This is a book about General Muhammadu Buhari, his personality, his personal philosophy, his vision and his unique and unprecedented record of selfless and sincere service to the nation. It follows, and to some extent builds upon, two earlier books on the same person, namely Roseline Odeh’s Muhammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s Seventh Head of State and Adamu Adamu’s Buhari: The PTF Years.

The book is at least four books in one: there is an anthology in it; there is a collection of folktales in it; there are several mini-plays in it and there is a lot of analytical prose in it. In order for the reader to understand and enjoy the book, he needs to be conversant with Greek mythology, biblical allusions, jurisprudence, economic theory, political philosophy and contemporary history. In other words, the author, Adamu Kyuka Usman, has demonstrated that he is not only a lawyer and therefore a learned man, but also a man of letters, which in these days of educated illiteracy, is no mean feat for a young man to achieve.

The book consists of a dedication and a prologue, both in verse, seventeen chapters which range in length from one page (Chapter 11) to 50 pages (Chapter 9), an epilogue (also in verse) and an index.

The dedication consists of two parts: the first is "to all men of conscience / Who will not only refrain / From killing a fly / But will not eat one killed" and the second is to the author’s son, Justice, who as a young boy now growing up symbolizes the pure virtue and innocence of man, uncorrupted by evil. The author implores his son to resist evil and be a good man. This struggle between good and evil remains a recurring theme throughout the book, with General Buhari representing good and the forces lined up against him representing evil.

The prologue consists of seven poems. The first poem, A Worm in the Sun, depicts a sick nation saved by a patriot, i.e. Nigeria saved by General Buhari. The second poem, The Ways of the Rabbit, depicts the character of nations which, like the rabbit, kill their patriotic citizens and friends and give honour to their enemies.

The third and fourth poems, Runs of a Watershed and The Fur of a Marrow, talk about the fate of nations being dependent upon the type of leaders they have. The fifth poem, The Melting Wax of Patriotism, talks about General Buhari’s infectious patriotism, which mobilized Nigerians for national development during his brief headship of the Nigerian state. The sixth poem, Truth, thy Name is Phoebus, likens General Buhari to the sun which "when it breaks the cover of lies / No hand can cover it" and also to the neem tree which has several medicinal properties, including functioning as an insecticide, thus alluding to one of General Buahri’s popular epithets, "shelltox maganin kwari". The seventh poem, Our Commonwealth, depicts an ideal Nigeria that General Buhari set out to build when he was military Head of State. The Nigeria was to be prosperous, happy, secure and safe.

In Chapter One we are told that General Buhari was born in Daura on Thursday the 17^th of December 1942, that is exactly 61 years ago today, to a Fulani Chief, Ardo Adamu of Dumurkol, a village near Daura, and Hajiya Zulaihatu, a Hausa woman of military descent, and that he was a Gambo or Leko, as he had arrived after the death of his older twin siblings.

In Chapter Two we are told about the strict upbringing that the young Muhammadu had in the hands of the triumvirate of his mother, his maternal uncle Alhaji Ali his elder brother, Mallam Dauda, who was the Headmaster of Mai Adua Primary School. Young Muhammadu as he then was, was a truant in primary school but by the time he moved to middle school in Katsina he became a more serious student. His leadership qualities blossomed and began to come to fruition at the Katsina Provincial Secondary School where he was a prefect, a house captain and later the Head Boy of the school. In chapter Three, A Call to Knighthood, we are told about the career options open to the young Muhammadu after the completion of his secondary education. These were: to study agriculture, to train as a teacher or to enlist in the Nigerian army. He chose the noble profession of arms. As a cadet, he was made a sergeant, another confirmation of the early recognition of his leadership qualities by his superiors.

In Chapter Four, The Trappings of a Gentleman Soldier, we are told about the young officer’s reputation for humility, firmness, competence and exemplary discipline, which earned him the respect of both his seniors and juniors. We are also told that among officers of his generation, he was the only one who had commanded the Lagos Garrison, the First Mechanised Division and the Third Armoured Division at different times. The various medals he earned are also mentioned.

In chapter Five, The Purchasing Hair of Cicero, we are told about the circumstances which led to the military take-over of Government in 1983 and why General Buhari’s colleagues thought that only he had the required qualities to lead the nation out of its troubles. In the author’s own words

In Chapter Six Fluorescence of Power, extracts of General Buhari’s maiden address to the nation, as Head of State, are juxtaposed against the reactions of members of the political class and ordinary citizens to the change of government and the circumstances which led to it. One of the politicians is reported to have said.

