Pendulum : A Prayer for President Buhari and His Ruling Party By Dele Momodu

Fellow Nigerians, I don’t know about you but I’m truly worried
that our dear beloved country may have fallen into the hands of
those who do not see unity and nation-building as a priority.

Before I go on, let me tell a true life story. In 2014, I was on
a bus ride with the current Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon.
Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and a few others. We were on our way to
view a suitable office for the Muhammadu Buhari Presidential
Campaign office in Abuja. As always, discussions dovetailed from
one topic to another. The one I will never forget was when the then
Governor of Rivers State, Amaechi, suddenly turned to me and asked
my opinion on whether Buhari should drop the title ‘General’ from
his name. Amaechi did not say what was behind that thought, but I
suspected that many people felt it could be an albatross being a
sad reminder of his days as a military dictator. Some young folks
in the bus had apparently suggested this to the Governor as brand
consultants but I responded by disagreeing vehemently.

“Why would a man drop his greatest achievement in life?” I asked
rhetorically, with a straight poker face. There was pin drop
silence. I fired on “so what do you now want to call Buhari,
Mister, Chief, Dr. or what? I think the title ‘General’ can even be
funkified by us by referring to him as “the People’s General…” I
humbly suggested. There was general excitement and consensus,
thereafter. That day, it was clear that we were all very happy and
delighted to be working for the victory of a man we believed had
learnt his lessons after being unceremoniously sacked in a military
coup 30 years earlier.

For the sake of those who do not know what happened between 1983
and 1985, let me summarise the history and story of that period. On
December 31, 1983, a military coup was heralded by a certain
Colonel Sani Abacha. I had never heard his name before then, and
I’m sure not many Nigerians did. The coup brought an abrupt end to
the President Shehu Shagari government and its reckless and
profligate ruling party, the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). A
general election held barely months to the coup had been heavily
rigged by the NPN and such unheard of adjectives like “landslide
and moonslide” were used to describe the outcome. Nigerians were
shocked to their marrow, but the government of the day could not be
bothered. Therefore, it was not a big surprise when the stern-faced
Abacha made his announcement on the last day of 1983 and a
Brigadier Muhammadu Buhari was soon declared as the new Military
Head of State.

The Buhari regime immediately made a “war against corruption and
indiscipline” its signature mantra. Draconian Decrees were
promulgated. Military tribunals were set up and pronto,
politicians, businessmen and journalists were thrown into
detention, summarily prosecuted and convicted. Huge sentences were
manufactured and handed out like popcorn or confetti. Many
Nigerians initially welcomed this Messiah, Buhari, and his deputy,
Angel Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon, who had come to rescue Nigeria from
political demons and other prodigal children. Everyone screamed
“crucify them…” It was such a sweet refrain, but the honeymoon
period was soon over, and Nigerians started groaning under the yoke
of repressive laws, squalid and degrading detention camps,
atrocious sentences, unjustifiable double standards, myopic and
visionless economic policies, beggarly supplies, rationing of
essential commodities, a mindless clampdown on the Press, and so
on. Buhari and his deputy, Idiagbon were on rampage, out of
supposed righteous indignation at the way Nigerians and Nigeria had
been defiled and desecrated by the political class and businessmen.
They studiously ignored all entreaties to temper justice with
mercy.

To cut a long story short, Nigerians groaned and moaned and
cried for deliverance from this bitter, brash and brutish
government. This was the opportunity Ibrahim Babangida and company
needed to strike and they took full advantage, sacked the Buhari
government almost effortlessly in a palace coup.

Upon learning of the cataclysmic fall of that government,
Nigerians spilled into the streets in wild jubilation. History
would record many reasons the government failed woefully. Let me
briefly mention a few. The discipline it sought to instil was
lopsided and discriminatory. In a country that is totally neurotic
about ethnicity and religion, President Shagari was placed under
house arrest, but his Vice President, Dr Alex Ekwueme, and many
other Southern politicians were kept in prison under the most
excruciating conditions, in a most bizarre act of man’s inhumanity
to man. Many of the prisoners, like Governor Bisi Onabanjo of Ogun
State, became human skeletons and walking corpses. Some, such as
Governor Ambrose Alli of Bendel State, suffered irreparable or even
fatal damages to their health. Laws were made in typical Orwellian
fashion, in which all animals were supposed to be equal, but some
were more equal than others. The Big Brother kept watch over the
animals, but allowed some to enjoy unbelievable privileges,
including, allegedly, the Emir of Gwandu, who contrived to bring in
53 suitcases into the country without being searched, contrary to
Buhari’s law at the time, because his son was the Aide-de-Camp
(ADC) to Buhari. Fela, the legendary musician was jailed under the
flimsiest of pretexs. Two journalists, Tunde Thompson and Nduka
Irabor were jailed as warning to other would be troublemakers. The
list of atrocities was long and endless.

The government ran a voodoo economic misadventure and the
economy nosedived and collapsed with debilitating consequences. It
was a policy of “do as I say and not as I do…” Babangida crept in
and dismantled the unfriendliness of that government. In fact,
Babangida’s attraction was being the opposite of what Buhari
represented. Babangida assembled the most cerebral Nigerians and
ran a government of intellectuals who could challenge him, policy
for policy. Even known critics were attracted to work for their
countrt. Back to Buhari, the regime went into oblivion and a sad
place in our history, or so it seemed.

Babangida’s government itself ended tragically by overstaying
its welcome. Perhaps, had Babangida allowed the 1993 elections to
hold in peace, and not in pieces, Nigeria won’t be in this mess
today. Over-tinkering with the political process led to endless
conflagration.

