Why I Failed In Past Elections – Pres. Buhari

Forum 9 years ago

Why I Failed In Past Elections – Pres. Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has explained that he always found himself in trouble every time he contested the presidential election because of his belief that the best form of governance was multi-party democracy where elections must be free and fair.


The president, who stated this yesterday in Johannesburg, the capital of South Africa, also lamented that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had made a mess of Nigeria from 1999 when it assumed leadership of the country to date.


This, he observed, was why Nigerians decided to vote him as president.


On his failed presidential election contests before now, he said his insistence on clean elections always haunted him.


“And that was why I was in trouble. I moved from All Peoples Party (APP) to All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to Congress for progressive Change (CPC), and eventually to All Progressives Congress (APC). I contested in 2003, spent 30 months in the courts and ended up in Supreme Court. I contested in 2007, spent about 20 months in the courts, ended up in Supreme Court.


“I contested in 2011 and spent about eight months in the courts, all ending up in Supreme Court. Why was I doing it? I know the reason: I believed in it! I told you I believe in this system – that election must be free and fair.


“In all those cases from High Court to Supreme Court, we sent people to the field; they found out why the elections were not fair; they came to the court and gave evidence but, in the end, they will say ‘oh well, there were some flaws in the elections but PDP has won. At last, the PDP has lost!”


He noted that he had gone to this extent to explain this just to prove that when one makes up his mind about anything positive, rather than being discouraged, he should keep on trying.


He said, “How I wish I became head of state when I was a governor, just a few years as a young man; now at 72, there is a limit but to what I can do. But what brought me there, I think mainly, is because I love this country.


“I was in the war front for 30 months during our civil war. I lost a lot of loyal people to me. I lost a relative, a lot of Nigerians did too. We lost about two million Nigerian lives just to keep Nigeria one. So nobody should come now and tell us rubbish!


“We are going to remain one country. God has given us another opportunity to reorganise this country. Those who work hard, the society will pay them back”.


Why I Joined Politics
Buhari pointed out that neither he nor anybody who knew him in the military would have fancied him joining partisan politics.


He said, “In spite of the fact that they say money works in politics, from primaries to my election was proof that Nigerians know what they want once they make up their minds. You can give them the money; some refused to take it, some took it and said ‘it is our money’ and they did exactly what they wanted to do.


“So, why did I join partisan politics in spite of that? When I went home, people knew that I had no money. I thought they would leave me alone, but they didn’t. They were coming to me, asking me to do this and do that. And I found that the only way I could do it is by joining partisan politics. And maybe if I spoke, even if I was not a member at any (high) level, people will listen to me.


“But then I joined the opposition, I joined APP. I didn’t want any political office at first; if I wanted I would have joined PDP then and maybe I would have gotten to where I am much earlier. But then I wanted to go with the opposition”.


The president identified the experience of Soviet Union as the second key factor that pushed him into partisan politics.


He said, “You know the Soviet Union was an empire in the 20th century that collapsed without a shot being fired. Everybody went home, there was confusion. Now there are 18 countries out of the old Soviet Union.


“They were more advanced than the western countries in science because they wanted to go to space, specifically in 1957, and they had more nuclear war heads and delivery system than Warsaw.


“And they had organised their societies and they had much less crime and they got jobs for people. When people had no jobs they got one for them. And (after their disintegration without force) that was when I decided (to join politics).”


Buhari also gave another reason for deciding to go into politics when he went back home after being a governor of a region that comprised six states then, namely Yobe, Borno, Bauchi, Adamawa, Taraba and Gombe, currently the areas most affected by the Boko Haram insurgency .


He explained that after leaving office as military governor, becoming petroleum minister under General Olusegun Obasanjo for three and half years and then serving as head of state and then chairman of Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under the late General Sani Abacha, it irritated to him that, of all these positions he held, people did not remember what he did.


Buhari said, “They only remember my days of PTF because I bought bed sheets and put them in hospitals and some x-ray machines and some buses for the schools.


“They remember me more as chairman of PTF than as a former head of state, governor or a minister of petroleum, in spite of the fact that it was during my time that I signed the contract for Warri refinery, Kaduna refinery; more than 3,500km laying of pipes and more than 20 depots.”


Berating the former ruling party, PDP, for misruling Nigeria for 16 years he said: “We got the tankers off the road, we saved lives, we saved fuel, we saved the road itself, but from 1999 till date, PDP has mess it up. That is why Nigerians decided to vote me.


“That is why during the APC’s fundamental campaign, the discussions we made were three things that were identified. We have to secure the country, then sufficiently manage it by making sure the economy is put right and youths are employed, and then try and kill corruption.”


On Killing Corruption
On his firm resolve to end corruption in the country, the president pointed out that the need to get rid of the monster was not his own articulation in the first place, but that of opinion writers.


He said, “I didn’t say this first; there are people before me who articulated this,
that is, article writers, who said if we don’t kill corruption in Nigeria, corruption will kill us. So this APC administration intends to kill corruption in Nigeria. We will do our best, I assure you.”


Still lamenting the failure of past leaders in Nigeria, Buhari continued: “No matter what you say about the British colonialists, they built institutions for us; unfortunately, we have destroyed those institutions.


