The year was 1993. IBB was in the last stage of his 8 years rule. His tenure is almost coming to an end. The clamour for a new Government was high. His Structural Adjustment Policy has affected the livelihoods of many. The economy was failing, the Naira weakened and...
In less than a week, Nigerians will get to exercise their democratic and electoral rights in carefully selecting and choosing new leaders that will steer the affairs of the country and represent them across local, state and federal levels; with the hope of bringing on...
Nigerians should vote for whoever they like from whichever party. Nobody will be allowed to mobilize resources and thugs to intimidate people in any constituency. That’s how I want to go down into Nigeria’s history, as a leader. - Muhammadu Buhari, 2023. The year was...
56 people eating Nigeria like termites - Hamza Al Mustapha The year was 1998. Abacha, the Head of State, had just died. Abdulsalam Abubakar, the Former Chief of Defence Staff, was in charge. He quickly enacted a transition to a civil rule program to replace what many...
The best candidate might not win
— Olusegun Obsanjo, 1979
The year was 1979.
The electoral umpire then, FEDECO, had just approved the formation of 5 parties to contest the 1979 elections. The parties were the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), which was believed to have the ‘support of the Military Government,’ The ‘Opposition’ Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), the Nigerian People’s Party (NPP), and the socialist-based People Redemption Party (PRP). The Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP) was the least known among the 5.
UPN’s Awolowo appeared the oldest (Zik is older) and the one who had planned for that moment the most. His greatest strengths were his ability to mentor and groom other disciples. Being from the West, he had the full backing of the region, where he was expected to win with a landslide. Support elsewhere? Not so much. During his campaign, he couldn’t even visit the North and had to resort to throwing pamphlets from a helicopter. His choice of a non-northern running of the same faith as him was even more controversial.
NPN’s Shagari was perhaps the most experienced. He had held important government positions, including serving as the Finance minister (where he succeeded Awolowo), the most important position after the then Prime Minister. His strongest selling point was his status and that of his party as ‘unifiers’ (his party’s slogan was “One Nation, One Destiny.) His simplicity and brutal honesty, unaccustomed to a politician, were his greatest undoing. Being from northern Nigeria, he was expected to win the majority of votes in the region. His choice of an Igbo architect was a master stroke.
Zik as the NPP candidate is the only Igbo in the race and the underdog. Many thought he probably wouldn’t win but could affect the polls significantly enough to cause a rerun. After all, he only decided to contest after his tribe’s exclusion in the Presidential race. His oratory skills and his exposure were his biggest strengths. His failure to secure an alliance proved costly. Notwithstanding, the choice of a former northern University Vice Chancellor from Kaduna and being sure of the votes in the east many presume will play out to his advantage.
For the PRP candidate, he was perceived as a local champion who would only win in his home state. Aminu Kano’s strengths lay in his ability to mobilize and communicate with the masses in their local dialect. He is an honest table shaker, a trailblazer, and a revolutionary. The red-cap-wearing gentleman used the utmost loyalty he extracted from his followers to his full advantage. He compensates for what he lacked in a formidable running mate in strong party machinery run by intellectuals like Chinua Achebe.
The best man ultimately won.
The year is 2022.
The electoral umpire, INEC, had trimmed the number of political parties from 92 to 18. The leading ones are the APC which had the backing of the ruling administration, the opposition PDP, the worker’s Labor party, and the hitherto unknown GNPP.
The APC’s candidate, Tinubu, appears to be the oldest (Atiku is older), yet the one who had planned for the moment the most. His greatest strengths are his ability to mentor and groom disciples, putting them in strategic positions in the government, and his mass mobilization skills. Being from the West, he is expected to have the full backing of the region, where he will most likely win with a landslide. Support elsewhere? Not that great. He couldn’t even visit the East during his Primaries campaign. His choice of a northern running of the same faith will probably return to haunt him.
The PDPs candidate is seemingly the most qualified. He’s held many important national positions, including the post of the most important person after the President. His strongest skills are his perceived credentials as a “unifier.” His simplicity and brutal honesty, unaccustomed for a politician, is perhaps his greatest undoing. Being from northern Nigeria, he will probably win the majority of votes in the region. His choice of an Igbo medical doctor is a genius masterstroke.