It is not known at what point Buhari started nursing his
ambition to run back to power. He probably suffered from withdrawal
syndrome like other Generals who at different times attempted to
return to the hallowed corridors of power. For example,
Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua (died without realising his
dream), General Olusegun Obasanjo (returned by the conspiracy of
the military Mafiosi and almost bagged a third term, in the kitty),
General Ibrahim Babangida (couldn’t muster enough support from
Obasanjo, the capo di tutti capi, and others, so quickly beat a
hasty retreat), Lt. General Aliyu Gusau (silent power house, highly
regarded in intelligence circles). In the event, General Buhari
contested a record four times and eventually won in 2015.

It is ironic that a man who was brusquely booted out of power 30
years earlier was brought back in a haze of glory. His triumphant
re-entry into the Nigerian political sphere and space will remain
one of the most mysterious miracles of this century. The best way
to describe it would be that Nigerians were victims of mass
hypnotism and “collective amnesia”. Please, let me succinctly
explain, again. Today is a day for going down memory lane. The
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) handed power on a platter of gold
to Buhari. Some of us had written all the English in the lexicon
warning of the danger ahead if the ruling party did not reduce its
profligacy and pugnacity. Just as the Party went on a binge and
wasted resources, it also suffered another calamity by not keeping
its house in order. Nigerians got increasingly frustrated and
desperately wanted a terminal end to a ruling Party that boasted it
would rule eternally. It was this desperation that catapulted
Buhari back to power, warts and all.

I remember some of our deliberations after Amaechi and company
stormed out of the PDP. That was the beginning of the end. PDP, in
its state of cockiness did not envisage the catastrophe that
awaited it in the near future. Amaechi and friends tactically
aligned with a few other parties like ACN, ANPP and CPC to form
APC. I will forever salute the total commitment of two people in
particular, Amaechi and Dr Bukola Saraki, the current Senate
President. The combination of both was lethal. I was honoured to
participate in a few of their meetings. They were responsible for
attracting a lot of the younger folk to Buhari. Many of the
questions people asked about Buhari included: does he have
intellectual capacity to run a modern government?; what business
did he run in the last 30 years?; will he discriminate or seek
revenge against supposed enemies?; has he purged himself of
dictatorial tendencies?; will he be an ethnic bigot?; a religious
fanatic coming to Islamise Nigeria?; etc,. We devised a general and
standard response to the myriad of thought-provoking queries –
“General Buhari is a born-again democrat…” – and we stuck to our
guns, even if not totally assured or convinced about the true
nature and status of the last saint standing. We were driven by our
blind faith and the hope that Baba must have learnt useful lessons
in 30 years and had had time to reflect on the things he did wrong
in the past and what he plans to do right in the future.

The clincher for many of us was the invitation and inclusion of
Professor Yemi Osinbajo, a renowned scholar, legal luminary,
seasoned administrator and revered priest of the Christian faith.
To every known or imagined defect in Buhari, we found a foil, an
antithesis, and counter-solution in Osinbajo. We assumed their
relationship was going to pan out like that of the symbiotic
relationship of Buhari and Idiagbon, and that Osinbajo would be the
guiding spirit and stabilising force of the government. No one
reckoned with a hidden cabal while Amaechi, Tinubu, Saraki and
others sweated profusely to make Buhari President. Not that we were
not warned by those who should know because they were close to him,
once upon a time.

Anyway, the rest is now history. Baba realised his ambition and
we were all elated. But as in the proverbial death of the elephant,
no sooner did Baba assume office than everyone, including strangers
to the party, surfaced with knives and plates to cut their
portions. I was stunned when, systematically, even Amaechi was
being blocked by some of those who used to loiter in his corridor
begging for mobilisation. A new power block suddenly emerged. On
several occasions, I approached Amaechi and sympathised with his
gradual and steady banishment from the inner caucus, but my man
had, and still has, incurable faith in Buhari. The President is his
hero who could do no wrong, so he ignored all the other
distractions. The tragedy of APC was in alienating most of the
powerful forces that brought it to fruition. Things fell apart too
quickly. Ill-health also slowed Baba down and threw up some
over-zealous and ambitious people who seized upon the lacuna to
govern by proxy.

I also suspect the existence of a fifth columnist within
government who programmed everything to fail. The many fractious
and fracticidal wars that broke out were totally unnecessary.
Again, the battle against corruption could have been fought
differently. Before the election, there was a tacit understanding
that the Change government was going to tackle the scourge of
corruption differently, that it was not going to be selective and
that the priority would be on recovering the loot across board,
irrespective of party affiliations. Punitive measures were only
going to be unleashed on those who refuse to give back a
substantial chunk of their loot.

Baba was going to demonstrate his new avowed embrace of
democratic and nationalistic credentials in order to dispel the
fears of those who believe a leopard can never change its spots. It
is strange and inexplicable how the massive goodwill was frittered
away in no time. Today, the President and his Party are merely
struggling to put up an appearance. Even his most fastidious
supporters admit in private that only a miracle and unprecedented
rigging can bring them back to power in 2019. The objective ones
agree that those who did not vote for Buhari in 2015 will never
vote for him in 2019, while many of those who did will no longer do
so next year. The ruling Party has been shattered into smithereens.
Not even PDP was this divided in its journey towards Golgotha. I
don’t know, since I’m not God, what game plan APC has for the rest
of its first-term, but these are perilous times for a Party that
willy-nilly blew its humongous chances on the altar of intolerance,
vengefulness, selfishness and disregard for the rule of Law, such
that very few now seem to care about the giant strides and major
achievements of the government.

Nigerians need nationalists, democrats and performers, not
ethnic jingoists, vengeful autocrats and struggling performers. It
is not impossible for this administration to draw back from the
precipice and the Buhari administration still has a few months to
woo Nigerians again. Those who can still pray should intercede on
its behalf. As for me and my house, we shall offer The Lord’s
Prayer…