Alhaji Buba Galadima, a chieftain of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP), has stated that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari was persuaded to join politics in 2002 as a strategic response to the violent activities of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC).
Galadima spoke on Tuesday during an interview on Arise Television’s The Morning Show.
He said Buhari, a former military head of state, had no initial interest in politics but was convinced by northern leaders who feared that the OPC posed a direct threat to Fulani communities, especially in Ilorin, Kwara state.
He explained that the OPC had invaded Ilorin around 1999 and 2000 with over 500 vehicles, allegedly intending to uproot what they called “Fulani structures” in the city.
“We felt that was too much, and President Olusegun Obasanjo was doing nothing. Governor Bola Tinubu, then in charge of Lagos, also did nothing.
“So, we believed the OPC was getting political cover from their leaders,” Galadima said.
According to him, he convened a meeting of 34 northern leaders in Kaduna, where the idea of bringing Buhari into politics was born.
“I suggested that you can only remove a government in two ways: through the barrel of the gun or the ballot box. We chose the latter,” he said.
He revealed that when Buhari was first approached, he had “very unkind words for politicians” and expressed deep scepticism about partisan politics.
“But since he didn’t say no, we continued to persuade him,” Galadima added.
He said once Buhari was brought into the political scene, the Obasanjo-led government quickly moved to curb the OPC’s activities.
“Immediately Buhari joined partisan politics, Obasanjo’s government was shaken to its bone marrow. He moved to checkmate the OPC. That was the first mission, and we achieved it,” he said.
