Deconstructing and appreciating the prowess of General Tukur Buratai

Sahara Weekly Reports That In what looked like a coincidence, it was while I was going through some security tips as contained in the great principles established by Joseph Ferdinando that the documentary: “General Buratai: Africa’s Living Legend” a part of the Great African Military Leaders’ Series produced by Lawrence Audu, one of the few excellent journalists who have dared to cover important and dangerous moments of the Nigerian Army’s fight against insurgency popped up.

Joseph Ferdinando is the founder of Building Security Services, a company that provides security solutions to businesses and organizations. He has more than 40 years of experience in the security industry, and he is a recognized expert in the field.

From what I read about Joseph Fernando’s security tips along with Lawrence’s documentary, I can comfortably describe the person and character of the Buratai-born General Tukur Buratai (Rtd). He is a man who is always in good physical shape with sharp motivation and self-determination.

General Tukur Buratai is vigilant, always on the lookout for any possible incident. When it comes to punctuality, he is always on time. As a soldier, his duties are handled dispassionately without fear or favour. It is worthy of note that in line of duty, he always reacts with kindness, no matter the circumstances. Even in war front, it is not difficult to see in Buratai a General who is calm, calculated and focus without losing his temper. Always alert and active, the former Chief of Army Staff acts with professionalism because he is a man blessed with positive and friendly attitude. His great communication skills endear him to both his contemporaries and his younger colleagues in the Army.

What struck me about Lawrence’s documentary is that it is about Tukur Buratai. The documentary highlighted a no nonsense general who dispassionately handled insurgency like a seasoned professor of research methodology. Of course, the former Chief of Army Staff succeeded in taking war to the enclaves of the dreaded Boko Haram and he decimated them, reducing them to mere opportunists who go about attacking soft targets and vulnerable people.

In my candid opinion, there would not be a better person to be called upon to consolidate what Tukur Buratai has done not only in the North East but also all over the country. Buratai knows the theory and practice of how to manage and reinforce the fragile peace of this biggest black nation of Africa. A country of more than 200 million people should have her security handled by an astute and dogged soldier who has selflessly and relentlessly fought for the peace we enjoy today.

Swearing-in: Why Supreme Court dismissed PDP’s suit against Tinubu, Shettima’s candidature

The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party seeking the disqualification of Bola Tinubu as a candidate in the last presidential election.

The suit, which alleged the inappropriate nomination of Mr Tinubu’s running mate for the February 2023 presidential election, Kashim Shettima, impliedly sought to stop the president-elect from being sworn in as president on 29 May.

A five-person panel led by Inyang Okoro dismissed the suit unanimously on Friday.

Adamu Jauro, a member of the panel who delivered the lead judgement, held that the PDP lacked the legal right to file a suit on an internal affair of APC.

“It should be noted that no political party can challenge the nomination of another political party.

“A political party lacks the right to challenge the activities of INEC on account of the nomination of another political party’s candidate.

“No court has the jurisdiction to entertain such a suit by another party,” the court held.

The court said PDP failed to show any harm it suffered because of Mr Shettima’s alleged double nomination

Agreeing with the Court of Appeal’s earlier judgement dismissing the suit, Mr Jauro said, “I am in complete agreement with the Appeal Court that the PDP lacks the right to file this suit.

The appellant was unable to point to where the lower court determined the substantive issues on its merit.

“It is clear that the suit is statute-barred. Hence this court has no power to delve into the merit of the merit of the suit.”

The judge added: “It is frivolous and bound to fail fraught with manifest malady. It has been a waste of precious time and judicial energy.

“Counsel should do better to advise their clients to desist from suit frivolous matters.

“The appeal is grossly lacking in merit and it is hereby dismissed.”

The court awarded the cost of N2 million against PDP and in favour of the respondents

The judgement came three days ahead of the inauguration of Mr Tinubu as Nigeria’s president.

Outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari had on Thursday conferred Nigeria’s highest national honour, GCFR, on Mr Tinubu preparatory to the president-elect’s inauguration on 29 May. The second highest national honour, GCON, was also conferred on Vice President-elect Kashim Shettima.

Presidency Shed More Light On, Inauguration, Tinubu’s Relationship With Buhari

Nigeria’s presidency, on Wednesday, said a ‘perfect’ arrangement had been put in place to ensure a seamless handover ceremony for the incoming Bola Tinubu’s administration, assuring that the embarrassing moments that allegedly trailed the Goodluck Jonathan government on the day he exited office would not happen.

Speaking on the state-run Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mr Shehu Garba, said Tinubu and his deputy, Kashim Shettima, had 60 per cent of the total invited guests.

Specifically recalling the alleged embarrassment at the airport in 2015, when then outgoing president Goodluck Jonathan, was reportedly disallowed from taking the presidential wing while exiting to Bayelsa, Garba also noted that whereas he got handwritten notes from his predecessor, it would not be the case this time as Buhari had signed an executive order which would expressly ensure a smooth transition.

“When former President Jonathan handed over to President Buhari at the Eagle Square on May 29, 2015, there were very embarrassing moments that followed reportedly. In fact, the former president trended at some point because the story was told that by the time he got to the airport, security operatives will not allow him the use of the presidential wing of the airport, and all of that.

“So, all of these things have been foreseen. So, you would expect a perfect process of exit and incoming processes involving the two leaders, that is the outgoing president and the incumbent president,” he stated.

Garba also stated that the State House has now been emptied for the incoming president to bring in his own employees, especially political appointees.

On why Tinubu and Shettima were getting their national honours on Thursday, days before the inauguration, against the tradition of giving them out on the day of inauguration, Shehu stated that the committee set up by the president had visited Kenya and the United States to learn how the handover could be better done.

According to him, just 40 per cent of expected guests were invited by the federal government, including foreign missions, explaining that there was ‘massive interest’ by people who wanted to be present.

He noted that people who thought they played one part or another in the process leading to the handover would also want to be there, disclosing that the presidency was expecting ‘a huge crowd full of enthusiastic and very keen people.’

Asked to elaborate on what he meant by the State House being ‘emptied’, the president’s aide noted that Buhari has since quit the main building at the state House for the smaller ‘glass house’ in preparation for May 29.

According to him, the incoming president will make the choice who to go into the State House with him, including his personal staff, but recalled that aside from himself, Femi Adesina and a protocol member of staff, Buhari did not make any major appointments until the third day.

On whether any staff of the Buhari administration had already started switching allegiance to the incoming president, Shehu argued that it was the nature of humans to do so, but noted that Jonathan’s case was more pronounced because many of his aides were angry with him for deciding to handover power peacefully when he lost the 2015 presidential poll.

“You can’t change human beings. So, the man of the moment obviously is the incoming president. So, you will expect people, who will come around him, but I think the case of Jonathan was different, because I think again, there was desertion by a number of people around him who felt disappointed that he chose to be patriotic, nationalistic and accepted defeat.

“And quite a number of people, who were within his camp were not happy with that. So, yes, there was a desertion, but I think in the case of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Villa had never been like the party headquarters for him in the last eight years

“Visitors come, but there has been some decency in all of these things. And I don’t think that we’re witnessing any spectacular desertion of the place,” he added.

He stressed that the relationship between Tinubu and Buhari remained cordial, noting that the president-elect had once thanked Buhari for being neutral and allowing him win the poll.

“It’s going to be a perfect relationship, because it is going to be the same government although different administrations. He’s APC. When he (Tinubu) took his certificate from INEC, the first thing he did was that he flew to Daura and showed it to the president.

“The incoming president never gets tired of saying that the president allowed him to win. It is very significant. He allowed him to win in a free and fair process,” he stressed.