Atiku Abubakar

By Ahmadu Shehu, PhD

Since The Daily Reality has become the darling medium through which northern elites are called to task, I would instruct them to extend a short message to President Muhammad Buhari this weekend. Although Nigerians are used to the deafening silence of this administration to most of our perils and concerns, the president needs to be reminded of a few disturbing, foreseeable facts.

Let me first state that the people of this country, especially his brothers and sisters in the north, can’t wait to see the end of his rule. His ethnic group, the Hausa-Fulani, have carried his cross for too long. For over a decade, they gave their lives, wealth and resources for his candidature, and for seven years, they bore the blames, stereotypes and animosities for his presidency. What is their gain? An avoidable but seemingly inevitable genocide. If the president does not know, I will tell him that the people of this region are tired! They are no longer looking for what he can do for or to them. They are only anxious to survive the remaining days.   

I want the president to observe a few things. First, all Nigerian leaders lucky to have left the Villa alive went back to their hometowns after their tenures. For instance, Shehu Shagari, who was overthrown by then General Muhammadu Buhari, moved permanently to Shagari, securing a serene, fruitful life after that. While in retirement, Shagari remained relevant and served in various traditional positions within the Sokoto Caliphate. His love for his people, his engagements with his roots throughout his career, his pride in his people and culture and constant, persistent and proud leaning to his region endeared people to him even after his tenure. That love held him physically and psychologically intact, made him relevant and happy all through his old age.  

General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida, who succeeded Gen. Buhari, retired to Minna, his birthplace from where he and his wife established great organizations that engendered socio-economic development. As a result, Babangida’s home became a centre of excellence in Minna metropolis, and people trooped to his doors for all kinds of support and favours.

General Abdussalami Abubakar became the Head of State after the death in office of Gen. Sani Abacha. Abdussalam followed the footsteps of his predecessors and retired in Minna, his hometown. This was possible for the two Generals only because of their good to their people and region. To date, Niger and indeed the North-Central are thankful for their service as Heads of State. They gained relevance and recorded developmental strides hitherto impossible without the emergence of their worthy sons.   

Then came Olusegun Obasanjo, who returned to power for the second time. After eight years in office, Obasanjo moved to Otta – not even Akure – to start a new life as a statesman. While Yar’adua died in office, his successor, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, immediately vacated Asorock for Otuoke, his birth village and assumed his gentle duty as the breadwinner of his people and region. Jonathan has was devilishly maligned as the enemy of the north, the clueless president of the country. But he ensured that the Niger Delta amnesty program succeeded, for he was conscious of life after office in the creeks. He, therefore, begot for himself and his people a place to live in peace. 

Here at home, the breadwinner of Adamawa state, former vice president, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, ensured that the state’s economic strength is sustained. He established institutions, provided hundreds of thousands of employments, empowered businesses and established banks for entrepreneurs and start-ups. Atiku Abubakar built his retirement home in Jada and moved his business headquarters to the state. He ensured that human development services, such as education, healthcare, media and IT industries only obtainable in the cultural West are brought home to the doorsteps of his compatriots. Thus, he was able to stay at home and proceed with his political career gracefully.  

But with all the situations in the northwest, especially Katsina – his home state – and Kaduna – his preferred haven, where does President Buhari intend to retire and spend the rest of his life? For one, at 80, Buhari will be the oldest Nigerian president to leave office and probably the sickest at that weak point of human life. That is the moment he needs people the most and will undoubtedly go through the most painful retrospections of his administration’s actions and inactions. Then, he would face realities – poverty, inhumanity, misery, deprivation, etc. – that have become the norm on Nigerian streets. At that point, Buhari would need Nigerians, and Nigerians would not need him for anything.

The excoriating economic disaster in Buhari’s northwestern region today has not been seen in a long time. Thousands of people are homeless, hopeless and desperate for food and shelter. In Daura, for instance, hundreds of thousands of youth are unemployed. At the same time, his close relatives and families have bought over most farms and grazing lands around the emirate, extending the wicked hands of poverty to more people than ever. As it stands, hundreds of thousands of people are fleeing this region for safety, as kidnapping and banditry have overtaken citizens’ daily lives. Worse still, the president’s disposition and sheer lack of concern on anything “north” make it impossible for him to enjoy his cult-like mob that kept his military retirement years afloat.

Sadly, there is no going to be Buhari the messiah, Buhari Maigaskiya or Buhari jagoran talakawa. There will be only one Buhari in the world: the one who became president and failed to help his people. The one that has disappointed his most loyal supporters; the messiah that couldn’t save his people from hunger, deprivation and poverty. The Buhari who oversaw the worst economic period of his country. That Maigaskiya supervised the most criminal and cruellest regimes of corruption. The one that promised heaven but gave hell. How life looks for someone at that age in this condition will be very interesting to see.

