For Yar’Adua, we said his demise in office was a spoiler as well as blessing in disguise; but before his death, we were privileged to witness his parochialism and sectionalism in the Kaduna/Katsina mafia that held sway in his government. His amnesty programme which brought peace to the Niger Delta was, however, a worthy legacy. The vacuum his illness created heated the polity, until the National Assembly arrived to save the day with the “doctrine of necessity.” Jonathan, O Jonathan! How were thou better than thy biblical namesake? You got power on a platter, knew not what to do with it or how to wield it; and then lost it – allowing the Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, and much more that you said you were not to seize control. Please count the toll of Buhari– Provincialism, sectionalism, tribalism, fundamentalism, nepotism, oppression of the opposition, victimisation of opponents; silencing of free speech, one-sided corruption war, Fulani herdsmen, ethnic cleansing and pogrom, cluelessness, incompetence, high-handedness, dictatorship, disunity, divisiveness, threatening civil disobedience and possibly civil war, dashed hopes, traumatised nation, lost aspiration, rudderless nation lying prostrate and crest-fallen – not to talk of a garrulous Inspector-General of Police whose antics make this country look big for nothing (apologies, Major Kaduna Nzeogwu) and ridicules all of us in the estimation of the international community! Now, tell me, is Buhari, whether in his first or second coming, exonerated from his own list of leaders that have done this country in?
In three years of his presidency, we have come to see that Mr President specialises in the blame game. He blames everyone except himself. He lives in self-denial. Statement after statement made by him in the past he has denied. Those that he finds difficult to deny he rationalises and revises. He has denied one election promise after another; has refused to own up to his many gaffes. Diffident, he has failed to apologise for the grievous harms his actions and inactions have caused the country. When PDP/Goodluck Jonathan were in power, Buhari said there was no fuel subsidy; now he pays more subsidy than Jonathan and whereas Jonathan paid subsidy openly, Buhari pays his own subsidy under the counter. He promised one naira will exchange for one dollar; today one dollar exchanges for N360. It was as high as N500/dollar before, mercifully, it came to this low. Under Jonathan, it was never more than N220/dollar. Buhari said he would defeat Boko Haram in three months; in three years he is as clueless and ineffectual as it gets. On top, Fulani herdsmen have overtaken Boko Haram in bestiality and cruelty with Buhari manufacturing one excuse after another for the criminals. Some reports say Buhari and some very important Northern traditional rulers are the patron saints of the herdsmen. Not only has Buhari not created a fraction of the jobs he promised, millions of those in employment when he mounted the saddle have been retrenched as the economy contracted day after day.
Buhari inherited one of the world’s fastest-growing economies but ran it underground in one year. Jonathan was a democrat, despite his many failings, but Buhari is not the “converted democrat” he promised but a leopard that cannot change its spots. Readers of this column would remember I warned that this man could, in fact, be a convoluted democrat. He has more than proven me right. Having denied that he lashed out against medical tourism when he was in the political wilderness, Buhari has jetted out again for treatment abroad. Between the frequent trips and the rupture it causes in government activities on one hand and the secrecy surrounding the nature of Buhari’s sickness and the gaping hole it leaves in our treasury on the other, we are left to ponder which is more reprehensible. Buhari has contributed as much as any past Nigerian leader to this country’s woes – and we are still counting! By spurning the clamour for restructuring as well as stealthily transmuting into a civilian dictator, Buhari may be driving the final nail into Nigeria’s coffin.
A tale of two primaries
The congresses conducted nation-wide by the All Progressives Congress (APC) ended in a fiasco in most of the states. It was a sorry sight as governors, ministers, national officers, and sundry members of the party traded tackles. Thugs and their ilk intent on compromising the integrity of the congresses had the upper hand in majority of the cases. Ministers escaped being lynched; governors were flustered; and national officers sent to conduct primaries disappeared into thin air with election materials. There was an avalanche of security operatives in attendance but nowhere were they a match for the roughnecks.
The governorship primary in Ekiti State was disrupted mid-way by thugs who made no effort to hide their identity, leaving the party with no option other than to first suspend the election indefinitely before ordering a “begin again” procedure. Unconfirmed sources said ex-governor and ex-Minister Dr Kayode Fayemi was coasting home to victory before all hell was let loose by those contesting the fairness of the process. They should have known that! From the outset we said here that Fayemi held all the aces – deep pockets, presidency support, APC governors and ministers as well as the party structure at the national level were said to be solidly behind Fayemi.
