Set To Change The Calculus 
Published on August 30, 2010 by TheNEWS · 1 Comment
General Muhammadu Aliyu Gusau, National Security Adviser, may finally announce his plan to join the race for Aso Rock later this week and his declaration will shake down political calculations, as analysts predict
• Gusau: Now in the mix.
General Muhammadu Aliyu Gusau, a retired army general and veteran intelligence chief, has a crucial decision to make soon: when to throw his hat into the ring and join the epic political race for Nigeria’s presidency. Very self-effacing in matters political, Gusau’s presidential ambition is well known. So well known that, without a formal declaration of intent, he is already rated one of the frontrunners, by caucuses within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. At a recent interaction with editors, former military president, Ibrahim Babangida revealed how a PDP caucus in the northern geo-political zone had pruned aspirants from the bloc from 17 to three. A testament of Gusau’s political weight is that he is among the three, with Babangida and former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, completing the picture.
Gusau, however, will be clearing all doubts about his presidential plans after completing this week his rounds of consultation, including with the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. “It is not a matter of whether Gusau wants to run, it is a matter of when he will make a formal announcement,’ said a member of Gusau’s political train.
Gusau contested for the PDP’s ticket in December 2006, but he was beaten to the second position by the late Umaru Yar’Adua, who was largely backed by the party big guns, including former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Yar’Adua went on to win the hotly discredited election in April 2007. On his part, Gusau went into retirement, hoping to make another bid for the presidency again. He was busy knocking together his political team when he was called upon by President Jonathan, then acting president, to serve as the National Security Adviser, at a time the nation’s ship of state faced some turbulence and instability as President Yar’Adua’s illness turned the latter into a lame duck. The national job, the fifth time he would be so appointed, temporarily demobilised his political footwork, but not his interest, according to his aides.
Gusau’s aides told TheNEWS that one factor that will favour him in the pursuit of the presidency is his network of powerful friends, outside Nigeria and all over the country, with a lot of them within the ruling PDP. “He has assurances of support from governors and National Assembly members,” said another member of his political think tank. “He is in the race because he believes he will get support at the primaries.”
Gusau also belongs to the northern geo-political zone that wants the party to keep faith with the principle of zoning, that will have ensured that only contenders from the zone take part in the primary, shutting out the incumbent president from standing for election. The PDP has restated the principle, but simultaneously left the door ajar for the incumbent to contest the election, even though he does not come from the northern geo-political zone. Whether the incumbency factor will be a major hindrance to Gusau’s campaign for the party’s ticket, is uncertain for now, especially as the campaign is expected to gather some momentum after his public declaration.
Politics for now in the Northern Zone is getting heated as Gusau’s rivals, Atiku and Babangida, are being mauled by political groups and commentators. Abdulrahman Yobe, outgoing national leader of the Democratic Peoples’ Party, DPP, has advised Nigerians not to elect any past leader as president of Nigeria next year. Yobe said both Atiku Abubakar and Ibrahim Babangida had served their time. “As Nigerians, they have the constitutional right to contest but it is high time Nigerians stood up to say enough is enough to all the past leaders. There is no need of recycling leaders in this country. The duo were leaders at their own time,” he said.
Yobe rooted for youth, by adding: “We have upcoming people who are young, bright and well experienced to take the leadership of this country. We need people with fresh ideas, not people that have ruled this country before and have nothing to show. Atiku leaving the Action Congress to go back to the PDP is the biggest disappointment that we have seen in this dispensation.”
From the North also came last week another discordant voice on the ambitions of Atiku and Babangida. Arewa Progressive Union, APU, described both Atiku and Babangida as ‘expired leaders’ and vowed to organise protests in all the 19 states in the North against them and President Jonathan over his ‘unbridled ambition’.
After a meeting in Kaduna, APU said: “The Arewa Progressive Union has watched with keen interest political developments in the country within the past few weeks and hereby urges the entire good people of the North and indeed all Nigerians to ignore the laughable desire of Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, Major-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar to contest the 2011 presidential election.
“It is quite unfortunate that these people who are no longer current with modern developmental and leadership trends in the world still believe that they can stampede the people into supporting them either collectively or individually in the quest to return to power. After several years of northern leadership of Nigeria, the North does not have anything to show for it except that the individuals concerned and their families and friends continue to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth.
“The North today is the most backward section of Nigeria with destitution, crass poverty, illiteracy, hunger and disease on rampage everywhere, destroying the people on daily basis. We find it amazing that these northern grandfathers do not find it worthwhile to prepare the younger generation of northerners to succeed them; instead they want to cling onto power forever and this goes to expose their high level of self-centredness.
“The Arewa Progressive Union will not fold its arms and watch these people destroy the North. We have resolved to organise protest matches simultaneously in all the northern capital cities, as part of measures to sensitise our people that they should not be deceived again.
“The national rally and public lecture slated for Abuja is going to be all-embracing as it will also involve other sections of Nigeria. We want to chart a fresh way forward for our fatherland which has been plundered by a few citizens over these several years.”
To stave off these missiles, the frontrunners in the Northern Zone were said to have reached an understanding to present a consensus candidate, especially if President Jonathan also makes a formal declaration in September, after the Ramadan, newspapers reported.
Gusau has been around the corridors of power for several decades, working behind the scene, but has never taken political position. Analysts believe that because Gusau is free of the baggage of Atiku and Babangida and their political deficits, he may emerge the consensus candidate that the North wants to square up to the Jonathan challenge.
—Seun Bisuga
The North has nothing to offer the nation right now than discredited/obsolete leaders like IBB and Atiku with some other bunch of old greedy power hungry men who have not made provision for political retirement after series of political and economic failure to their people.These grand fathers who had turned the talakawas into armed robbers and beggars are now perfecting plans to come and use the same poor people to rubbish the nation.Shame on you all useless men of power from the North!.