In Chapter Seven, Taming the Beasts, the emphasis placed by the Buhari government on discipline is discussed. The author talks about the trinity of culture, economy and politics and why it is important for a culture of discipline to be instilled in people before progress can be made in the economic and political spheres. The government of General Buhari, therefore, emphasized the culture of queuing, work ethics, cleanliness and patriotism in its War Against Indiscipline campaign. A lively discussion of the various laws introduced by the government to sensitize the Nigerian society then follows. The author, while putting up a spirited defence of the penalties imposed for drug-trafficking, embezzlement of public funds and publishing false information about public officers, does admit that the retrospective nature of Decree No. 20 of 1984 under which drug traffickers were convicted and executed was legally unacceptable. This shows that although the author is a committed friend of General Buhari and his government, he still retains some measure of objectivity, which enables him to disagree or be critical when necessary.

Chapter Eight, Fire, Fire and There was Gold, is dedicated to a discussion of the critics and criticisms of the Buhari government. The main critics were Tai Solari, Wole Soyinka and Beko Ransome-Kuti but the parochial nature of their motives was exposed. The professional groups, such as the Nigeria Bar Association, the National Association of Resident Doctors and the Nigeria Airways Pilots and Flight Engineers Assocation also attempted to confront the government by issuing ultimata or embarking on strikes to no avail. The confrontation between the Buhari government and the British government over the Umaru Dikko affair is also mentioned.

The longest chapter in the book is Chapter Nine, Buharinomics. Buharinomics is defined in the first of four poems which open the chapter:

The author then goes on to elaborate on the principles and specific policies of Buharinomics such as the anti-corruption policy, the change of currency, the cut in public spending, the reduction of the civil service workforce by 30%, the rejection of the IMF loan and its conditionalities, counter-trade, the refusal to devalue the Naira, self-reliance and the prompt payment of external debt obligations. The author, in defending these economic policies, surveys different models of development adopted by different nations, such as Sri Lanka and Japan, the one based on consumption in advance of production and the other based on capital accumulation through prudence and frugality. The results are all too obvious and the difference all too clear - the Buhari government was on the path of the Japanese model and the author quotes Jacques Gelinas in support of this model:

Chapter Ten, Politics Demands a Token, discusses why the Buhari government, faced with a choice between re-building the economy and restoring democracy chose the former, i.e. development was chosen over democracy.

Chapter Eleven is the shortest chapter, being only one page, and its title Omens of a good Friday, is based on the Hausa proverb that the omens of a good Friday begin to appear on the preceding Wednesday. The author discusses two events which occurred in 1984 / 85 which appeared to confirm the positive nature of Buhari Government. Plentiful harvests in 1984 and 1985 and Nigeria’s success in the FIFA-Kodak under 17 soccer competition.

Chapter Twelve, Boons and Booms in the Economy, discusses the impact of the economic policies of Buhari’s government such as the fall in the rate of inflation from 23.2% in 1983 to 5.5% in 1985 and the growth of the informal sector which involved the masses directly and which responded more positively to the people-oriented economic policies of the government.

In praising this policy posture, the author reports Napoleon Bonaparte as saying that "the men who have changed the universe have never gotten there by working on leaders, rather by moving the masses. Working on leaders is the method of intrigue and only leads to secondary results. Working on the masses however is the stroke of genius that changes the face of the world. Buhari intended to change Nigeria. So he worked on the masses". The strategy of working on the masses was used during the April 2003 elections by the strategists who ran the Buhari Organization and is the secret behind the dramatic emergence of General Buhari as the All Nigeria People’s Party Presidential Candidate in the election.

Chapter Thirteen, Flares of Cheer and Despair, brings to us conversations of people in the streets and clubs on the government of General Buhari with each speaker taking a position according to his socio-economic status and the way the regime appears to promote or threaten his interest.

Chapter Fourteen, Dissension in the House, draws our attention to the significant increase in the loudness and vehemence of criticisms of Buhari’s government by the elite and especially in the press which, as Nowa Omoigui observes, was a carefully orchestrated propaganda campaign to prepare the people for the change of government which soon followed.¹

Chapter Fifteen, Rat-Race in Gehanna, is a mini-play which depicts the changed morality of Nigerians after the exit of the Buhari government. The co-operative and patriotic spirit is replaced by self-serving greed.

