by Debo Adejugbe

Back in 2010, I was one of the many Buhari “believers” who consistently argued in favour of the former military Head-of-state. My reasons then were clear enough: we needed change at all cost! We had to get rid of Mr Jonathan who was busy trying to make his candidacy acceptable by every corrupt means possible; the signs then seemed dire. Hence the unwavering support I gave to the ‘incorruptible General’.

Four years on, we are back to the drawing board. The president is still stuck in his ways, the security challenges are exacerbated, and Nigerians (depending on who you ask) are clamoring for change. But, what type of change?

Chance are that some people wouldn’t mind the thought of an Ibori-type at the helm of affairs as long as this is someone different from the incumbent: this is a definition of “change” that is peculiar to our climes. When we get tired of one thing, we look for the next available, if merely slightly-better, option-–and this is what we now have out there with majority of the current presidential aspirants.

Before I digress, let’s get back to the topic of this piece: Buharism. I stumbled on this term recently on twitter when one of my online mentors, Akin Akintayo, asked: “Buharism as a political thought? Are you kidding me? Where are the studied analyses and academic papers supporting that fallacious view?”

So, what exactly defines Buharism? The Merriam-Webster definition of “ism” can be adapted here: Buharism is the political movement patterned to fit the Buhari school of thought (behavior, process, doctrine). We will have to make do with just that because I got confused while trying to piece together a further Buharism ideology. But, don’t worry, this wouldn’t stop the thrust of the piece.

Like I made clear in the first paragraph, I was a firm Buharist during the 2011 election and, without any iota of doubt, I still believe that he is a formidable candidate going into 2015. Although my own allegiance has changed to “nobody” because I have lost faith in the 2015 movement, the General still boasts a formidable following—a this is important in a country where the political terrain lacks clear ideological factions or universally applicable entry standards.

However, one of the first knocks for my faith in Buharism came from the General’s rabbit-in-the-hat financing. We have been indoctrinated over the years to believe that the General is blamelessly corruption-free (arguably true, to an extent, owing to the many diverse definitions of corruption in Nigeria – leave out stealing) and was therefore too poor to obtain the ridiculously-priced presidential nomination form of his party. Afterall, you don’t just pluck out 27 million naira from the sky. Yet Buhari was able to pull a magic trick by calling the chairman of his bank to loan him the money. This was timely, otherwise the APC would have tactically eased out what many youths in the party see as their most formidable candidate. But, let us not get into the astonishing monetary requirement by the APC in this piece.

Magic trick aside, here is another problem I have with the online foot-soldiers of the General and their supposedly heavy investments in the Buhari project: how come it was difficult for the General to raise funds from the people despite the level of support we know he enjoys? I understand that the aspiring General is averse to owing people direct favors that could come back to haunt his administration if he eventually became president—but now, he is already in the debt of the chairman of his bank.

Obama templated a form of online fund sourcing that can be emulated by the Buharists and which won’t necessarily put the man in anyone’s debt. Buhari could have benefitted from the hundreds of thousands of social media users clamoring for his type of change. From a minimum of 100 Naira to an agreed maximum, funds could have been raised to show that people were ready to put their money where their votes were. But that ship sailed and it revealed a deficiency in his planned takeover of Nigeria. Meanwhile, David Mark and the supposedly hated Goodluck Jonathan had excess funds raised by their supporters.

Another problem with the Buhari campaign is that it trails behind all others in the APC when it comes to streamlining the campaign points. Every Jack and Jill in Nigeria knows that corruption is our problem but how do you intend to solve the more immediate economic welfare and security problems? Please don’t just say “by eradicating corruption”. That line is becoming particularly offensive in its vacuousness. Saving Nigeria requires a coordinated plan not a slogan and, I am forced to admit, Atiku is doing a better job of presenting his solutions than the good General. Buhari’s campaign thrives only on the personality cult he has generated but as the events of 2011 suggested, you need more than a personality cult to become Nigeria’s president.

It wouldn’t be complete if I fail to mention the evasiveness of and abuse from Buhari’s supporters when valid opposing views about the General’s past are raised. Yes, the General has an integrity mantra: the clean-cut image he has amassed over the years and the other sundry good things that are very obvious are not disputed, but it is pertinent to answer the hard questions that negates some of those choreographed lines. Questions like why would a reformed General who believes in the rule of law and one Nigeria Shun The Oputa Panel when the goal was to heal the wounds of the past and foster democratic unity in the country – which he now wants to democratically govern? He could have faced Umaru Dikko (when he bragged at the Oputa Panel that those with corruption evidence against him should surface) and defended the charges against him, but he bungled that unique opportunity to set the records straight.

There are those who champion the campaign against him for genuine reasons. They have brought up the retroactively executed ‘decree 20’ at different times. They have accused him of nepotism and the selective punishment meted out to President Shehu Shagari (who was sentenced to home detention in his Ikoyi residence) and his deputy – Alex Ekwueme (who got Kiri-Kiri prisons) and in the case of Adekunle Ajasin’s many trials, the Emir of Gwandu/Alh Dauda Buhari/Alh Dahiru Waziri/Alh Lawal Rafindadi’s 53 suitcases, Awwal Ibrahim’s case (and all the other selective punishments prosecuted by the Buhari junta) and the many atrocities listed in Wole Soyinka’s “The crimes of Buhari”. I, personally, would like to know what yardstick he used in declaring the Abacha government not corrupt but continuously pummels all the regimes we’ve had since then on one charge or the other when all they have done is to modify the Abacha template for stealing. There is also the question of hobnobbing with pro-democracy activists for the actualization of June 12 only to revert to his natural habitat beside Abacha once Babangida was forced out; was it true that he only supported pro-democratic movements just to get back at Babangida for overthrowing his government?

Lest we forget, the General was actually accused of procedural corruption in the way he handled some of PTF’s processes by Group Captain Usman Jibrin, a board member who resigned in protest when Buhari brought in his brother in-law, Ahmed Salihijo, through the back door as the sole consultant to the PTF. Salihijo – who was curiously reported dead the day a committee was set up to probe PTF – was the owner of Afri-Projects Consortium (APC) that was indicted for overcharging the PTF for up to about N25 billion by the Interim Management Committee set up to investigate PTF in 1999 and for also importing substandard/soon-to-be-expired drugs at overinflated prices. You can read the report of the committee in the link provided – supported by independent audit firms.

If it is right to question Atiku, Jonathan and the rest about even the flimsiest of misdemeanors, the same standard should apply to Buhari and those questions are best answered before he becomes the president. Blind loyalty and partisanship have their usage, but we should also be loyal to our patriotic zeal to be governed by the best specimen of humans. Let us subject everyone, from Ayo Fayose, to Nasir ElRufai, Abubakar Atiku, Goodluck Jonathan, Muhammadu Buhari, as well as you and I to the same standards.

If those standards are applied, and if the good General passes brilliantly, then we can now stand to condescendingly look at other candidates as unfit; pompously declaring Buharism to the world as the next best thing since Nelson Mandela while urging his party to make him their flag bearer.

I write this with every sense of fairness (even though I have never extended that fairness to Goodluck Jonathan for obvious reasons) and I wouldn’t mind the knocks that may come from those rigidly and vehemently pro-Buhari. But, even they must agree that, as the lawyers say, he who comes to equity must come with clean hands.

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Debo Adejugbe is a trained Telecommunications/Electronics Engineer, certified IT professional and FHI PEER educator living in Lagos. Tophi’s husband, Dad to Hailey and Ryan; he is an advocate against sexual and domestic abuses. Debo has political sympathy for the Labour Party.

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.