One of the most anticipated political news of the year in Oyo State recently landed with a surprising bang. BREAKING NEWS: the veteran Senator Buhari Abdulfatai representing Oyo North Senatorial has declared his intention to run for the Governorship election in 2027 as against his perennially successful shots at the National Assembly.
“This is my third time as a Senator and my fourth time in the National Assembly. I am a core legislator and have done it to the extent that I am happy”, the Senator stated in a recent radio interview. Before that big announcement, rumors and speculations had spread over the next political move of one of Nigeria’s most successful grassroots politicians.
In 2015 while serving as the commissioner for local government and chieftaincy affairs under late Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Senator Buhari threw his hat in the ring for the senatorial contest. It was a move that eventually paid off, thanks partly to Muhammadu Buhari’s political ‘tsunami’ as he trounced his political adversaries black and blue.
Four years after that historic victory, he sought re-election in 2019 and convincingly flogged Hon. Mulikat Adeola Akande, the candidate of the PDP who equally hails from Ogbomoso. If the 2015 victory was attributed to the Buhari ‘tsunami’, the 2019 success had to be performance-based. As a Senator of the federal republic, Senator BAF, as he’s fondly called has surpassed his predecessors in his core legislative functions: representation, lawmaking and oversight. For instance, in the last assembly, he was one of the top three Senators in Nigeria with most bills to their names. That is in addition to his all time presence with his constituents.
Additionally, he also facilitated several life changing projects, organized mega empowerments, offered job opportunities, and importantly presented a bill for the establishment of a Federal university in Oke-Ogun, in response to the yearning of the people for a federal Institution.
Then 2023 came. As the first man to win the senatorial race of the district twice, campaigns of calumny and mudslinging against his third-term ambition spread like wildfire, threatening his historic aspiration. In that tough race, he had Hon. Solomon Akinwale Akinwole of the PDP, Hon. Mulikat Akande Adeola of the SDP, and Hon. Shina Peller of the Accord Party as main challengers.
In an election that had him up against strong and influential opposition, Senator Buhari’s victory in the eyes of the storm underscored his political sagacity, resilience, and master of quiet politics, one that delivers results regardless of the cacophony of noise. That electoral victory effectively cemented his legacy as a foremost politician, having become the first man to clinch the Senatorial district election in three successions.
In a way, that equally placed him on the same pedestal alongside Senator Teslim Folarin, another three-term Senators from Oyo State. In effect, Senator Buhari’s decision to leave when the ovation is loudest is both commendable and instructive. “If you have been as privileged as I have”, the Senator enthused “quit when the ovation is loudest and let someone else go and do it”. That kind of mindset in a winner-takes-all political arrangement in Nigeria is heartwarmingly unbelievable.
While Senator Buhari has dominated the senatorial political landscape since 2015 with remarkable gusto, his decision to quit will be felt beyond the district. Despite his Ogbomoso root, Senator Buhari has built an enduring support base across the thirteen local governments.
He is reachable, accessible, dutiful, approachable and simple. That simplicity must have earned him the love and admiration of the people. Across the thirteen local government, Senator Buhari has groomed a band of loyal and committed followers. To have won election in three successions in a diverse and heterogeneous political zone couldn’t have come as a game of chance or an accident of sort.
His political ascension was rooted in connecting with his people at a level never seen before. No doubt, Senator Buhari is one-of-a-kind politician in Nigeria. While he is currently the most senior serving Senator from the Southwest, that has not stopped him from sustaining and consolidating his base. Honest, blunt and compassionate, Senator BAF has carved a niche that will transcend his time in politics.
For one, we were all witnesses to the political drama that unfolded in 2023 between former Senate President Ahmed Lawan and Bashir Machina. At that time, we saw the deployment of evil machination led by the Supreme Court of Nigeria in Yobe North Senatorial District’s APC ticket. How the ticket was stolen in the broad day light for Ahmed Lawan will continue to be an eyesore in our political evolution. Recall that lawan has been in the National Assembly since 1999 and was ‘crowned’ as President Muhammadu Buhari’s preferred Presidential candidate before the firestorm of the party’s primary swept him into the quicksand of irrelevance.
While Lawan was fooling around in Abuja, Bashir Machina, a political rootie was duly elected as the APC flag bearer for the Yobe North Senatorial district. That Machina contested the ticket and satisfied the legal requirement in the presence of INEC and party officials weren’t in doubt. Typical of Nigerian politician, Ahmed Lawan swiftly approached court and in one of Nigeria’s most embarrassing court verdicts, Ahmed Lawan was handed over the ticket he didn’t not contest. That’s an extent politician can go to remain in power.
Another test case of politicians who have turned public service into their birthright is Senator Ali Ndume. Like Lawan, Ndume equally ranked among the most senior lawmakers in the National Assembly. Rather than leave when the ovation is loudest, they have struck to their guns and dismissed criticism over their long stay in power.
In essence, both Lawan and Ndume know quite well that the positions they have enjoyed for close to 28 years weren’t their birthright yet, they simply shrug off any outcry and condemnation against their domination and subjugation. Although, I reckon that to stay in office for that long stretch of time can never left to chance or luck. Both Lawan and Ndume must have built their support bases to withstand any form of political shock. Which is why the decision of Senator Fatai Buhari to back down and give others the chance appears Un-Nigerian!
Regardless of opinions flying round about Senator Fatai Buhari’s noble and patriotic decision, one thing is sure: this man understands local politics and dynamics, grassroots mobilisation and grassroots more than anyone of his contemporaries, which is why the universe continued to conspire with him to beat all his challengers at every electoral cycles. “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”, says Don McMinn. What about fool me thrice? For Senator Fatai Buhari, politics isn’t everything. Humanity is.
OYO101 is Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion about issues affecting the Oyo state and is published every Saturday. He can be reached via @Upliftnuggets on X, muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com, and 09065176850.
