According to the presidency, political leaders vying for the position of the late President Muhammadu Buhari may be squandering their time because no Northern political figure has the same extraordinary fan base as the late president.
Senior Assistant to the President on Media and Special Duties, Tunde Rahman, stated in a press release on Sunday that he would have backed Tinubu’s reelection in 2027 if the late President Buhari had been still living.
Rahman claims that the leadership void in the North seems to have been cleared by Buhari’s passing.
“And Buhari commands that extraordinary following like no other political leader in the North today,” he continued. Since his death, a rat race for supremacy in leadership has started.
Even while it is implied that this circumstance could harm President Tinubu politically, it really works to his advantage in other ways. Indeed, this does not minimize the immense sadness and emptiness left by the statesman’s passing.
In response to remarks made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Boss Mustapha, who claimed that President Tinubu did not appoint Buhari as president in 2015 because the late leader had more than 12 million votes before the election.
Rahman stated: “Many would question why Buhari did not win the presidency in 2003, 2007, and 2011 if he had always had a bloc of 12 million votes and the alliance partners had only contributed three million votes. This is because President Tinubu and others joined him to form an alliance that resulted in the All Progressives Congress, which won all the elections.”
If the deceased president hadn’t frequently recognized President Tinubu’s assistance in his rise to the prestigious position, this may have been equivalent to wasting time and effort on something that would have been just academic.
He said Buhari had always been grateful to Tinubu for helping him become president.
Despite the aforementioned, the former SGF’s claim offers a useful perspective for estimating the possible impact of the former President’s passing on the 2027 election decision.
“Former President Buhari led an amazing life by all standards, and his fiery exit was equally memorable. A historic state funeral was given to him by President Tinubu. Following Buhari’s death in a London hospital on Sunday, July 13, President Tinubu ordered the country’s flag flown at half-staff and proclaimed seven days of national mourning. Buhari’s body was received by the President when it arrived in Katsina from the United Kingdom. Buhari’s burial in his birthplace of Daura, Katsina State, on Tuesday, July 15, was equally noteworthy as the Federal Government proclaimed a public holiday.
Rahman also discussed the dignitaries who accompanied Tinubu on the lengthy drive to Daura to transport the late President’s remains and who saw the former President’s funeral.
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For that late patriot, civil war hero, great army general, and former president who represented the Talakawas, he said, “no honor would be too much.” Buhari’s Spartan lifestyle and commitment to justice and truth won him the nickname “Mai Gaskiya,” and many Nigerians held him in high regard.
“Some analysts liken former President Buhari’s death to a double-edged sword that can cut both ways in the run-up to the 2027 election,” he said, discussing the effect of Buhari’s passing on Tinubu’s reelection.
They argue that President Tinubu’s chances of winning the 2027 election could be affected by his passing. According to some who fear that his death may undermine the President’s reelection preparations, Buhari was a loyal and dependable ally of Tinubu until his death, and the two men’s partnership—which was based on mutual respect and trust—remained solid until Buhari’s dying. When Buhari was alive, he never criticised Tinubu or his government. The former president allegedly praised Tinubu for having the guts to make economic judgments that he had found challenging to carry out.
“There was no indication that Buhari would not have supported Tinubu in 2027 if he were still living, considering that he had continuously emphasized his gratitude to Tinubu, who helped him along the way, and the APC, which gave him the platform to become president.”
