Buhari as epitome of all our hopes, ambitions of a true prosperous Nigeria based on honesty !

The choice by one of the most influential Nigerians Newspapers the Leadership of Retired General Muhammadu Buhari the former Head of State as the man of the year is quite distinct honest choice. The Leadership Newspaper extolled and praised Buhari’s   consistent approach to things in the Country  that include honesty steadfastness in the face of hardship standing alone making him the best choice.
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Almost all the commentators unanimously agreed that the paper made an honest right and best choice by choosing Buhari. The Paper went on to present brief history of General Buhari  as Governor of the then North Eastern State bringing together six States that included the present Borno Yobe, Adamawa Taraba Bauchi and Gombe States under the courageous able Leadership of the Late General Murtala Muhammad  between 1975-76.

General Buhari was appointed Commissioner for Petroleum under Obasanjo among others and also was entrusted with the Petroleum Trust Fund known as PTF under Late Sani Abacha in the nineties. One thing which all Nigerians agreed was that Buhari was incorruptible so many people tried to associate Buhari with corruption but none could succeed. The Current Chambers Autographical Dictionary described Buhari as the ONLY Nigerian Leader who has not been suspected of any corruption. The former President Obasanjo tried his best to associate Buhari with corruption so they could initiate charges against him during his tenure as the PTF Chairman but did not succeed said the Paper.

What is interesting after his entry into the Nigerians politics transforming himself from a former Military General and former Head of State Buhari became a real democrat forcefully stopping his followers from rioting and seeking justice on the streets rather he went to the Supreme Court and steadfastly waited for more than two years before it was decided in favour of Obasanjo.

Again he contested the election last year with President Umaru Musa ‘Yar Adua seen as anointed Obasanjo’s successor. Buhari is said to have refused attending the Council of State bringing the former heads of state to a meeting chaired by President ‘Yar Adua as but refused to recognise him until after the outcome of the court case brought by Buhari against ‘Yar Adua.  Majority of Nigerians saw the election of ‘Yar Adua as rigged in his favour by the outgoing President Obasanjo with the help of the Electoral Commission under the Chairman of Professor Iwu.

Buhari consistently took his case to the Election Tribunal like the previous petition which he lost .So many people especially the traditional rulers and other influential leaders all reasoned with Buhari to drop his case including his Vice Presidential Candidate Chief Edwin Ume Ezeoke who abandoned him and yet Buhari continued to fight alone with consistency steadfastness and courage and never lost hope. So many influential leaders from the North where Buhari originated tried to woo him to drop his petition but refused to do so and consistently continue unscathed.

Some people according to the paper tried to use their influence to persuade Buhari to join the PDP with the promise of giving him the Presidential ticket yet according to the Paper he chose the path of honour honesty integrity and remained with his Party the ANPP even if he was to lose. Interestingly the bloggers on the Leadership Website were almost unanimous in congratulating the Paper in making such a wise choice. Some of them even not described Buhari as the man of the year but also Personality of the year with only very few exceptions who thought Buhari as Religious begot .However one Christian blogger denied the accusation describing the accusation as blackmail and defended Buhari to the core noting him as a man of principle who meant what he said.

Buhari noted the blogger would be fighting corruption to its logical conclusion and would never fire the Anti-Graft Corruption Chairman Malam Ribadu fired by the Administration for reasons Nigerians could not understand. Coincidently the Guardian Newspaper chose Malam Nuhu Ribadu the EFCC Chairman who is slated to go on course this year which surprised so many people leading to condemnation of the Government as deliberate and politically motivated. The Guardian Newspaper which described Ribadu as energetic, Zealous enthusiastic and sometime presumptuous standing out for his commitment was chosen by the Paper as the man of the year whose mere mention drives fear into the minds of petty crooks in high places. Back to the commentators in the Leadership Newspaper one blogger described Buhari as epitome of all our hopes, ambitions of a true prosperous Nigeria based on honesty accountability justice and above all service for the good of the people not for personal interest with the hope that other Nigerians would tread this path.


Another described Buhari as excellent choice while the other chose the Paper itself to be the best Newspaper of the year for this interesting choice. The paper finally considered the current President Umaru Musa ‘Yar Adua son of the Late Alhaji Musa ‘Yar Adua Minister of the Lagos Affairs in the Balewa’s Government and brother of the Late Shehu Musa ‘Yar Adua the Second in Command during Obasanjo’s Military Rule as the runner up.  Atiku Abubakar the former Vice President came third with the current Chief Justice Kutigi as fourth in the line of the throne.

At the same time the Paper made Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola the 44 year old Governor of Lagos State as the Governor of the year for his good agenda. However our Governor a friend comrade in struggle Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State was chosen by one of our top columnists Dr Aliyu Tilde as his Governor of the year. To me Sule Lamido whom I knew very well and wrote a piece before his party even made the final choice as the flag bearer with the title “Sule Lamido would make a good governor only if...” and was confirmed within a short time is a confirmation that we have so many gems. Governor Shekarau of Kano is another hidden gem who is tirelessly working for the good of his people like Sule Lamido so they all deserve whatever honour bestowed on them. 


It is the sense of direction their honesty transparency good governance sincerity of purpose justice and fairness which made them to be remembered fondly by the people showering praises and encomiums even before their death which is a sign of good omen. In all sincerity one can confidently say Buhari combines all these good qualities for his dedication honesty patriotism justice fairness and transparency truthfulness sincerity of purpose principles above all steadfastness. All these good qualities combined in him helped  turned him from a disciplined trained soldier to a real democrat who cares for the needs and welfare of the people thus making him the best choice for the man of the year the title of this article which many of us also endorsed.

 

By

Babandi Gumel

bagumel@btinternet.com