By Uche Igwe
Hate him or love him, the Rivers State
Governor, Rotimi Amaechi remains one of the greatest assets to the
political machinery of the Presidential Candidate of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari(rtd). It was Mr.
Amaechi who mooted the idea that it was necessary to present his boss
some opportunities to engage the global community and Nigerians in the
diaspora. His argument was that many of the people who knew Mr. Buhari
met him almost thirty years ago as a military leader and a dictator.
Amaechi suggested that the world needed to meet the Buhari who has
become a converted democrat. His thinking struck me and coincided with
the time when some international organisations were also seeking to host
Buhari. I decided to offer some assistance in that regard. That was how
the whole issue about General Buhari travelling abroad started.
The initial plan was for him to take a
break and travel to speak at the prestigious Washington DC based
think-tank, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on
the 26th of January. We reckoned that the General could stop
over in London and also speak at Chatham House. Two of my friends,
Jerome Okolo and Engr. Preye Aganaba worked with me closely to put the
arrangements together. Preye is a resourceful politician and the APC
candidate for Baylesa Central Senatorial zone. I can say without
equivocation that both gentlemen are patriots who love this country and
are always ready to contribute to anything that will bring progress to
it. Everything about the trip was already set when we learnt that United
States Secretary of State, Senator John Kerry will be visiting Nigeria
and had requested to meet with General Buhari. We had to put off all
the plans until a future date.
I decided to tell this story to
enlighten the public about how this whole thing began. There are those
who have attempted to distort the story and others who insinuate lies
and spread falsehood that any of these events especially that of Chatham
House was procured. Nothing can be farther from the truth. No one paid
anything to these two prestigious independent organisations that have
done very impressive research work on Nigeria. I believe that even
propaganda has got its limits.
I find the allegations of President
Jonathan’s supporters like Femi Fani-Kayode and Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti
State as preposterous, comical and even foolish. One will at least be
worried about someone like Femi that claims to have gone to some
familiar schools. However if the news about his mental history is true,
then I will gladly forgive his outbursts which fits into medical
manifestations of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).
For Ayo Fayose, no one is surprised at
all. That he is a product politics of brigandage and rigging is known to
many of us. He is one guy who can do anything to express his gratitude
to those who masterminded his underserved victory.
For those who do not know, this Chatham
House that they talk about with such disdain was ranked the second most
influential think-tank in the world by the 2014 Global Go To Think
Tank’s Report recently released by the University of Pennsylvania. Such
organisations are heavily relied on to set global foreign policy agenda
and craft new initiatives. How will these Jonathan’s apologists dare to
smear such a reputable institution? Funnily President Jonathan’s
National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki(rtd) spoke at the same
place a few weeks ago. Does that mean that the People’s Democratic Party
(PDP), spent billions too to procure the opportunity? If so, then they
need to explain to the world who they possibly paid the monies to?
On a more serious note, I think that the
lies spread about the health of General Buhari is both unacceptable and
wicked. Let us for the sake of argument say that he visited his doctor
after a hectic nationwide campaign tour. So what is wrong with that?
Anyone can go to hospital. Even some of us who are younger do go to
check ourselves from time to time. Those who are fixated on issues of
the health of the APC Presidential candidate are simply distracting
Nigerians. The election is only a few weeks away. I noticed that
President Jonathan has taken a few important steps during the break
offered by the postponement of the elections. The Nigerian President’s
visit to conflict ridden areas of Baga and Mubi was very a strategic and
helpful move. However I consider it belated and opportunistic. Why did
the President wait for this long after many people have been murdered
by Boko Haram? What was he waiting for? Be that as it may, I expected
his supporters to spend time on spreading such messages nationwide to
convert those who are still sitting on the fence about their candidate
rather than dwelling on fictitious rumours and outright falsehood about
his opponent.
Back to the Chatham House event. I
arrived at the venue early so that I can be one of the first persons to
see General Buhari on his feet! The falsehood about his poor health
situation was so strong and spread quickly in Nigeria that many people
were alarmed and almost believed. How can people just wake up to
manufacture unfounded rumours? One serving Senator called me to ask for
the true position of things but I assured him that all was well and the
man will come to the session.
Former Speaker, Hon. Patricia Etteh was
one of the early arrivals, followed by former Governor Oyinlola, then
former Governor Kayode Fayemi and Mr. Garba Shehu of the Buhari Campaign
organisation. I stood outside for a while and was literally peeping
into every car until a car pulled up from where Mallam Nasir El-Rufai
appeared. I could not hide my anxiety but he quietly assured me of
General Buhari’s impending arrival. While we were talking with him, a
black Mercedes Benz mini-bus pulled up from where General Buhari,
Governor Amaechi and a few others emerged. It was a momentary frenzy as
all of us struggled to take a picture of him as he made his way promptly
into the Chatham House waiting area. I was pleasantly surprised that
he showed no sign of someone who suffered or is suffering a debilitating
illness the kind that has been painted and peddled in sections of the
Nigerian media.
I will not dwell so much on the
General’s speech. Many analysts rated it as one of the most excellently
written and delivered by any politician about our country lately. No
doubt the APC candidate needs to do more work on the eloquence of his
message and his flow though I must add that he has improved
considerably. In all, I was impressed by the firmness of his promises
to promote infrastructure, reform the political economy, curb Boko Haram
insurgency and the explanation he offered about how he will lead these
efforts from the front. His clarification that there will be no
confusion about where he stands on the issue of corruption re-affirmed
what many people in the audience wanted to hear about how he will bring
political will to bear in the battle against the most cancerous scourge
in the Nigerian polity. By taking responsibility for his actions as a
military ruler, the APC candidate charmed many and presented himself as
someone ready to lead and learn. Despite the rain and the interference
of the few ‘rented’ protesters outside, I left the venue to my Brighton
abode with a sense of fulfilment. For me if the public reception of his
Chatham House speech affect the 28th March elections, many Nigerians will decide to vote for Buhari. However time will tell.
- This Piece was written
by Uche Igwe, from the Department of Politics, University of Sussex. You
can reach him on ucheigwe@sussex.ac.uk
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