GENERAL MUHHAMADU BUHARI

Born on Thursday the 17th December, 1942 in Daura, Katsina state, to a Fulani Chief, Ardo Adamu of Dumurkol,  a village near Daura, and Hajiya Zulaihatu, a Hausa woman. He was a Gambo or Leko, as he arrived after the death of his older twin siblings. It is what the Yorubas would refer to as Idowu. That is the story of the parenthood of  Major General Muhammadu Yassim Yinusa Buhari, the officer gentleman who , at three critical times, was well positioned to amass wealth for himself illegally but did not.

After attending primary schools at Daura and Mai’adua between 1948 and 1952, followed by a year stint at Katsina  model school in 1953 and Katsina Provincial secondary school (now Government college Katsina)  between 1956 and 1961; Buhari had a choice of training as a teacher, studying agriculture or joining the Army. He chose the profession of the arms. As a cadet, he was made a sergeant which was an early recognition of his leadership qualities by his superiors.

It was in August 1975 that Muhammadu Buhari first came into national visibility when he was appointed Military Governor of the North Eastern by the Murtala Muhammed’s regime. After the death of the General Murtala Muhammed, the new Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo government appointed him as the Federal Commissioner for Petroleum resources (March 1976-July 1978) and later, Chairman of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, June 1978-July 1978. It was during his stewardship at the Petroleum ministry that two of the nation’s refineries (Warri and Kaduna) were built.

In 1983, the patriotic fervor of Buhari was rudely put to test when the Chadians, in a mindless expansionist adventure, invaded and occupied 19 islands in Lake Chad within Nigerian territory. As the General Officer Commanding (GOC) the 3rd armored corps, the then Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari successfully carried out a blockade forcing the return of the territories and thereafter pursued the Chadians as far as 50kms into Chadian territory. On an Internet discourse, Major-General (retired) Ishola Williams commented on this military feat thus: “He applied forward defense strategy at its best.”

Major-General Muhammadu Buhari bestrode the nation’s governance when he led the military putsch that overthrew the civilian regime of Alhaji Shehu Shagari. Prior to the take-over, the four-year-incursion of the civilian government had been horrific for Nigerians. The economy had been recklessly mismanaged to the extent that a chieftain of the ruling National Party of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, once asserted that there was no poverty in Nigeria because he had not seen any Nigerian feeding from the baggage dump!

In his maiden speech, General Muhammadu Buhari left no one under any illusion that his regime came on a rescue mission from the executive brigandage of the civilian regime. As a last line, he opined: “This generation of Nigerians, and indeed future generations, have no country other than Nigeria. We shall remain here and salvage it together.”

The 20-month era of strong leadership espoused what later became known as ‘Buharinomics’, which simply put is an admixture of frugality, probity, respect for contractual agreements, expunction of  all covert or overt attempts at subjugating the Nigerian economy to world powers and above all, economic policy with Nigeria as the center-piece. It is therefore, without any whiff of equivocation to state that the boldest attempt in the last thirty years at alleviating the pains of the teeming masses was during the enactment of Buharinomics. It was not surprising that the inflation rate was lowered by more than 18 points, from 23.2% in 1983 to 5.5% in 1985! The Buhari regime rebuffed all entreaties by IMF and World Bank to devalue the naira, remove subsidies on services and increase pump price on fuel.
It was arduous for the regime to cleanse the mess of the Shagari regime, which was characterized by unprecedented indiscipline –fiscal, institutional and governmental. With the mantra of War Against Indiscipline (WAI), a new direction was charted for Nigerians in ethical behavior in Public places.

With a persona that is hinged on self-abnegation, it was possible to insist on transparency within the polity. A military governor was relieved of his appointment for awarding N163,000 (one hundred and sixty three thousand naira) contract without  due consultation with the state executive council. The preceding politicians that corruptly enriched themselves were prosecuted and given long prison sentences. The former Director of NYSC, Col Peter Obasa and his accountant, Folorunsho Kila were found guilty and sentenced to 21years.

Owing to the damaging effect of currency trafficking outside the Nation’s shores, the Buhari administration decided to change the colors of the currency notes in April 1984. This yielded the desired result as N5Billion excess liquidity was mopped off! As a back-lash on this exercise, there was insidious story from a section of the media that the Buhari regime allowed the Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Jokolo to bring in 53 suitcases during the currecy change, thereby insinuating a case of double-standard. Let it be said from the onset, the opinion tenaciously held on to about this incident was what was sold to the unsuspecting Nigerian public by a section of the press. So much hoodwinked that Buhari's explanation had never been heard!
This is what Buhari said about this:
 

"This is a typical case of the press believing what they want to believe. I hope it is not a reflection of the Nigerian society. I hope one day you will find the time to interview the Vice President on this. I understand he was the Customs officer in charge of the Murtala Mohammed airport, perhaps he knows more about it than myself. I have explained this so many times but the press write what they want to write and not what is factual."

Going down the memory lane, he added: "I recall the day in question. We were playing squash with my ADC when his father, the late Emir was returning to the country. He was a well-respected person. I prompted Jokolo to go and receive him even when he had no intention of doing so. By some coincidence his father was returning with my late chief of protocol who was an ambassador in Libya. He returned with his three wives and about 16 children. Everything about him including the handbag of his wives was counted as a suitcase. I explained this myself but nobody believed me."
The Vice-President referred to is Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the man that is now desperately fighting for PDP nomination.

Some months ago when he Alhaji Atiku Abubakar gave inkling into his interest in the nation's presidency, anxious journalists wanted to know from him how he would manage the formidable competition from IBB. He smiled and calmly told them, "You people do not know that my friendship with General Babangida had been for at least ten years before i knew the late General Shehu Musa-Yar'adua."

As an undergraduate, I did a little bit of mathematical induction. Without doubt, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was very friendly with General IBB (the serving Chief of Army staff) at the time of this 53-suitcase saga. We cannot infer anything yet, it is necessary to delve a little into IBB's subterfuge and fifth-columnist-posturing during the Buhari regime.
During the infamous Nigerian Medical Association (NMA)-induced doctors' strike of 1984/85 , Dr Fashakin (a former NMA President in Ife zone) had in an internet discourse, graciously acknowledged the 'logistics' support extended to the 'fleeing'  NMA executive members by the same Gen. IBB.
Col.Halilu Akilu (as Director military Intelligence) was reporting to Gen

IBB as the Chief of Army staff. For inexplicable reason (except for sheer idiocy), Akilu ordered soldiers to invade the 2-park-lane-Apapa residence of the late Sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Sometime ago, General Buhari was cornered and asked specifically about this incident. He said, "I did not order anybody to do this. It was the handiwork of the fifth columnist in our midst."

The Newsprints ordered by Concord Press (owned by Chief MKO Abiola) were seized by the Buhari regime because of infraction of the subsisting importation regulation. On the day (27th August, 1985) the Buhari regime was toppled, an airplane owned by Concord airline ferried General IBB from Minna to Lagos to assume leadership of the Nation. Did that suggest a friendship that facilitated the successful removal of the regime?

Was there a possibility of an alliance by General IBB and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to embarrass the Buhari regime? I strongly believe so! I therefore make bold to declare that the 53-suitcase issue was a hoax! You are at liberty to hold on to your impression.

Buhari may have his foibles (as all humans do) but what his detractors cannot take away from him is his personal discipline with no avaricious desire for unjust gain. This means he is a man who has succeeded in putting his own self into some form of self -abnegation. Such is the man that can usher in a fresh air from the fouled political atmosphere within the polity. I challenge anyone to point to any assassination or assassination attempt (with the imprimatur of the state) during the Buhari regime. But what happened after his removal? All the succeeding regimes have been guilty of clandestinely eliminating voices of dissent within the polity.

Though Gen IBB came smiling at everyone, including the Press; but before 15 months of his reign, a notable journalist had already been ‘parcel-bombed’!  We virtually lost count of unresolved state-organized murders during the infamous civilian regime of Baba Iyabo the imperial president. The explanation for the unresolved assassination Chief Bola Ige SAN, the regime's minister of Justice still leaves much to be desired! This spate of murders to settle political scores has, unwittingly or wittingly, been replicated by the state governors. It is a rarity to find a state governor without murderous squads roaming freely for the next assignment to satisfy their sponsors.

It is against this backdrop that Nigerians, I mean concerned Nigerians believe that the next leadership is critical in moving the nation to the next level. It is clearly important that we can no longer operate the culture of government by settlement whereby less than 600 individuals collectively consume 25% of the nation's budget; according to the recent startling statistics by the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.

Buhari had said he intends to extend the work-hours of Nigerians to 24-7; which means the people should be free to move about at whatever time of the day as they choose. Who is able to do this? It is not what someone reads to us from a speech prepared by a consultant; but from someone whose antecedents bespeak of refusal to pander to the antics of the Breton Woods' institutions to further impoverish our people.