Chapter Sixteen, The Call of Penitence, boldly states that there is an inherent apology to General Buhari in the government of the day appointing him to head the Petroleum Trust Fund on account of his confirmed honesty and proven incorruptibility. The chapter then lists some of the achievements of the Fund, such as the rehabilitation of national infrastructure and the re-invigoration of social services.

The last chapter, Chapter Seventeen, is entitled In the Court of the People and brings together statements made on General Buhari by different people, ranging from his former boss, General Obasanjo, to students. With only two exceptions, all the comments were positive.

The Epilogue is a long poem in which the Nigerian masses cry out in agony to their saviour, General Buhari, to come and rescue them from their present condition of poverty, deprivation and economic enslavement.

The book has several typographical and grammatical errors which should be corrected before a second edition is issued.

The Buhari story is, clearly, still unfolding and a definitive and comprehensive biography can only be written at the end of his public service career, which is many years away. The present book is, therefore one committed admirer’s personal and sincere contribution to the literature on this wonderful creation of God who possesses all the great qualities that we would like to have but lack the discipline to cultivate.

I recommend the book to all friends and supporters of General Buhari, to all who are engaged in the study and analysis of Nigerian politics and to all who love reading good books which stimulate the mind and enrich the intellect.

Professor Munzali Jibril

Fellow of the Nigerian Academy of Letters

Officer of the Federal Republic

Professor of English Language, Bayero University, Kano.

By

Faculty of Law,

Bayero University, Kano

Being a Guest Speaker’s address delivered at

Public Presentation of "Muhammadu Buhari: The Spirit of a Man"

Written by

Adamu Kyuka Usman

Held at the International Trade Fair Complex, Kaduna

On

This is an occasion when colleagues, associates, former teachers, classmates of course mates exchange banters, recall reminiscences and otherwise comment on the personality whose work is being presented. Although I will not hesitate to provide an assessment report on the author, Adamu K. Usman, having taught him at some stage in his career, I will be too presumptuous to attempt to pass any judgment on General Muhammadu Buhari. However, I take consolation in the fact that, on the one hand, Prof. Munzali Jibril, the book reviewer, will be saying a word or two about the quality of the book and the author’s standing. On the other, there is a galaxy of former Heads of State in our midst and other dignitaries, who belong to General Buhari’s league, and who may be called upon to comment on his personality and are eminently qualified to adjudge his character. On my own part, I seek your indulgence to comment on an entirely different subject matter which is however germane to this occasion: the place of biographies in our contemporary society.

Mallam Ahmad Mahmud Sa'adu Zungur was a rebel with a good cause in the Hausa community of his time. Although endowed at birth with the pedigree of being born and bred within the traditional Islamic scholarship of the Imam of Bauchi family (Gidan Limamin Bauchi), he had a very critical mind and went for the best the Islamic scholarship offered in understanding, critiquing and appreciating various social issues of his time. Judging from the current of ideas of the time, his political views were radical. He critiqued the Hausa social structures and institutions with a view to improving upon them. He utilized the powerful medium of poetry and newspaper essays to mobilize his society to action. All these and more we have learnt from a Book about his life and times authored by Prof. A. M. Yakubu.

Alhaji Ahmadu Raba, the Sardauna of Sokoto, was a prince and grandson of Sultan Muhammadu Bello. As premier of the Northern Region, he offered himself for public service. He preferred to serve his people in a capacity other than royalty. To him goes the credit for knitting diverse socio-cultural and multi-religious groups to acquire a shared consciousness and aspire for a common destiny, otherwise known as the geopolitical North. He managed the inevitable social upheavals and conflicts which accompanied the enterprise with great skill and political foresight. He was, and continues to be, a towering figure not only in the political realm but, more importantly, in the moral domain. He was an embodiment of probity and rectitude. This much we, especially those of us not privileged to have seen him live in action, have come to know from an account of his life written by himself and another by his biographer, John Paden.

