THINK, YORUBA THINK!

​THE buffaloes move as a herd with unalloyed loyalty to the leader. Like the soldier ants, they move in a convoy. But unlike soldier ants, they only take instructions from their leader and if by chance the leader dies, they just stand around waiting for the instruction that will never come. That is how buffaloes are getting extinct. Papa Awolowo on campaign rostrum at Jos in the 60s said: “We are an ideological indomitable straight tree (referring to Action Group members who drew their numerical strength from Yoruba)”.

 

The Yoruba are not buffaloes neither could any mortal nor any group of persons direct them sheepishly in political permutation and manipulation of the Nigerian state. Yoruba acknowledge the structure of leadership and pay due allegiance to the constituted authorities. The loyalty and faithfulness of the Yoruba to their political leaders  must not be turned into political mining ground for never- do- well politicians, who lack virtue and moral trait of leadership.

The Yoruba are intrinsically proud people who cherish their freedom. Long before the British King Charles literally lost his head in a revolt against intolerable oppression; the Yoruba had established a tradition for taming intolerable despots. As a Nigerian, I would be extremely concerned and embarrassed if Bola Tinubu became Nigeria’s next president.. 

As a Yoruba, I would be deeply disappointed and ashamed. Why? Well, as a Nigerian, I would be concerned and embarrassed because a Tinubu presidency would devastate Nigeria internally and demean it externally. As a Yoruba, I would be disappointed and ashamed because Tinubu’s politics and behaviour are antithetical to the values Yorubas claim define them; values of integrity, character and honesty, encapsulated in the honour-signalling Yoruba word: Omoluabi! 

First, for Nigeria, a Tinubu presidency would destroy the fabric of presidential politics in this country. It would legitimise a self-serving behaviour where someone entrusted with public office rapaciously amasses inexplicable wealth and uses the stupendous wealth to manoeuvre his way to Nigeria’s presidency.

 If that were to happen, the presidency of Nigeria wouldn’t only be tainted by slush funds, but it would also be for sale, going to the highest bidder. No one has ever become Nigeria’s president that way; rather, the virtuous path held more allure for all past successful presidential candidates.To be clear, this is not about wealth, but its sources. MKO Abiola nearly became Nigeria’s first billionaire president. But everyone knew he was a government contractor and an international businessman. He never held public office, not state governor, not local government chairman!

Similarly, if Aliko Dangote were to run for president, no one would question the sources of his wealth: we see them everywhere. Although a beneficiary of crony capitalism, Dangote has never controlled the public purse. He has never held a public office! But Tinubu was governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007. So, how did he become, in his words, “richer than Osun State”, owning private jets? 

A Tinubu presidency would make Nigeria a laughingstock globally, accentuated by Tinubu’s unpresidential carriage and gait and his crude manner of speaking, particularly his habitual gaffes and slurring words. 

The Financial Times recently referred to “his shifting versions of where his money came from.” In one version, Tinubu’s aides said he owned a large share in Manchester United, the renowned UK Football Club. Recently, Tinubu himself said he became a multibillionaire through real estate. All these stretch credulity, raising questions about how he got the money to make those investments. Well, he faces strong allegations of state capture, of grand corruption, of large-scale transfer of public resources for private interests. Tinubu’s reflex response to the allegations is: “Prove it”!

But such blasé dismissiveness won’t suffice in sane climes. Elsewhere, someone so stinking wealthy, with no known legitimate source of his wealth, especially being in public life, cannot glide insouciantly to a nation’s leadership without absolute openness about the source of his wealth.

This matters because unexplained and inexplicable wealth distorts politics and undermines democracy. As we know, deep pockets determine the outcome of presidential primaries. Indeed, prominent members of Tinubu’s party, All Progressives Congress (APC), have accused him of bribing APC governors, delegates and fellow aspirants to clinch the party’s presidential ticket. But deep pockets can also influence the result of presidential elections; slush funds can be used to buy votes. That’s one reason why, given his inexplicable wealth, a Tinubu victory would be disastrous; it would license, reward, and perpetuate a morally corrupt and bankrupt politics in Nigeria.

