With the defeat of President Goodluck
Jonathan in the March 28 presidential
polls, the President-elect retired General
Muhammadu Buhari has emerged as
the new hub of power in the country.
Buhari’s election as president after
three attempts has already generated
an intense struggle among various
individuals and power bases - all trying
to ingratiate themselves and their
cronies into the president-elect political
calculus.
There are few individuals across the
country believed to have the capacity of
influencing some decisions of the
president-elect because of their long
standing relationship with him.
Aside these individuals, there are also
emerging political power bases that are
strategizing to position themselves in
his power base because of the various
roles they purportedly played in his
electioneering.
Mamman Daura: Malam Mamman
Daura, a veteran journalist and
industrialist, is Buhari’s nephew. He
was, among others, editor of the New
Nigerian newspaper and later its
managing director.
He is considered as one of the rare
Buhari’s confidants and he was said to
be one of the few individuals that played
influential roles during the Buhari/
Idiagbon regime in 1983.
His relationship with the president-elect
is purely personal and non-political. He
is seen as one of the few non-
politicians that draw tremendous
respect from Buhari.
Though he was not actively involved in
the electioneering of Buhari, he is never
far from the president-elect.
Bola Tinubu: Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu is the national leader of the
APC. He was two terms governor of
Lagos State from I999 to 2007.
He is considered as the power house of
the APC after the successful merger of
Congress for Progressive Change (CPC)
, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)
and the All Nigeria Peoples Party
(ANPP). His role during the party’s
primaries that elected Buhari as well as
the recent victory against Jonathan is
legendary.
His political acumen, resilience was
believed to be instrumental to Buhari’s
victory at the Lagos APC convention at
a time when the APC governors were
said to have endorsed their counterpart
Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State.
Apart from his financial muscles,
Tinubu also mobilized the South west
APC governors for a robust campaign
for Buhari. He also provided Buhari with
his former state Attorney General Prof
Yemi Osinbajo as running mate.
Tinubu has the required leverage to
influence major policy decisions in the
government.
It is instructive that even while receiving
his certificate of return, Buhari singled
out Tinubu, the former party chairman,
Bisi Akande and the current one Odigie
Oyegun for mention.
Atiku Abubakar: Former Vice President
Atiku Abubakar is another heavy weight
that may likely have influence on
Buhari.
Though he defected to the APC
alongside the five PDP governors, Atiku
is believed to have used his financial
war chest during the March 28 and April
11 polls.
He is seen as one of the most
experienced politicians from the North
in the APC and therefore could play a
key role in the administration.
His proposed choice as the party’s
Board of Trustees chairman may not be
unconnected with the fact that he’s one
of the most senior politicians in APC
coupled with his experience as vice
president for eight years.
Rotimi Amaechi: Rivers State Governor
Rotimi Amaechi is one of the Buhari
die-hards. He endeared himself to the
president-elect by serving as Buhari’s
battering ram against PDP and
Jonathan in the Niger Delta and in his
role as director general of the Buhari
presidential campaign.
Even though he didn’t deliver his state
to the APC during the presidential and
governorship polls because of the
famed federal might, Amaechi stills
draws sympathy and tremendous
respect from Buhari.
He is also believed to have utilized his
enormous financial goodwill during the
APC presidential primaries as well as
during the presidential campaign for
Buhari.
Olusegun Obasanjo: Former President
Olusegun Obasanjo played an indirect
role in delivering victory to Buhari.
His public attack on Jonathan as well
as his public exoneration of Buhari from
any wrong doing in PTF is believed to
have amounted to endorsement of
Buhari before the polls.
Obasanjo enjoys tremendous respect
from Buhari, and he was recently seen
to be coming closer to the president-
elect.
In the course of the campaign, Buhari
met Obasanjo twice and he visited
Buhari in Kaduna just last week. He is
therefore seen as one of the people that
may influence things around the
president-elect.
Theophillus Danjuma: Former Defence
Minister retired General Theophillus
Yakubu Danjuma is one of the
individuals Buhari respects a lot.
A philanthropist and statesman,
Danjuma is said to be passionate about
Buhari’s anti-corruption antecedents
and moral uprightness.
Though he is not in active politics,
Danjuma is said to be among the few
senior retired Generals that believed in
Buhari’s ability in leading this country
since he joined the presidential race in
2003.