Mallam Aminu Kano was another rebel with a good cause. Fully conversant with the rot in his society and greatly troubled by some identified numbing oppressive practices in his time, he liberated the Talakawa and was, and continues to be, their unrivaled hero and champion. He preached and played wholesome politics which was motivated by ideas and conviction. He did not view politics as a vocation pursued for pecuniary rewards or instant gratification. He lived an austere and impeccably honest life. In addition to what little one could imbibe as an adolescent, much more was gleaned from Alan Fienstein’s and Alkassum Abba’s biographical and anthological works of Mallam Cannon Muhammed was a personality of Fulani extraction from the sable of a family of itinerary Muslim scholars who, however, chose, or fate beckoned, to convert to Christianity. By all accounts, he is known to have lived a Spartan and honest life, very much in the tradition of early denizens of Wusasa enclave. He was neither a religious bigot nor a rubble rouser. This much I have come to know of from a fleeting acquaintance and the autobiographical work of Nuhu Bayero, his contemporary and friend.

Nana Asma’u Uwar Daje, was the saintly daughter of Shehu Usmanu Danfodiyo, in addition to her being revered and adored by the faithful for her piety, Nana was a mobilizer of the Shehu’s Ummah. She moved men and women to action through her ascetic and other religious poems. Her role in educating the Ummah is legendary. It is to her credit that the Waziri of Sokoto family, always learned and broad in their understanding of issues, comes from her lineage. She also participated actively in the preparation and execution of some expeditions which her brother, Sultan Muhammad Bello, undertook. Indeed the entire success of one such outing was attributed to a very decisive action she was reported to have taken. We are grateful to Jean Boyd who, in compiling the many works of Nana Asma’u, has enriched our understanding of the character of an exemplary Lady.

Hafsatu, the senior wife of the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of the Northern Region, proved to be an exemplary spouse. As a mark of her loyalty and fidelity to her husband whose sacred privacy had been invaded, she stood between him and the intruders to bite the bullets first before her martyred husband. She thereby paid the supreme price to sand by her spouse exhibiting unalloyed loyalty and unwavering identification with the cause he had stood for. This much we have come to know from the eyewitness accounts of those in the vicinity of the dastardly event and a biography of her life which has been recently written, if I am not mistaken, by Dr. Ladi Hammalai.

I have paraphrased the story of the lives and times of the foregoing personalities, some of whom I was not old enough to get to know up close, others I had the privilege of knowing more intimately. A good number of them I came to understand their character from my father who had worked with them in various capacities: as a political associate and as a participant in the vibrant literary circle prevalent in Zaria in the forties and fifties. However much of what I have passed off as my understanding of what they stood for or symbolized comes from accounts of their lives and times rendered by themselves or others in biographical works.

Therein lies the place of biographies in our society. The accounts of the lives and times of heroes, even villains, excite in us the urge to emulate or shun their deeds. The controversies which they provoked and which animated their society point to the recurring nature of cultural practices and the persistence of attitudes until changed or reformed. The roles they have played in understanding their circumstances in life, articulating the aspirations of their communities and the actions they have taken to manage the myriad problems attendant to all these, point to clues, in many cases even a road map, for us to draw guidance from in managing our situation even better by avoiding their mistakes and perfecting their successes.

In the biographies of the foregoing characters are ample lessons for us. Sa’adu Zungur seems to be telling us that it is criminal to ignore social ills which are eating into the fabrics of our society. His Arewa Jamhuriyya ko Mulukiya reminds us that in the life of a people is always the imperative of making dire political choices. His characterization of Bahaushe Mai Ban Haushi nudges us to look harder at the problems of begging, prostitution and educational backwardness, still the bane of the northern society. Mallam Aminu Kano did not look the other way in the face of stark poverty and ignorance of his people. He liberated their minds thereby helping to open a new political horizon and economic opportunities for them. That is why our generation and others to come hold and will continue to hold, Mallam and Sa’adu in awe and with reverence.

Whatever else the Sardauna stood for, he did not see the royal toga or lineage as a birth right with which to oppress others. Rather, from the account of his life, he must have viewed royal pedigree as a god-given endowment and a trust for which he will be called upon to account some day on earth or in the Hereafter. He also saw it as a dignified avenue for rendering selfless public service. Regrettably, today royalty has become to others, a hollow refuge for the wealthy and the elites "who feel they have arrived" and a birth right to squander anyhow for those with its pedigree in their blood. Gamji has shown us that public service rendered with honour, dignity and integrity holds a greater and more lasting reward of immortalization as opposed to the accumulation of material possessions which pale in comparison. Gamji was not a religious bigot who could not entrust ministerial responsibility to Michael Audu Buba or appoint S. B. Awoniyi as his secretary.

