Written by Folorunso Folowosele Friday, 29 April 2011

Nigerian Tribune

Muhammadu Buhari
General Muhammadu Buhari first came into national consciousness when he headed the Nigerian State through an illegal military usurpation of power. At another time, he was in charge of the many works throughout the country and had the resources when General Sani Abacha handed him, on a platter of gold, the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF). His successes or failures over both tasks for which Nigerians were not responsible are debatable.

Before the 2011 presidential election, many people had rated the retired soldier a gentleman, one the Yoruba would refer to as omoluabi. He was one of those considered experienced and that, if elected, could run this country firmly, justly and probably without overbearing emphasis on matters mundane or parochial. We have now been proved wrong; at least, the majority of his admirers outside his home base are wiser now than before the presidential election. One could surmise that Pastor Tunde Bakare, his running mate, must have been having nightmares since hell was let loose against his people in the North, as in the past.

Buhari’s demeanour, since the results of the presidential elections were released, has been a letdown. Whatever the imperfections in the conduct of the elections before, during and after the elections, noted by the Congress for Political Change (CPC) which the Army General was the presidential candidate, they cannot reduce the national exercise to a nullity. It has been the best, fairest, people-motivated election ever held in this land, surpassing the June 12, 1993 presidential election, rudely annulled by the first military president in this country.

One cannot but refer to a not-too-far presidential election in the United States of America. Al Gore, former vice-president on the Democratic Party platform and George W. Bush, representing the Republican Party, had to struggle for the outcome of the result of a single state which determined the winner. After some recounts of the votes in Florida State and disputes still surrounded the outcome, the American spirit overcame the obstacle when the country’s electoral body declared Bush the president-elect. Immediately, Al Gore sent a congratulatory message to George Bush on his election. Buhari should have done no less, if he truly is an elder statesman with the sole purpose of service to the nation.

Many had thought that General Buhari was going to set a new pace for African leaders, as the election results were at his beck and call and, therefore, known by him, to call on the winner to congratulate him, not waiting for Professor Atahiru Jega’s announcement. He did not rise to the occasion even after the Chief Electoral Officer had declared the winner. To date, General Buhari has not done the right thing. He even failed to listen to the candid advice of a future Nigerian president, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, presidential candidate of All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP). Buhari could not also take a cue from Dimeji Bankole, Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives, who surely deserves the accolade of honourable. Bankole was quick to acknowledge the power of the people in his electoral defeat and the great show displayed by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) throughout the rounds of elections.

Rather, Buhari, through his posture, preferred not to upgrade the country’s image, but to sacrifice some of the best minds, the nation’s kids (corps members) that made possible the over twelve million votes that he garnered across the country, as cannon fodder for the miscreants in their areas of compulsory national service. They were mercilessly, prematurely, sent to their graves for obeying their government. Buhari and his cohorts cannot mourn the dead, but simply ran to court to contest an election that the entire world observed as bringing the country to such a level that has made it possible to peep out of the abyss of shame and despair in which the military and the civilian ruling class had dumped the citizens for a long time.

It is not enough for the CPC, in press releases, to distance itself from the mayhem that had followed the 2011 presidential elections in some areas in the North, even in states where the CPC had majority of the votes. The fact remains, however, that directly or indirectly, Buhari, by acts of omission or commission, has fallen below the level expected of a person that has had or will ever have an opportunity to bear the mantle of leading this country as a president.

http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/politics/21146-buhari-and-2011-presidential-elections