It was a clear attestation of his Spartan lifestyle that the Abacha military regime entrusted the management of the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under his watch. There is no gain saying that PTF literally became the project arm of the government: Drugs supply to hospitals (especially Universities’ medical centers), road projects to hitherto unexplored rural areas clearly attest to his scrupulous assiduity.

What is the state of the republic as we speak? The parlous state of the economy is aptly captured in the fact that for the past eight months, the foreign reserves have been depleted by $8Billion, with the inflation rate as high as 14% and still rising. More worrisome is the depletion of the excess crude account from $22Billion to $470million with no corresponding economy-impacting capital projects to justify the expenditure.
Newton's second law of Motion states that: "Everybody continues in a state of rest or uniform motion unless compelled by an external force."  If there is no meaningful intervention from a confirmed patriot, our democracy (or demonstration of craze, apology to Fela Anikulapo-Kuti) is doomed for failure.

It is for these reasons and many more that General Muhammadu Buhari has taken up the gauntlet (through the support of Nigerians across the geo-political divide) to save the polity just one more time. The espousal of the new Nigeria would be dependent on the choice we make in April 2011. The Executive Presidents we have had in the last twelve years have not emerged from their visionary desire for the office but as a result of overbearing superimposition by entrenched interests. That would largely account for the rudderless leadership that had, unfortunately, been foisted on us. On the contrary, Muhammadu Buhari, with his antecedents of transparent and impactful governance, has with again shown uncanny indefatigability in offering himself for the needed rescue operation on the nation. Will this third attempt be the defining moment for the Nigerian nation? We stand at the threshold of history as true greatness beckons!
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Engr. Rotimi Fashakin…

Buhari: I can smell the cooking

By Femi Adesina (kulikulii@yahoo.com, 08055001928)
Friday, December 10, 2010

The aroma wafting from the political camp of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari is delicious. In fact, you salivate, as you perceive it. There is some finger-licking food waiting to be served, and that very soon. Between April and September this year, I wrote two major articles on the former military head of state and his desire to rule the country again, this time as a democratically elected leader. And in many other pieces, I’d stressed that the man is my number one preference for president next year. But also, I’d been practical enough to confess that Buhari’s road to the presidency is littered with daunting hurdles and obstacles. Formidable barriers and blockades.

Writing under the title, ‘Buhari: When integrity is sin,’ published on April 30, I’d said: “Whatever we say of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), it is the nation’s largest party today, and whoever has the ticket of the party may be as good as being president. Of course, I don’t like that fact, but I must be honest enough to admit it. Therefore, to get rid of this army of occupation called PDP, we need a coalition, a broad based political alignment which was attempted through the National Democratic Movement… Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Can this raise a finger against almighty PDP? The ANPP was the next largest party in the country. Buhari could not wrest power from the PDP on its platform. Will he now do it through CPC? Tough, surely.”

Again, in September, I wrote under the headline, ‘2011: Mistakes Buhari must not make.’ And what was I saying?
“Like a hurricane, the man who ran for president in 2003 and 2007 on the platform of the ANPP is blowing from one state to the other, particularly in the North-west and North-east geo-political zones. It is a good development, but therein also lies my worry… The cyclone called Buhari must blow across the country – North, South, East, West. That is the way to guarantee victory.”

Since three months ago that I wrote the piece, I’ve kept tabs on Buhari’s political fortunes, watched the people he frolicked with, the places he visited, and the things he said. And I think the ramrod straight Daura man is getting it right, and the auguries appear quite good. Now, Buhari’s CPC is holding talks with the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), the Save Nigeria Group (SNG), and many others. That is the way to go. Whether anybody likes it or not, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s ACN is crucial to any candidate who wants to make an inroad into the South-west. Recent judicial pronouncements, which changed the governorship of some states in the region, have re-drawn the political map of the country.

Where the PDP hitherto held sway, the ACN now is in charge, and this will definitely affect the voting pattern. The ACN (and Tinubu, by extension) now controls Lagos, Osun, Ekiti and Edo states. The Labour Party government led by Olusegun Mimiko in Ondo, has ties of consanguinity with the ACN, and will likely follow whatever course the latter charts. Buhari is, therefore, quite smart to hold talks on a possible alliance with the ACN. The calculation is this: Buhari dominates the North-east and North-west where he’s blowing like a typhoon, sweeps South-west votes through an alliance with ACN, gets a chunk of the South-east with a strong running mate from the region as well as an alliance with Orji Kalu’s PPA and APGA (All Progressives Grand Alliance), and he’s as good as home and dry. From the North-central and South-south, what he needs is just a significant showing.

He then gets the required national spread, and Nigeria gets a president that can give honest, inspiring leadership. How wonderful this will be!
But a warning. In the talks with the ACN, Tinubu being running mate should not be on the cards. Not at all. My colleague and columnist with Thisday, Yusuf Olaniyonu, warned about this last Friday, and I agree. Nigerians are in no mood for a Muslim-Muslim ticket now. Nor a Christian-Christian ticket. It will be insensitive. It worked with M.K.O. Abiola and Babagana Kingibe in 1993, but it will not necessarily work now. In 1993, Nigerians wanted the military out of power by all means, and were ready to pay any price, including voting a Muslim-Muslim ticket into power. Today, the dynamics have changed. With the perfidy of some people working against the zoning arrangement in the PDP, suspicion has risen several notches higher in the land. Of course, ethnicity and religion are major factors, and CPC/ACN will be making a grave mistake if they present a Muslim-Muslim ticket. I believe they are smarter politicians than to make such blunder.

Buhari’s best choice of running mate is from the East. This is a country that is already naturally zoned, no matter what the covenant breakers say about zoning. The South-west finished an eight-year presidency just in 2007, and should not think of producing the number two man so soon, when other regions like the South-east and South-south have not produced a president or deputy in 45 and 50 years respectively. A Buhari-Tinubu ticket is simply out of it. An alliance, yes, joint ticket, no.
What then happens to presidential aspirants on the ACN platform? Former EFCC boss, Nuhu Ribadu, and Attahiru Bafarawa, ex-Sokoto State governor, have indicated interest. To be frank, I do not see any of these two as our next president. They do not appear at all in my crystal ball. Not even their shadows. Bafarawa? Not when he could not even win Sokoto which he had governed for eight years, with his then Democratic Peoples Party (PDP). And Ribadu? Well, does he strike you as a politician? An ideologue, yes, but politician, no.

Let me mention a major endorsement that Buhari received recently, which to me, is a salutary development. Did you read that interview Ibrahim Babaginda granted an online medium, Pointblank News, which Daily Sun and Nigerian Tribune reproduced? He said of Buhari: “He was my boss. He was an honourable man. I can say it anywhere.”
IBB has lied to Nigerians on many issues over the years. He lied on IMF loan. He lied on his economic policies. He lied on the terminal date of his administration many times. And he told the ultimate lie by annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by M.K.O. Abiola. But today, possibly for the first time in his life, IBB has told the truth: “I respect Buhari. He was my boss. He was an honourable man, and I can say it anywhere.”

This confirms to us that the military coup that ousted Buhari in 1985 was a self-serving one. Why should you topple a “honourable” man, if not just lust for power? That was how Nigeria lost the fundamental good she would have received from the Buhari/Idagbon regime, which I believe would have been our best till date. However, we now have opportunity to get the man back into power via the ballot box. Hurricanes are very powerful, sometimes violent storms with strong winds and heavy rains. Buhari is now like a positive hurricane in the North. Can the typhoon also sweep into the West and East? It depends on the successes made of the ongoing talks with ACN, PPA and others.

The World Meteorological Organisation usually names hurricanes from a prepared list. That was how the world got names like Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Andrew, Rita, Luis, Allison, Floyd, Georges, Keith, Lenny, Michelle, and many others. The name given to any hurricane that is unusually fierce is retired, and never used again. Since 1954, at least 40 of such names have been retired. After 2011 polls, we should retire ‘Hurricane Buhari’ in Nigeria, and the best way to do it is to retire him into the presidential villa, for one term in office as he has promised. At least, this is one “honourable” man we can trust. I can say it anywhere.