Mallam Aminu Kano made Mambayya House, his private residence, an open and accessible meeting place for the Talakawa and political associates to learn Ajami, rudiments of Boko and discuss politics and even exchange banters. His house was not a fortress heavily guarded by armed police, the German Shepard or impenetrable walls and electrified burglar proofs, which is what the abodes of political stalwarts has become today. In some sense I do not blame them. What with countless hired political assassins on the prowl.

A book is about to be presented to the public which seeks to tell the story, in allegorical, poetic and narrative, even fictional, styles, of the spirit of a man who has occupied the highest office in the land. There are quite a few like him in our midst. Indeed there are many others who, although they were not privileged to have reached that exalted position in life, have very interesting and educative stories to tell us about their lives and the roles they have played in sustaining the Nigerian enterprise.

Apart from the biographical works I have referred to above, there is a respectable number of others already published, a few of which I have in my library. There are those belonging to first generation of northern political leaders such as Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Sir Kashim Ibrahim, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule etc. There are the works about literary figures such as Mallam Abubakar Imam, Akilu Aliyu, though I am unsure if any has been written about Mallam Aliyu Namangi, the blind poet who was indefatigable in literary output till his last breath. We have learnt about the life and times of some revered teachers such as Abdurrahman Mora and Shehu Minjibir. Mallam Turi Muhammadu, an icon in the New Nigerian Newspaper stable, has given us very useful perspectives about the experience of a media practitioner in his autobiography. Sheikh Abubakar Mahmud Gummi’s "Where I Stand", every bit as controversial as the living Sheikh, has made very interesting reading about the life of a consummate Muslim scholar, judicial officer and Qur’anic interpreter.

The officers and gentlemen in uniform, who have dabbled at governing the nation in one capacity or another and held their high commands, have greeted us to accounts of their careers, the offices they have occupied and their ordinary lives. Prof. Elaigwu’s work on Gen. Yakubu Gowon is an obvious starting point. General TY Danjuma has told his own story, as has the diplomatic soldier, late Gen. Joe Garba. I believe recent retirees such as Gen. Chris Alli, and Gen. Jemibewon have also rendered an account of their stewardship.

The nation is all the richer by having added to its treasure of knowledge the stories told of the foregoing actors and several other snot mentioned here. But then surely that is not all the story there is to be told of the very many notable personalities who have, in various capacities, steered the ship of the affairs of our people. In many cases, even the stories already told, have left a yawning gap in our knowledge or understanding of the issues of their days. Many published accounts have conveniently avoided touching on "sensitive" or otherwise controversial issues pertaining to the personalities whose stories are being told. The quality of a few does not befit the status of the actors. In short, while Nigeria has had very turbulent political history, particularly in the realm of nation-building, within the past sixty or so years that Nigerian’s have managed their own affairs and we have witnessed a high attrition rate in the changes of its leadership, there is not a corresponding body of knowledge to match the political and social turbulence or appraise us fully of the controversies and otherwise knotty issues the actors have had to contend with.

Although it is not my intention to instigate distractive acrimony or seek to open sore wounds of the past, which many best prefer to be left to heal undisturbed, the many actors gathered here and several others not present owe it a duty to tell or re-tell the stories of their lives and times. In addition to the story of NEPU and radical politics in the North, as told by Mallams Sa’adu Zungur, Mallam Illa Ringim and Aminu Kano, we await to learn more from the lives of Tanko Yakassai, Mudi Spikin, Magaji Dambatta, three survivors out of the eight who conceived of NEPU and laid the seed of grass root politics, not to mention late Bello Ijumu’s and Yerima Balla’s accounts. The biography of Mallam Yahaya Gusau, the quintessential teacher and an embodiment of honesty, should make an interesting reading. Perhaps an account of the establishment party in the North, the NPC, by late Alhaji Shehu Makaman Bidda will raise some dust in showing us how the radical northerners in the NEPU and UMBC got a few things wrong in their conception of what were the most pressing needs of the North in that era and how best to go about meeting them. Peter Achimugu’s, J. S. Olawoyin’s and J. S. Tarka’s accounts are bound to give more refreshing perspectives to issues from the minority’s viewpoint.

