Happy Birthday To Jinx Breaker, Muhammadu Buhari

  Matthew 11:12: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent take it by force."

When I was observing my Bible Study this morning reading Mathew Chapter 11 as is my tradition to at least read a chapter of the Bible before setting out for my daily activities, when I got to verse 12 that says: "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent take it by force," I paused and pondered over it and it was the verse that I meditated upon. After my prayers I tuned on to NigeriaInfo FM Station, to listen to "Newspaper Headlines" before going to the social media to find out what was trending. And what was trending was President Muhammadu Buhari's birthday. I decided to use the opportunity to share what I considered the two major reasons why Buhari became the first opposition presidential candidate to defeat an incumbent president after three failed attempts to get to the Aso Rock Villa.

One of the reasons is located in Mathew cited above, while the other is located in the summary of the highly recommended book, "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, in which the author after interviewing 500 richest Americans of his generation came to the conclusion that what was at the centre of their financial success and other successes in life was the "singleness of purpose" or unquenchable Desire fuelled by a given purpose. That if you concentrate your energy in a single purpose, you are most likely to achieve it, no matter how long it may take.

Buhari started contesting for president in 2003, and from that year he contested in 2007, 2011, and in all these elections, he believed that he won even though most Nigerians and INEC say otherwise. To show his confidence that he ought to be the man in power, he pursued his mandate to the Supreme Court in all these elections, except in 2011 when he with teary eyes announced his retirement from politics. Those tears was a clear demonstration of his frustration in getting the prize he thought was his rightful due.

You will also observe that since Buhari started contesting elections in 2003 under Obasanjo, and Yar'Adua and Jonathan's presidencies, a period spanning 12years, Buhari refused to attend Council of State meetings as a former head of state, because in his mind the conveners were ‘illegal’ occupants of the presidential seat and he cannot give them legitimacy by attending the Council of State meetings. The exception was during the dying days of Jonathan’s administration in 2015, when a meeting of Council of State was convened to determine whether the country was secure enough for the general election to go ahead, and Buhari had to be there to ensure that the PDP government does not shift the date again after previous postponement. By then he was already sensing victory and if his presence would ensure that the elections took place, he had no choice but to attend the council meeting.

While Buhari announced his retirement from politics in 2011, his subconscious mind was yet to be detached from his inner desire to be president, and as is often observed by those with One Desire, the universe work together for you through your subconscious even when you appear to have thrown in the towel. It so happened that “all things worked out for good” for Buhari in 2015 when APC emerged on the scene at a time the incumbent government was accused of monumental corruption locally and internationally. And most of the presidential aspirants who had held public offices in the past within the APC were believed to be corrupt and would have no moral standing to question Jonathan's alleged corruption, thus the lot, so to say, fall on Buhari, who was marketed as an incorruptible leader, and the rest is history. Another reason for Buhari's victory stated earlier was situated in Mathew Chapter 11: 12 cited above, which shows that you cannot get anything of value both physically and spiritually if you are not ready to pay the price. Success, especially the struggle for presidential power, is not for the lily-livered! Happy birthday to the jinx breaker.