SANUSI MUHAMMAD is a veteran journalist, a columnist and a political analyst. He has been in political activism since the second republic that led him to active participation in the 1993 democratic struggle spare headed by the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) along with other patriots the likes of the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Navy Commodore Ndubuisi Kanu, Ayo Opadekun, Bagauda Kaltho, Chief Alfred Rewane, Air Commodore Dan Suleiman, Comrade Shehu Sani and host of others. He is presently, a media consultant.
In this interview, he spoke on issues of national importance for the good of Nigeria
Excerpts:-
2023 Presidential Election:
Muhammad: In the history of elections the world over, there has never been any perfect election as history shows as we all know. In the case of the 2023 presidential and other elections, there were pockets of electoral malpractices, due to some lapses from those charged with the conduct of the elections and who promised to give the country the best.
The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC failed woefully in its statutory responsibility to Nigerians. The 2015 presidential election was better organized than what Prof Mahmoud Yakubu gave Nigerians in 2023.
Public funds were just wasted on managing claims of an expected credible election while it turned out to be the worst election ever. BVAS etc were all mal-functional as the recruited ad-hoc staff were more of thugs than election managers.
For instance, in the case of vote-buying, the anti-corruption and other security organizations were not fully prepared for the task. EFCC and ICPC lacked the manpower to checkmate the offences of vote-buying across Nigeria. The police and other sister organizations were equally not prepared to checkmate the offence. In fact, it was reported on social media platforms that some police officers were caught aiding miscreants to commit electoral offences. On the whole, the 2023 general elections can be said to have 45percent success.
Election Petition Tribunals:
Muhammad: In all honesty, I have no confidence in our judiciary not only to talk of the credibility of Election Petition Tribunals. We all know of the rot within our judicial system which gives credence to calls by INEC declared winners of elections to their ‘defeated’ opponents to challenge their victories in court. They know that in most cases, tribunals are notorious for delivering compromised judgments at a suspected fee. I have no confidence in any tribunal once it originates from our judicial system. But the situation may change this time around because Justice Haruna Tsammani as chairman of the Presidential Petition Election Tribunal and hails from Bauchi State is a tested jurist with integrity. We are watching with keen interest.
Case of Peter Obi and Atiku
Muhammad: No matter the facts at the disposal of Obi and Atiku, and no matter how experienced and versed their legal teams can be, put it at the back of your mind that no court under the management of our present judicial system unless a miracle comes to play, will have the guts and temerity to upturn the results of the presidential election. Neither the CJN nor Justice Tsammani can upturn the declaration no matter the strength of facts as evidence because of interest from others at the top. We have witnessed such scenarios in the past where the arm of justice is twisted by the judges from a directive.
The result declared by INEC shall remain, upheld and the beneficiary will be sworn-in without stress. We have witnessed several of such cases in past elections. This will not be an exception. Take my words!
Tinubu as President-elect
Muhammad: The beauty of it all is the fact that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had for long prepared himself for the contest and he never declared himself as the winner of the election. He was only a serious and determined participant who did his best and was declared winner by the electoral umpire. He is not to be blamed for any wrong doing. He exercised his right as a Nigerian to have contested the presidential election on the platform his chosen party, and he did well in contest to have net him victory.
Tinubu’s Federal Executive Council
Muhammad: The president-elect is an experienced administrator who knows what it takes in the composition of a formidable team right from his days as governor of Lagos State. I doubt much if he will fail in forming a formidable team of experts in various fields of endeavor. Despite that, he needs to be reminded of the roles played by certain individuals during the electioneering campaign that ought to be carried along based on the strength of their credentials not mere party patronage.
In some states where the APC lost for poor organization, confidence-lost between the party apparatchik and the presidential campaign organization and other factors, care must be taken for appointments because the wrong persons may be given positions they don’t merit.