Nothing definitive can be claimed to have been said about religious ferment and revivalism in the North from the account told by Sheikhs Gummi and Adam Al-Elory. While these have surely offered us a glimpse of the era of their authors, the publications pale in comparison to the seminal works of the Jihad triumvirate such as Infaqul Maysur, Kitab al Farq etc. The stories of the lives and times of scholars and leaders such as Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, Nasiru Kabara, Umaru Sanda, Ismaila Jos, Dr. Aliyu Abubakar, Sheikh Sherrif Saleh etc. should enrich our understanding of the issues and controversies of the time. Perhaps we will understand the issues, problems and dilemmas facing the implementation of Shariah in Nigeria better from the accounts of its early practitioners such as Prof. Halliru Binji, Alkali Baffa Mahmud, Alkali Belgore, and Alkali Musa of Bida, all now deceased.

As regards the role of the military in governance, there are innumerable yawning gaps in our knowledge despite the plethora of accounts already told. There are countless controversies which are conveniently ignored, glossed over or, if addressed at all, discussed in such a tone or manner as to put the actor / author in good light or suit the prevailing wisdom of the day. Without being disrespectful to or seeking to embarrass the personalities whom I shall have occasion to refer to in the following posers, I believe that, for many of the principal actors to throw the monkey off their back, they would need to address these unresolved issues in accounts of their lives and times published during the currency of their lives or posthumously, preferably the former.

While it may be said that Gbulie, an eyewitness to and a participant in the dastardly events of January 15, 1966 in Kaduna, has told a self-serving account of how and why the cream of Northern political leaders took the brunt of the January 1966 coup, we do not have a good idea as to how the July 1966 counter coup was executed and why it resulted in a disproportionate casualty list on the part of the officers and men from the East. Similarly, there appears to be more propaganda than hard facts and figures surrounding the casualty figures of the civil war on both sides and as it affected combatants and civilians. But for its adversary nature and the seeming ill-motive surrounding its conception and composition, the Oputa Panel could have provided a more balanced account of these events. The story of the surrounding socio-political forces, events, political actors and the controversies leading to and in the aftermath of 1966 military takeover remains to be told by witnesses to those events, quite a few of whom are still alive.

To date the story as to why the military truncated the tenure of the Second Republic rather abruptly three months into President Shagari’s second term remains to be told. Whereas the opposition, which regrettably applauded the military take-over, and at least President Shagari, Alhaji Umaru Shinkafi, and Alhaji Umaru Dikko, have given us their accounts and perspectives, the principal actors from the military, apart from the justificatory pronouncements accompanying the coup, have not told their own side of the story. Even more intriguing and interesting to shear would be the accounts which justify a military against military take-over, both attempted and successful. Of all the personae dramatics, who may have played key roles in these events and who have written their memoirs, none has offered us a dispassionate account of why’s and how’s. We would be the richer in our knowledge and the country the wiser in its move towards enduring democracy, when and if these actors tell their stories for us to read and learn from.

The audience will have noticed that I have deliberately concentrated my discourse on notable personalities in the North, although the issues they have contended with and the arena of the contest are national in outlook and coverage. Firstly, I need not tell their counterparts from the South what to do. This is because, as the Sardauna has aptly put it, they have been busy blowing their own trumpets. No will blow ours. "The Spirit of a man" is surely, even by the admission of the author, not an attempt by General Buhari to tell his own story and come off clean once and for all. It is just as well that he did not attempt to do so before the 2003 general elections. As the election petition phase of the electoral process grounds to a halt or conclusion, we await to hear his own auto or biographical accounts which should leave no stone unturned.

I feel highly honoured to be here as the Chairman of this Book Launch on General Muhammadu Buhari. He is a man who won my profound administration and respect from the very day in 1975 on which he stepped into the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, at Six Storey Building, Broad Street, Lagos in the uniform of an army Colonel as my Commissioner. As the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, I arranged a quick meeting of my senior officers with him. This was a time when the mass indiscriminate dismissal of public officers with immediate effect by the General Murtala Muhammad regime was raging. The Ministry had always had a civilian commissioner, never a military one. Now suddenly, a soldier! The already low morale of the officers was shattered further. But the meeting went fairly well, I thought, for a start at least. When we were alone and my staff had left the meeting, Col. Buhari said to me, "Mr. Awoniyi, I do not intend to ruin my career or go to jail. So please let us run this Ministry as honestly as possible." That was one of the sweetest music I have heard in my career. Within a few weeks, the morale of the staff was considerably restored.