From my mailbox

Atiku deserves it
Atiku deserves the compensation the Northern Political Leaders Forum gave him. He is the one that gallantly fought Obasanjo, which foiled the third term agenda.
H.O. Oguntade, Lagos

I suspect him
Atiku’s vaulting ambition to rule the country is suspect. Genuine leaders leave good legacies. But Atiku’s name is synonymous with alleged corruption and stubbornness.
Ihebinike Godwin, Owerri

Underrate Atiku to your detriment
Going by Atiku’s political history, I was expecting Jonathan’s godfather to be saying…I dey cry o... because this is a die-hard man that has brought him to his knees before, let alone his godson without any political muscle. Anyway, my own political calculation in 2011 is that Atiku will beat Jonathan in PDP primaries and Buhari will beat him in general election, then we will finally be free from our self-imposed colonial master called PDP.
Adewunmi Adesida doyin_adesida@yahoo.com

Atiku can relocate to Chad!
I’m not amused by your comment on Atiku’s political resurrection. This consensus rubbish is taking us back to the period of regional politics. Anyway, if the election is free and fair in 2011, neither Atiku nor Jonathan will win. In fact no PDP candidate will win in any election. Atiku can then declare himself President and relocate to Niger or Chad with Mallam Ciroma. I assure you, they wouldn’t be missed!
Toyin Ojora, princetoyinojora@yahoo.com

Atiku an armada? I dey laugh o
You have at last answered my question as to the North putting its best foot forward. You answered by saying that “Atiku is an armada”. Inasmuch as am not against Atiku (in fact I used to be sympathetic towards him during those monstrous days of Obasanjo especially during third term agenda), but no longer today because I can’t trust him no more. (From PDP to AC, and back to PDP).
Ali Kingsley, lastdon_kc@yahoo.com

Re: Atiku: Wasn’t this flag at half-mast?
He that follows Atiku and believes what he says will also believe that cheetah is leopard and that alligator is crocodile. He is like a child that believes a mirage to be a pool of water: deceived and hoodwinked.Ikenna G. Ikenna, ikgeee@yahoo.com 08063620983

Destiny calls
Outside Mandela, I have never seen or hear where an incumbent President in Africa has ever ruled only for one term. Atiku will not leave power come 2015, if given the mandate. So let us be realistic. Destiny calls. It’s God’s own zoning . Michael Rapulu, ekezigbo@yahoo.com

I laughed
I laughed when you described Atiku as a victim of persecution, maltreatment and oppression. Your rugged, dogged, fighter from the north? That description does not fit at all! Truth to me is, Atiku met more than his match in Obasanjo. He was disloyal to his boss and got his arse kicked by the boss. Barrister Michael Orisabiyi, ibukunorisabiyi@yahoo.co.uk

You speak my mind all the time
I wonder why you always peep into my mind to ‘steal’ my thoughts. Atiku has always been my man. As an Idoma man from Benue State, I believe zoning remains our best bet of clinching the governorship position. Therefore any attempt to scuttle zoning is an attempt to keep my people in perpetual slavery. Ode Idoko, idokolord@yahoo.com

I’m sorry for Atiku
I read your piece and felt very sorry for Atiku. One Igbo adage has it that a fly that refuses to listen to advice, will follow the corpse to the grave. My advice to Turaki is to rest for now. Nigeria  President is not do or die.
Nwankwo Dave

He was never dead
Atiku was never dead politically, he was only in a political purgatory.
I have this feeling that he may rule this country this time, the fact that Obasanjo dey laugh notwithstanding. Let’s see who laughs last at the end of the day.
St-Charles Akubor, saintcharloo@yahoo.co.uk

He can’t walk again
James Hardly Chase’s Make the Corpse Walk, showed that eccentric millionaire Kester Weidman, was suffering from acute psychosis, and of course, his brother’s corpse never walked!  Atiku cannot walk again.
Eze Chidi Ernest

The Man of the Moment - Buhari - is hotter than ever!

Buhari in the Newswatch

  

INTRODUCTION

HIS METAMORPHOSIS HAS happened right before our eyes.  Or has it?  The former no-nonsense bespectacled ruler who has zero tolerance for indiscipline and corruption but who ruled sternly by decrees (Remember Decrees 2 and 4?), has now become a democrat who is ready to go through the traditionally frustrating democratic process to give us the Nigeria of his dreams.

This is the new Muhammadu Buhari, the former head of state who sacked the corrupt political leadership that ruled Nigeria from 1979 – 1983.  Since his ouster by Ibrahim Babangida, the gap-toothed general who lives on the hills in Minna, Niger State, on August 27, 1985, Buhari has twice run to become Nigeria’s president, first in 2003 and then in 2007.  He failed both times, although it is clear to all discerning Nigerians that those elections were a sham and were massively rigged particularly the 2007 elections.  And Buhari spent 42 months appealing those two sham electoral verdicts.  He doesn’t look so stern these days.  He seems at peace with himself and still has a good looking young-face at 67.  He is more banter friendly but remains his unpretentious self.  No airs and graces about him and almost surprisingly, not too many hangers on around him either.

Could that be because he was expecting some journalists?  Well, No.  Those who know him say that is just the essence of the man.  He’s a minimalist and his lifestyle contrasts sharply with the opulent lifestyles of some of Nigeria’s former rulers or even those in the leadership positions today in the government houses and the legislative houses throughout the country.

What has so dramatically turned this former dictator into a promising democrat? Go back to the collapse of the Soviet Union and you will have your answer.  The collapse had a profound effect on his political thinking as a once bastion of autocracy was replaced by countries with budding democratic credentials.  He is now an apostle of free and fair election himself and one who believes that the elections of 2011 would be a defining moment for the nation’s political life.  He’s placing his hopes in Nigerians themselves, particularly the elite and he’s hoping they will wake from their slumber and fight for the enthronement of basic democratic norms in this country of 150 million people.

It will be a mistake to think that because Buhari has a more people friendly mien (the trademark of politicians) he is not very passionate about where this country should be headed.

Two things are critical to him, apart from all else – indiscipline and corruption.  The two, to him, are interwoven.  If a man is disciplined, he will know right from wrong and behave appropriately.  In that wise a disciplined person knows corruption is not good and would not indulge in it.  If a leader is, therefore, above board, disciplined and is incorruptible, he’s likely to have his countrymen and women look critically at themselves and behave appropriately.  It sounds simple but it is not.  There are a couple of Nigerian leaders who are still lauded for not being corrupt, former President Shehu Shagari being one of them.  But unfortunately he presided over a corrupt government.  Buhari is different.  He simply abhors corruption and would gladly make example of corrupt officials in his government.

The treatment his government meted out to politicians of the 1979 – 1983 era is still fresh in our memory.  Many were thrown in jail for long sentences.  And it may be why there is trepidation among the elite and politicians that a man like Buhari may fling the prison gates wide open again for corrupt Nigerians if he becomes president in 2011.  That itself won’t be a bad thing and ordinary Nigerians would probably jump for joy if it happens.  But Buhari now knows his politics well and says he would not witch-hunt anyone and would not be doing unnecessary probes.  But corrupt officials beware Buhari will have his fangs against the cankerworm.

Nigerians indeed would remember the War Against Indicipline, a cardinal programme of the Buhari-Idiagbon government.  It forced us to queue and may be the traces of it that you can still see today came from that period.  Nevertheless, he rubbed the media the wrong way and Decree 4 make him powerful media enemies.  He’s comfortable with them now “(At least I need the media to report what I say)” but believes Nigerians should separate the dictates of that time from those of the democratic era that we now have.

Still, many see Buhari as an enigma.  He is accused of being overtly religious, yet what Nigerians seem to forget is that he actually tried to get the state out of religion when he decided to limit the number of hajj pilgrims drastically while canvassing that it was a private affair which government should not be involved with.

Nevertheless, there is a new Buhari who wants Nigerians to see his democratic credentials, a man who promises to be the safe pair of hands that the nation needs in these turbulent times.  He believes Nigeria needs a strong leader that can build strong institutions for the country.  It is the way forward for him.  Will he get the opportunity next year?

FREE AND FAIR ELECTION OR ANARCHY -- Buhari

I’M the Biggest Victim of Political Anarchy

Muhammadu Buhari, former military head of state and Presidential aspirant in the 2011 general election, on the platform of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, speaks with Newswatch editorial team of Soji Akinrinade, editor-in chief, Dan Agbese, managing director, Newswatch Books Limited and Tobs Agbaegbu, senior associate editor, on his presidential aspiration, his new party and state of the Nigerian nation.  Excerpts:

Newswatch: Many Nigerians who have been following your lifestyle and viewpoints since your days in the military are surprised that you ended up in politics.  What actually motivated you to be in politics?

Buhari: You are right.  I have been in politics since 2002.  If I had earlier been asked if I would join politics, I would say no, but I found myself in a very difficult position socially when I came out of detention.  You know I was detained up till the end of December 1988.  So, when I came out, I sat at home and did a review of my life, my military career, from second lieutenant to general.  I had occupied all those command and staff appointments as opportunities presented themselves.  I found myself to be a governor in North Eastern State now made of six states, Yobe, Borno, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa and Taraba.  I was in petroleum, under Obasanjo as head of state, and then I was later a military head of state.  So, after three years in detention, I went back home and tried to re-orientate myself and I found that what I hoped for this country, what I tried to do when I was in the military was to provide both physical and material security for this country.  I found out that even in the much received democracy in the country, there was too much wastage.  I found that we still had the problem of infrastructure, problem of social service and so on, and I know that I could make the difference.  I said may be if I make enough noise, I could be heard.  This is why I am in politics.

Newswatch: You are in it now.  How have you found it, going by your experience in ANPP and now, your new party, the CNC.  How has it been in the years past?