Of course, there’s also the documented case of Tinubu’s drug-related past. In the early 1990s, he forfeited $460,000 to US authorities after they concluded that certain funds in his bank accounts were “proceeds of narcotic trafficking and money laundering,” and accused him of being part of a drug cartel, a bagman handling and laundering drug money. Such a person would never dream of becoming president of a country with the right value system

Truth is, a Tinubu presidency would make Nigeria a laughingstock globally, accentuated by Tinubu’s unpresidential carriage and gait and his crude manner of speaking, particularly his habitual gaffes and slurring words. And, of course, at home, his Muslim-Muslim ticket would further erode internal cohesion, while his proposed statist policies and fiscal activism would destroy Nigeria’s economy, deepening poverty and escalating corruption... 

Yet, despite all that, Nigerians may elect him as the next president this week, which, if it happened, would vindicate the French philosopher Joseph de Maistre, who said: “Every country gets the government it deserves.” As someone also said, a rescue mission cannot succeed if people aren’t entirely sure they want to be saved. However, I believe Nigerians can choose to save Nigeria and themselves by rejecting Tinubu at the polls this week, on February 25.

Which brings me to the Yorubas.In a recent article in this column, I wrote that two sections of Nigeria could decide whether Tinubu became Nigeria’s next president: the South-West, which might vote massively for him, and the North, which might give him enough votes to win the race.

However, in that article, I appealed to the North’s sense of patriotism, urging them not to foist a Tinubu presidency on Nigeria. Well. In this article, I appeal to the Yoruba’s sense of honour, to their omoluabi ethos! The Yorubas pride themselves on having the values of integrity, character and honesty. Perversely, however, they also have a saying that undermines those values. The Toruba say: ‘omoeni ki sedibebere, ka fi ilekesiidiomoelomiran.’ Roughly interpreted, it means that however ugly one’s child’s bottom is, one won’t put beads in the bottom of another person’s child instead.

Well, that’s true, literally: you can’t reject your own child! But when applied to politics, the saying absurdly means that even if someone from your tribe is an embezzler, a drug baron or an infirm youwould choose him as governor or president over a better candidate from another tribe or ethnicity. That negates the Omoluabi ethos. Yet, sadly, that’s how some Yorubas view Tinubu’s candidacy in the presidential election: he’s a Yoruba, so, we’ll vote for him! Of course, Tinubu opportunistically whips up the ethnic sentiments.

Recently, while campaigning in Ado-Ekiti, he told the crowd: “This election is not about me because I’m not looking for what to eat.” Really? So, despite his “lifelong ambition”, despite his “emilokan” sense of entitlement, he’s not in the race for himself but for “hungry” Yorubas who are “looking for what to eat”? Of course, the election is about him, his family and his cronies; they all relish the power to rule Nigeria. Yet, he’s insulting the intelligence of supposedly well-educated people!

Well, he went on. “This election is yours. You will use it to liberate yourselves,” he told the people, adding: “They want to turn us into slaves. We are not slaves.” Who are the “they” who want to turn Yorubas into slaves? And how can Tinubu say anyone wants to turn Yorubas into slaves in Nigeria when they’ve produced president for eight years and vice-president for nearly eight years since 1999? What about Igbos who have produced neither? It’s utterly insensitive and self-serving!

Ironically, if anyone is enslaving the Yoruba, it’s Tinubu himself. Chief Obafemi Awolowo liberated the Yoruba through education, Tinubu is enslaving them, at least those in Lagos, through feudalism. He’s the “owner” of Lagos, the feudal lord, and others, from the governor down to councillors, are serfs, who must carry out his wishes and pay homage to him. Feudalism is alien to the Yoruba, but Tinubu feudalises Lagos, using his inexplicable wealth and political power to subjugate the people. 

Tinubu violates Yoruba moral code and introduces an alien system, feudalism, into the race. Yet, a Tinubu presidency would be such a disaster that it would do even more harm to the Yoruba race. Thus, it would be sad and shameful if Yorubas enabled the emergence of a Tinubu presidency. Hence, the plea: Yoruba ronu! Think, Yoruba, think!

Olufemi Aduwo. 

President 

Centre For Convention on Democratic lntegrity, (CCDI) - Nigeria & United States and Permanent Representative of CCDI to United Nations.

