‘Buhari Leading Infidels in Anti-graft Crusade’
Explains how Jonathan plotted his own defeat
Gboyega Akinsanmi
President Muhammadu Buhari is leading a team of unrepentant unbelievers in his anti-corruption crusade, a newly published book on the 2015 General Elections says.
The book, which advanced copy THISDAY has obtained, explained how former President Goodluck Jonathan plotted his own defeat in the election, assuming that his administration had done enough to win reelection.
Although a number of frontline researchers and political analysts contributed to the book, three leading professors of political science namely: John A.A. Ayoade, Adeoye A. Akinsanya and Olatunde J.B. Ojo conceived the idea under a Programme for Presidential Studies.
It was learnt that the contributors to the new book, The Nigerian General Elections of 2015, were drawn from the academia, media, civil society organisations, public institutions and research institutes with direct electoral duties during the 2015 elections.
In the last six years, the erudite scholars initiated the programme, the effort produced five priceless books. The books are: Nigeria’s Critical Election: 2011; The Jonathan Presidency; Nigeria: Descent into Anarchy and Collapse and The Jonathan Presidency: The Sophomore Year.
Among others, the new book empirically analysed voters’ turnout, voting behaviour, the roles of political parties, the defeat of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the dilemma of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and factors that defined the victory of the All Progressives Congress (PDP).
Specifically, the book explained the problem with Buhari’s anti-corruption syllabus and the failure of his administration to meet people’s aspiration and yearning, noting that even if Buhari had selected the anti-corruption crusade as the programme for four years, he could not have been able to complete the task.
The book, thus, identified three main challenges with Buhari’s anti-graft crusade, first citing the pervasiveness of corruption in the Nigerian public space and the failure of the Nigerian public to recognise various forms of corruption in the country.”
It explained the depth of the social ill that had undermined the country’s human development index in the last five decades, noting that corruption “has engulfed all facets of public life such that Buhari, the focal anti-graft crusader is a deviant, who is not even sure that his closet associate is with him.”
The book, also, observed that the citizens “have not been sufficiently socialized to recognise various forms of corruption, although experience shows that, given the opportunity, a large percentage of them would be corrupted. The critical ingredient of patriotism is lacking.”
It equally pointed out that Buhari “is leading a team of unrepentant unbelievers in a crusade. A senator once complained that he could identify many criminal senators whose files he had treated when he was in the Nigeria Police.