The Tragedy of Buharism

Most of the coverage focused on Tinubu’s two years in office has conveniently overlooked the fact that the period also marks a decade of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in power. But this is less likely because no one understood the significance of such a decade; more likely, it is because to recognize its significance would require reflecting on two terms of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was conspicuously absent from the mid-term celebrations and events. To acknowledge Buhari would also be to counter a prevailing narrative that this government has deftly tried to acknowledge and push: that the achievements it has recorded have been despite a poor foundation from a predecessor from the same party.

The party headquarters might still bear his name, but Buhari’s legacy and his politics are being systematically and carefully removed by a successor he reportedly did not want. His loyalists have been largely shut out of the party, with some joining the coalition seeking to defeat Tinubu. Buhari, who official reports indicate died aged 82 at a London clinic over the past weekend, might have issued the diplomatically supportive statement to mark the occasional milestone, but there is an apparent effort from the Tinubu administration to whittle his influence, to varying degrees of success.