On the 17^th of November 2000, I had the honour of delivering the Fifth Annual Memorial Lecture on Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto and Premier of Northern Nigeria. I paid tribute to the four preceding lecturers – Alhaji M. Liman Ciroma, Professor Ishaya Audu, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and General Muhammadu Buhari who gave the fourth lecture before mine. In my tribute to General Muhammadu Buhari on that day, just over three years ago now, I had this to say. I quote:

At this point, please grant me the indulgence to raise a personal and sensitive point, sensitive only in regard to my new role as Chairman of the National Executive Council, NEC of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF.

It was late in December 2002 that I had the first hint ever, about a book on General Buhari and that I was to be the Chairman at the launching ceremony of the book. That is a year ago almost today. Then a few weeks later, January 29003, I received formal notification that the book would be launched on 29^th January 2003, i.e. eleven months ago. Soon thereafter, I was informed that the ceremony was postponed "for reasons beyond our control.

I heard nothing about today’s ceremony until I received a typical direct-to-the-point kind of Buhari letter dated 4^th December 2003 signed by the General himself saying the launching will be at this venue and ….

Two days ago, a friend rang me and said "Sunday, I pity you o." He said he heard that I was going to be Chairman at the launching of a Book on Buhari. He saw the advert on TV and wondered whether I should not turn it down in view of my newfound position as the chairman of the NEC of ACF. Before I could say anything, he said but you can’t refuse, he was your commissioner and a former Head of State. His fear was that if I accepted, I would be labeled a Buhari man by the IBB and the Atiku groups. I saw his point but told him that my invitation to be chairman at this book launch predated my becoming the chairman of the NEC of ACF by a whole year. Jokingly, I told him that I had been labeled many things in my time and will probably be labeled many more things in the future.

You can all see the kind of quandary into which the relationship between these our three leaders always put us.

Some weeks ago, a journalist phoned me and said he did not know that I was an IBB man until he saw me in Minna at IBB’s daughter’s wedding.

Only yesterday someone told me that he read in a newspaper a few days ago that it was the Buhari group that imposed me on ACF as Chairman.

Recently, there was a huge ceremony for one of our sons from Okunland at Aiyetoro Gbede at which Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was going to be present. People said they were sure I would not be there because I am anti-government. Not only was I there, I paid my respects to the Vice President and toward the end of the ceremony when he was about to depart to return to Abuja, he came to where I was sitting and we exchanged pleasantries and we laughed. Thereafter, words went round that I was an Atiku man.

I am a Yoruba man and proud to be one. I am a Christian and glad to be one. I am from Okunland in the old Kabba Province of Northern Nigeria, now a state called Kogi State. That makes me a Northerner. It was an act of God using Lord Lugard as his instrumentality. There is nothing anybody can do about it. I suffer no inconvenience about it and I take second place to no one in my nothernness. Now, you may be someone who does not like the Yoruba man. That is yet again another act of God about which nobody can do anything. But then it becomes my duty as a Yoruba man, a Northerner and as a Nigerian to help you understand him and vice versa. My role, therefore, whether in the North or in the nation, can only be, as in the past, that of a bridge builder and a reconciliatory of opposites and contradictions for the overall good to the country. One thing about which you cannot fault a Yoruba man is in the expression or display of gratitude for assistance rendered or kindness shown to him. I know some incomprehensibilities have happened in recent times. Please take them as the exceptions that prove the rule. The Yoruba man is the most grateful handiwork of God. A proper Yoruba man to whom you have been good today will express gratitude the following day. Two weeks later, he will tell you how grateful he is for what you did for him the other day. Years later, he will remind you that he had not forgotten what you did for him in those days; and he will proceed to rain verbal blessings on you, your family, your source of daily bread and the lot. With my kind of Yoruba from Okunland, we are schooled never to harm our benefactors, or malign with our tongues any one in whose home we have ever tasted a meal.

Buhari and IBB have been good to my Okun people for which I will always be grateful. Atiku also has been good to individuals and associates from Okunland for which I am also grateful.

Having disposed of these personal issues. I will like to turn to more serious and larger issues. The mischief which the relationship, as perceived by the populace at all levels, between Buhari and IBB and Atiku constitutes for the North and by extension for the Federation, is a great embarrassment and a humongous impediment to our unity and therefore to our development.

