Former Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, has dropped a harsh verdict on Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election, declaring that neither then-President Goodluck Jonathan nor his challenger, Muhammadu Buhari, had the country’s true interests at heart.
In Chapter 16 of his newly launched autobiography Being True To Myself (pages 416–417), Lamido offered a blistering critique of the two leading candidates, stating bluntly:
“Mr. President, sir, the election of 2015 is not about Nigeria or political parties but between two contending people — Buhari and Jonathan. Neither of you has the overall interest of the country as his ultimate objective, but your aspirations. Thus, whoever wins between you and the country will lose. Yes, Nigeria will lose.”
The book was unveiled in Abuja on May 13, and it chronicles Lamido’s years in public service and politics.
According to the former Foreign Affairs Minister, the PDP under Jonathan failed to recognize internal discontent and ignored warning signs during the campaign trail in the North.
Lamido revealed that he had warned Jonathan about the alienation of core PDP members and the overpowering propaganda from the then-opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), which he said weaponized religion and manipulated public sentiment.
“Buhari was not there for Nigeria; the amalgamation of political interests promoted him,” Lamido wrote.
He also criticized Jonathan for reneging on a gentleman’s agreement reached after the death of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2010.
“Jonathan had also reneged on the agreement he had undertaken after President Yar’Adua’s death in 2010 to complete that tenure only and was now seeking to contest again in 2015. It was a breach of the agreement that was mutually reached.”
Lamido accused the PDP leadership of sidelining loyal party members, saying:
“The party simply pushed them away and never trusted them or got them involved in its affairs.”
He also shed light on how the APC’s religious propaganda created a hostile political atmosphere in the North.
“The propaganda of the APC was so intense that it became very difficult for us to promote him successfully in the state. It was so choking and suffocating that even a Muslim member of PDP felt ashamed to identify with the party because of the emotional blackmail.”
“There was a solid conspiracy to decampaign the PDP and destroy its legacies, with the issue of the Boko Haram insurgency being unduly amplified,” he said, adding that Muslim clerics even joined the fray by condemning the federal government during sermons.
“The net consequence was to make it difficult even for PDP supporters with very strong conviction to sell President Jonathan to voters.”
Lamido’s memoir presents an insider’s perspective on the turbulent 2015 election and underscores the deep fractures that continue to shape Nigeria’s political landscape.
