December 16, 2008
It is Nigeria's most-powerful party. Interestingly, it is a political organisation not registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) founded on May 29, 2007, the Yar'Adua Peoples Congress (YPC) is more powerful than the Prof. Maurice Iwu-led electoral body. And with yesterday's victory at the Supreme Court, their firm grip on the polity remains unshaken. The membership cuts across partisan divides and it is increasing everyday. Members hardly talk. They believe in the war code: 'strike the shepherd and the sheep will scatter.' Tactically, their thinking is excellent, their vigilance unrivalled. They have created a cult-like following because they know how to play on people's needs. To them, an enemy must be crushed immediately. Once they begin an operation, they won't stop halfway because that can be dangerous to their interest. Deliberately, they make themselves scarce to create an aura of invincibility, fear and unpredictability. The moment it is decided that an opponent must be dealt with, they will cut off all resources and assistance, thereby isolating the target. The opponent, who is kept in suspended terror, has no choice than to run. With financial muscles and high-level connections, they are professionals in a polity where everything revolves around power and political dexterity. They keep Nigerians off-balance and in the dark by not revealing their next line of action. And this has created a myth around them. They get others to do the work but always get the credit. Since 1999, they have mastered the art of how to make people depend on them in Nigeria's endless power struggle. The newcomers are even more dexterous . To leave the centre stage where power is being brewed is anathemic to their interests. Having tasted power, some of them believe that everything must be done to ensure that their access to the man who wields the ultimate power today in the most-populous black nation is not cut off. To others who still wield power at various levels, their unrestricted access to the Commander-in-Chief is not merely a consolidation of their power base but an indication of partisan gains to come in the future. And since the principal is not a power- conscious and power-hungry dictator like former President Olusegun Obasanjo, YPC members are having a field day.Their word is law. You opposethem at your peril. Any slight to their authority attracts immediate sanction, writes GABRIEL AKINADEWO. SarakiDr. Bukola Saraki is Nigeria's most-powerful governor. He is the national chairman of YPC. Yesterday, he led other governors to the Supreme Court for the judgement. As  the chairman of the Governors' Forum, he  wields an un-prec-edented power. He is one of  the very few Nigerians who enter the Presidential Villa in Abuja to see President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua without a prior notice. He has brought colour, charm and power to the office of the Governors' Forum chair unlike when former governors, Adamu Abdullahi (Nasarawa) and Victor Attah (Akwa Ibom) occupied the seat. On Friday, October 24, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) celebrated its 10th year anniversary at the Le Meridien Hotel, Uyo, Akwa Ibom. The event was tagged a Stakeholders' Parley. The president was already inside the hall of the hotel and the event had started when Saraki came. The standard practice is that once the president enters such a venue, nobody is allowed in. But there is always an exception to the rule and the second term governor of Kwara State is one of the few who enjoy this privilege when it comes to the president's security. A top security chief was contacted. Immediately, Saraki and his Rivers State counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, were allowed in. When recently, Yar'Adua travelled abroad on medical ground, it was Saraki, due to his closeness to the president, who selected those who should know the truth about the Commander-in-Chief's health. Even the vice president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, was, to some extent, in the dark. Since childhood, Bukola has been watching power struggle among the elite and powerbrok ers. His father, Dr. Olusola Saraki, is one of Nigeria's most powerful politicians. As Senate Leader in the Second Republic, Saraki, the national chairman of the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the late Chief Augustus Adisa Akinloye, then powerful Transport Minister, Alhaji Umaru Dikko, Senate President, Dr. Joseph Wayas and a few others, were the owners of Nigeria between 1979 and 1983. Even former President Shehu Shagari could not confront them. Many meetings were held in Saraki's house in Victoria Island, Lagos and Bukola, a medical doctor, banker and politician, was constantly watching these powerful men before, during and after their endless meetings. He must have told himself that 'one day, I am going to be as powerful as these people'. And Bukola really learned from his father, a man who has been dominating Kwara politics for close to four decades. In 1979, Saraki imposed Adamu Attah as the governor. When Attah fell out with him, he supported Chief Cornelius Adebayo who was governor for three months before the military struck. In the Third Republic, he imposed Shaaba Lafiagi as the governor and in 1999, he also imposed the late Mohammed Lawal. When Lawal became uncontrollable, he moved against him and imposed his son, Bukola, in 2003. Since then, Bukola has become a big boy and with the