The Sanctity Of Central Bank of Nigeria independence Must Not Be Eroded.

The recent supreme court judgment in Nigeria mandating the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to postpone the timeline for the ban on old naira notes has sparked debates and discussions about the immediate impact of the decision on the Nigerian economy and the policy itself.

Nigeria’s Supreme Court temporarily halted any plans to ban the use of the old naira notes across the country. The ruling was issued on Wednesday, February 8th by a seven-member panel led by Justice John Okoro, based on an exparte application brought by three northern states of Kaduna, Kogi, and Zamfara.

The ban on old naira notes was aimed at promoting a cashless policy and reducing the amount of physical currency in circulation. But. the supreme court’s decision has now put a halt to the ban, and its impact is being felt across the economy.

Creates Confusion – Firstly, the decision has created confusion in the banking sector and among the public. The initial deadline for the ban was February 10, but with the supreme court’s ruling, the CBN has been restrained from implementing the ban, leaving many banks and individuals uncertain about the status of the old notes.

Banks are now unsure of whether they should continue accepting old naira notes, or whether they should prepare for a new deadline.This confusion could lead to a reduction in economic activity as people are reluctant to transact due to the uncertainty surrounding the old notes.New notes distribution: Moreover, the postponement of the ban could also impact the inflow of new naira notes into the economy. 

While the CBN has been working (rather poorly) to distribute the new naira notes to banks, with the postponement, the inflow of new notes into the economy could slow.

This could result in an acute shortage of new naira notes, particularly in rural areas where access to banks is limited and people are still skeptical about keeping the older notes beyond the Supreme court order.

An increased shortage of new notes will make it even more difficult for people to transact, and this could have a ripple effect on the economy as businesses struggle to operate without adequate cash in circulation.

Financial Inclusion: Furthermore, the decision has impacted the efforts of the CBN to promote financial inclusion.One of the key reasons for promoting a cashless policy was to encourage more people to open bank accounts and transact digitally.

This would increase the number of people with access to financial services and help to boost the economy.However, the postponement of the ban could create further setbacks to these efforts, as people will still hold onto their old notes, making it less likely that they will open bank accounts and transact digitally.

Monetary Policy could be impacted: Another impact of the supreme court’s decision is the delay in achieving the goals of the CBN’s monetary policy.The CBN has been working hard to reduce the amount of physical currency in circulation and promote a cashless policy for monetary policy reasons, particularly targeting inflation reduction.

The postponement of the ban will slow down the achievement of these goals, and this could have a long-term impact on the economy.December inflation rate rose to 21.34% the first drop in over two years.

Increased Counterfeiting: Additionally, the postponement of the ban could lead to a rise in counterfeiting.

The old naira notes are more susceptible to counterfeiting, and with the postponement of the ban, it is likely that there will be an increase in the circulation of counterfeit notes.This could have a negative impact on the economy as people are less likely to transact with old notes if they suspect that they may be counterfeit.

CBN’s independence: Finally, the supreme court’s decision has cast doubt on the independence of the CBN, even though most critics will suggest it never had been independent.However, the CBN is an independent body by an act of the National Assembly, and its policies are meant to be free from political interference.

The supreme court’s decision to postpone the ban, based on an ex-parte injunction, could be seen as political interference and could undermine the credibility of the CBN and the policies it implements.

In conclusion, the introduction of new naira notes and the subsequent ban on old naira notes has had a significant impact on the Nigerian economy and the CBN’s policy.

While the Supreme court decision helps to douse the controversy surrounding the ban it could exacerbate things if politics is allowed to get in the way.

Olufemi Aduwo 

Permanent Representative of Centre For Convention on Democratic lntegrity (CCDI) to ECOSOC /United Nations and Returnee of World bank /IMF boards governors meeting

G-5 ln Anti-Climax, Relapses lnto Struggle For Self Survival.

Politics is a very sweet game. At the same time, it is bitter depending on how it happens to individuals. That is, the end of the stick the player is fortunate or unfortunate to grab. Whether in the contemporary times or in time past, people pay direly for making wrong calculations in politics. Some high flying politicians are known to have fallen out of favour with the powers that be and paid with their lives. Some out of over ambition have also died, either prematurely or ignominiously.

