Beware of politicians “begging” Buhari to seek re-election

President Buhari returned to London last week for further medical attention, two months after he came back from a 50-day medical treatment in the UK. The duration of his stay in London this time is unknown; that would be determined by his doctors! Constitutionally, this is a well-defined path. Section 145 of the Constitution envisages that the president may need to take a medical vacation, and provides for a safe back-up arrangement. During the president’s temporary absence, the functions of his office “shall be discharged by the Vice-President as Acting President”. There is no ambiguity there. As long as the constitutional transfer of power takes place, and its letter and spirit are fully respected and not undermined by some faceless cabal, the president’s absence, however frequent, to look after his health is perfectly in order.

We must, of course, not forget the human angle. The president is human, and it behoves all Nigerians to pray for his speedy and full recovery. No one must wish him dead. Politics must not sap our humanity or drain the milk of human kindness in us! However,and here is the point of this intervention, it is one thing to wish President Buhari well, as we must, but it is another to say that he is the saviour that Nigeria needs so much so that he has to be “begged” to seek a second term in office, as several leaders of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC), have been saying ad nauseam.

Recently, APC’s national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, said he would “beg” President Buhari to seek re-election in 2019, positing that “the main gift Buhari is giving to this country is his absolute integrity”. The minister of communications, Adebayo Shittu, even seemed to have mobilised others to the same cause, vowing: “We will beg Buhari to run in 2019”. The Kaduna State governor, Nasir El-Rufai, echoed the same sentiment, saying Buhari “must stand for re-election in 2019”, arguing that “the stability that he brings to the office is in the best interest of the country”. Of course, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transport, must not be outdone. He insisted that Buhari “is healthy enough” to stand for re-election in 2019.

These are APC leaders expressing their views, of course. But think of it. President Buhari’s mysterious illness, the nature of which Nigerians are not told, is behind his frequent absence from home – he has gone abroad for medical treatment four times since he was elected two years ago in 2015 – and from work – even when at home, he rarely goes to his office or attends meetings of the Federal Executive Council, the nation’s highest policy-making body! His infirmity is affecting his ability to discharge the functions of his office effectively or have a grip on the machinery of government. As the Financial Times put it recently, Buhari’s health saga “has sapped his presidency of strength and direction”. Yet, APC leaders are nonchalantly saying they will “beg” the president to run for re-election.

I have put the word “beg” or ”begging” in inverted commas because it really grates. It brings back awful memories of the unsavoury spectacle of politicians “begging” the military dictator, General Sani Abacha, to run for the presidency in the mid-1990s or the equally abhorrent image of politicians “begging” Goodluck Jonathan to seek re-election in 2015. Soon, as 2019 approaches, politicians and other prominent individuals may be descending on Abuja “begging” Buhari to seek re-election. However, while Abacha strong-armed politicians, traditional rulers and others, and Jonathan bribed them, Buhari is by reputation too principled to condone, let alone instigate, such a political chicanery!

Indeed, in his straight-talking manner, President Buhari has frequently been upfront about his own limitations. For instance, in 2015, while in South Africa, he said he wished he had been president when he was a governor (at 33 years old), adding poignantly that “Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do”. Speaking in Abeokuta last year, during the 40th anniversary of the creation of Ogun state, Buhari thanked General Obasanjo for tolerating him as minister of petroleum in his military regime “because God knows that I am not used to working as hard as he used to”. And, recently, when he returned from his 50-day medical vacation in London, he remarked that while the vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, had youth and intellect squarely behind him, “age and purely military experience is behind me”. Of course, all of this reflects the president’s humility and self-deprecation, but there is a grain of truth in his self-assessment.

Now, take the president’s personal limitations, which he himself has acknowledged, such as his age (at 74 now) and his hands-off style of leadership and lethargy (he once said rather approvingly that people called him “Baba go slow”), then add his present mysterious illness, which is behind his frequent absence from home and from work, what you get is weak leadership and poor governance. Indeed, as the former APC national chairman, Bisi Akande, said recently, the President’s illness is being exploited by “political interests at the corridor of power”, with several power bases emerging in the presidency, while the president, hobbled by ill-health and a laid-back approach, is unable to exert control and rein in the powerful interests around him.

Take the recent letter of transfer of power sent by President Buhari to the National Assembly. One can easily detect “the voice of Jacob, but the hand of Esau” situation in what happened. Clearly, the letter bore the president’s name and signature, but it had the voice of some powerful officials who were up to some shenanigans. Describing the vice president’s role as “coordinating the activities of the government” instead of “performing the duties of the office” of the president, in accordance with S.145 of the Constitution, was not a slip of the pen, as it were. It was a deliberate attempt to undermine the vice president.The president’s men, although not Buhari himself, were clearly stung by Vice President Osinbajo’s dynamism and energy during the president’s medical vacation in January, and the local and international acclaim that he received. In a power politics milieu, the vice president’s performance and rising profile unnerved powerful interests in the presidency, and they decided ignorantly, without understanding the Constitution, that this time they would relegate his role from “Acting President”, who is in charge, to “Coordinator”, who is not! The president, of course, was completely out of the loop, or so it seemed!

Those who want to “beg” Buhari to seek re-election in 2019 cite his “integrity” and the “stability” he brings to the office. Yes, Buhari has personal integrity but it has not rubbed off on the powerful vested interests, or cabals, in his government. And there is no evidence of stability in this government. For instance, APC controls both the executive and the legislature, but the government can hardly get anything done in the National Assembly. And the executive is riven by internal divisions. Of course, without Buhari there is really no APC. If he doesn’t run in 2019 or at least play some active role, the party would fall like a house of cards. As I wrote in 2015, “It’s very worrying that APC’s electability and fitness for office is built solely on Buhari’s reputation”. And this is arguably why some APC leaders want to “beg” the president to seek re-election: to keep the party together.

Of course, Buhari is constitutionally entitled to run for another term, even though he will be 76 years old by the next election and 80 at the end of a second term. But unless there are significant changes in his personal circumstances and political leadership, those “begging” him run in 2019 are simply serving the interests of their party, as well as their personal interests, and not those of Nigeria. What Buhari really needs is everyone’s prayers for a speedy and full recovery. And that’s what I offer!

Olu Fasan