Buhari: Terrible.  Absolutely.  If you compare ours with, even in the last immediate elections in Kenya, South Africa and Ghana, Nigeria is a disappointment.  We ought to do much better.  I joined the ANPP, then known as APP in 2002.  It was an effective and number two party in the country, having governors in nine states, in addition to many members of the National Assembly, local governments across the county, not only in the North where it had its base.  It suddenly was reduced to having control of governments only in three states.  When I was there, and contested election for the presidency in 2003, we ended challenging the election results, in court, for 30 months.  In 2006, the party again gave me its ticket and you know what happened in the election.  That is now history.  And it is on record that both Nigeria NGOs and the international community observer teams and religious groups deployed over 30,000 people as members of observer teams.  All of them agreed that the 2007 election was a non-election.  And I said I was not going to court but my party insisted we must go to court because I participated on its ticket, and they were right.  So, I said, okay, if we had to go to court, the party would make arrangement for its legal team while I also would take my own lawyers.  And so, we went to court, but something surprising happened.  While we were in court, the party, even without telling me goodbye, suddenly withdrew its case.  If I had not got my own legal team, that would have been the end of the whole ting.  And my major worry was not that the thing would be withdrawn from court, but the impression that would have been created that I had been settled.  And Nigerians would believe it.  I was very excited eventually when I found that constitutionally, I could continue with my case, since I had a legal team, and so I continued with the case in court for 20 months.  You can now see that between 2003 and December 2008, I was in court for 50 months.  And what ANPP did, in addition to withdrawing from the case, they decided to join PDP government in a so-called government of national unity.  And the leadership of the party joined the government without going through the constitutional structures, the national working committee, which was supposed to be in charge of the party on a day to day basis.  They also did not consult the party caucus, that comprised of the governors, the presidential candidate, the chairman of Board of Trustees and a few others.  They also did not get consent of the highest authority of the party, the National Executive Committee, NEC.  So, without going through these constitutional procedures, the leadership of the ANPP decided to withdraw the case, join the PDP government and put themselves there.  This is political anarchy, and so I said I will have nothing to do with this, and so left the ANPP.

Newswatch: You have had two experiences in 2003 and 2007, which from your accounts did not give you confidence.  What gives you the new confidence to run for presidency again in 2011?

Buhari: The state of the polity in the country and our state of development as a nation have no room for giving up for those who are genuinely concerned about this country.  I just can’t give up because I am the biggest victim of political anarchy in this country.  If I give up, I may die as a failure.  This is why in February 2009, I sent a letter to all my supporters in the 36 states and Abuja, and sought their view on critical issues on the way forward.  I said, in view of what ANPP did to me as their presidential candidate, whether I should remain the ANPP or join any other party other than PDP.  It couldn’t have been PDP, because PDP is responsible for the political anarchy in the country now; or float a new party.  We ended up floating a new party, Congress for Progressive Change.  That is why I am where I am now.  I am an aspirant now, not the presidential candidate.

Newswatch: How are you going to fund the new party, given, that money is needed in the contest against the other major parties that have already been fully entrenched in many states?  Again, what kind of strength do you have that will enable you contend with the others?

Buhari: My strength is in my faith in this country and in the patriotism of Nigerians generally.  Nigerians generally have come to accept and agree that it is better to remain as one country than get balkanised.  Irrespective of the problem of underdevelopment, which is manifested in tribal crisis, religious crisis, indiscipline, corruption, Nigerians still feel that remaining as one country is still the best option for us.  The issue of accepting that money talks is one issue that annoys me about Nigeria.  Many people in the country believe so much in the Naira, weak as it is.  Of recent, I started appealing to the elite to please go back to their constituencies and deliver them democratically.  This is because, like I said, next year is pregnant and I would not want us to have an abortion.  I have seen much trouble in the country, as a soldier between 1966 and 1970, three terrible years for this country.  I wouldn’t want us to go through those experiences again.  And if we are to stabilise the system through multi-party democracy which I firmly believe in, then the elite must do much better.

Newswatch: When you entered the presidential race in 2003, a lot of people became curious as to how you will fare, considering that a number of those in command of the situation politically in the country were those that were jailed or detained when you were the military head of state.  What gives you the confidence that they will have short memories or forgive you and allow you to become president of this country?

Buhari: It is simple.  The country did not, does not and will not belong to them alone.  It belongs to all of us as Nigerians.  And having been all that a Nigerian politicians wanted to be, my commitment to Nigeria gives me strength.  I refuse to just sit and be a bystander.  I won’t do it.

Newswatch: Looking back, would you think there are things you regret doing at that time?

Buhari: Unless you can prove to me that there was something very terrible that I did at that time which I ought to regret.  Otherwise, I have nothing to regret.  People kept accusing us, that we have removed a democratically elected government.  Nobody said we abused the trust or that we put the treasury in our pocket as it was a personal thing.  There were laws and the constitutions was very clear that people will have to be accountable, from local government to the presidency.  And we couldn’t just sit and watch people stealing the country dry and do nothing about it.  We were in a position to do something about it and we did.  And don’t forget that we set up tribunals, almost in current geopolitical zones.  And we provided documents for those who were responsible for the thefts, at various stages.  And the Nigerian bar association of that time said what we were doing then was undemocratic, as if it means that those who stood before Nigerians, in different constituencies and said they will do something about infrastructure, give water, social services, free and qualitative education, etc and went back to steal the money, invest it outside the country and elsewhere did the correct thing.  Gani Fawehinmi, may his soul rest in perfect peace, thought otherwise and agreed that unless we treated those crooks that way, nobody could get at them.  He proceeded to send his lawyers to defend those who were being charged.  It is alright that somebody came and gave them back the money they stole and the properties, but we made our point.  And this was why I said I hope historians will be fair to us.

Newswatch: So, it is a metamorphosis we have been looking at now.  The general who was there as military head of state is now turned to a democrat.

Buhari: I am now a multi-party system democrat who believes in free and fair election.

Newswatch: Has it ever occurred to you that a whole lot of people are afraid of you, that if you become the president, then the gates of the jail houses will open again and people will be marched in there?

Buhari: I am asking for free and fair elections.  Those people are in the minority, but the majority of Nigerians want to see that the riches God gave this country in terms of human and material resources are utilized better to provide for all Nigerians, especially the weak.  You know it more than I do.  Look at power.  Again, how much is spent on power.  How many factories are closed?  How many people are unemployed? How many services which we used to have are still being provided?  We used to have Nigeria Airways, Nigeria Railways, Shipping Line.  Where are they now?  And look at what we have earned.  This is not multi-party democracy.  This is outright brigandage.

Newswatch: You have not answered the other angle of the question.  Will you open the prison gates again?

Buhari: Why are you so worried about that? I know you are not going to be there, so don’t worry.  Realistically, however, if you say you are going to investigate everything, you won’t do anything.  There has been so much theft that it has been literarily turned into a culture.  I think we just have to draw a line and try to do something immediately, especially in infrastructure and social services, education, health care, power, roads, even drinking water.  Look at the story of cholera outbreak and the money we have earned since democracy resumed, and look at the state of the country’s infrastructure and services.  The Nigerian elite ought to have looked after their country more than what they have done.  We are too weak as elite to stop people in government from abusing trust.

Newswatch: The critical thing is how do we change that mindset?  You have given us an idea about how the elite has failed in this country.  If you look back, there was once WAI, War Against Indiscipline.  If you look at the society today, there is so much indiscipline.  So, how do you start all over again to give this country the kind of attitude that people will have and it will reflect on the way they behave.  How do you change our mindset?

Buhari: I like one thing about Nigerians.  Every Nigerian feels he is as good as Mr. President.  If the people find out that Mr. President has a foreign account or that Mr. President is taking kick-back from contractors, whichever way, through the parties, or wherever, I assure you that every Nigerian from messenger to the governor of Central Bank will help themselves.  But if Mr. President, by his actions proves that he is above board, and refuses to spare anybody, right from his office, I assure you that Nigerians will respond accordingly.  I found out when I came out of detention, that there are people that accepted many things on their own, especially at the end of every month’s sanitation, and didn’t need to be supervised.  They clearned their environment.  They organised vehicles from the local government to pack the refuse on their own, without waiting for the man with the whip to flog them into line.  People also voluntarily queued up at fuel stations.  These are things I firmly believe, from experience that Nigerians can do.  If you are an accountable person, immediately you become the president, Nigerians will sit up.  But you can’t be more clever than Nigerians.  You can do all the talking, all the public relations, if they find out that you are less honest than they expect you to be, everybody will do his own thing.

Newswatch: That presents us with a problem.  If Nigerians are keen on a clean country why is it impossible for them to throw out a corrupt leader?  Why do they prefer to join the corrupt?

Buhari: If you try to draw example from what happened in some developing countries, Ghana for example and what Rawlings did to stabilise Ghana, it is very interesting.  It is our closest and best example.  When he came and had to shoot so many people, he did.  He stayed long in power, came back, wore civilian uniform as a politician and got two terms.  The person in his party whom he wanted to replace him was rejected at the polls by Ghanaians.  This is what Nigeria is capable of doing and I hope they will do it next year, without anybody getting shot.  I think we have killed enough people.  We have killed enough of ourselves between 1967 and 1970, not to talk about the kidnappings and assassinations.  This country has to be secured and managed properly.

