Even before he was appointed to head the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) in 2003, not many Nigerians know him nor were familiar with his name, but his popularity was limited to the Nigeria Police Force where he served as a police officer.
Mallam Nuhu Ribadu became a household name when President Olusegun Obasanjo appointed him in 2003 to head the anti graft commission set up to get rid of corruption which has become anathema to the progress of Nigeria. The position he held till 2007 when President Obasanjo left office.
Being the pioneer Chairman of the EFCC, and also his first stint in government, he performed creditably.
Ribadu was one of Nigeria’s most powerful men with a trove of secrets about the country’s elite.
When he held sway as the EFCC boss he reported directly to Obasanjo, bypassing bureaucratic burdens within the security hierarchy and civil service.
In the age of increase in cyber-crime fraud, rank-and-file con artists feared Ribadu the soft-spoken figure. Governors and millionaires were worried whenever he mentioned their names publicly.
Nobody was spared when he was in charge at the EFCC, even the police chief, Ribadu’s boss at the time, Tafa Balogun was tried, convicted and given a prison sentence.
As a result of his holistic approach to corruption and corrupt practices he gained recognition. African Union, World Bank, and United Nations who appointed Ribadu to boards and committees on recovery of stolen assets.
When Obasanjo completed his tenure as President of Nigeria, the fear of Ribadu as the anti graft Cesar chased some governors who have completed their second term in office out of the country, because since they no longer enjoy immunity they felt the hammer of the anti graft agency may fall on them.
It took the reassurance of Umaru Shehu Musa Yar’Adua who succeeded Obasanjo before some of the former governors returned to Nigeria.
The elite in the society seemed uncomfortable with the way EFCC haunt for corrupt leaders, and as such the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Miko Okiro removed him as the head of the anti graft commission and sent him on a training course before letting him go from the police office. It was a decision believed to be politically motivated after a London court jailed another ex-governor James Ibori – an influential associate of then President Umaru Yar’Adua over the theft of $200 million in state funds. Ribadu testified during the trial, accusing Ibori of trying to bribe him with $15 million in cash.
When Ribadu was ousted, United States of America (USA) responded very negatively, pushing back on the Yar’Adua administration. America felt like it had invested a lot of time, money and energy in Ribadu personally and the EFCC generally and that Yar’Adua was throwing that all away. After his removal he was replaced with Farida Waziri under whom the EFCC lost the steam for the fight against corruption.
Having have a stint in government, his interest in contributing his quota to the development of the country increased, he was unanimously picked as the Presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
At the party convention held in Lagos, all the delegates at the convention answered yes in a voice vote to determine their support for him.
The four front runners who vied for ACN tickets were Mallam Ribadu, former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Atahiru Bafarawa, former scribe of the party, Dr Usman Bugaje, and Mallam Saidu Malami.
At the convention Attahiru Bafarawa declared that he joins the party, not as a desperate person who want to become the president but he want to help build the ACN to an enviable standard.
Attahiru Bafarawa and Saidu Malami later announced their withdrawal from the contest hence giving Mallam Nuhu Ribadu a smooth ride to victory.
Ribadu was proclaimed winner after other contestants withdrew from the contest. He was acclaimed winner by a general vote of party delegates across the country.
Ribadu and his party went round the country to campaign, but he eventually lost the presidential election to the Peoples Democratic Party candidate (PDP), Dr.Goodluck Jonathan.
Not relenting in his desire to serve his country in whatever capacity he took up an appointment under President Jonathan as the chairman of the Petroleum Special Revenue Task Force from 2012 to 2014.
Not done with his ambition he decided to run for the post of governor of his state Adamawa in 2015 on the platform of the PDP.
Ribadu commands a lot of respect in his state, that one would have concluded the governorship poll would be a walk over for him. When declaring his intention to join the race, he told his audience,
“The trigger of me being here today is that passion to uplift that I have; it is that spirit with which I am known, all my life. It is that zeal that saw me going into the police, as against obviously more lucrative career paths.
“My philosophy, as we were taught, is that one should put the interest of the public over any other consideration.”
He stressed, In life of service, one’s first consideration should be the impact one makes under the circumstance. It is therefore that same will to serve that is responsible for me respecting and answering to the people’s choice to come back home and serve the people of Adamawa State under the platform of the PDP,” Ribadu said.
While commending those who wooed him to PDP, he said “I would like to appreciate those members of the PDP who privately and publicly prodded on me to join this party. My appreciation also to the leadership of our party for the warm reception accorded me deserving of any full-fledged party stalwart.
“This kind reception did not begin from today, it began from the day I signified the intention of joining this great party. Today, I come to you as a full-blown party member who defines himself in the spirit of community service and party development. Whatever brought us here, the love for and need to serve our people is supreme,” he noted.
