One of the posers which tickled a large number of the people of Yobe State on the one hand, and Nigerians in general on the other, at the tail end of 2018 was: Mai Mala who? The gentleman in question, Mai Mala Buni, had just been picked by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as its candidate in the governorship election in Yobe state, thus eliciting a buzz. Questions such as “Who is he?” “What manner of man is he?” “Is he equipped sufficiently enough to pilot Yobe’s affairs according to expectations?” and “How on earth did he manage to beat the other contestants, some heavyweight politicians in their own right, almost so effortlessly on his way to clinching the highly coveted APC nomination?” Swirled from one corner of the land to the other.
The reason for such posers is not hard to decipher given that being an unassuming, humble personality who would instead operate quietly but effectively in the background rather than amid the bubble of razzmatazz and self-promotion, Buni had mainly remained quiet for so long. So much so, that even as one of the leaders of APC at the national level (as he then was), he went about his duties and responsibilities in his characteristic proactive, efficient and diplomatic manner, shunning the kleighlight and controversies that seem to trail every step of the typical member of the APC National Working Committee (NWC).
The rest, as the saying goes, has since become history. With the support of the then Governor Ibrahim Geidam and a broad spectrum of the people of Yobe state, Buni not only won the 2019 governorship poll but did so in a veritably emphatic manner that can best be described as landside. More importantly, since assuming the exalted throne on May 29, 2019, Buni has held all and sundry spellbound with his remarkable level of competence, capability and capacity to initiate and execute one people-oriented programme and policy after the other. Not unexpectedly, by the time he marked his first anniversary in the saddle recently, accolades upon accolades were showered upon him from the right, left and centre on account of the trail-blazing attainments recorded within such a short time.
Bearing in mind the foregoing, it came as little or no surprise when the goal-getting Yobe state governor was unanimously picked last week as the best man for the seemingly impossible task of piloting APC’s affairs for the next six months. This followed the dissolution of the party’s NWC by the National Executive Committee (NEC) during a make-or-mar meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Presided by President Muhammadu Buhari, those at the meeting unanimously picked Buni as chairman of the APC Caretaker Committee. Aside from cleaning the Augean stable of a party that had been crisis-ridden for quite a while, Buni and members of the committee will climax their assignment by organizing an extraordinary national convention which will lead to the emergence of a new set of national leaders for the ruling party.
Had this challenging chore been entrusted to any other state chief executive, chances are that murmurs such as “His Excellency already has plenty to contend with on a day-to-day basis, more so as Boko Haram and bandits have intensified their terror activities in Yobe and neighbouring states lately…” would have rent the air. But such is the high level of confidence reposed in Buni by President Muhammadu Buhari, governors elected on the platform of APC at various levels and party leaders that the consensus was that at long last a Daniel (nay, Buni) has come to judgement at APC.
This is hardly surprising, given the sure-footed, result-oriented and visionary traits that Buni has brought to bear on governance in the past 13 months of his high-flying administration. The conventional wisdom is that having set the machinery of governance waltzing smoothly throughout every nook and cranny of Yobe state, the new responsibility on his shoulder will hardly be a burden for a man who even his harshest critics grudgingly concede that he is as a tireless leader as he is an indomitable administrator and manager.
In fact, a flash-back to his exploits as one of APC’s top national leaders prior to his election as governors gives plenty cause for optimism. Unlike some NWC members who leveraged on their exalted positions to flex muscles with governors of their home states or party leaders at the state and local levels, Buni maintained cordial relations with all and sundry. In the same vein, instead of taking sides in the wars of attrition often associated with political parties, he elected instead to build bridges of unity and progress.
Against this backdrop, it is not difficult to comprehend the infectious optimism among all APC stakeholders across Nigeria that Buni and members of his committee will deliver. As Alhaji Farouk Musa, a chieftain of APC in Kano poignantly put it, “With His Excellency, Governor Mai Buni in the saddle of our great party, even the blind can see the light at the end of the tunnel for APC.” Truly so. With his impressive track record of performance and industry coupled with his solemn declaration to see the new assignment as a call to national service and the heart-warming steps he has taken since his appointment last week, it is crystal clear that the man with the magic wand is set to shepherd APC to the next level.