way he is going, it is obvious that he will grow bigger20than his father politically. If you want anything in Aso Rock and you don't see Bukola, may God help you. If he tells you to do something and you procrastinate, you are on your own. And if you think the Kwara governor is not powerful and influential, ask the Central Bank Governor, Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo. IboriBetween 1999 and 2007, James Onanefe Ibori and Yar'Adua were colleagues. While Yar'Adua was governor in Katsina, Ibori was governor in Delta, both on the Platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Ibori is the chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT) of YPC. In the build up to the December 16, 2006 presidential primaries of the PDP, Obasanjo had already decided that Yar'Adua must succeed him. But there was a problem. Obasanjo was not ready to release fund. Yar'Adua himself, aside the fact that Katsina is not an oil-producing state, is prudent to a fault. And a very deadly financial attack was coming from the then Rivers State governor, Dr. Peter Odili. Obviously, Ibori was not in the good books of Obasanjo but to help Yar'Adua, the former president swallowed his pride and invited Ibori. The then national chairman of PDP, Dr. Ahmadu Ali, Chief Tony Anenih and a few others were in attenda nce. Ibori was ordered to open his deep purse and bail out the presidential campaign. And the miracle started. Since May 29, 2007, Ibori has become one of the most sought-after powerbrokers in the country. He will stay at the background and be directing below-the-belt assault at the partisan forefront. You will never see his finger but his hand is in every operation.When Yar'Adua was looking for a principal secretary, Ibori gave him David Edevbie, his finance commissioner and head of Economic think-tank team when he was Delta governor. Since Yar'Adua became the president, Ibori was humiliated once and the architect of that operation is now on the run. The hunter has now become the hunted. His number one leg-man in the presidency is Attorney General and Justice Minister, Michael Aondoakaa. TinubuAsiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a believer in the Marchiavellian school of thought that it is better to be feared than loved and any man who tries to be good all the time is bound to come t o ruin among the great number who are not good. Popularly known as Jeun Soke, Tinubu is a practical politician. And he demonstrated this between 1999 and 2007 when he was governor of Lagos State on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) and the Action Congress (AC). When he returned to the country in 1998 after the death of the Khalifa, General Sani Abacha, he knew he could only get to power through the instrumentality of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere. He played along, got the ticket, won the election and struck a deadly blow. By the time he released his 'upper cut', the organisation went into sleep permanently. Tinubu knew that for him to remain relevant, he must deal with those who could threaten his seat. He hijacked the party structure and, given the dictatorial tendencies of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, he started attacking the former Commander-in-Chief. This made him popular in the South West. While he encouraged former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, to undermine Obasanjo, he moved against his own deputies. In 2003, he removed his first deputy, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele. In 2007, he removed Chief Femi Pedro and a few weeks to his exit from the Alausa Round House, brought in Chief Abiodun Ogunleye. In the build up to the 2007 election, Tinubu realised that for the PDP to take over Lag os was equivalent to him drinking Gamallin 20. He resisted it with all the financial muscles at his disposal. His candidate, Babatunde Fashola, succeeded him on May 29, 2007. But there was a dilemma. Out of office, immunity no longer covers him. And his enemies, Obasanjo being number one, could decide to act funny. But he didn't want to join the PDP because of his opposition against the party when Obasanjo was president. Pronto, he decided to join the Yar'Adua Peoples Congress (YPC). Today, he is the Chairman, Mobilisation Committee of the party. To the former Lagos governor, it is Yar'Adua forever. He has been described by an opponent as 'AC in the afternoon and PDP at night'. To satisfy Yar'Adua, Tinubu fought Atiku. He has also brought the defunct Social Democratic Movement (SDM) connection to bear in his relationship with the president. His motto is: PDP is bad, Yar'Adua is good. Last year, he assured the president that if anti-graft agencies didn't disturb him, he would mobilise the media for him. A few months ago, operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) moved against him. Tinubu was lucky. He got hint of it and moved to Abuja immediately. He was there for four days. He practically turned Aso Rock into an extension of Bourdillon. The former governor eventually left Abuja when a presidential order directed the EFCC boys to take their trade to another enemy of state. If you want to annoy Tinubu, tell him that Yar'Adua is not performing and he will fight you to the finish. TanimuA young man with a deep purse, Dr.Tanimu Yakubu Kurfi is the Secretary of YPC. To say that he is a powerbroker is an understatement. He is a ' kingmaker. An indigene of Katsina, he was finance commissioner for four years when