During an interview he granted to the BBC on Saturday 19th December, 2010, General Muhammadu Buhari, the leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (C.P.C) declared that he would not investigate past corrupt leaders if Nigerians elect him President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The General also promised that he would not seek legal redress from any Court of the land in the event that he loses the 2011 general elections.
It is a major understatement to say that General Buhari’s pledge not to investigate past leaders against whom cases of corruption may have been established will disappoint many Nigerians. The reason he gave for this stand is that if he decides to investigate past leaders, he will spend his entire tenure without achieving anything. This immediately suggests that General Buhari is aware of the deep-seated and pervasive nature of corruption, waste and abuse in Nigeria, especially around people who wield State Power. He said what he will do instead is to draw a battle line, in agreement with the legislature, to ensure that anyone found guilty of corruption, is charged. This way, according to him, there will no more be untouchables, or people above the law in Nigeria. In other words, past leaders who were corrupt can sleep in peace under a Buhari Presidency, but all new cases of corruption will be dealt with appropriately.
General Buhari’s comments on a blanket pardon for past leaders who may have committed acts of corruption will shock and disappoint his teeming followers and others who identified him with principled, consistent and unwavering commitment to the fight against corruption and enthronement of good governance. Many people may say that General Buhari is just being political by assuring those powerful forces who have ruined our economy and secured power that he is not a threat to them. However, many others will see his statement as a monumental capitulation which will severely dent his hard-earned image. If General Buhari thinks that a promise not to investigate, where necessary, cases of corruption by past leaders will give them the assurances they need not to fight against him, he is badly mistaken. The people he is targeting with his statement do not trust him, and will never trust him; and they will fight him no matter what he says to them or about them. They have fought against each other; and have exposed each other; and with or without Buhari they will continue to do so. People who loot the public treasury, or take massive bribes, or sell our assets for fractions of their value do not trust anyone like General Buhari when he says they will be safe under his leadership.
The people who will be most disappointed by General Buhari’s undertaking are the poor and powerless, as well as millions of other Nigerians who believe that General Buhari represents a key to a future Nigeria where past corruption, when proven, will be punished, and that this will serve as a deterrent to others who may be tempted to plunder our resources once again. These people who believe in him, if they had the chance, will remind General Buhari that he has no right, and they will certainly not give him their mandate to turn a blind eye on past abuses by leaders.
While everyone will agree with him that embarking on a wild search for crimes against past leaders, and following every allegation or suspicion will tie up his hands and time as a leader, no Nigerian will accept that Gen Buhari can give a blanket pardon to proven cases of corruption just to win elections. There are already many celebrated cases, some under prosecution, others under investigation, involving many leaders, from Presidents, Vice Presidents, Governors, Ministers and many others. No doubt, given the widespread nature of high-level corruption, even as we speak, new schemes are being hatched to plunder public resources. If General Buhari were to become President, will he draw his line on these cases when they surface? If General Buhari were to become President, he will not only swear on the Qur’an to do justice to the interests of all Nigerians, but the people who would have voted him into power will expect him to bring every corrupt act, once proven or requiring investigation, to book. If he chooses where to draw his own line, neither God nor the citizens of Nigeria will forgive him, and those who he thinks will be afraid to commit new corrupt acts will not fear him or respect him. If Nigerians give General Buhari a mandate to govern, it will not be his to do with it as he wishes. On the contrary, it will be a mandate to clean up our nation, restore responsible governance and the faith of the citizens in their leaders, and deal ruthlessly with those who believe they are above the law, past, present or in the future. He will not do this without stepping on toes.
The General has also said he will not seek judicial relief if he loses the elections. This position may very well be informed by the General’s frustrations and experiences with the judicial system in the past, or more specifically, with the adjudication of election cases. Whatever his motives for this assertion, many of the General’s Party members will remind him that that will not be a personal decision of his to make. Party members, and the decision-making organs of his Party will have a right to decide what to do in the event that the Party loses the Presidential contest. If they feel sufficiently aggrieved, they will exercise their right to seek judicial relief, and General Buhari, if he is indeed a democrat, will have to respect their wishes. The mandate they will give him to run on their Party platform is theirs, not his personal property, unless he wants the world to believe that the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC in his personal property to do as he wishes, and all followers are mere, disposable appendages.
General Muhammadu Buhari’s promise not to investigate past leaders for corruption may be intended as a political ploy to widen the base of his political support and reduce the hostility of powerful forces and interests who fear that his Presidency may expose their past corrupt deeds, will not serve any other purposes than to damage his hard-earned reputation as a clean leader who wants to clean up Nigeria. General Buhari’s best strategy is to remain consistent, and either sink or swim on his principles and reputation. If he tries to look like all the other politicians who make vague and compromising promises just win votes, his millions of followers will abandon him.
Similarly, his undertaking not to challenge his possible electoral loss in court suggests that he is placing his personal preferences over those of his Party. He should respect his Party as superior to him, and should also pay attention to those who may also stand on the platform of the CPC and lose elections. Should these people not exercise their rights to challenge in Court, in case they are not satisfied with their losses? It is time for General Buhari to reassure his followers that he is still the principled, honest leader they want, and not a politician who thinks he owns a personal political party, and can rule Nigeria only as he wishes.
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