The greatest problem is not with the three leaders. Our greatest problem comes from their colony of supporters and the so-called well-wishers. The moment relationship between the three is normalized, some of these supporters will be out of business. They will lose political and social relevance. With God Almighty guiding us and showing us the light, the ACF will work for the reconciliation of these three leaders. It will NOT be easy. But what good thing ever comes easy? You the friends and supporters please have a heart. Harden not your hearts. Help us please. ACF will work also for reconciliation and assuage the feelings of aggrieved individuals and groups wherever they are apparent.

Accordingly, I call on all our northern leaders, our Emirs and Chiefs, our Senior Citizens and Youths to let us work honestly for the reconciliation of these leaders and all our peoples. We nearly succeeded once until the very last minute.

Reconciliation and the Restoration of brotherly conduct are after all one of the greatest achievements of ACF. Recall the great efforts sustained for weeks and months in the reconciliation of the Tivs, the Jukuns and Fulanis in Benue and Taraba States. At a time when the Federal Government could not bring the opposing groups together, ACF, using our northern traditional methods and systems, our Emirs, our Chiefs and our senior members with good knowledge of the people, successfully brokered peace. Properly supported by us all, the ACF is the unique and only umbrella under which all Northerners can examine and sort out their problems.

Finally, I should like to recommend to our three leaders, one of the works of my favourite Muslim writer, Imam Al-Ghazali called "The Duties of Brotherhood in Islam translated into English by Muktar Holland." I commend all the nine duties he wrote about to them. For this season in particular, I commend the fifth duty of forgiveness of mistakes and failings about which he wrote.

In conclusion, I commend to all of us the refrain of a song, we used to sing at the Nigerian College of Arts, Science and Technology now ABU in the 1950s.

Thank you all.

17^th December 2003

Protocols

We are gathered here today to honour a man to whom honour is due.

Honour is about integrity

Honour is about Truthfulness.

Honour is about Consistency

Honour is about Courage and Candour.

Honour is about Transparency.

Honour is about Discipline.

Honour is about Credibility.

Honour is about Character

All of these sum up the person of General Muhammadu Buhari.

A definitive book on the life of this great soldier, statesman and emerging politician is no doubt overdue.

Yet even without reading this new book, one can confidently say that General Buhari’s life has been an open book for us all to read. We know him as a First Class Soldier; an officer and gentleman in every sense of the word.

We know him as an effective administrator in the public offices he has held.

We know him as a committed patriot who put his life on the line to help keep Nigeria one.

We know him as a no-nonsense Head of State ready to court unpopularity in a determined bid to enforce discipline.

We know him as a man of strong religious faith.

Yes, many of us quarreled with his style as a Military Head of State, many may disagree with his perceived ‘rigidity’ on issues. There are those who fault his alleged bluntness and disdain for ‘political diplomacy’. His critics even swear that he is unbending and unforgiving. But say what you may, you cannot deny his sincerity. You cannot fault his singleness of purpose. You cannot doubt his solid moral vision.

What does a personality like General Buhari mean to Nigeria and Nigerians? For me, the most important thing is that here is a man who does not live a lie. Here is a man whose every conduct reflects his convictions. Here is a man who practices what he preaches. Here is a man who never puts on a mask of deception. Here is a man who is never afraid to be who he is. Here is an embodiment of the philosophical injunction: "Man, to thyself be true".

What memory does the name, General Buhari, readily evoke in the mind of Nigerians?

I can easily bet that it is his administration’s famous War Against Discipline. This General can rightly be described as Nigeria’s apostle of discipline. But it is now obvious that military rule is not synonymous with discipline. In the same way, democracy is not the Siamese twin of indiscipline. Indeed, democracy, with its checks and balances, offers the best guarantee of true discipline in any society.

We must congratulate and commend General Buhari for opting to participate in democratic politics. This is a decisive and influential vote for the development of democracy in Nigeria. Democracy demands the greatest discipline of all. The discipline of a tolerant mind. The discipline of a liberal worldview. The discipline of a broad perspective on issues. The discipline of heated but cultured debate. The discipline of listening with patience to the views of the minority. The discipline of bowing to the will of the majority.

I will surely read very carefully this new book on the life of a great Nigerian. And I urge us all to do the same.

Thank you.

Jan 2004