Two former Nigerian presidents – Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) and Goodluck Jonathan (GEJ) and a former military head of state, Ibrahim Babangida (IBB) were conspicuously absent at Eagle Square, Abuja on Wednesday, where President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo took the oath of office for their second term. No reason has been given for their absence but the inauguration termed low-key by the government was devoid of the fanfare that characterized the 2015 ceremony and ended without an inauguration speech by the president. However, former presidents Yakubu Gowon and Ernest Shonekan were in attendance.
Justice Tanko Ibrahim Muhammad, acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), administered the oath of office on Buhari and Osinbajo. “I do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Buhari said adding: “I will preserve, protect and defend the constitution.”
Buhari won a disputed presidential election in February, defeating his former ally and the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, who is challenging the results at the election petition tribunal.
Buhari, a former military head of state, was first sworn in as a president in 2015 in a historic ceremony that marked the first time an opposition candidate defeated an incumbent and took over power. Analysts said the president will have to get to work without delay to actualise his Next Level agenda.
Nigeria is struggling from multiple conflicts, including an Islamist insurgency in the northeast of the country. Buhari’s first term was dogged by questions about his medical fitness. He spent several months abroad for treatment for an unspecified condition. Buhari has touted himself as a “converted democrat” to persuade those with misgivings that his military past was history.
But in office, he has struggled to shake off claims of authoritarianism — particularly in his fight against corruption which has targeted mostly his perceived political opponents. Days before the inauguration, Obasanjo continued in his criticism of the Buhari-led government. OBJ said Boko Haram was “no longer an issue of lack of education and lack of employment for our youth in Nigeria which it began as.” He noted that it is now West African Fulanization, Islamization amongst other things.
The comment drew the ire of the Nigerian government which responded and berated Obasanjo. The government called his comment that imputed ethnoreligious motive to Boko Haram and ISWAP as deeply offensive and patently divisive. “Such indiscreet comments are far below the status of an elder statesman,” Nigeria’s information minister said.
Obasanjo supported Atiku in the 2019 elections. He released a letter titled “Points for Concern and Action” in January 2019 where he likened Buhari to General Sani Abacha, the despotic military ruler, who, in a streak of authoritarian madness, annul the June 12, 1993 presidential election won by MKO Abiola, who ended up dying in jail. In another interview with BBC pidgin in January, Obasanjo said Buhari has condoned evil and corruption despite his anti-corruption crusade. He reiterated his support for Atiku, saying he would perform twice better than Buhari if elected president.
In another development, President Buhari will leave the country on Thursday to attend the 14th session of the Summit Conference of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, scheduled to hold on Friday, May 31. “According to the OIC secretariat, the summit to be convened under the theme, “Makkah al-Mukarramah Summit: Hand in Hand toward the Future,” seeks to develop a unified stance on events in the Islamic world,” Buhari’s spokesman Garba Shehu said in a statement on Wednesday.
“President Buhari is expected to address the forum and underscore the need for member countries to unite and work together to combat common challenges such as terrorism and violent extremism,” he added. Buhari will be hosted by King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The summit is expected to be attended by heads of state and governments of member state. “The President will also push forward themes that have been at the forefront of his domestic and international priorities, including reviving the Lake Chad Basin, investing in Nigeria to create jobs and financing for development,” Shehu said.
“On the margins of the summit, the Nigerian leader will hold bilateral meetings with world leaders to promote increased cooperation and collaboration on issues of mutual concern,” he added. Buhari will also be accompanied to the Summit by Governors Mohammed Badaru Abubakar of Jigawa State, Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State and Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State. Other delegates are the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mustapha Suleiman; Director-General, National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Ahmed Rufa’i Abubakar. Buhari is expected to return to the country on June 2nd.