Mr. Ribadu urged political actors in the state to do away with anything that could not augur well for the state.
Surprisingly, despite the flock like following he enjoyed he lost the election to the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate Mohammed Jibril Bindawa.
Reasons advanced for his poor performance firstly, the North have lost interest in President Goodluck Jonathan administration, and as such his party the PDP was no longer attractive.
General Muhammadu Buhari ambition to rule Nigeria was considered a done deal, so his party APC became the bride to be wooed in the 2015 general elections coupled with the cult like following he commands in the North, there was a massive support for APC and its candidates.
Apart from the above generic factors that affected Nuhu Ribadu’s fortunes in the Adamawa governorship race, there are other factors which were peculiar to his ambition. Ethnicity, religion and money politics are deeply rooted in Adamawa politics and often shape the voting pattern in the state.
The Adamawa 2015 governorship election was characterised by deep religious sentiment. For instance, the Social Democratic Party governorship (SDP) candidate, Markus Gundiri ran his campaign largely on the platform of faith – banking on only Christian votes. Mr. Gundiri’s envisaged that since there were three Muslim-Hausa-Fulani candidates running on the platforms of the APC, PDP and PDM, he would carry the day. Mr. Gundiri’s adventure affected Ribadu’s chances while most of the PDP strongholds gave their votes to him.
Mr. Gundiri’s candidacy was a product of anger with the PDP for failing to allow the candidacy of a Christian. There were speculations that Governor Bala Ngilari supported the SDP instead of his party, the PDP.
Other issues that affected Ribadu’s chances was the SDP campaign style which forced the Muslim Hausa-Fulani to follow the path and direction of their cousins in the northwest- the famous APC.
Also APC presidential candidate Buhari has a special relationship with Adamawa people, his wife is from Adamawa state. It was reported that Buhari’s voice was aired on some radio stations in most states in the north asking people not to disgrace him and his party, the APC. That singular statement was very instrumental in denying Mr. Ribadu huge number of votes especially from the Hausa-Fulani dominated areas.
What majorly frustrated Ribadu governorship ambition was the internal crisis within the PDP. The crisis could not be resolved up to the time of elections, the aggrieved were not fully integrated into the party.
Most Nigerians seem to be angry with the PDP in the 2015 general elections because of certain reasons, especially its failure to combat insurgency that has devastated the North-eastern part of the country with the attendant socio-economic effects being felt throughout the North. In fact, in some parts of Nigeria, including Adamawa State, the PDP was overwhelmingly rejected that anybody the APC presented was voted for.
The Atiku Abubakar factor in Adamawa politics was also another albatross for Mr. Ribadu. At the tail end of the governorship campaign, Atiku became very determined to deliver his state to the APC. That affected Mr. Ribadu’s chances in the southern part of Adamawa, especially in the Chamba chiefdom.
The outcome of Adamawa governorship election results have some far reaching political implications on the state’s polity. There are losers and winners. Former governor Murtala Nyako was a winner- most of his political associates won elective posts, while all of his political foes suffered defeat. Atiku Abubakar was another influencer of APC fortune, he rekindled his hitherto strong political structure and kingmaker position in Adamawa. The Governor-elect, Mohammed Jibril Bindawa was also a winner – he assumed a post of prime political relevance then.
Though he was ascribed as the best material for the governorship position in his state, the underlying Nigeria politics factor robbed him of victory.
More so he has built up a traducer, especially among the elite who are angry with him for picking on them for corrupt practices when he was chairman of the anti graft commission, and some of them still nurse the grudge.
The strict opposition in the North for President Jonathan to run in 2015 weakened the PDP. Anything associated with him, was strongly disapproved while the Buhari tsunami swept away anything and everything PDP
Many admitted that Ribadu was a good candidate but he ran the governorship race at the wrong time.
Winners never quit, quitters never win they say, this axiom may be the principle propelling Ribadu not to give up on his ambition to serve his people, despite his setbacks he keeps thrusting on. In the build up to 2019 general elections he made move to fly the banner of his new political party APC, but lost the primary to Windo Jubirilla, also in the build up to the last general elections, 2023 he threw in his towel for Adamawa governorship position on the platform of APC but he lost the party primary to Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed, who emerged the party candidate.
Having seen his desire and determination to serve his country, in any opportunity available to him, President Bola Tinubu appointed Ribadu as the National Security Adviser (NSA). His position is very relevant in the face of the insecurity challenge Nigeria is facing.
His advice will reflect in the ability of the government in power to tackle the security challenge which has ravaged nearly every part of the country and his state Adamawa is not exempted.