Some die-hard supporters, who follow their principals sheepishly without knowing the real cause of the fight, always get sacrificed in the crossfire.A case in point was Absalom, the handsome son of King David who staged an insurrection against his father. His ambition was so sweeping that he began to steal the hearts of many people away from his father. A smooth talker and a man loved by all, but he pushed his luck too far. The end of his treachery is story for another day.

There was a man that found himself on the wrong side of history while the power play lasted. His name was Shimei, son of Gera. He aligned himself with Absalom and abused and taunted King David mindlessly. On the day that David was running away from his kingdom to avoid being overthrown by his own son, Shimei was on ground to pour invective on the king. Not only that he used his mouth to abuse, he was also said to have climbed some hills from where he threw dust and pebbles at the fleeing king. He pelted the king and all his officials with stones. He shouted and cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of blood, you scoundrel!” Although David’s men like Joab had wanted to attack Shimei, the king resisted them. But in the course of time, Absalom lost the ambition, Shimei tried to unmake his mistakes, but it was too late. What happened to him should be a lesson for those who do not count the cost before embarking on certain actions.

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State had in the last few months, enjoyed vantage positions on the pages of Nigerian newspapers. Many television stations had hosted him as he showcased his talking powers and his ability to wield power dangerously.Since May last year when his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), held its presidential primary in Abuja, Governor Wike has remained a pain in the neck of the umbrella association.

He contested the PDP presidential ticket and lost to Atiku Abubakar in circumstances he believed were not transparent. A closest ally of his, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State had also played a fast one on him, by stepping down for Atiku. It was a treachery that Wike may not forget in a hurry. The National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu was reported to have described Tambuwal as the “hero of the Convention.” All these aggregated to create an impression that there was a plot to stop Wike by all means. While he was still writhing under the career-threatening pummeling, the selection of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State by Atiku as his running mate riled Wike excessively. Since that time, he began to distance himself from the party. He demanded that since the presidential candidate came from the North, Ayu should step down since he also comes from the North, for proper balancing, but no one is listening.

He decided to gather some equally unhappy serving governors around him, including Samuel Ortom of Benue; Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia; Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu and Seyi Makinde of Oyo State. Some other former state governors and chieftains of the party also joined him.

The group, which called itself- G-5 and lately- Integrity Group- held several meetings within and outside the country on their next moves. Nigerians expected to hear from them on the new party to adopt since they made it clear they were not going to support the PDP candidate. They dawdled and wagered.

But it appears they have lost the momentum. Nothing much is heard from the group except occasional threats from Wike. The other four governors appear to have realised the battle ahead of them and have decided to play it cool with Wike.While Makinde is struggling to get a re-election on the PDP platform, Ortom, Ikpeazu and Ugwuanyi are fighting their battle to win their senatorial election.

The recent development in Abia State has shown that the G-5 may be existing only in name. Following the sudden death of Uche Ikonne, a professor and PDP governorship candidate in Abia, Ikpeazu was in a dilemma as Abuja headquarters took over the decision of replacing its candidate. Ikpeazu had no choice but to turn 360 degrees in order to have his candidate, Okey Ahiwe approve for him. He had to play ball.

In Oyo, Makinde cannot sustain the “hermaphrodite’ game of playing ‘Wike and PDP’ all at the same time. There is no way the PDP in Oyo will successfully sell half Makinde and half Atiku. Something must give.Some observers have said that apart from his loud cry over the killing of his subjects in Benue State, Ortom cannot say his performance in office can keep the state under the PDP beyond May 29. It was also said that his decision to join Wike may have openly given the state away to other parties.

For Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, observers say that he has been cautious in following Wike, by restraining himself from making comments. His association with Wike, it is said, is just limited to the picture opportunities they had during their meetings. Feelers from Enugu indicate that the PDP may win the governorship but the people may have chosen the party to vote for, for the president.

The question on the lips of many Nigerians today is, where are those hangers-on and past governors who danced the Wike’s “As e dey sweet us, e dey pay dem; as e dey pain dem, e dey sweet us” Timaya’s lyrics.

The G-5 association seems to have outlived its usefulness. Wike seems to have eaten his cake and may not have it.Reports say he has surreptitiously elected to work his way to join the APC, a party he had described as “cancer.”Darlington Nwauju, publicity secretary of the APC in Rivers State, recently chided Wike’s alleged move to join the broom party through the back door.

