Good Night Yar'adua

President Umaru Yar’adua died last Wednesday, May 5, 2010 at a relatively young age of 58. He was born on August 16, 1951 to the prominent Fulani family of Musa Yar’adua, Minister for Lagos Affairs under the first republic. His older brother General Shehu Musa Yar’adua was Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters (effectively Prime Minister and Number 2) under General Olusegun Obasanjo from February 2006 (after the assassination of Murtala Muhammed) till the handover to civilian rule in 1979.
Shehu Yar’adua vigorously sought the presidency of Nigeria. Along with Babangida, Joe Garba and Anthony Ochefu, he was a ringleader of the military coup that displaced General Yakubu Gowon in 1975, and brought in the triumvirate of Muhammed, Obasanjo and T.Y Danjuma. As deputy to Obasanjo, he appeared to have a deal with the incoming National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government of President Shehu Shagari to be made Defence Minister. Power brokers within the NPN feared the influence he would acquire as Defence Chief and failed to honour the deal. An embittered Yar’adua fought back, forming a group that attempted (unsuccessfully) to work with Chief Obafemi Awolowo in the 1983 general election.
Under the Babangida transition, Shehu Yar’adua formed the Peoples Front (PF) which included Babagana Kingibe, Lawal Kaita, Farouk Abdulazzez, Yahaya Kwande and Atiku Abubakar. PF even though less endowed in terms of electoral assets was more politically crafty and ended up seizing control of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) from the Afenifere, and Shehu became the party’s dominant leader. Umaru Yar’adua who had leaned towards the leftist Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) of Mallam Aminu Kano from 1978 to 1983, was a member of the SDP in Katsina State and sought the state governorship, losing to Alhaji Saidu Barda of the more conservative National Republican Convention (NRC). With the failure of the Babangida transition and the ascension to power of General Sani Abacha in 1993, Shehu Yar’adua continued his quest for power which inevitably got him into trouble (and jail) with Abacha. Shehu unlike his friend and boss, Obasanjo did not survive Abacha’s prison!
In 1999, Obasanjo became civilian President. Umaru Yar’adua was second time lucky, becoming Governor of Katsina, and in spite of health challenges went on to run a fairly transparent administration. After Obasanjo’s two terms, in 2007 he forced Umaru on the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the nation. What the older Yar’adua had lost his life seeking; Umaru was given by Obasanjo and a compliant nation, on a platter of gold. It remains one of the abiding mysteries of Nigerian politics that Umaru Yar’adua upon ascension to the Presidency appeared to regard Obasanjo as a political adversary. Interestingly apart from Yar’adua many of the influential people within his circle (Isa Yuguda, Sayyadi Abba Ruma, Tanimu Yakubu, Bukola Saraki, Danjuma Goje, Mahmud Yayale Ahmed etc) were previous Obasanjo appointees and beneficiaries as well. It was public knowledge that Umaru was in poor health-as Katsina governor, he spent months in Germany receiving medical treatment; and he collapsed and was rushed abroad during his presidential campaign.
Yar’adua’s most significant achievement was the Niger-Delta ministry and amnesty which brought respite in a region plagued by violence and lawlessness. The turmoil had cut oil production and government revenue and was affecting global oil markets. Though the programme failed to address the underlying causes of conflict, it offered temporary peace and provided an opportunity to deal with the fundamentals. He provided strong political support for Lamido Sanusi, his appointee to the Central Bank who embarked on a radical (and some argue brash) clean-up of Nigeria’s banking sector. While the reform was necessary, the Bank and the Government did not appear to have focused sufficiently on the systemic risks associated with their actions, precipitating a credit crunch and general economic slowdown. The third achievement Yar’adua is associated with-“rule of law”-is more nebulous. Some of us believe that the rule of law mandates action against corruption and obeying all laws, such as the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005 which Yar’adua failed to do.
He did not fight corruption. Indeed many of his allies were persons with serious charges of corruption against them. His Attorney-General, Michael Aondoakaa became in effect defence attorney to such persons and the EFCC was crippled. The regime failed to address the nation’s power crisis insisting against good sense on pumping government money into the inefficient PHCN and ignoring the EPSRA which contained a rational model for ameliorating the power situation. He made no impact on our other economic priorities-improving infrastructure, investing and reforming social services, particularly health and education, resolving downstream petroleum sector deregulation and advancing economic reform. He also became half-hearted about electoral reform in spite of his inauguration-day promise, discarding most of the critical recommendations of the Justice Uwais panel. Politically he seemed to disproportionately appoint persons from his North-West zone (particularly the Katsina/Kano axis) to important offices.
Since November 2009, President Umaru Yar’adua had been very ill. His family and friends focused on retaining power, and/or preventing his deputy, Goodluck Jonathan from inheriting the office, rather than his health and well-being. But Yar’adua was a decent gentleman, a humane politician and probably a well-meaning leader. Now he is no longer an object of political schemes and manipulation and will now have his rest. May his soul rest in peace.