Port Harcourt — A highlight of President Muhammadu Buhari’s attendance of the 54th Commonwealth summit in in Kigali (Rwanda) was his meeting with British Prime Boris Johnson on the sidelines of the annual event, in which his (Buhari’s) political future was discussed. If you are already bored and want to stop reading this, I perfectly understand. Our President has made it clear, time and time again that he would head to Daura when he hands over in 2023. He has disowned individuals, campaigns and posters that suggest otherwise, and it is now clear the man is on the last lap of his presidency. So why should any talk about his ambition in 2023 be taken seriously? No, I’m not taking it seriously; I only want to dwell on the context in which the latest comments were made as they reverberate beyond the ornate halls in which the Commonwealth summit held.
The Nigerian and British leaders met on June 23 in a manner that has become customary for summiteers, who take advantage of the presence of many world leaders in one location, and meet up to touch base or set mutual agendas. Mr. Johnson arrived Kigali humbled by losses suffered by his ruling Conservative party in by-elections in “safe seats,” and buffeted by scandals that he partied with his staff while he locked up the rest of Britain because of the covid-19 pandemic. Buhari, on the hand arrived the summit after his party cobbled together a presidential primary which Ahmed Tinubu won. The two men spoke about many issues but it was the question Mr. Johnson asked the Nigerian leader that sparked interest. According to the Special Adviser to the President on Media, Mr. Femi Adesina, the man asked President Buhari whether he was heading for a third term. The Nigerian leader replied: “Another term for me? No! The first person who tried it didn’t end very well.”
Now, as I said before, the first part of the response is stale news, the second part of someone not ending well is a comment in jest. Buhari is a serious man, thank God he joined the army; he would’ve stared as an Ali Baba. Some find him dry. Our man doesn’t crack jokes so when he permits himself the rare chance of doing so, we should reward his effort with well-meant laughter. And why not, Mr. Adesina would not let us forget that those who heard the President (presumably including the British Prime Minster) laughed. Thank you, Mr. President for the opportunity to laugh in these austere times!
But what was that? What was Mr. Johnson thinking? What did he mean by that question? What did he know about the leader he was meeting? What kind of background briefing did they give him about President Buhari? If he could not know something as commonplace as Nigeria preparing for presidential elections next year, what else does he know about a key partner in the 54-member Commonwealth group or in Africa? I know something about what goes on behind the scenes before heads of state meet. There will be a background briefing on the country and a pen portrait of the leader coming for the meeting. The portrait will say many things from the temperament of the leader to his style of communication and to touchy issues. I recall one famous briefing note for the Canadian Prime Minster who was to meet then American President Donald Trump – it contained a section on how to shake the mercurial American leader! Briefing notes are very important because they may make or mar a meeting between two leaders.
It is inconceivable that the British side did not prepare the notes, so quite possibly, Mr. Johnson did not read them, or if he did, he forgot that President Buhari is constitutionally barred from seeking a third term. The display of ignorance on the part of the British leader speaks to the paucity of interest by the western world in developing countries in Africa. It portends a worrying trend between coloniser and colonised.
It so happened that, barely a fortnight after the summit, the Democratic Republic of Congo held a funeral for Mr. Patrice Lumumba, the country’s first prime minister after Belgium granted it independence following colonial rule that lasted 75 years. Just three months into his government, Mr. Lumumba gave a fiery speech in front of the Belgian king which was said to be an insult to the monarch. Mr. Lumumba was overthrown in 1960 and shot in a firing squad on 17 January 1961. His body has never been found. 62 years on, Congo buried his tooth which a Belgian police officer had taken as a memento as his body was purportedly dissolved in acid. What is the nexus between a tooth and Buhari and Johnson? The development of Africa is in the hands of Africans, not anybody else.
Follow us on twitter