“Today, we are surprised that the Governor of Rivers State who once referred to the APC as ‘cancer’ and has mocked our party, that anyone who would try to continue with the legacies of the APC is an enemy of the people of Nigeria, surprisingly, we have reliably gathered of the instructions to Council Chairmen across the 23 LGAs to canvass support surreptitiously for the presidential candidate of the APC, thereby making moves to join the APC through the backdoor rather than staying put with his ‘malaria’ party and solving their internal squabbles,” Nwauju.

It was further alleged that Wike approved the use of the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt for the use of the APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the same venue he nearly denied Atiku Abubakar the use of.

“We also welcome the approval granted the Presidential Campaign Office for the use of the Liberation Stadium for the 15th February 2023 Presidential Rally of the APC and its Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu in Rivers State and we want to clarify that this approval was sought by the Campaign Council through the Honourable, James Faleke (Secretary of the Campaign), who has also reverted to the State Coordinator of Tinubu Campaign, Tonye Cole, and not Tony Okocha as the latter is struggling so hard to erroneously portray. Tony is not and cannot be Coordinator of an APC event as he is merely a member of an NGO (non-governmental organisation) under the presidential campaign council (PCC) promoting the candidature of our Presidential candidate. He has no right to address the media either on behalf of the Presidential Rally Committee/LOC or the APC in Rivers State. What we know is that Tony Okocha is working hard to justify his pay from Governor Wike.

“Tony’s NGO has nothing to do with the preparations by Rivers State APC to host its Presidential candidate on the 15th of February 2023. We are surprised that the PDP in the state is so interested in using the likes of Tony as decoy to join the APC,” Nwauju said.

By Olufemi Aduwo

1993,2023: IS NIGERIA'S FUTURE TRAPPED IN ITS PAST .. BEWARE THE IDLES OF MARCH IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY.

30 years ago, these men and  a woman played ignominious role in the affairs of Nigeria. Their actions and pronouncements led to the abortion of an electoral process: the June 12,1993 election widely believed to have been won by the late Bashorun M.K.O. Abiola.

A seemingly innocuous platform, ( look at the name) Association for Better Nigeria, ( ABN) with late Arthur Nzeribe and Abimbola Davies ( where is that character now?)  as arrowheads of that sinister group, sought a court injunction to stop the conduct of the election.On the eve of the process, June 11,1993, the late Justice Bassey Ikpeme in defiance of  ouster clauses in existing Military Decrees gave an order,  restraining the electoral body,  the National Electoral Commission,(NEC) under the leadership of Professor Humphrey Nwosu from proceeding with conduct of June 12,1993 election!

Chief Abiola, the candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party was coasting home to victory having won in 14 states in then existing 30 states before Justice Dahiru Saleh of the FCT High Court in another 

 breach of the ouster decrees,  granted another order- stopping further announcement of the election results.

According to the late Justice Saleh, his Order  was hinged  on a midnight ruling on June 11, 1993 by Justice Bassey Ikpeme, which held that the election should not have taken place in the first place.Justice Saleh  order was however  in total  disregard of the Electoral Commission’s pending appeal against Justice Ikpeme’s obnoxious injunction.

The mastermind of the whole  macabre drama, who was funding Arthur Nzeribe's ABN ,  General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida had relied on Justice Saleh's declaration to make a formal announcement of the June 12 election annulment,  on behalf of his Supreme Military Council.Bashorun MKO Abiola died on July 7, 1998 while still in detention after he was arrested by the military regime of late General Sani for declaring himself President in what is now called the Epetedo Declaration.

Those with the conviction that history is a vicious cycle, ( what Professor Wole Soyinka called "the vicious cycle of human  stupidities")  are really not bemused about recent chain of events in our country in the last one week.Few days to a general election  and three decades after June 12 annulment, another set of self willed, remorseless  individuals in the corridors of power are pushing a coordinated plot to subordinate the rest of us to their narrow interest... Say NO to lnterim government and drug lord being elected as a President of Nigeria in 2023. 

