Who emerges Nigeria’s vice-president

Ahead of the presidential election, which will take place on April 9, 2011, CHUX OHAI takes a look at the profiles of the vice-presidential candidates of the major political parties that will be contesting in the election.

ALHAJI NAMADI SAMBO

Alhaji Namadi Sambo emerged as President Goodluck Jonathan’s deputy in May 2010 after a keenly contested race for the job within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party. A qualified architect, he has been described as a silent achiever and a man with a “good head for business.” This is a quality that critics believe will count in his favour if he returns for a full term in office as vice-president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in May 2011.

Sambo was born in Zaria in 1952. He had his primary education at the Baptist Primary School, Kakuri and Kobi Primary School in Bauchi. He attended Government Secondary School and the School of Basic Studies, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria between 1972 and 1973 before earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a master’s degree from the same university.

In 1979, he joined the civil service of Bauchi State as an architect and left two years later to start his own private practice.

Having distinguished himself in his chosen profession and gained enough experience, he established a firm in 1985. For a while, the firm, known as Coplan Associates, was one of the key players in Nigeria’s architectural designs and construction industry.

At different times, Sambo was appointed Commissioner for Agriculture and Commissioner for Works, Transport and Housing in Kaduna State. Later, he contested the governorship of the state and was eventually sworn in as governor in May 2009.

In spite of his stint as the governor of Kaduna State, Sambo has not quite made his mark yet as a politician and the same critics believe he is still learning the ropes. But his reputation as an astute businessman, who owns three thriving companies, remains his strongest selling point and it is believed that this will be of advantage to him in the future, especially in this part of the world where a thin line exists between politics and business.

Although he is not known to be vocal, preferring to stay behind the scenes most of the time his achievements as a state governor, particularly in the area of security, cannot be ignored.

Sambo takes the credit for considerably reducing the incidence of ethnic violence in Kaduna State and for helping to promote tolerance among the component ethnic groups. The result is that, contrary to the pre-existing political tradition in the state, a Christian, Mr. Patrick Yakowa, is at the helm of affairs today in the Kaduna Government House.

So far, Sambo, who became vice-president against all odds within the PDP, seems to have fared well as Jonathan’s deputy.

Unlike the frosty relationship that existed between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and his deputy, Atiku Abubakar, as well as the storm that characterised their tenure in office, Jonathan and Sambo have maintained a cordial relationship. They have demonstrated, no doubt, that they could still work together to achieve good results for Nigeria and its people in the years ahead.

Only the ballot will determine if their common ambition will survive beyond the presidential election.

PASTOR TUNDE BAKARE

Before his recent foray into full politics, the founder and senior pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly, Tunde Bakare had been described as a modern John the Baptist of Nigeria on account of his style of preaching and the content of his messages, which was often laced with severe criticisms of the actions of the rulers of the country.

Before his new calling, Bakare did not only draw attention to himself as a tele-vangelist beyond the borders of this country, he was as much a harsh critic of the government of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. For playing such a role, he was arrested in March 2002 and barely managed to get off the hook without being prosecuted by the administration.

Although he was born a Muslim, Bakare converted to Christianity at a point in his life. Later, he had moved on to become the pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly.

Apparently not satisfied with the situation in the country, the tenor of his preaching had shifted from the fundamental task of salvaging the souls of members of the church to criticism of the government and its agents, in a manner that was typical of the Biblical John the Baptist.

Bakare was, until a few months ago, the convener of the Save Nigeria Group. His involvement with this organisation, despite ending in an unpleasant circumstance, underscored his commitment to a better Nigeria and his readiness to take the necessary practical steps towards bringing the desired change to the nation. Also, it signalled his transition from priesthood to political activism.

As if to affirm this, in January 2011, the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, announced that he had chosen the fiery Lagos-based pastor to run with him in the 2011 presidential election. Needless to add that the news stunned the nation and drew reactions from both the admirers of Bakare and his critics.

The CPC presidential ticket became, of quite a while, a favourite subject for debate across the country. Most Nigerians were not only surprised that Buhari, who was presumed to be a symbol of Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria, would choose a church pastor as his running mate; they were shocked that his choice turned out to be Bakare.

But Buhari reportedly said he arrived at the decision to pick Bakare as his deputy after thinking about it deeply. Speaking through his spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, he had said that the decision was based on necessity.

Apart from describing the Buhari/Bakare ticket as a marriage of strange bedfellows, analysts tend to view it as a clever move by the CPC to attract Christians to the party and convince them that it aims at reshaping Nigeria’s destiny along truly modern and democratic principles, not on the premise of sectarian and ethnic or regional objectives.

