His campaign strategy was principally anchored on fight against corruption and the massive looting of the Nigeria’s wealth by political cabals.
As he moved from state to state, he told Nigerians that his government would not condone corruption but would confront it with the last drop of his blood.
And so it was as Buhari stepped into government, he again re-echoed to Nigerians that he is for everyone and for no one. His statement gave hope of a united fight for all Nigerians irrespective of the individual’s tribe or religious affiliation.
Even his party bigwigs were agitated at the statement which threw them off balance as it was perceived that Buhari would confront anyone undermining whose ox is gored, all for the unity of Nigeria. And as he stepped into office, he began a systematic war against the corruption he campaigned against.
For one, his government stood on a promise made during electioneering campaigns. This is very uncommon among Nigerian politicians, most of who make promises only to win the gullible minded and throw the promises into the trash can as soon as they emerge and clinch the seat of power.
But this is not so with Buhari. Buhari said, “corruption is a hydra-headed monster and a cankerworm that undermines the fabric of all societies. It does not differentiate between developed and developing countries.
It constitutes a serious threat to good governance, rule of law, peace and security, as well as development programmes aimed at tackling poverty and economic backwardness,” hence it must be fought from all fronts.
Osinbajo did what? Even the selection of his running mate, Vice President Yemi Osibanjo, was said to be a result of the fact that Osibanjo shared in his view of hatred for corruption and looting.
Osibanjo himself told a gathering of Nigerians that one significant factor that brought two of them together was Buhari’s understanding of his view on corruption and ill-gotten wealth.
He said his nomination to be vice president in 2014 was unexpected but his views on corruption played significant role in his teaming up with Buhari to make Nigeria a great country.
Osibanjo expressed optimism over Buhari’s single-minded fight against corruption and indiscipline in governance. He said Buhari fought a serious war against indiscipline in his days as military head of state.
According to him, for the first time, government held corrupt officers accountable. But 30 years later, providence brought them together to pilot the affairs of a nation at the precipice of economic destruction occasioned by massive looting of the national patrimony by cabals in government.
He explained that in governance, corruption was always so outrageous that it made the majority poor and development impossible.
Law and order was always a problem, usually no consequence for wrong-doing and the nation was drifting into the wrong direction with the rich and corrupt becoming richer while the poor and less privileged pining away.
‘’We recognized that our country needed a different set of values; a new way of doing business; an economy that is able to give opportunity to young people to work in their chosen professions and to build strong and profitable businesses.
We knew that we had to provide social protection for the poorest and the most vulnerable. “We recognized that innovation and change will be key, and that we must implement and not just talk about diversification of our economy.
So we led our party’s campaign on that single, simple, but profound word, CHANGE! We have a country that is tired of corruption, tired of leadership without values, tired of an economy that is neither designed to accommodate enterprise, nor to create opportunity and wealth for the majority.
“But in President Muhammadu Buhari, we have leadership and a leader that is prepared to challenge the rotten status quo, one who has said that he is prepared to kill corruption rather than letting it kill us as a nation,” Osibanjo stated.
And in less than three months into his government, Buhari began hailing perceived corrupt government officials into detention. When the sleeping giant suddenly awakes The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) which almost went moribund in the previous administrations woke up as if from a drunken slumber and began prosecuting, some with minimal trial while a chunk of others are hailed into EFCC cells without trial.
Anyone who receives invitation from the anti-graft agency knows that he must be in detention whether guilty or not. Among the many Nigerians who have been prosecuted for corruption are Sambo Dasuki, who is standing on trial for abusing his office as the National Security Adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan and squandering $2.5billion meant for the purchase of arms for the Nigerian army to prosecute the war against Boko Haram insurgents in the North East of the country.
From the Dasuki trial, the Dasukigate scandal emerged, a coinage by the media to portray the gravity of the funds looted by Dasuki. From the trial of Dasuki, others emerged. Alex Badeh, former chief of defense staff was quizzed by the EFCC over $930 million contracts he allegedly awarded as chief of defense staff. Under his leadership, Boko Haram dealt a severe blow to the Nigeria armed forces partly due to the superior firepower the terrorists possessed.
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