Comrade Olufemi Aduwo

Wimika RMS Technologies Emerges Havard Business School’s Top Ten Finalist

A Nigerian Insurtech start up, Wimika RMS Technologies has been named a top ten finalist in the Harvard Business School, Africa New Venture Competition 2023.

_{Mrs Folayemi Baita - Daniel, Spokesperson of Wimika RMS Technologies}

Wimika RMS Technologies is a specialist Insurtech startup providing cyber fraud protection, digital transaction protection, risk analytics and other embedded digital insurance products to emerging markets starting with Nigeria.

As a finalist, Wimika RMS Technologies will have the opportunity to pitch its solutions to a panel of judges in Cambridge, Massachusetts and receive support and mentorship from HBS faculty and alumni. 

This recognition is a significant milestone for the company and a further testament to the potential of Nigerian tech startups. 

In reaction to the company's success, the spokesperson of Wimika RMS Technologies, 

Mrs. Folayemi Baita-Daniel said the

 company is incredibly proud to be recognized as a finalist in the Harvard Business School Africa New Venture Competition".

She said this recognition is "a testament to the hardwork and dedication of our team and our commitment to providing innovative Insurtech solutions for the Nigerian market. We look forward to showcasing our solutions at  the global level". 

She said the company's success is a source of inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs and a reminder of the importance of investing in innovative solutions addressing the Nigerian market.

"Wimika RMS Technologies is set to make its mark as a top innovator in Africa and a leading player not only in the Nigerian tech industry but across emerging markets", she said.

The Harvard Business School Africa New Venture Competition is an annual event that aims to support and accelerate the growth of early-stage startups in Africa.

Daura ln 2023 President

Whoever wins the February 2023 presidential election in Nigeria would have done so chiefly because of, or, in spite of, Mamman Daura, the 83-year-old senescent nephew of President Mohammadu Buhari. This might seem an ostentatious claim or an inflationary attribution of power to a man whose only claim to it, in the present circumstances, is that the president is his younger nephew. Yet, this is an open secret among those with a deep knowledge of the current struggle for the presidency and the nature of power under the Muhammadu Buhari administration. But most people are not eager to discuss the matter directly in public, either because of discretion and/or fear of the ‘almighty’ Daura.

However, between the candidate of the ruling party, Governor Bola Tinubu, and the candidate of the main opposition party, Vice President Atiku Abubakar, there is a clear recognition of the central role that Daura is playing and would play regarding who becomes the next president of Nigeria. For the former Lagos Governor, this could not have come as a surprise. He recognizes that the presidency, which has been, for the most part of the last eight years, effectively under the control of Daura, is being mobilized one way or the other against him. Perhaps more than any other person, it is Daura who has ensured that Tinubu would not reap, as ‘designed,’ the full benefits of his total investment in making Buhari president. When Buhari declared upon acceding to power that he “belonged to nobody,” it was in part a ventriloquist shot from his nephew in the direction of the man who had assumed that he would be the power behind the throne. At the centre of the process that eventuated in the much analyzed “outburst” of the Jagaban at Abeokuta, when he let it be known to the world that “emi lo kan” (“it is my turn”; or “I am next”) was Daura’s machinations to ensure that Tinubu would not be the presidential candidate of the ruling party, let alone succeed Buhari.

Those who thought that the outburst sealed Tinubu’s fate were to realize later that the man has not governed Nigeria’s most important state either directly or by proxy for 22 years for nothing. By taking the battle to Buhari and his handlers, the Abeokuta wager turned out to be a courageous venture that helped to stop Daura and his constituents in their tracks – and thus, made a mockery of their desperate bid to hand over the party’s ticket to the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan. If Tinubu’s spirited survival of the President Olusegun Obasanjo-led “tsunami” that swept all the other AD governors out of power in 2003 did not convince most people about the man’s political genius, how he retrieved every single South-western states in installments from the opposition and ended up installing Buhari as president in concert with other forces, should have confirmed his unusual political potency. No doubt, that potency was at its most vulnerable when he formally joined the bid to win the APC ticket – and remains so now tas he goes for the ultimate prize. Yet, it was also the point at which all of his accumulated political assets had to be mobilized in the service of his life-long ambition. However, it must be noted that it was not until Tinubu encountered Daura that he experienced his first major sustained checkmate in the politics of the Fourth Republic. The man who has since become the most valuable player in Yoruba politics was dealing with an unusual adversary in Daura. None of those that Tinubu had had to wrestle with since 1998 – that is, when he started his campaign to be the governor of Lagos State – possessed the strategic advantage of a combination of stealth, reticence and unaccountable power as Daura does.