He is believed to have used his vast
financial muscle to contribute to
Buhari’s campaigns.
Ahmed Joda: Ahmed Joda, one of the
surviving figures of Kaduna Mafia, was
one of the super permanent secretaries
during General Yakubu Gowon regime.
An elder statesman, he headed a
Committee on Assessment of Federal
Government Parastatals and also a
panel on poverty alleviation in 1999.
He is a close friend of Obasanjo and a
former chairman of the Nigerian
Communication Commission (NCC).
Joda is believed to share same ideals
with the president-elect when it comes
to civil service, policies and governance.
He is also a no-nonsense person like
Buhari.
Halliru Dantoro: Emir of Borgu Alhaji
Halliru Dantoro is a close friend of the
president-elect.
A former senator, the emir was one of
the first traditional rulers that visited
Buhari after his victory.
Emir Dantoro led his council members
on a congratulatory visit to Buhari some
days after INEC declared him as winner
of the presidential vote.
Buhari commended the forgiving spirit
of the Borgu emir, who was among
many politicians detained under his
military rule. Buhari said Dantoro never
held it against him that he was detained
but instead went ahead to establish a
strong relationship with him.
The emir, who turbaned Tinubu with the
cherished title of Jagaban Borgu, enjoys
tremendous respect from Buhari.
There are also other political blocks that
are bent in asserting their relevance in
the Buhari’s government.
The El-Rufai group: The former Minister
of the FCT and Kaduna State governor
–elect Malam Nasiru el-Rufai leads a
group of technocrat-turned-politicians
that may play a key role in Buhari’s
administration.
Buhari admitted during the campaigns
that he was dragged into the
presidential bout for the fourth time by
el-Rufai.
El-Rufai’s group of technocrats are said
to be looking beyond the current
dispensation.
The former minister’s intelligence, and
knowledge of the post 1999
administration could play in his favour.
The Buhari loyalists: Another group that
is largely believed to play a critical role
in the Buhari presidency is his middle
cadre loyalists.
They are mostly professionals in
various fields and they played vital roles
during the PTF days.
Most of the members of this group have
been with him right from the PTF days
and they never wavered in their loyalty
since his entry into politics in 2002.
Some of them are very visible around
him now. They believed that their time
has come having participated in all the
presidential campaigns before his
eventual victory.
The Tinubu ‘boys’: These are the
Tinubu political sons from the
Southwest that comprises mostly of
professionals and technocrats who are
ex-governors, serving governors,
lawmakers or even commissioners.
They include the likes of former Ekiti
governors Segun Oni and Kayode
Fayemi; Governor Raji Fashola of
Lagos, among others.
They played key roles in the campaign
and therefore eyeing some
“technocratic” appointments.
The Igbo group: This is a small group
led by Chief Ogbonnaya Onu, the former
ANPP national chairman and Ms
Sharon Ikeazor, the APC women leader
and one of the lawyers who have been
around Buhari since he began
contesting.
Though their zone didn’t vote for the
APC during the polls, but because of
their individual commitment, Onu,
Ikeazor, Senator Chris Ngige, expect
something for their uncommon loyalty.
It is therefore likely that the Onu-led
group may play a key role in handling
whatever positions are finally given to
their zone.
Regional blocks: There are also regional
blocks that are busy showcasing how
their region or zones delivered victory to
Buhari.
For instance, the Northwest zone is
canvassing for more strategic positions
to be zoned to it both at the ministerial
and National Assembly levels for giving
Buhari the highest votes in the country.
The Northeast is also equally asking for
the SGF or Senate presidency for giving
the president-elect the second highest
votes.
Tinubu’s Southwest is not left behind in
the current scramble for power. It
argues that the Northern block votes for
Buhari wouldn’t have translated to
victory (since it didn’t in 2011) without
the Southwest votes.
In addition to all these groups are some
retired military officers from different
parts of the country who also chipped in
their bit to a candidate they saw as
their own at a time they perceived the
Nigerian nation to be adrift. They and
so many others will also try to influence
a new president they helped to produce.
What remains to be seen is how Buhari
will contend with all these and remain
focused on his key pledge on security,
corruption, employment and a better
economy.


http://dailytrust.com.ng/daily/politics/52978-people-that-may-shape-buhari-s-presidency

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