Dr Ahmadu Shehu is a nomad cum herdsman, an Assistant Professor at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, and is passionate about the Nigerian project. You can reach him at ahmadsheehu@yahoo.com.

By Salisu Yusuf

Saturday, the 21st of August, 2021, marks a black day in our march towards achieving social equilibrium among Nigeria’s two social classes: the poor and the elites. The picture on social and conventional media of President Buhari, former President Jonathan, Atiku Abubakar, Femi Fani-Kayode, etc., dining, laughing, exchanging banter, posing for the camera at Bichi speaks volumes on the future of the masses in Nigeria.

On the one hand, these men would quarrel, argue and set their followers against each other just to win elections. But, on the other hand, they shower elitist solidarity to one another when anyone in the circle is celebrating or mourning. Alas, it’s the poor who’s socially excluded even though it’s through him they rode to power. 

While the glitz and glamour were going on at Bichi and Aso Villa, in Batsari, Danmusa and many palaces, people are running for their lives; some are bereaving the dead ones. Moreover, many are abducted by bandits. For example, over 150 Islamiyya students from Attagina (Tegina) in Niger State were, for months, in captivity. Six died, including a three-year-old boy. What do you think if these children belong to the upper class? It’s high time our politicians show class, empathy and maturity.

Today, Nigeria represents every aspect of George Orwell’s Animal Farm. “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,” says the satiric work! Clover, one of the most loyal and hardworking characters, symbolises the Nigerian poor. For the poor is the only symbol of loyalty and toil to the Nigerian state like Clover. Clover’s realisation toward the end of the novel of betrayal of the so-called revolution depicts the current sad reality:” if she herself had any picture of the future, it had been a society of animals set free from hunger and the whips, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak.” 

Photos of the number of jets grounded at Aminu Kano International Airport on social media depicts the sad reality. On the one hand, it reveals the massive gap between the elites and the poor. But, on the other hand, it reveals the security situation in the country and why our elites are reluctant to address it; they travel on planes, we travel by road, where kidnappers set up roadblocks. 

From the wedding scene, receptions, the phones distributed, to Abuja where the bride is conveyed, the glamour exhibited reflects how far we’ve regressed to the version of 18th-century capitalist Britain and its attendant ‘Enclosure System’. Oliver Goldsmith sums up our predicament in his famous ‘The Deserted Village’ when he says, ” to see profusion one cannot share, to see ten thousand baneful arts combined.. to pamper luxury and thin mankind.” 

Today, there are designated federal parastatals and ministries such as Petroleum, Finance, CBN, Federal Inland Revenue, etc., where the children of the poor can’t work; for them, these covetous places are uncharted territories. They’re meant for the rich.

Today, our leaders are attributed with everything elitist and why elitism represents. One salient legacy our man will be remembered is his earnest response to elites’ birthdays. They’re the hallmarks of elitism because they’re the only group who celebrate it. However, a poor isn’t after birthdays; he contends with his security and daily bread in a hostile socio-economic environment. Thus, he neither gets the bread nor feels secured; he’s barred from farming by a group that catches him and demands a ransom from his low-income family members who are too hungry to pay.

Sadly, the so-called ardent supporters couldn’t differentiate between sad reality and fantasy. Those who sometimes cried in the past, when we were in the new normal, can’t cry now when the new not normal sets in. We’re besieged from every angle of our home. The attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) this week is the last straw…the definition of Nigeria and what it symbolises: chaos.

The government has so far mastered the art of rhetoric. They can rhetorically speak in the language the criminals understand; but can’t speak in the language the Talakawa understand: that provides the basic social services.

Never in the history of politics in Nigeria has a political figure garnered so much goodwill and solidarity from the poor like President Buhari. But, alas, the goodwill and the solidarity aren’t reciprocated. A conscientious man can’t sleep soundly when his subjects are daily hunted like dogs. Those poor masses who toil and sweat… 

As for now, the hope of the poor is so slim, for hunger, bandits, and elites besiege him.

Salisu Yusuf writes from Katsina. He can be reached via salisuyusuf111@gmail.com.

By Daha Tijjani, PhD

Celebrity endorsement is a technique in advertising that possesses persuasive power to influence consumers’ decisions and target audiences. As a result, it remains a popular way for marketers to promote their brands, products, and services.

In political communication, it is one of the tools used to project the image of political parties and candidates in the minds of electorates and ultimately influence voters’ decisions.

However, numerous studies have found that several products have failed to attract customers’ attention despite being endorsed by celebrities.