Cerebral, generous but taciturn, Mamman Daura, the fascinating power-monger par excellence, and the former newspaper editor and manager seems resolved to terminate Tinubu’s political ambition on the eve of the latter’s ultimate home run. As the only surviving member of the triumvirate that can lay claim to almost unbridled influence over Muhammadu Buhari, Daura is well-placed to either hinder or advance the ambition of the two leading presidential contenders, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar in the February 2023 presidential election. And he is not shy to use his leverage in tipping the scale against the former Lagos governor. With the passing of the two other closest people to Buhari, that is, the late Emir of Borgu, Haliru Dantoro Kitoro III, who died in October 2015, barely five months after Buhari came to office, and Liman Ciroma, Nigeria’s first qualified archaeologist (who the Guardian of London described in an obituary in 2014 as a “a fine public servant” who was ‘courteous, considerate and generous”), the Daura-born presidential nephew has had no counter weight since 2015. Had he lived well past 2015, the late Emir, who was singularly responsible for brokering the rapprochement that made the “political marriage” of Buhari (CPC) and Tinubu (ACN) possible, would not have allowed the deliberate distancing between the two that followed Buhari’s ascendancy to power. The first lady, Aisha Halilu Buhari, could not replace the late Borgu monarch. Her intrepid effort to stand up to Daura ended in semi-exile in Dubai, as her husband declared that her place was in the “other room.” But the resolute woman is back with vengeance. Now, as we move towards February 25, she wants to ensure that Daura’s reign would end with that of his kin.

It was as if fate was conspiring against Tinubu and Nigeria in the passing of the Emir of Borgu and Ciroma. Not a few around Buhari believe that his administration would not have come to this sorry pass if the two had lived longer. At least, Daura would not have had a debilitating unchecked leverage over Buhari in the last eight years, which most people believe to be a tragedy for Nigeria. These two late gentlemen, not having to be around the Villa like Daura, would have provided some other avenues of reaching Buhari in moderating the excesses of those who have determined the terrible trajectory of his headship of the Nigerian state. But those who know Daura well still wonder how such an otherwise fine mind and quiet soul had turned into one of the most consequential and hindering power mongers in Nigeria’s history. Those in this category even insist that Daura’s influence on Buhari and his leverage in this government have been overstated. They would add that if the country were to have been differently organized, the suave, lettered and cultivated man would have been the president and his not similarly lettered nephew would have been his aide.

But the reality of Daura’s influence and imprint on the most devastating actions and inaction of this administration are too glaring. Take the way he has preserved and protected the tragedy that answers to the tag of the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele – even encouraging, as many believed, the latter to run for the presidency, and keeping Emefiele in office after that abortive ambition. How could such a man who clearly had a conflict of interest be allowed to not only continue in office, but claim to be changing the colour of the currency in order to affect the outcome of the presidential election? Imagine the untold suffering of the poor masses of the country that this ill-considered measure has caused. Whatever you think of the leading contenders for the presidency, his adversaries would insist, there are fewer stronger examples of Daura’s gamble with the fate of the nation and of democracy than the recent moves by edgy fifth columnists of all stripes.

For those still wondering what happened to the candidness of ‘Candido,’ the famed masked newspaper columnist of the defunct New Nigerian: it is power. This is what power does to human beings, especially when they assume that they have Power with a capital “P” – though all that any of us can have, even in the best of circumstances, is only power with a small “p.” No one can have Power. It eludes even the most deranged among us throughout human history. Yet, that does not stop some people from attempt to play God.

Will Daura’s role as the “unseen god of the Aso Rock Villa” in the last eight years be confirmed or repudiated in the next presidential election? We have only a few weeks to find out. But whatever happens, Daura would no doubt have done his best to determine who would (not) be our next president.

By Olufemi Aduwo,

President & Permanent Representative of CCDI to United Nations