A listener to an early morning programme on Nigeria Info radio station, who gave his name as Paul from Lokogoma in Abuja, called in on Thursday, April 1 to summarise the national mood over the victory of Muhammadu Buhari in the presidential ballot on Saturday, March 28.
Paul said he had been preparing to get married in June but changed the date to April 18 because with Buhari’s victory, there is hope that penury will soon disappear from his dictionary.
Wild celebration enveloped the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja after Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman Attahiru Jega, officially pronounced Buhari as winner of the election.
Kano, Lagos, Kaduna, Enugu, Owerri, Oshogbo, Uyo, Bauchi, Maiduguri, and other major cities were not left out. Some even died while driving roughly around in jubilation. Victories in presidential elections in the past were never celebrated.
Electoral reform
The most important factor in Buhari’s victory is the reform in the electoral system. And Jega insisted on a credible, transparent, free, and fair vote this time around.
The fight for transparency through the use of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and card readers helped to reduce fraud that characterised previous elections.
President Goodluck Jonathan’s poor performance in office for five years helped sway votes for Buhari. Electricity supply remains unstable. Unemployment remains high.
Jonathan did not tackle high level corruption within and outside the government, which Buhari capitalised on heavily during the campaign.
The Boko Haram insurgency in the North East makes Jonathan unpopular in the entire North. Buhari, who already has phenomenal following in the North, zeroed in on these and other odds against Jonathan.
Obasanjo, Tinubu, Amaechi, Saraki
Political heavyweights across the country helped to raise funds and mobilise voters for the fight against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
These include former Lagos State Governor, Bola Tinubu, who masterminded Buhari’s inroad in the South West, where he won five of the six states. In 2011, Tinubu had facilitated Jonathan’s victory against Buhari in the South West.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo mobilised his local and international contacts against Jonathan, his former protege.
Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, added ammunition to the battle against Jonathan. Former Kwara State Governor, Bukola Saraki, fought Jonathan and the PDP to a standstill in the build up to the vote.
Saraki, now a Senator, has assumed the position of his late father, Olusola, as king maker of Kwara politics. His defection from the PDP to the APC helped to wipe out the gains the PDP had made in the state for 10 years.
Buhari made inroads in the North Central and South West where he had performed badly in three previous shots at the Villa.
South East, South South
Even in the South East and South South where PVCs and card readers were allegedly discarded to ensure fraud, Buhari did better than his previous showings. For instance, he got over 133,000 votes in Imo.
Voters put off by hate speech
Those who managed Jonathan’s campaign, rather than add value, helped to expand his enemy coast. Many voters did not like the hate speeches of his wife, Patience; Femi Fani-Kayode; and Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose.
But in spite of his failure, Jonathan displayed decency when he congratulated his opponent even before the final results were announced.
Buhari acknowledged this in his acceptance speech when he said “at exactly 5.15pm this evening President Jonathan called to congratulate me on my victory. For this I want all Nigerians to join me in congratulating and appreciating Mr president for his statesmanship.”
Ridding the land of corruption
His victory has attracted congratulations from many leaders. One of them is the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who wrote a letter to Buhari.
The letter read in part: “Your success and victory after three previous unsuccessful attempts must be great object lessons for you and for all politicians, particularly in Nigeria.
“For me, the totality of the 2015 elections hold lessons for our democracy and democratisation process which are both maturing.
“On this occasion, the system [was] unnecessarily overheated before, and particularly during, the campaigns when emphasis was more on trivialities and hate, divisive, undignifying and disrespectful statements and comments rather than on pressing issues requiring attention.
“I know that in victory, you will be magnanimous to start binding the wounds and bitterness occasioned by the campaign and the evil disciples.
“With so much harm already done to many national institutions, including the military, which proudly nurtured you and me, you will have a lot to do on institution reform, education, healthcare, economy, security, infrastructure, power, youth employment, agribusiness, oil and gas, external affairs, cohesiveness of our nation and ridding our land of corruption.”
Reward for perseverance, hard work
Former military President, Ibrahim Babangida, said Buhari’s victory “conveys two significant statements on our political history and evolution. First; that incumbents can be defeated in any democratic process if the people’s aspirations are not fulfilled.
“Second, that there is good reward for perseverance and hard work. Buhari has been very consistent in pursuing his political aspiration. In fact, he reminds me of Abraham Lincoln of America, who was very dogged in pursuing his political aspiration and enriched democracy in America.
“Buhari lives true to his military calling by remaining very consistent, resilient and courageous right from 2003 to date. This enviable feat to me further enriches our democratic process and matures us into the top echelon of nations where democracy has taken firm root ….
“I trust that [Buhari] will live up to the expectations of many Nigerians that crave for change; and lift Nigeria to greater heights. I wish to implore [him] to reach out to other contestants in the spirit of one Nigeria, as he settles down for the task of leading this nation in the next four years.
“Your victory has no doubt broken the barriers of ethnicity and religious inclinations; two sensitive issues that undeservedly dominated the campaigns. I am confident that this victory will usher in a new perspective in our political history and development.”
History vindicates the just
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, congratulated Buhari who has led “our party, the … APC to an unprecedented victory within two years of its official formation, and in so doing, written the most important chapter of our democracy.
“The great Nnamdi Azikiwe once wrote that ‘history will continue to vindicate the just.’ Your victory in the polls, with votes from across the length and breadth of our country, bears witness to the acceptance of not just … the APC, but also your ideology of justice, fair play and zero tolerance for corruption as the bedrock for national rebirth.
“The journey has just begun. Millions of Nigerians have put their trust in you, because they were not satisfied with the status quo. You represent the hope of a new generation of Nigerians, and you cannot afford to fail them.”
IYC pledges support for Buhari
Udengs Eradiri, President of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), the umbrella body for all Ijaw youths, urged his kinsmen to avoid violence, destruction, and protests because of Buhari’s victory.
Eradiri congratulated Buhari and said Ijaw youths would support his administration, just the same way they supported the Jonathan administration.
He warned that any Ijaw youth who gets involved in protest, destruction and other acts of violence would be doing so at his or her own risk.
He pledged that the IYC would accept the leadership of Buhari, as the South South had had its own chance but could not use the position to its advantage. He advised the youth in the region to resist being manipulated politically.
Said Eradiri: “When we had our own as president, the Igbo, the Yoruba, the Hausa were loyal to him. We will be loyal to … Buhari, who from May 29, 2015 would become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“We will accept it [the result of the election]. We had our own knife and yam; we were not able to cut it the way we wanted. We have no other person to blame.
“It is in this part of the country that people ask for money to go and vote. However, the Northerners were paying for their own transportation to go and exercise their rights and to go and pick their PVCs.
“Our people were expecting that they would be paid to collect PVCs and the results reflected. We have no other choice; we are the architect of our own problem. So, we should be able to live with it.
“If you go and protest, you are on your own. If you go and destroy anything, you are on your own. I, as the leader of youths in this region, have reached out to other ethnic nationalities to canvass support.
“Maybe we started late. Maybe the attention was not given that should have started with the political class. History has already recorded it.”