For instance in Bauchi State, APC went to the poll as a fractured entity without a solid foundation to confront the ruling party. While the ruling party PDP had put its house long before the elections and better organized, managed and determined to maintain the lead under an experienced and focused leader, Governor Bala Muhammed, the APC as opposition party failed to put its house in order before the elections. It was living in a world of illusion and deceit. Prominent members of the APC who are relevant and versed in scheming techniques for victory were consciously ignored throughout the campaigns. The likes of Muhammed A. Abubakar SAN who is the immediate past governor of the state, Dr Musa Babayo who served on the Presidential Campaign Council as director research, Barr Ibrahim Zailani, a onetime member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Muhammed Garba Gololo, a onetime member of the House of Representatives/member Presidential Campaign Council, Abdulmalik Mahmoud, a onetime deputy governor of the state and several others were relegated to the back bench. Therefore, care must be taken to avoid appointing wrong hands from the state that may further factionalize the party or bury it alive. If there was anything like an APC 2023 Presidential Campaign Council in Bauchi State, with due apology, it was a den of jokers and fortune seekers. The results proved their incapacitation to deliver.
Again, instead of the APC gubernatorial candidate to have carried the state party leadership along, his campaign council recruited more of rabble rousers and day-dreamers for the campaign team. Most of those who paraded themselves as members of the inner caucus of the gubernatorial campaign were inconsequential pedestrian politicians that could not even deliver their polling units to the candidate. APC in Bauchi State had more of political merchants than result-oriented politicians which affected its victory throughout the elections. They have now resorted to marathon prayers expecting the tribunal to ‘award’ them the victory they failed to secure from the electorates.
Race to National Assembly Positions
Muhammad: So far, the president-elect seems to have reached out to some of those in the race for the Senate Presidency and the House of Representatives Speakership position to broker truce. But from my understanding, the APC is already late with its zoning formula for the exalted positions because it created a window for free declarations by those qualified from any zone. If the APC had acted earnest by zoning the positions immediately after the elections, there couldn’t have been an influx of all manner of contestants, but it delayed action which created a room for several declarations and permutations.
As the situation portrays itself from my understanding, if care is not taken, APC may find it difficult to have the Senate President and the Speaker House of Representatives in its kitty because of the numerical strength of opposition parties that may field their preferred candidates for a showdown. From the grapevine, opposition parties may join forces to field candidates for the various positions using their numerical strength as advantage. That may scatter any effort of the APC to control leadership of the two chambers.
And, from another angle, an election may have to hold on the floor of parliament as was the case in 2015, especially in the case of the House Speaker that has several desperados jostling for the position. This can be predicted from the moves of certain desperate contestants who have reached out to members of opposition parties outside the APC for support against the rainy day. By interpretation, those contestants are preparing grounds for election to hold not to be edged out through consensus or any ‘unfavorable’ zoning arrangement of the APC. The situation is getting heated unnecessarily!
The situation has now snowballed to a free-for-all contest because the president-elect and the APC NWC have messed-up the whole arrangement for genuine dialogue to hold. No one has the authority or right to load his stooges over other more qualified candidates for the national assembly leadership.
Akpabio that has a baggage and battling to unchain himself from the EFCC net was endorsed by APC as the Senate Presidential Candidate while Dr Tajudeen Abas for the House of Representatives Speaker.
How can that arrangement be acceptable to other more credible candidates? Let the senate presidency go to the Northwest and Speakership to the North central while the position of the SGF should be for the South-south.
In the Northwest, Sen. AbdulAzeez Yari is best for the senate presidency while Ahmed Idris Wase from the central zone is best for the House Speaker.
Senate President and Reps Speaker
Muhammad: To be fair in my assessment, the APC has no credible candidate from the South-south or Southeast for the Senate Presidency. Godswill Akpabio who was endorsed as the favored candidate of the president-elect is there battling the EFCC for his atrocities while in government. Look at the heap of mess trailing Akpabio’s stewardship as a governor and as a minister. Look at the rot in the Ministry for Niger Delta Affairs under Akpabio. How can such a character be a senate president for public trust?