The day after he was chosen as Buhari’s running mate, Bakare told a popular evening tabloid based in Lagos that God told him to run with the CPC presidential candidate. Reportedly quoting copiously from portions of the Holy Bible, he had said, “I did not accept the offer to be Buhari’s running mate because of fame and popularity; I already have that. I took it because I want to serve my generation according to the will of God and to change things.”

In spite of his explanation, some critics expressed the opinion that Bakare’s acceptance of the offer from the CPC was a mistake. They argued that as a church minister, whose duty was to lead a congregation, he had no business going into politics.

Others felt that his political leaning may clash with that of members of the Latter Rain Assembly, who belonged to other political parties.

Yet, a third group was persuaded that his choice was right. People in this group saw nothing wrong with a pastor getting involved in politics, as long as it would yield positive results for the country and its people in the long run.

Many Nigerians, especially Christians from the South, view the combination of an avowed Muslim fundamentalist and a radical, vocal Christian clergyman with amusement. They are curious to see how Bakare, who is known to be quite critical, confrontational, and somewhat dictatorial, could pair Buhari, who is believed to share the same character traits with him.

Before his sudden elevation under the umbrella of the CPC, r Bakare was considered to be an active civil rights activist, whose voice resonated with authority and was respected by millions of Nigerians resident in the country and in the Diaspora.

It is, however, the belief in some quarters that if the CPC fails to match its vigorous and crowd-pulling campaigns with a clear win in the presidential elections, it may spell dire consequences for Bakare’s credibility as a church minister and a political activist.

ALHAJI FOLA ADEOLA

Fola Adeola is the vice-presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria. His sudden emergence on the political scene, under the umbrella of the party, is comparable to the proverbial bolt from the blues. Yet, it is, no doubt, symbolic of the generational shift in the leadership of the country, which many Nigerians crave at present.

An accomplished economist and technocrat, Adeola is the founding managing director and chief Executive Officer of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. He retired from the bank after 12 years to take up fellowship at the Corporation for Enterprise Development based in Washington DC, USA. Among other positions, he is at present thec Chairman of the Pension Reform Committee, which has produced a bill for pension reform in Nigeria.

It is believed that his impressive credential had endeared him to the top echelon of the ACN and his selection as a running mate to the presidential candidate, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, is strategic to the party’s plan for economic change in the country and the creation of a new brand of leadership that will fulfil the aspirations of millions of Nigerians.

Before he was picked as Ribadu’s running mate, the ACN’s vigorous search for a suitable candidate for that position had initially focused on some notable politicians and technocrats of Igbo extraction, including a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; a former governor of Anambra State, Dr. Chris Ngige; a former Senate President, Chief Ken Nnamani, and the current Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr. Ben Akabueze.

Adeola was said to have been approached by a stalwart of the ACN, Senator Ahmed Tinubu, after the party ran into a serious hitch in its search.

But his partnership with Ribadu, which is the only Muslim/Muslim ticket by any major political party contesting in the 2011 presidential election, has been described y some observers as the “pairing of two novices that are not original.”

The notion that the combination is flawed is, perhaps, premised on the fact that both men are not tested politicians, even though each of them has excelled in his chosen profession.

CHIEF JOHN

ODIGIE-OYEGUN

When the presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party, who is also the Governor of Kano State, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, picked a former Governor of Edo State and retired Federal Permanent Secretary, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun as the party’s vice-presidential candidate, some natives of Edo actually kicked against it. They argued that since he failed to fulfil the needs and aspirations of the people when he was governor of the state, it was likely that Odigie-Oyegun would achieve very little as the vice-president of Nigeria.

But a statement signed by Shekarau’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Sule Ya’u Sule, explained why Odigie-Oyegun was chosen to run with the Kano governor.

The statement described the ANPP vice-president designate as a tested and trusted politician, as well as a transparent and credible leader that had contributed significantly to the development of Edo State during his tenure as governor.

Judging from his track record, it is evident that Odigie-Oyegun, who is also the Deputy Chairman (South) of the ANPP, is an experienced and tested administrator. It is equally believed that his wealth of experience played a key role in his selection as Shekarau’s running mate.

Essentially, the posture of the vice-presidential candidates may not really determine the success of their parties at the elections since the presidential candidates are seen as the alter egos of their parties; but in some quarters, some of these men have been seen as having more analytical minds than their presidential candidates and are believed to have an individual capacity to influence the outcome of the 2011 polls.