The Labour party’s candidate is the only leading Igbo candidate and also the underdog. He probably won’t win the elections but might significantly affect the polls enough to cause a rerun. He only contested after the alleged lopsidedness and bias in his former party. His oratory, exposure, and ability to mobilize the youth are his biggest strengths. His failure to secure an alliance with the West will probably prove costly. Notwithstanding, his choice of a former University Chancellor from Kaduna and being assured of the votes in the East will play out to his advantage.
The NNPP candidate is perceived by many as a local champion who will win only his home state of Kano. He is also considered a ‘trouble maker, and a ‘bulldozer.’ His greatest strength is his ability to mobilize and communicate with the masses in their local dialect. The red cap-wearing gentleman will also use his followers’ utmost loyalty to him to his full advantage. He compensates for what he lacks in a formidable and vibrant running mate in strong party machinery run by intellectuals like the Alkalis.
May the best man win.
I felt I should leave Lagos for him. In fact, I could easily have taken over Lagos, but I did not. Atiku Abubakar, 2018 The year was 2003. The duo of Olusegun Obasanjo and Atiku Abubakar were gearing up for their reelection campaign. The two had a falling out,...
My name is Rabi Abdullahi, I am 17 years old. I grew up in Tsibiri, Giwa Local Government Area of Kaduna State.My father had a millet farm, and my mother didn't work. She cared for our home and all the children- I have six brothers and four sisters. Our village's...
As you move in the streets of northern Nigeria or you stop for a refuel at a filling station, wait for your car to fill up in a motor park, wait to pick up your kids in front of school premises or make your way in the market place, you are bound to encounter street...
Many girls living in northern Nigeria are either school drop-outs or are out of school. A survey conducted by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) showed that only 45% of girls in northern Nigeria are enrolled in school. These girls face...
What makes a man is The title of a song released by an Irish pop vocal group/boyband popularly known as “West Life” in the album “Coast to Coast”. Also, a question that ought to be no longer rhetorical in the mind of every single member of the Northern Nigeria...
Yara manyan gobe This is a popular northern Nigerian saying meaning children are the leaders of tomorrow. You ask a child what he wants to become in the future and he replies with "I want to be a footballer”. This is okay because, at that stage, the child is replying...
Interfaith is a social concept that aims to create harmony and inspire cooperation across different religions. Its chief goal is transforming religious communities united by harmonious relations and the common good. Syncretism is the assimilation of different...
“When I was your age, I was taking the first position in class” Is a sentence we’ve heard from almost every parent and has gone on to build a lot of pressure on every child. The only thing we were pushed to was to get good grades, pass our exams and ignore...
What is the meaning of the term “black beauty?” is it a compliment meant to flatter people who are dark-skinned and look good, or is it in fact meant to downgrade darker women? Thinking about the possible meaning and origin of the word, it occurs to me how...
Over 12 million girls are married out before the age of 18 according to UNICEF statistics. Child marriage is being practised across countries, cultures and regions. We have to stop stealing adolescence from our young girls. Northern Nigeria is one among many other...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
Such a lovely piece. May the best man truly win 🙏
I am glad you enjoyed it
Interesting! Kudos to this Author
History is repeating itself after 2 decades
May the best Man win🤲
This is awesome! This piece is a masterpiece🙌🏾
To criticise constructively and with due respect sir, there’s a little fault in the analysis of the PDP though. He is from the North(like Shagari) but unlike Shagari, he isn’t even considered so by many Northerners, he also doesn’t know the North and lacks their trust despite his so-called “brutal honesty” and his assumed “simplicity” as this is a man who technically lives in Dubai and comes to Nigeria for elections.
So although, the other candidates pretty much correlate with little to no works of literature, he doesn’t fit much despite the works of literature.
The humble take of a concerned Nigerian sir😊.
This is incredible…I had no idea a similar occurrence had happened in 1979