“When Obama came to Africa, he went to Ghana on his first trip. He refused to go to Nigeria. And he said Africa, or developing countries, should have strong institutions instead of strong leaders.


“If he was in Nigeria, he would have known that it was strong Nigerians that destroyed the strong institutions. And, paradoxically, maybe another strong Nigerian will come and revive the institutions and make them strong again.”


He told his hosts that, already, the G7 leaders had expressed their commitment to helping Nigeria tackle insecurity, and develop its oil and gas sectors as well.


He said, “I met Obama, president of France, chancellor of Germany, prime minister of Japan and so on – members of the G7 anyway. They invited me and I went. They are all anxious to help Nigeria to tackle insecurity especially in the north east and, of course, using the technology.


“We are getting our acts together, our logistics requirements and so on. For the north east, the Lake Chad Basin Commission – Nigeria, Chad, Niger, Cameroon and Benin – have tried to come in. We have developed headquarters in Ndjamena, a Nigerian general is heading it.
“We have dedicated a number of troops ourselves and the location where they will be, and by the end of July, they will be in place and then we will make sure that since Nigeria was a battle ground, we eliminate Boko Haram.”


He also promised that even in the southern part of the country, his government would reduce abductions and robberies.


He said, “I can recall when I was in secondary school or a junior officer, when it was Christmas and New Year, businesses closed virtually in the North, especially in Kano because Kano was the centre (of trade).


“All the Igbos would have gone home for Christmas and New Year but now; at least two-thirds of them don’t go because they will either get abducted or their wives, children or their parents (will be), and demands they (kidnappers) will make for their release will be much more than their (families’) capital.

“And I went round Owerri about a couple of years ago, I was shown some houses that were built for almost N100 million but the owners don’t sleep in their houses.


“When they (Igbos living in the north) go to Owerri, they check into a hotel with their families. They will go into their houses during the day and run back to the hotels by 5pm and lock themselves up; what is the use?”


For Those Accusing Me, I’ve Also Been Jailed
Buhari also reminded those accusing him of jailing them that he had also been jailed for over three years, just as described those who think Nigeria will disintegrate as crazy.


“But since 1914, we have merged in spite of religion and culture; married across divides, produced children; only crazy people can think of balkanising Nigeria. But we are not short of crazy people; that is the frightening part of it.”


“At a point I was very frightened; I don’t know how many of you kept records. I was afraid Nigeria might be like Somalia. The Somalis are the same people; they are all Muslims but because the elite are self-centred and selfish, they have succeeded in making Somalia a war country for the last 20 years.


“For that reason I said Nigerians are much more vulnerable. We have so many nationalities. No matter how you look at it – Hausa, Fulani, Kanuri, Itsekiri, Yoruba, Igbo – we are actually people of different cultures.”


To those who were imprisoned by his regime, he had this to say: “But I assure you that after being in the military for 25 years and getting to
the highest rank and becoming head of state and, under unusual circumstances, I went straight to detention for three and half years, so, those who accused me of locking them up, I too have been locked up; so what?


Zuma To Visit Nigeria Over Attacks On Nigerians
President Buhari has urged Nigerians resident in South Africa to be good ambassadors of the country, adding that Nigerian and South African leaders will soon meet to discuss several issues bordering on their relationship.


He hinted that South African president had promised to come to Nigeria to discuss the matter.


He said, “I’m told there are 83 Nigerians in prison. I don’t know what they have done but I spoke to the President of South Africa this afternoon. He wants to come to Nigeria.
[ads4]

“There are issues he knows and wants to talk about. I will certainly talk to him. I hope our ambassador will send a comprehensive report about the court cases, about those who lost properties during the disturbances. And at that time I will attempt to ask him about our $9.7 million which was not correctly transferred.”


He recalled the big brother role played by Nigeria to save South Africa from apartheid, saying Nigeria was responsible for financing the destruction of apartheid in that country.


He said, “You all know how they came to where they are. For how long was South Africa under apartheid when black South Africans were reduced to virtually nothing? And the Murtala/Obasanjo regime was classified as frontline states. Only God knows how much of Nigeria’s money was sent to these people to support them.


“And you know of Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Angola; it is in the history of Africa and the world that Nigeria was responsible for virtually financing the destruction of apartheid in Southern Africa.”


The Nigerian president enjoined his countrymen to live right in their place of sojourn


He said: “I refused to speak from this draft speech because I wanted to speak to you from the bottom of my heart. Please keep Nigeria’s pride close to your heart, make sure you behave yourselves. If you find yourselves here, obey their laws. When you don’t obey their laws you will have to bear the consequences”.


Earlier, the Consul-General of Nigeria in South Africa, Ambassador Uche Ajulu-Okeke, had told President Buhari that a total of 143 Nigerians were killed in South Africa between 2011 and 2014, while another 81 were languishing in Johannesburg prison.


“Out of these 81 Nigerians, 21 have been convicted,” she said, adding that shops and other property worth millions of Rands belonging to Nigerians were destroyed during the recent xenophobic attacks.


The president of Nigerian Union in South Africa, Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, congratulated President Buhari on his election and inauguration, and urged him to facilitate compensation for Nigerians affected by the xenophobic attacks in the country.