Orji Uzor Kalu from the southeast is an ex-convict who was sentenced to jail for corrupt practices. Who is clean among them for senate presidency? The APC should look elsewhere for better candidate for the senate presidency to save its reputation. Sen. AbdulAzeez Yari is there for grab.
As for the House of Representatives Speaker, I doff my hat for Ahmed Idris Wase who is the serving deputy speaker of the 9th House. Not for anything, at least for his requisite experience, tolerance and determination. He has paid his dues in parliament and is one of those patriots that believe in the oneness of Nigeria no matter what the imaginary differences.
Wase is not the talking type who trumpets his achievements for public accolades. He is a silent achiever who has over the years transformed many lives from the records. He believes in action than words. He has supported and assisted communities not even in his native constituency or state of origin with varieties of social interventions for life sustenance. We have watched and studied his modus operandi in parliament as we watched and studied those of others in the contest. We discovered Wase to be one of the most reliable parliamentarians ever. To drive home my point, Plateau State Governor, Barr Simon Bako Lalong who directed the APC National Presidential Campaign Council can give better testimony on Ahmed Idris Wase as a parliamentarian and as a typical party stalwart for trust with any position. The president-elect has been a political associate of Wase since 2007 and knows of his political capacity and experience. Others in the race may have what it takes for the contest, but the best of them is Ahmed Idris Wase.
Position of Wike, Makinde and the three others
Muhammad: From my understanding, Wike has sealed his national political career on the platter of personal interest and hate. I doubt if there is any serious and responsible Nigerian politician most especially from the northern part that can trust Nyeson Wike in politics for fear of betrayal, unruly behavior unlike a leader and last minute disappointment. The president-elect should be cautioned against deep political interaction with the Wike group. What is left for Wike in the near future may be to bulldoze his way to the senate through his usual Rambo style but not to be relevant in any national politics again even if Tinubu rewards him with a ministerial appointment for the dirty job he accomplished against his party. Not even an insane person can trust Wike for any political interaction. He has cheaply and clownishly shown his type of person for mistrust. He has lost public trust not even from the PDP but in generality, no one takes Wike serious for anything. It is very unfortunate that he overshot his boundary into wilderness and is ending his political career in earnest as a political leper.
The Bauchi Gubernatorial Election
Muhammad: Bauchi gubernatorial election was a one way game because the ruling party PDP had no serious opposition candidates that could disturb a sleep. What the other parties fielded with the exception of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) were moneybags and opportunists not those recognized politicians with the political clout to pose serious threat. The PRP fielded a young intellectual Turk who lacked the resources to sustain the campaign but had registered his presence in contest. He had a good structure but lacked the wherewithal to fight the odds.
APC was living in a fool’s paradise despite the resources at its disposal. The capacity and experience of the PDP candidate were grossly underrated by opposition candidates to their peril. While opposition parties were busy trading in mischief against the re-election bid of the PDP candidate, the PDP in-turn was busy in serious campaign and planning winning strategies until it disgraced opposition parties with its victory. That was the power of experience and careful planning strategy.
Suggested names for federal political appointments from Bauchi State
Muhammad: If wishes were horses, the mistake of President Buhari should not be repeated by appointing inconsequential persons to government. President Tinubu should dig deep down for the best hands across party divide with the understanding of the state governor if he intends to make any inroad into Bauchi State.
I suggest the likes of Muhammed A. Abubakar SAN, Dr Musa Babayo, Uba Ahmed Nana, Abdullahi Babani, Hon. Muhammed Garba Gololo, Barr Ibrahim Zailani and few others that can reposition the APC in Bauchi State for optimum productivity against 2027. The president needs the cooperation of the state governor to stabilize. Therefore, he has to appoint those with the required experience and shock absorbers to liaise with the state government and create the required synergy for the good of all. The incoming president should avoid carrying those injured political jobbers and clowns that caused him and their party defeat at the elections.