Several researchers have investigated the effect of celebrity endorsement on products. However, few studies have looked at the impact of celebrity endorsement on political parties and their candidates. Also, little is known about the effects of celebrity endorsement and branding of political parties when it comes to developing economies.

Thus, knowing the effects of celebrity endorsement and branding of political parties and their candidates will give valuable insights to the party leadership on what strategy they should adopt when embracing a celebrity to help their brand.

As a result of this perceived lacuna, a group of researchers from universities in Nigeria, Ghana, Malaysia, and Germany examined the effects of celebrity endorsements of political parties using the Nigerian 2019 Presidential elections as a case study. The study report was published by Technium Social Science vol 22 (2021): A new decade for social change. 

The study investigated and discerned the factors motivating eligible voters in Nigeria to vote, using the predictors (Endorser Credibility, Political Brand Credibility, Political Brand Equity, and Voting Intention). The study also examined the mediating role of Political Brand Credibility (PBC) and Political Brand Equity (PBE) towards Voting Intention (VI).

The data for the study was collected in 2019 from 320 eligible respondents with Permanent Voters’ Cards (PVC) from the cluster of 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory.

The study has found that the endorsement of celebrities alone does not necessarily influence electorates to vote for political candidates. Instead, the credibility of the party and its equity play a pivotal role in the voting intention of voters.

Despite being credible with attributes such as Attractiveness, Trustworthiness and Expertise, the study further revealed that the celebrity endorser is not a good predictor of positive voting intentions. Likewise, the findings revealed that a credible endorser would not have a positive and significant effect on a political party’s brand equity.

Taken collectively, the new empirical findings in this study would provide a new understanding of this new political marketing strategy in the Nigerian context. Furthermore, the insights gained from this study may assist the political parties to focus and invest more effort, resources, and energy in branding their parties with meaningful manifestos that would touch the lives of the electorates.

How to Cite: Abdurrahaman, D. T., Owusu, A., Bakare, A. S., Apejoye, A., Ibrahim, M. M., & Ahmad, T. H. (2021). Assessing the effects of Celebrity Endorsements of Political Parties: An empirical study of Nigerian 2019 Presidential Elections. Technium Social Sciences Journal, 22(1), 676–699.Retrieved from https://techniumscience.com/index.php/socialsciences/article/view/4266

Note: The corresponding author can be reached via dahatijjani@gamil.com or Twitter handle @dahatijjani.

By Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi

The wedding Fatiha of Yusuf Buhari and the daughter of Sarkin Bichi was held with pomp and pageantry. All roads led to Bichi on Friday, 18 August 2021. As many as 80 aircraft brought guests to kano to witness the first son’s tying the knot to a Bayero descendent princess. To the amazement of many, the guests were dignitaries and politicians of different persuasions from across the country, who, albeit their differences, gathered to bless the occasion while they wine, dine, and exchange banters with each other. 

The sportsmanship they exhibited was awe-inspiring and outlandish for Nigerian politicians. It may be unintentional, but it should be an eye-opener to Nigerians at the bottom of the ladder. It sent a strong message to the youths, especially bootlickers, sycophants and the so-called media warriors who are ever ready to insult, blackmail, curse, condemn, disrespect and assassinate the characters of their bosses’ supposed political enemies at the expense of their self-esteem. There is no point in attacking and counterattacking one another in defence of these pretenders who only follow their aggrandisements without definite ideology whatsoever.

On Friday, the cliche about “no permanent friend or enemy in politics” was in full gear at Bichi Emir’s palace. Buhari, Atiku and Jonathan were present. Many former and serving Ministers, Governors, Senators Representatives and many other shot callers bundled themselves in Bichi palace with no regard to PDP, APC, South, North or East etc. Everyone was eventually their brothers’ keepers. Most notable was the unexpected comradeship between the former Aviation Minister Femi Fani Kayode and Malam Isah Pantami, the current Minister of Communication and Digital Economy. Given the hostility shown by the former towards the latter, many people were shocked.

If these old guys can forget their bitter differences and mingle to celebrate and or commiserate with one another depending on the situation, I think the downtrodden, especially youth are in a better position to embrace the culture of tolerance and to desist from being the tool for political attacks between these dissemblers who would be at each other’s throats only when their whims and caprices differ and would befriend themselves when their path crosses.

Hopefully, many discerning minds would heed this event and free themselves from unnecessary hatred, criticism, and resentment. Let love, mutual respect and fair play lead the way in all endeavours regardless of affiliations, be it political, regional or religious. “Experience,” they say, “is the best teacher”. May we be guided.

Adamu Bello Mai-Bodi writes from Gidado Bombiyo residence, K/kaji Azare.