Reflections On How Gov Buni Made APC The Largest Party In Africa

By Malam Ali I. Abbas

Reflecting on 2026 APC National Convention in Abuja, I can’t help but reshare the repository of my April 5, 2022, abridged article entitled “Gov. Buni and CECPC Assignment: The Making of a Quintessential National Leadership Material”.

In one of his famous lines, Shakespeare once wrote: “some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Today, most powerful leaders fall to any of these 3 categories. These famous lines describe the immediate past Chairman of the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) and Secretary of 2026 APC National Convention, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State.

Throughout the trajectory of his political life, Buni was never known to be an ambitious person. And yet, when each moment came, he did his best to rise to the occasion. In the 2026 convention as its secretary and Chairman of Reconciliation and mobilisation, Buni has once again proven to be a great leader who brought semblance of collective leadership to the party. With a magnetic charisma and an unparallel commitment, matched with talent for inspiring all, Buni has steered the APC toward the apex of its golden history.

One cannot easily forget, upon assumption as the CECPC Chairman in June 2020, Governor Buni embarked on an all-inclusive reconciliation process that provided a true sense of belonging and reassurance to all stakeholders in the collective ownership of APC. Those frank discussions built bridges of hope, confidence and determination in the hearts and minds of most party members. Even those who left the party, returned. President Buhari at the time and all stakeholders were highly elated by the successes recorded by Buni led CECPC, as the party has bounced back to life.

As part of a strategy to bolster its support base and give ownership of the party to its members through mobilisation, the Buni led CECPC organized a National Youth summit in Abuja and also mobilised strategic women and People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) from all over Nigeria for active participation in all party’s programmes and activities. I must say, there is no precedence for any of this kind of strategic mass-enrolment campaign by any ruling party in independent Nigeria.

Under Buni’s leadership, the social strata restructuring of the party happened even at the lowest levels of government. Buni’s novelty decentralised and empowered local politicians, reserved posts for youth, women and PLWD thereby enhancing the management and functions of the party activities. This enrolment suggests mass party mobilisation at work for earlier neglected strata of the society.

Having reconciled stakeholders in the party, Buni also embarked on an ambitious membership enrolment campaign, registration and revalidation exercise. With such drastic party change, the APC recorded 41.7 million registered members from previous 11 million members, Buni inherited. The APC therefore grew its membership 400 times or fourfold its initial number under Buni’s 18 months of heading the party. Hence, APC is considered the largest political party not only in Nigeria but in Africa and the 4th largest in the world.

The Buni led CECPC recorded massive defections into the party: governors, national and state assembly members, among other heavyweights. It was like hurricane or the Tsunami politically. No wonder Buni was nicknamed “the Defector General” and some TV commentators wondered if Buni was using “Juju” to woe such high level defections into APC. APC can today boast of 32 sitting governors, as Buni has earlier provided the vehicle which saw APC gaining momentum day by day, that if maintained by Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda leadership of the party would culminate into retaining power at the centre as well as expanding its winning spree to other frontier states across the country.

If the party must be sustained, for many years, a genuine and all-inclusive reconciliation in the collective ownership of APC as an important strategy must be sustained. Even in his recent role as Chairman of APC’s reconciliation and mobilisation, Buni continued to preach and practice that politicians must be partners for progress and not rivals for power. In essence, there must be long-term strategies in building party cohesion and confidence among the stakeholders and members, and the creation of a deliberate party systems that are more than just a “vote-catching machine.”

With many years to come, a serious political party like APC, Buni believes the party and its legacy must outlive its founders. His acknowledgement of Pa Bisi Akande and the likes as those “who cut the umbilical cord of the party” is not an overemphasis. The APC National Secretariat, the ‘BUHARI HOUSE’ must be maintained and equipped with the best digital gadgets and equipment to run its modern day era operations. It must also serve as an archive for the party’s history and records.

Another great lesson for the current leadership to build on is how the party under Buni introduced a Tripartite Consultation Forum (TCF) where the party, the National Assembly APC caucus, and the executive arm of government built a conducive working relationship. The initiative if sustained and enhanced, it will further cement the very much-needed mutual relationship among the three compartments of government thereby enhancing mutual trust, understanding, collaboration and teamwork.

Having successfully brought back life to Nigeria’s ruling party, the APC, on his rescue mission in 2020 to 2022 and his current roles in the party and convention, no political analyst would dispute the fact, Buni is arguably today the greatest paradox in Nigeria’s political history that has changed the dynamics of party administration. Although Buni was catapulted to the vortex of history through sheer circumstances and destiny, he has successfully restructured and repositioned the party.

All said, Buni has fitted in perfectly what most Nigerian politicians refer to BRIDGE BUILDER who can be trusted and relied upon in a time of crisis and management of success. Buni has these capable personality traits that seem to get along with everyone and anyone. In fact, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and APC strategically tasked Governor Buni for these missions in the party which he has successfully delivered.

I believe that Buni is not only a hope for the youth and other deprived social strata in Yobe State, APC and Nigeria, but equally an astute politician who massively contributed to the national ruling party, APC, in one of the most diverse and complex countries like Nigeria. Certainly, there must be something so special, unique and extra-ordinary about this cool-headed gentleman in person of Buni that is yet to be unravelled.

Hon. Mai Mal Buni undoubtfully remains a champion of progressive national politics. The fact that Buni had always contested and won elections at multi-levels (currently being the Yobe State Governor, first national secretary of APC and its immediate past chairman of CECPC, chairman reconciliation and secretary of national convention), it means that, Governor Buni is a reputable and marketable national political material. Such age advantage mixed with learned political experience are rarely found.

– Malam Ali I. Abbas is a Professor of Political Science with specialty in peace, security and development and Founder of Progressive Minds for Better Nigeria (PM4BNigeria) reachable via [email protected].