Newswatch: When you came in 1984, you came up with War Against Indiscipline.  Your new party has not come up with a slogan, or started a public sensitization so that we can get something to say that the party is different from what we know.  Don’t you think you need something like that?

Buhari: We do.  Our motto is equity, peace and prosperity.  Time is against us, more than anybody else.  It took us 11 months, 17 days to get out registration in our hands.  And now, luckily for us, INEC has sought and got an extension to April next year before elections can start, otherwise it would have been extremely difficult for CPC.  But all the same, all that we are trying to do is to have our structures on ground.  And if you can recall, I have contested twice, under ANPP in 2003 and 2007.  There used to be what was call The Buhari Organisation, TBO, that was virtually in every state of the country.  All they now need to do is to change the colour of their office and put the new flag, so for all intents and purposes, we are on ground, but we are trying to move up to ward level with this structure, so that when campaigns start proper, the people who have been there in The Buhari Organisation, in the ANPP, transform properly to campaign for the CPC.  If you also recall, I have been to a few states, in the North and in the south, opened new offices and promoted the party.  And with the extension, our second phase of the programme would be full blast from the upper week.

Newswatch: In 2006/2007, you released a very elaborate manifesto.  Is it something that you are going to dust up this time around or you are going to have a new manifesto of yours?

Buhari: The manifesto will surely be dusted up and updated.  I have identified four very serious issues now.  There is the issue of security because we have to secure this country.  People are talking glibly about investment.  Who will come to invest in the country when the general manager will be taken away?  And may be, money, as much as his investment in the country, requested by the kidnappers as ransom.  Nobody will come to invest in the country, under such a situation.  We are just joking.  With the state of security in this country, nobody will bring in his money here.  And we have millions of young men that ought to be working in factories and offices, manufacturing, learning.  Corruption has eaten up what we have.  There are also wastages.  The infrastructure is down that ought to support the industries.  Once you don’t have security, no power, no roads and once the school and health systems have collapsed, it is a very bad situation that we have found ourselves and that is a priority, that is what we are going to tell Nigerians.  It is just to remind them because they already know.  What is their experience? Even if you can afford to send your child to Ghana to be educated because standards have fallen in Nigeria or you send your child to Europe or America or South Africa, what does he do when he comes back, when the factories are closed, when you too are broke, when your bank is closed, what do you do?  We are in a mess in this country and we all know it.  This is why I am appealing to the elite to go back and deliver their constituencies.  Let them go and tell their people to be better people.  Tell them what to do and why.  Next year will be the watershed.

Newswatch: Security is close to your heart.  How would you tackle the problem, given that security involves much more than issues in the Niger Delta where there is an amnesty programme now, or robbery or kidnapping.  What would you do?

Buhari: When Obama went to Ghana and refused to come to Nigeria, he said developing nations needed to have strong institutions, rather than strong personalities.  I think he was partly right.  In the case of Nigeria, you will need a strong person now to re-establish strong institutions.  The way the judiciary is, the way armed forces are, if you wait for institutions to resuscitate or rehabilitate themselves, you may eventually not have a Nigeria.  I think in the armed forces, with what is happening, the Nigerian Navy may not be equipped adequately, the Nigerian Air Force may not have the helicopters and the electronic gadgets to stop people from siphoning our crude oil and selling it on the high seas.  When there is a court marshal and the leader of the military who is supposed to guard the country and the resources of the country is involved in stealing crude oil, you will have a major problem in your hand.  But the situation is not hopeless.  Nigerians will be ready to change if they identify a leadership that is honest and trustworthy, they will give their support.  And having the experience of what happened to them before, of lost opportunities, I think next time around, they will be much more serious in defending a credible leadership under the system.

Newswatch: We have always had problems also in tackling our national problems.  May be it has to do with the way we define the problems, say corruption.  A lot see corruption as just stealing money.  Isn’t it part of the problem, when we narrow the definition and perception of big problems?

Buhari: I have a different way of explaining it.  Indiscipline is worse than corruption.  If you may recall, Italy from the end of World War 11, to the last but one of their presidents, was having as many governments as the number of years between the end of the war and then.  Almost every nine months.  But at the same time, their economy and GDP were doing very well.  It is partly explained by what Obama said in Ghana.  Because they were strong established institutions, they allow politicians to go on changing themselves, every month if they want, but the institutions were holding the country.  So they are progressing.

Let me tell you about Japan, from the mid 70s, up to early 90s, every government that was sacked in Japan was because the prime minister was caught taking a cheque somewhere, or the leader of the party messed up his position, but Japan remained the biggest economy, only second to the United States.  This is because the society is disciplined, and the institutions are working.  When the prime minister takes a cheque, they will find out.  And the quickest thing for him will be to resign and a new government is formed.  When the leader of the party takes a handout from a multi-national or so, he has to go.  But in Nigeria, unfortunately for us, we got leaders that ruined the institutions.  If you end up being the local government chairman or governor or president in Nigeria, the government treasury ends up in your pocket.  You do no wrong.  Your wife does no wrong.  Your son cannot do wrong.  Your favourite ministers can do no wrong.  We want to change all that.

Newswatch: We wonder how you can cope with the situation in the country, given what people know about you.  The culture of taking money for votes is so terribly engrained in the society.  The opportunity of looting is immense, and the looters get protected by the corrupt system.  In doing that, they fence out people like you, so how are you going to penetrate?

Buhari: I think that if Nigerians make two ends to meet, they become insensitive to what is happening to their society.  When a bad situation stares them clearing in their faces, they fight back.  Nigerians are in that bad state now.  This collapse of infrastructure and social services is hitting the country very hard.  The average elite cannot now properly educate his child.  He cannot go to good hospitals, and he knows that the country can afford it.  What rather is happening is that some people are stealing the country dry.  People are now into kidnapping their fellow country men and women.  People build houses worth millions of Naira but they cannot sleep in those houses.  They rather sleep outside in hotels.  People can no longer go home for Christmas.  Some cannot go to Church with their families.  This is the time for change.  Having a disciplined and secure country is the answer to our problems.  Nigerians are very concerned about the bad situation in the country, and that is why next year’s election will be different.  You talked about the influence of money.  They may take the money but I believe they will vote for people they believe in.

Newswatch: Why is it so difficult to handle the insecurity problem in the country?  Is it because there is absence of relevant equipment and resources, or lack of personnel and political will?

Buhari: It’s not an issue of lack of right leadership or personnel.  If you say that, you are blaming even from the recruit to a general.  It’s the top.  I am assuring you that if anybody who forms the next government is successful in raising a credible team, and the person is serious about it, things will begin to take shape.  It is implementation that matters.  All the laws and constitutional provisions for making things to work are available in the country.  It is indiscipline that is the problem and indiscipline is a source of corruption itself.  In Nigeria, everybody who is corrupt gets away with it.  The man on top does not consider himself rich unless he gets a house in the United States, Europe or anywhere else.  He or she knows that he is a thief but he is not ashamed of it because the society is tolerating it.  I think that the situation in the country today, where there is the act of kidnapping, is another way of people saying that enough is enough.  But it is a condemnable crime.

Newswatch: Do you think that capital punishment is the solution?

Buhari: When there was an upsurge of armed robbery after the civil way, people said it was because there were too many idle people and too many ex-soldiers who were trained to shoot.  But it has continued.  If people steal, either armed or pen robbers, the law of elimination can stop them from stealing.  But I don’t think it is necessary.  The most important thing is to ensure that a responsible team is raised, that can be firm, be in charge of administration, make sure that the commanders, especially the police, are well trained, experienced and not marred by corruption.  People know what happens in the society.  You cannot tamper with the money of the country, without being discovered.  It doesn’t belong to an individual.  You have to do it through a contractor or a consultant or directly, as some people are doing, because they know nobody will touch them.  It’s not going to be easy but it’s possible because I believe that with the co-operation of all, Nigeria can be secured, because Nigerians are fed up.  They wont have electricity, they wont see factories opened so that they can get job, they won’t sleep with both eyes closed.  I can assure you that Nigerians are in a very agitated mood.  That is why I said next year’s election will be a watershed.

Newswatch: I would like you to expatiate on this watershed issue.

Buhari: Well, Nigerians know that if they can’t improve the situation of the country now, then they are going into anarchy.  Both the rich and the poor will be reduced to the same level.  Everybody will be totally insecure.  Not just because you are a governor, a minister or inspector general of police, or because you are keeping guard in your houses, or that you are driving around with siren and so on.  In spite of all these, you will be insecure.  The elite will be forced to sit up and work.  The watershed is that we have the situation where the next step is total anarchy, and it will be very clear.  When we start the election, we shall see.  There were states where there were no elections in 2003 and 2007.  In the South-West where there is so much political awareness, people were allowed to do what they like.  They were allowed to go and vote, and they got through all the ceremony.  People even sat down, wrote the results and went to the radio house to announce it.  If you complain, they asked you to go to court.  This time, people are saying they will not go to court like that.  They will queue up to vote, and make sure that their votes count.  Already, the president is singing the same song.  It was done in Kano in 2003, in Bauchi and Lagos in 2007.  And it came out without casualties because the elite in those states mobilised the people.  Even the soldiers and policemen could not stop them, not to talk of thugs that were given marijuana or cutlasses, even those with weapons couldn’t do anything.  But try to reflect on what happened in the Ekiti bye-election.  In some constituencies and polling booths, there were more policemen than the voters.  You know what happened.  I think Nigerians cannot accept this type of thing again.  This is what I believe is going to happen next year.  Nigerians will ensure that their votes count and this is what will make the difference.