The belief by analysts is that if the Ekiti APC governorship primary is held a million times, Fayemi would win – except a miracle happens. One of the outspoken contestants, ex-Senator and ex-Presidential Adviser, Babafemi Ojudu, has thrown in the towel. He said it was not a do-or-die for him. Femi should tell that to the Marines! I said here last week that Femi is as hard as a nail; recount how he became senator in the first instance. Watchers of the game have opined that “na condition make Femi’s crayfish bend.” For this race, Femi’s pocket is not deep enough. Pure and simple. Many of those still hanging in, whose pockets are also not deep, may find an alibi or a respectable way to make a Femi-like surrender. “The deep calleth unto the deep.”
Whatever happens, APC must send someone’s name to INEC by Monday. It will be a miracle if that name is not Fayemi’s, even with rumours of a gang-up or consensus against the Isan-Ekiti-born politician. Whatever happens also, a schism has appeared within the rank and file of Ekiti APC. It is very unlikely that the party will approach the July 14 governorship election with full strength. Some of the losers may leave the party and team up elsewhere. Those not bold enough to do so may discretely work against the party and its candidate. For a party not strong on ground in Ekiti in the best of times, this is an additional minus for APC
APC’s loss may thus be the PDP’s gains. Surprisingly, the party managed its primary better than APC. With the acrimony generated by Gov. Ayo Fayose’s open declaration of support for his deputy, many had felt the PDP primary would similarly be acrimonious. It turned out otherwise because Fayose who openly canvassed a candidate and party officials charged with the conduct of the primary were minded to deliver a free, fair, unfettered, and credible election.
That was not the case with Ekiti APC where a contestant was alleged to have his supporter in a strategic position in the committee saddled with overseeing the conduct of the primary. PDP national officers also extracted promises of good behaviour from all contestants before the D-Day. Of course, the manageable number of contestants – just three in PDP as against over 30 in APC – also helped. PDP’s primary was hitch-free; everyone, including the contestants that lost, attested to its credibility. In the end, Fayose’s candidate (and deputy governor), Prof. Kolapo Olusola Eleka, carried the day, winning about 61 per cent of the votes to his rival, Prince Dayo Adeyeye’s 39 per cent.
Adeyeye’s impressive performance surprised many and must be put down to more than the support of Senator Biodun Olujimi. Other factors that helped Adeyeye may include outside influences aimed at undermining Fayose and weakening the PDP in the July 14 governorship election; and the activities of fifth-columnists within Fayose’s own political family not happy at the choice of a non-career politician and new-comer like Eleka.
The outcome of the primary, however, validates Fayose’s resolve to reach out to dissidents within the party. In doing that, he must travel as far back as 2014 to mend fences. Buoyed by his showing in the PDP primary, it is understandable that Adeyeye is talking tough. He is likely to prove very hard to placate and may defect from the party. He will, however, be making a mistake. Party primaries and general election are different kettles of fish; only a fraction of the electorate carries party membership cards. Besides, with the primary over, many delegates who voted for Adeyeye will return to PDP instead of following him to an uncharted terrain. Even Olujimi, who stepped down for Adeyeye, is unlikely to follow the Prince on what seems like a wild goose chase. What, for instance, can Adeyeye offer Olujimi and other disgruntled Ekiti PDP leaders? Adeyeye himself stands to gain a lot more if he remains in the PDP and negotiates than if he runs helter-skelter looking for just any platform to become an “also-ran”
It bears repeating that the man who will fly PDP’s flag in the July 14 Ekiti governorship election, Professor Kolapo Olusola Eleka, is a child of destiny who is just one step away from attaining the pinnacle of a mission Providence thrust upon him in 2014. His erudition, meekness, integrity, fear of God, and work ethics set him far from the maddening crowd, to borrow from Thomas Hardy. Saddled with the task of rescuing education from its rot in Ekiti, Eleka’s testimonial speaks for itself. His team catapulted the State from the backwoods to first in NECO examinations back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
LAST WORD: Remember Leah Shuaibu in your prayers. It is sad that nothing is being said, not even a whimper, about this little girl of faith. Nigerian Christians are something else! Remember also to pray for sound health for President Muhammadu Buhari. Finally, get your permanent voter’s card. Our vote is our power!
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