Yar'Adua was the governor of the North-West state. When Yar'Adua became the president, Tanimu was appointed as the deputy chief of staff to General Abdullahi Mohammed, Obasanjo's chief of staff, for eight years. Mohammed was deliberately left in the Villa to help Yar'Adua stabilise and protect Obasanjo's interest. A few months after, crisis started as the Yar'Adua boys, led by Tanimu, believed thatMohammed's influence would have a negative impact on their long-term ambition of controlling power from the centre. Things got to a head when Mohammedwent to Yar'Adua that Tanimu must leave. With the backing of Obasanjo, Mohammed had his way and Tanimu was appointed as the Economic Adviser to the President. But unilaterally, Tanimu added20'chief' to his new title, therefore becoming the Chief Economic Adviser to Yar'Adua. Before, he was under Mohammed. But with the new office, he now reports directly to the president and with his loyalists, they plotted Mohammed's fall. With Mohammed's exit, the office of the chief of staff was scrapped, thereby paving the way for Tanimu to indirectly take over his duties.Even ministers seek Tanimu's favour because he has the capacity, connection and power to make or mar them. When the president gets any file or memo on any major contract, he sends it to Tanimu for scrutiny. It is believed the position of Soludo is shaky because Tanimu is eyeing the CBN top seat. Turai Yar'AduaThe Queen behind the throne is known as Mama Aso Rock. Hajia Turai Yar'Adua is the Women Leader of YPC. She has a daily schedule more busy than her husband's. A bundle of energy, she is central to many decisions at the federal level. She is perhaps the most powerful First Lady in Nigerian history. On April 9,2008, she called all former First Ladies to the Presidential Villa for a meeting. At the parley were Hajia Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Mrs. Uche Azikiwe, Mrs. Vivian Aguiyi-Ironsi, Mrs. Victoria - Gowon, Mrs. A j o k e Moh ammed, Mrs. Margaret Shonekan and Mrs. M a r y a m Abacha. It was gathered that Mrs. Maryam Babangida and Justice Fati Abubakar were invited but Maryam Babangida prevailed on General Abdulsalami Abubakar's wife not to attend. This was due to the fact that General Ibrahim Babangida's wife sees Turai as a threat to her. Turai, who got the body language, carried on as if everything was okay but after the meeting, she went all out in her determination to prove that she is not only in control but in charge. From political to corporate positions, with the snap of her finger, she can fix and remove anybody. Ministers constantly seek her favour in one thing or the other. Even governors now send their wives to the First Lady to seek one favour or the other from the Commander-in-Chief. Some Villaworkers who did not believe that she was powerful were convinced on the day 20 ministers were sacked. For two hours, majority of the sacked ministers waited to see the First Lady to no avail. She just told her aides that she was not in the mood to see anybody. When the message came, it dawned on them that everything was over. The belief in the seat of power is that you need Turai's blessing to get anything from Yar'Adua. And she has proved this to be the truth on many occasions. Chief Executive O fficers of many federal government parastatals got this blessing before occupying their seats. RumaAlhaji Abba Sayyad Ruma is the youthleader of YPC. An indigene of Katsina, due to his closeness to the president, a first-time visitor to Aso Rock will think he is Yar'Adua's personal assistant. He is always with the president. But he is one of the most powerful ministers. He oversees the agriculture ministry. When Yar'Adua was governor, Ruma was the Secretary to the State Government (SSG). As SSG, Yar'Adua recommended him to Obasanjo and he was appointed as Minister of State (Education). When Mrs.Oby Ezekwesili left as minister, Ruma replaced her. Ruma and Tanimu were said to have moved against Alhaji BabaGana Kingibe and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) was eventually kicked out. Ruma got close to Yar'Adua in Katsina when he was said to have done the president a special favour. A source said nothing or nobody can separate the duo. AhmedAlhaji Yayale Ahmed is the chairman, Elders Council of YPC. An experienced technocrat, he served Obasanjo as head of service and is one of those left behind by Obasanjo in Yar'Adua's presidency. He is the chairman of the Northern caucus in the Villa. An indigene of Bauchi, he was appointed Defence Minister. When Kingibe's politicking became public, Ahmed was said to have warned him to no avail. Ruma and Tanimu eventually sought his assistance to get rid of Kingibe and they got it. Ahmed was appointed immediately to replace Kingibe. Today, he is one of the strong pillars of the Yar'Adua presidency. YerimahHe was Yar'Adua's colleague from 1999 to 2007. But he was elected on the platform of the then All Peoples Party (APP), now All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in Zamfara State. Like Tinubu, Alhaji Sani Ahmed Yerimah is one of the politicians in opposition parties giving indirect support to the president. He is the chief strategist of YPC. Penultimate Friday, Yerimah succeeded in pushing Governor Aliyu Shinkafi away from the party to the PDP. When he was governor, Shinkafi was his deputy and he imposed the lat-, ter as his successor on May 29, 2007. But a few months after, crisis started.
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