Newswatch: You have just returned from the National Council of States meeting, where you met with other former heads of state.  Did you people discuss these problems and possibly proffer solutions?

Buhari: You want me to tell you what happened at the Council of States Meeting?  The presidency is supposed to brief you after each meeting, so you wait for final briefing.

Newswatch: I am sure you are not the only one concerned about what is happening in the country.

Buhari: Of course.  If I am the only one, I would not be in politics.  I know many others are concerned, and that is why I stayed, to make even more noise.

Newswatch: So, your colleagues as former heads of state must share same concern, and the National Council of States offers the forum you need?

Buhari: At the council of state, we restrict ourselves to the agenda.  And if there is any other business, people talk about it, if it is worrying them, but the main worry, as we are talking here, is about security and about the election.  Personally, I am happy about a number of developments.  When the president went to see Obama, he promised him that there would be a free and fair election.  When he came back, he sacked Iwu.  He accepted to have Jega even without knowing him.  When he went to the United Nations, he also talked about free and fair election, so I am hopeful.  It has given me a lot of confidence that although he is an aspirant like me, he has identified the danger of not having a free and fair election, and its effects on the image of Nigeria outside.  And you asked whether the former heads of state are worried about security.  Of course, we are all concerned.  It is unimaginable that somebody like Gideon Orkar could muster the courage to excise some of us out of the country, to Niger.  I thank God that he did not succeed because I would not like to live in the desert.  It is in the interest of everybody that Nigeria is stabilised by stabilising the multi-party democracy system here.

Newswatch: We have heard similar promises of free and fair election in the past.  What would convince you that this time around, it would be a different story, considering that the umpire is also a player.

Buhari: My confidence is because of what happened in the three states I told you, Kano, Bauchi and Lagos.  Our campaign now is to mobilise to be like Kano, Bauchi or Lagos.  We are not taking what Mr. President promised for granted.  But if he, as a leader of this country, would go out and talk about free and fair election and then turn his back, and allow his party, the PDP, that is so notoriously incompetent, which is responsible for all the rigging, and thinks that he can do what his former predecessors did and get away with it, I think he will get the message.

Newswatch: You cited Bauchi, but I want to add Zamfara, in asking a question.  Three times the people of Zamfara, voted ANPP and in 2007, the people of Bauchi, voted PDP after voting ANPP in two, previous elections.  The governors of these two states have not taken the states into PDP without the consent of the people and there is no protest from anybody.

Buhari: Wait for the protest, from April next year.  You will see the protest.  And I expect you to know certain things in some places even more than me.  In Zamfara, there was a problem between Sani, the former ANPP governor and former deputy governor on the ANPP platform before the party was taken to PDP.  There have been clashes and lives were lost.  In Bauchi, I can assure you, if you don’t know, that the governor is not having a good time.

Newswatch: How do you see the press now?  Going back and remembering Decree 4, are you a friend of the press this time around.

Buhari: Why did you leave this question till the end of the interview.  It would have dictated my temperament.  I told you that I have accepted multi-party democracy.  It is because of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. A super power in the 20^th century just collapsed without a shot being fired.  And out of that there are many republics now, and a lot of them are accepting multi-party democracy.  So, this is what turned me into a democrat.  And I insist that it must be a system that comes with free and fair election.  That was why I went into ANPP then, but the party was vandalised, so, I had to leave it to join CPC whose motto is democracy and social justice.  And that includes internal democracy.

Newswatch: So, you are a friend of the media now?

Buhari: Yes.  At least, I need the media to report what I say.

Newswatch: May we confirm exactly, what your views are, on the issue of consensus candidate, being pursued by your fellow presidential aspirants from the North.

Buhari: It is a PDP affair.  I have said often that the CPC has Nigeria as its constituency.  In our arrangement, anybody from any part of the country can aspire to any position at any time.  He only needs to work hard, mobilise the people and stand in for election within the party.  After registering as a member of the party in your constituency, the CPC member will then work himself up the party, to whatever position he wants.  I appeal to the elite to participate and not leave politics for the so-called career politicians.

Newswatch: You do not believe, like your colleagues, that it is the turn of the North.

Buhari: It’s a PDP affair.  I am standing, not just because I am a Northerner, but because I am a Nigerian politician, with Nigeria as my constituency.  I want to get votes from Bayelsa, Akwa-Ibom, Ekiti, Oyo, Borno, Imo, Benue, and from all over Nigeria.  I can’t limit myself to the North.  Supposing the rest of the country says let him go and become premier of the North, how would I become president of Nigeria.  And in any case, if I succeed and say I have one term and somebody strong from the south comes on my party platform to contest for the presidency.  I will have to support him.

Newswatch: Do you have any arrangement with ACN?

Buhari: We are talking with them.

Newswatch: Will it work?

Buhari: Why not.  We are trying to identify the type of relationship or alliance we should develop.  We are discussing party to party.  They are certainly an asset to us as a new party.  The AC which is now ACN has more structures in many places.  You can see why we treasure the alliance we are trying to forge with them.

Newswatch: Is it true that Bola Tinubu will team up with you as vice-presidential candidates?

Buhari: People will keep on flying the kite.  Please be careful because you may lose your kite, as the harmattan is coming.  We are discussing with ACN.  We have set up groups now and we should allow them to conclude before we make policy pronouncements.

(Courtesy Newswatch Magazine  of November 22, 2010,  Pages 11 – 20)

General Buhari's Interview - By Eric Osagie

As political gladiators jostle for relevance amid the cacophony over which region should produce the next president in 2011, former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari, has sounded a note of warning to Nigerians and the political class: Get your acts together or there will be no country called Nigeria.

Buhari, a two-time presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), and leader of the new party, Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), told Sunday Sun in a no-holds-barred interview that the country is tottering on the brink of collapse except something urgent is done to rescue it.

“How can we be so rich and paradoxically so poor? We are a rich nation, poor people. This worries me about our country. You look at the UNDP index. Nigerians are living on less than a dollar a day. This is a disgrace to the Nigerian leadership.” On the forthcoming 2011 polls, Buhari says: “ 2011 is critical for the country. There may be no Nigeria (if we don’t get it right).”

For one hour, Buhari also spoke on his presidential ambition, generational power shift, the contentious zoning/power rotation debate, Jega and the new INEC, President Jonathan’s alleged ambition, among sundry issues. Excerpts...

General, may we start by asking how has it been this third time around of your foray into the political minefield. You are opening offices of your new party, congress for progressive change, all over the country?
Well, I think people should realise that we are not absolutely new, technically speaking. Right from 2002, when I joined partisan politics, we came out with an organisation called The Buhari Organisation (TBO). TBO is virtually in all the states of the federation. It’s just like what people do when you have somebody’s vanguard, this movement etc. So, The Buhari Organisation tried to articulate my views, what my philosophies are, to promote my interest in politics and what I believe in in partisan politics.

But, unfortunately, there was some kind of conflict between it and the mainstream of the party. And the party said it should fuse into the mainstream, the ANPP (All Nigeria Peoples Party). When we came to 2003, 2007 elections, we had what we called the presidential campaign teams, from the national, states to the ward levels. ANPP, I must admit, came up with innovations.

If you are a state governor, for example, you are the chairman of the presidential campaign team, as well as your own campaign team. So, even if you don’t do it for the presidential candidate, you do it for yourself. So, we said, all these associations and groups: TBO, Yerima Vanguard, Tofa Boys or whatever, they all merged into the presidential campaign team headed by the national chairman of the party. I think that was a very good innovation. If it was pursued vigorously, I think we should have registered better outing.

What you are doing now is to resurrect tbo, which has metamorphosed into cpc?
Exactly! What we did was we had to leave the ANPP. And these are our reasons; we have said it so many times. So, those who are still with us in ANPP and the other organisations, all we did was to change the face of the office and put the flag of the CPC.

In a sense, you are not really ‘new’ as in new. From what you have been saying, the cpc is about the ideals of Gen. Buhari?
Well, this is what we try to reflect!

What we can also understand is that cpc was set up primarily to champion your views and possibly fight for a progressive Nigeria?
Exactly! We found out that...I think I will mention here for the purpose of clarity. I joined ANPP in April 2002. By 2003, the party gave me its presidential ticket. As they say, the rest is history. But really what happened is that the international observer team, the local observer team, they have all seen, over 30,000 people were deployed by one mission alone. Not to talk of the local Nigerian NGOs and other observer teams. They all agreed that the election was not free and fair. For that reason, we went to court for 30 months. That was in 2003.

