The news of the death of late President Muhammadu Buhari came to me and many Nigerians like a thunderbolt. President Buhari was an outstanding statesman and a colossus in all considerations.
He benefitted immensely from the special grace of God in his 82 years sojourn on earth, having traversed as a general of the Nigerian Army, military governor of Bornu State, military Head of State of Nigeria and a two-term democratically elected president of Nigeria.
My tribute to President Buhari will be limited to the period I met him in the political arena.
As the founder and pioneer National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), l actively participated in the 2003 general election in Nigeria.
Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu was our presidential candidate, while General Muhammadu Buhari was the presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
The elections were keenly contested, and the participation of the Nigerian electorate in the process was huge and unprecedented.
That was Buhari’s first presidential contest in his tortuous journey to the presidency of Nigeria.
The same election was also Dim OdumegwuOjukwu’s first presidential contest in Nigeria.
The emergence of these two personalities with strong characters scared the ruling party and the military establishment for different reasons.
The result of this morbid fear resulted in the massive rigging and manipulation of the election results to the detriment of the candidates of the opposition political parties.
The leaders of the opposition parties promptly mobilized at Abuja, the Federal Capital, for a powerful mass protest that shook the city to its foundation.
The protest was led by General Buhari, Dim Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Dr. Tunji Braithwaite, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, Chief Don Etiebet, and my humble self.
At the end of the first day of the protest, the leaders agreed to carry on with the peaceful demonstrations across the country.
General Buhari and his running mate, Dr. Okadigbo, proceeded to Kano State to continue the protest.
The massive turnout of supporters was met with the reprisal of armed security operatives, who attacked the unarmed demonstrators with a barrage of tear gas canisters.
The tear gas was so heavy on Dr. Okadigbo that he collapsed. He was rushed to the hospital. He did not survive the inpact of the tear gas.
That tragic outcome compelled us to call off the protests. We took our petitions to the tribunals.
In solidarity, I accompanied General Buhari to all his tribunal appearances both at the Appeal Tribunal and Supreme Court until final judgements were entered.
I captured these events with relevant photographs in my book titled, “AP’GA and the Igbo Question.”
Fortuitously, Buhari finally won the 2015 presidential election on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC).
I also contested the same election as the presidential candidate of the United Progressive Party (UPP), the second party that I founded.
In a rare show of sportsmanship in defeat, I led members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of UPP to congratulate the President-elect, at the Defence House in Abuja in advance of his formal inauguration.
UPP was the only political party that extended such hand of fellowship to the incoming president.
In a on- page congratulatory letter, we advised him to take steps to recover all recoverable of Nigeria’s looted funds.
We opined that if he could recover only 25 per cent of the looted funds, he would not need to borrow money to fulfill his campaign promises to the Nigerian people.
We further advised him to embark on comprehensive electoral reforms to restore to Nigerians their inalienable rights to elect leaders of their choice at all levels and concluded with a recommendation that his government should restore Nigeria’s federalism to ensure that all federating units were allowed the latitude to develop at their own pace to engender healthy competition among the states and pave the way for the rapid growth and development of the economy.
We remained a friendly opposition to his government for the eight years he was in office.
In spite of my friendly disposition to his government, I was saddened and indeed disappointed with his mismanagement of Nigeria’s diversity, which deepened ethnic consciousness and suspicion among Nigeria’s heterogeneous society.
I seized every opportunity to express my disapproval of his nepotistic tendencies in most of my public interventions.
Severally, I publicly appealed to him to deploy his special presidential dispensation to direct his Attorney General and Minister of Justice to enter nolle prosequi in the matter Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and order his unconditional discharge from his unjustified incarceration.
He was not moved by the passionate appeal of several Igbo elderstatesmen and Ohanaeze Ndigbo to release Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The truth is that the Igbo feel imprisoned for as long as Nnamdi Kanu is in prison. Nnamdi Kanu remains the symbol of the dilemma of Ndigbo in Nigeria.
On a personal level, late President Buhari showed me friendship. He received me in the presidential villa a few times, while in office.
At my 70th birthday in 2023, he personally wrote me a touching congratulatory letter where he stated:
” I and my family join your family, friends, and well-wishers in celebrating a statesman, who shares many values the founding fathers of Nigeria held dear, including unity in diversity, peace and stability of the country….you have always been driven by the noble vision of putting the people first at all times and shared prosperity for all.”
Again, at the launch of my book, “APGA and the Igbo Question,” he honoured my invitation by sending his Senior Special Adviser on Media, Femi Adesina, to represent him as the chief guest of Honour, who delivered his highly inspiring message.
I cherish these rare and privileged presidential gestures far more than silver and gold. Late President Muhammadu Buhari was exceptionally humble, disciplined, and upright. May his noble soul rest in peace.
