assurance from pastors that he is the man chosen by God. Twice, he took state governors, ministers and pastors to pray at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. I have heard no one accuse him of Christianising Nigeria.
The trouble for Buhari’s detractors is that despite their poor attempts to tarnish his integrity, they are unable to reasonably question his solid credentials: his incorruptibility and his belief in and commitment to discipline and the rule of law. Not all of us are comfortable with a strong leader. Many of us prefer a weak and jolly leader who holds the cow for the smart ones to milk. When US President Obama advised that Africa needed strong institutions, not strong leaders. Buhari’s quite sensible response was that you need strong leaders to build strong institutions on the continent. Just see how many of our national institutions are mothballed through a poor appreciation of the fact that nations are built and they progress on the strong pillars of their institutions.
The governor of Jigawa, Sule Lamido, was once quoted as saying, “the fear of Buhari is the beginning of wisdom.” Perhaps, that is the problem. (To be concluded).
Agbese, former Editor-in-Chief, Newswatch magazine, is an executive director,MayFive Media Limited, Lagos