In 2006, the party again gave me its ticket. And you know what happened in 2007. The rigging in 2007 was worse than 2003. I said, as presidential candidate, I wasn’t going to court, because I know what happened to me in 2003. But the party said I have to go court. You know how serious the rigging in 2007 was, but I said I wasn’t going to court because I spent 30 months in 2003 and didn’t get justice at the end of the day; I still lost. The party said I had to because I contested on its ticket, and technically, they were right. So, I went. They said we should raise two parallel legal teams, one for the party, the other for the presidential candidate. Of course, you know what happened.

When we were in court, they (the party) withdrew the case. But I refused to withdraw mine. Because constitutionally, I had a right to go to court as presidential candidate, whether the party agrees or not. So, I went to court and spent another 20 months. So, between 2003 and 2008, I was in court for 50 months.
So, when I went to address the press at Transcorp Hilton on December 12, 2008, I said I disagree with the judgment, if you could recall.

That the Supreme Court, as the name suggests, is the supreme authority constitutionally, but I disagree with its judgment. After I finished, the press asked several questions. But two questions were outstanding: With what I experienced in 2003 and 2007, wouldn’t I throw in the towel? Give up and say, ‘well, I have tried!’ I said no, I will not stop. Then, they asked me, you are fighting ANPP, it withdrew the case in court, joined the government of national unity (GNU) and took the positions on offer.

They did not work with the party’s constitutional structures, the National Working Committee, the caucus, comprising the governors, chairmen of the party, chairman of the board of trustees and especially, the national executive committee, which has the authority of the party. They did not take these organs into account in the three decisions the party took, that is, withdrawing from the case, joining the government of national unity and putting themselves the party leadership, instead of these party structures making the decision.

I said I will write my supporters, which I did in the first week of February 2009, and I gave them three positions to advice me on. Firstly, whether we should remain in ANPP; secondly, whether we should join any party other than the PDP; and thirdly, if we can go for a new party. They chose the third option after a survey was conducted in virtually all the states of the federation. So, we decided to come up with the CPC.

Looking at how gruesome it must be to start a new party almost from the scratch - you scout for new members, begin to popularise it and then, woo voters. This requires a lot of resources, moving round. How easy has it been?
It is extremely tough. Not that we don’t know what we are doing. We knew it was going to be tough but it was our best option.

We heard you were discussing with the action congress at a point. We also heard you were discussing with this or that party, then no news again. Is it that you found their philosophies not agreeing with yours or you just want to be a lone ranger?
(Laughs) You cannot be a lone ranger in Nigerian politics, unless you don’t want to succeed. But the important thing is that your philosophy must agree somehow with those you are going to get together with. For example, you know there is crisis in the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) in the centre and virtually every state. There is such crisis in the ANPP where the elected governors just kick the party. So, we wanted to have a party that we can manage, a progressive party with clear ideology and principles.

I am asking why you backed out of your discussion with ac. You were talking with bola Tinubu at some point and you seem to agree ideologically. The party also say they are progressive like the cpc. What happened?
AC, maybe they have got their own problems, which we don’t know! We have learnt to be cautious going by our experience. By going into the APP (All Peoples Party) then, I went and inherited all the problems. Subsequently, it became ANPP and virtually now non-existent. They started with nine governors, now virtually one. But they are supposed to have three: Kano, Yobe and Borno. But, technically, I think they have only one state, which is Kano. So, our supporters in TBO, ANPP and other parties, we thought we can realise our objectives through the CPC rather than joining another party, knocking doors and asking for a merger.

Where are you going to get the resources to prosecute elections in a heavily monetised polity like Nigeria?
You are talking of resources. Well, so many people have said, ‘yes you say Buhari has no money, how did he become a presidential candidate twice?’ But I keep on mentioning that I am the only presidential candidate that went round 34 states in 2003 and 33 states in 2007; a number of the states several times over. Those who have resources, how many states have they been to? What is the use of the resources if you cannot get to the people? Local government by local government, I talked to them. I did that, 2003 and 2007.

The bottom line is that we need free and fair election. All that we are doing will come to naught if there are no free and fair elections; and our experience as a nation agree with this. Even if we don’t agree or believe in ourselves, what about the international community? Some of them had overseen elections in 49 countries before Nigeria. And they said they had never seen the kind of fraud perpetrated in Nigeria. Mrs. (Madeline) Albright said ours, in 2007, was her worst experience.

Some people have asked why don’t you just quit running for presidency. In 2003, you came out parading your integrity, discipline and all that, you were rigged out. In 2007, the same thing happened. Why don’t you just forget it? Why don’t you give up on the presidency? What drives you in the Nigerian project?

I refuse to give up! I am not used to giving up as a soldier. And my objective is absolutely clear: It is about our people and our country. Look at the resources we have in this country, look at the human and material resources, look at the quality of people that we have, they have never been fully exploited. And I felt that if am in partisan politics, at least some people will listen to me. At least, this corrupt and undisciplined nation can be reformed somehow. So, we chose a clear objective of bringing this country back from the brink. This is what is driving me.
Some people seem to believe that it is a burning, personal ambition; that Buhari wants desperately to be president.

They ask: what is Buhari’s vision? What is he bringing to the table? Do you agree with this position?
It is absolutely not true. I don’t agree. Like I said, it’s not about me. It’s about our people and our country. When I read my declaration, I identified the problems of Nigeria: corruption, indiscipline, insecurity, Niger-Delta...We have to secure and manage this country. Secure in the sense that Nigerians all over must be able to have 24 hours a day if they like. Not everybody running home like chickens after last light and coming out after first light. No. Nigerians all over the country must be able to move and work 24 hours a day. Insecurity is the number one problem in this country. Number two is social justice. Social justice means those managing public funds must be seen to be competent and trust worthy.

This culture of throwing to the dogs all final instructions and lack of restraint on the part of those managing public institutions must be brought to a stop. They must be transparent and accountable. This is my burning ambition, which people are calling my personal ambition. Because, how can we be so rich and paradoxically so poor? We are a rich nation, poor people.

This worries me about our country. You look at the UNDP index of living. Nigerians are living on less than a dollar a day. This is a disgrace to the Nigerian leadership because they know what we are earning. At least they know the foreign exchange we are earning. Yet, we remain miserably poor.
Is the problem then the leadership or followership? Nigerians only grumble in their bedrooms and do nothing about this ravaging poverty you talk about

Both. The followership should be able to rebel at a certain level. How can they tolerate people stealing their resources and keep quiet? They refuse to give them education, they refuse to give them security, they refuse to give them water to drink, they refuse to give them infrastructure that enables them to work and earn a living themselves. Why do they tolerate this kind of leaders? In every constituency, they know them. Why do they allow them to steal them dry? What I am saying is that we have a docile followership.

You were head of state for 20 months. What this means is that you were also part of the leadership failure of our 50 years as a nation or are you going to isolate your administration?
I cannot dissociate myself from it. But when I had the opportunity to lead this country...You try and follow my antecedents as a governor, as minister of petroleum, as head of state, as chairman of PTF (Petroleum Trust Fund); have I tried as an individual wherever I have managed to be accountable and transparent? I believe you can get the answer from your archives.

Buhari is generally perceived as upright, disciplined and focused. Yet, why won’t people who believe this give you the votes? Is it that Nigerians don’t trust you enough to be president?
If you are telling me about people of this nation, then you are wrong. I told you earlier that the bottom line of our problems is free and fair election. People did not refuse to give me the votes. My votes didn’t count. I will give you an example, which I believe you know more than I do. Anambra elections, four years ago, when the Supreme Court ruled that (Peter) Obi was the governor, INEC, the constitutional body that runs election, had four years notice to run an election in Anambra. And we know that Anambra had 148,000 registered voters, but less than one-third of the votes counted. So, INEC couldn’t get it right in one state even when it had four years notice. You can see that you cannot be talking about credible polls when votes don’t count. How can you then say Nigerians didn’t vote for me?

Do you now have faith in the new inec under Prof Attahiru Jega?
I am developing some kind of confidence by the kind of actions (of Jega).

Why not total confidence?
Total confidence until and unless INEC gets what the Uwais Committee recommended. We need a credible voters’ register. Every Nigerian of voting age knows we cannot call what we have a credible voters’ register. All this nonsense that Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson were seen in Anambra voters’ register, this kind of scandalous nonsense shouldn’t happen again. So, we need an absolute, up-to-date credible voters’ register. Of course, it is possible. If the guy is given the resources he has asked for and the cooperation, the man is capable of doing it.

Do you know Jega personally?
Yes, person to person, but not closely. He got support across the country, from the press. People seem prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Do you believe that president Goodluck Jonathan, being a likely candidate in the 2011 polls, will give Nigerians a credible election since incumbents are hardly defeated in a country like ours?
Well, all I can say for now is that I am encouraged by what he said when he met with President Obama, when he gave an interview to the CNN. He promised Obama free and fair elections, which Americans are extremely concerned about. Secondly, security of the nation. All these cases of kidnapping, assassination and so on; thirdly, unemployment, and fourthly, I think power. I think these are the promises he made to the United States.

