Worries over Buhari’s candidacy

Also published in Daily Trust

                                (L-R)     Buhari, Atiku & Kwankwaso

Now that the much desired consensus among the APC’s top presidential contenders is not likely to be achieved after all, primary election to elect the party’s presidential candidate appears inevitable. Each of the opposition party’s three main presidential hopefuls, Muhammad Buhari, Atiku Abubakar and Kano state Governor, Rabi’u Musa kwankwaso is busy lobbying the party’s delegates who will elect the party’s presidential candidate, in order to secure the highest number of votes and win the party’s presidential nomination in the forthcoming primary election.

Though I don’t belong to any political party as I believe that candidates should be assessed and elected based on their individual qualities rather than their partisan affiliations, yet I believe that each of the three APC’s main presidential aspirants would, if elected, perform much better than the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan.

This is quite obvious in light of, for instance, the impressive performance of Rabi’u Kwankwaso as Kano state governor, the ambitious vision and competence of Atiku Abubakar as proven by his massive entrepreneurial exploits in business and, of course above all, the hard-earned reputation of honesty and incorruptibility of Muhammad Buhari, which neither the former two contenders nor any other presidential aspirant, for that matter, can match up to.

Unfortunately however, and though Nigerians have grown increasingly frustrated with President Jonathan’s style of leadership, which is undoubtedly responsible for the persistent worsening of the country’s security crisis, socio-economic and political instability, and also while more and more Nigerians believe that Buhari is the best person for the job at the moment, the refusal of Kano state governor, Rabi’u Kwankwaso and Atiku Abubakar to step down in his favour undermines the only glimmer of hope that his much desired presidency represents. This is notwithstanding the two aspirants’ purported commitments to respect the outcome of the primary election and work afterward to ensure the party’s victory in presidential election.

Obviously both Atiku and Kwankwaso are fully aware that, their respective popular support bases, and even if they were put together, cannot in any way come close to Buhari’s massive grassroots support base, which he can also effortlessly inspire to turn out en masse on Election Day and vote out President Jonathan. They are also aware that, with the incumbency advantage, which President Jonathan enjoys despite his dwindling popularity, only Buhari can defeat him in presidential election.

Worries over the fate of Buhari’s candidacy stem particularly from some political manoeuvres giving rise to a credible suspicion that the party’s delegates are induced with bribes to vote for the highest bidder among the contenders, which of course jeopardizes Buhari’s chance of winning the primary election for obvious reasons. After all, there have been reports of some questionable monetary contributions to the party by the other aspirants, and also some huge “monetary gifts” to some selected party stakeholders at various levels across the country.

Though I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theory, which many people insinuate that, one of the two other APC’s presidential aspirants or both of them are moles representing the self-centred interests of certain powerful vested interests in the north and the country who are vehemently against the emergence of Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate lest he eventually become president, I realize the magnitude of the threat their political moves, actions and inactions pose to his candidacy and, by implication, his potential to eventually win the presidential election. 

In any case, though some members of the elite particularly who have held top political positions in the country may think that they have nothing to lose even if the status quo continues, one wonders what explains the apparent apathy that characterizes the ordinary Nigerians’ attitudes towards quest for positive change even though they have suffered more than enough from the status quo of miserable poverty, persistent security crises and despair towards the future of their own lives.

There is always a mysterious inconsistency in the ordinary Nigerians’ quest for good governance in the country, which also casts doubt on their seriousness and sincerity. For instance, on one hand, everybody acknowledges the fact that corruption is the main cause of all the crises bedevilling the country, and that positive and sustainable change can only be achieved under the leadership of a good leader who, being non-corrupt, has the necessary moral right and courage to confront it head-on.

On the other hand however, despite enjoying the constitutional right and chance to affect the change (through democratic process) they have always longed for, they do not only waste their chances but actually play active roles to frustrate the mission of the extremely few non-corrupt politicians vying for various positions in the country, thereby directly contributing to the sustenance of the status quo.

Though nobody can claim knowledge of the unseen, yet from all indications if Nigerians fail again at this particular time to take their destinies into their own hands by voting out the incumbent president and voting for a tested and trusted leader, it may take a long time, if ever, to get another chance.