When he came back, to be fair with President Jonathan, as far as I am concerned, he has been playing the roles he promised. I saw in the papers again where he said he didn’t know Jega from Adam. But people recommended him and he approved it. He did not insist on his friend or somebody else. That means he has got this quality of fair-mindedness.

So, you are willing to also give the president the benefit of the doubt?
I am very willing. And when they started talking about this N72billion for INEC, for (voters) registration and so on, he approved it. So, to be fair, he has to be given benefit of the doubt.

The other leg of the question is, since presidents in Africa, including Nigeria, don’t ever want to lose election where they are candidates and umpires, should Jonathan run in 2011?
I think it would only appear that Nigerians haven’t suffered enough if they don’t stand against social injustice. I have the inkling that Nigerians are now getting ready for 2011 electioneering.

2011 is pregnant, only God knows what it will bear. But Nigerians know they are suffering, that if they insist on the government they have chosen, then they can have it. I gave example of Kano in 2003, Bauchi and Lagos in 2007. The electorate insisted on the government they wanted and they got it. So, if the elite of the rest of the country can say go and organise your constituencies and deliver them democratically, it is possible, it can be done. And then if we have a government we chose, we will be prepared to support it. That is the only way we can make progress.

Let’s go to zoning. Where do you stand, for or against?
What I have said since the argument started is that whatever form or agreement a political party takes is its own business. It is for the electorate to have the final decision on who it wants to vote for.

Do you believe power should go to the north in 2011?
That is PDP arrangement. It is a PDP affair. What I believe is free and fair elections. Let us have free and fair elections. As long as you are a Nigerian, if you win, you win, if you lose, you lose. But the elections should be free and fair.
Proponents of zoning say we need zoning or power rotation in a heterogenous society like ours. That it will promote unity in diversity. Some of the governors, elders and party stalwarts insist it is north or nothing. Are there times as a northerner you harbour this sentiment?
Look, I don’t know why you insist on me rationalising or accepting a PDP agenda.

I just want to know your views?
Well, I have told you that the bottom line of our problems is free and fair elections. In my submission earlier, I gave the example of Kano, Bauchi and Lagos, and said if the elite can go out and mobilise the people and deliver their constituencies; educate them and allow them to vote whichever party and whichever candidate, you will be amazed how stable Nigeria will be. But when you start thinking of north/south dichotomy; Christian/ Muslim; Christian/pagan, you have problems. Look at (late MKO) Abiola’s election. Abiola was a Muslim, his running mate was a Muslim. He chose a Muslim/Muslim ticket and nobody raised their fingers against it. So, what we need are good Nigerians whoever and wherever they are.

So, how did we get to this tragic level of zoning, power rotation, balancing etc?
I will ask you; you are the press men. You should tell me.
You should tell me because in 2003 and 2007, you balanced your ticket. You had Christian running mates from South West and South East respectively. Why didn’t you follow the Abiola example?
It’s the party. If my party made the terrible mistake, we will suffer the consequences! In 2007, the party asked me to run with Ume-Ezeoke. It was not my decision. And since I wanted the party’s ticket, I had to abide by their decision.

Nigeria is 50 and we are still bogged down by sentiments of zoning and rotation. Are we ever going to get to a time when a candidate will be judged by what he has to offer rather than where he comes from, his religion and other base considerations?
That is why, I think, for the last 18 months, in a few of my interviews, speeches, comments, I have always hit hard on the Nigerian elite. Not only political elite, but elite across the spectrum. Let them go either physically, morally and, perhaps, materially and deliver their constituencies. It’s really important. It’s now people are getting aware of this. But it is getting too late, because as you said earlier, next year (2011) is critical for the country.

Do you fear for the country, that if we don’t get it right now…
(Cuts in) There may be no Nigeria. I do, because I draw parallel with Somalia so many times. Somalia-sation of Nigeria; I am scared about that. Somalia, they are one ethnic group, one religion, Islam, but for 18 years Somalia has not been a country because the elite became so selfish, so corrupt, so undisciplined, and they have wrecked the country. And Nigeria is much better off.

So, I am passing a message to the Nigerian elite: Let them go and deliver their constituencies. Even Nigerians in Diaspora, Nigerians in Europe, the groups that are supporting us, I discussed with them. Let them connect with their constituencies at home through whichever way. And let them educate their people, persuade them to chose good people from whichever party to represent their constituencies. This is the way we can move Nigeria forward together. We all stand to benefit.

The South South and the north are currently locked in battle over 2011 presidency. While the former says it’s South South presidency or no Nigeria, the latter (north) are insisting that the unity of Nigeria will be threatened if power doesn’t go to the region. What’s your take on this volatile issue?
I have read these statements too. I don’t think there is absolute agreement among the people of these two zones. You can say some vocal people in the South South said if Jonathan is not given the presidency there will be no Nigeria. So, you can say they are holding Nigeria hostage. They will receive the shock of their lives if they think they can hold Nigeria hostage.

You also quoted the North saying power must come there or Nigeria’s unity is threatened. That position is not true. The northern governors if they represent the northern opinion, no matter how they got there, about 50 per cent agree (with zoning) and 50 per cent do not. The breakdown is there in the papers. You see, both the so-called northern governors and the South South governors are wrong.

So, on the average, what comes out is that Nigerians want free and fair election. Let the parties that can afford to field a candidate go and look for votes and let their votes count, not like the Anambra election. Thank goodness, the INEC leadership has been changed. You see, 2011, seems to be our last chance. We have to get our acts together, especially the elite to make sure the election is credible and acceptable. This is the bottom line.
The world over the emphasis is on generational power shift. You also must have been in your forties when you became head of state. In Britain today, you have a 43-year-old man as prime minister, his deputy is less than 40; President Obama of America is less than 50. Some Nigerians say Buhari is a good man, but he has had his chance no matter how brief. Can’t he play elderstatesman and advisory roles to the younger leaders? Must Buhari be president?

But our system accommodates what we are doing. You cannot vote until you are 18, and if you live up to 100, nobody says you cannot vote. So, you can vote and be voted for as long as you are above 18. Now, if our Constitution gives us that right, why should I deny myself, why should I disenfranchise myself? It is for Nigerians to mobilise against old people. If they don’t want ‘old people’ like me, then the youths will say we will vote one of us. So, a party can present a 35-year-old PhD holder, may be in sociology, ok. Others can present other candidates, ok too. That is why votes should count. What I am saying is that it is not for us to disenfranchise ourselves when the Constitution doesn’t say so... Let them (the youths) mobilise against Buhari, Babangida and whoever is 60 and above, for people who are 59 and below. But it is our right to vote and be voted for.

Do you as a person support generational power shift?
I will support whatever the Nigerian voters do, once there is free and fair election.
But you agree that all those period you were governor, goc, minister and head of state, you were young and vibrant. You had a lot of ideas, you were quite young...
Under the military regime, yes, I was quite young. But they are different systems.

What would be wrong if you give way to younger persons?
It wouldn’t be wrong, but my problem is I don’t want...You see, I have always talked about the elite going to deliver their constituencies. I don’t want my opinion, even if it is for myself or against myself, to dominate seemingly the rest of the constituencies. Let people make enough commitment in their constituencies and cause change. This is the most enduring thing. Everybody is talking about Obama. I watched the scene when Obama was being sworn in. The amount of tears dripping from the eyes of Jesse Jackson reached up to his mouth, because he was overwhelmed. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Obama didn’t become president because it was his birthright. After his qualification, he went straight to the grassroots, he went back to his constituency; he cultivated his constituency and groomed himself up from there. You don’t start talking from top to bottom. It should be from bottom up. That’s how Obama made it. And when Obama was mobilising his campaign resources, he didn’t go to the multinationals or the lobbyists. Again, he went to the ordinary people: 50, 100, 500 dollars...So, Obama owes nobody anything except the people, except the Americans, not the multinationals.

The preponderant view, especially down south, is that Buhari is a religious fundamentalist. I am sure you have heard that
Of course, I have.

How did you get that religious fundamentalist stigma? 
They know they are lying; they know they are! They know they are a fraud. I wrote to most of the Bishops during my campaigns in 2003 and 2007. I visited the Bishops. I told you I visited 34 states in 2003 and 33 states in 2007, during the campaigns. Nigerians know the truth, that I am not what they are saying. You see, some Nigerians think they are being smart.

When they see they have nothing against me about integrity, competence in office or my ability to lead whichever department or state or ministry I have had the opportunity to lead, they say something must stick against Buhari, so that we can drag him down on behalf of our party or candidate. It is the state of our political development, which we cannot absolutely escape, and I assure you that I am facing all that with a lot of courage, because I have written to a lot of church leaders. I visited them, I talked to them and it is up to them to play their role as they see it.

The above interview was published in  Sunday Sun of  August 08, 2010. Used with the permission of the author.