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When Fola Adeola was belatedly
announced this week as the ACN running mate to presidential candidate
Nuhu Ribadu, it completed the campaign roster of the four main
candidates vying for president. Almost as important as the presidential
candidate, the role of a running mate cannot be underestimated. As the
country’s number two citizen, the deputy’s credentials must therefore
be just as strong as the presidential candidates themselves.

The architect and the academic

The debate had raged, ever since
one-time university lecturer Goodluck Jonathan was named acting
president, over whether he would appoint a number two. That discussion
became moot when he was eventually named as substantive president. His
decision to pick Namadi Sambo can be described as a surprise at the
time. Apart from the fact that there were more prominent contenders,
Mr. Sambo’s three-year tenure as governor of Kaduna had not seen any
great distinction. Expectations were high in 2007 when he was elected
into his first major political role. He trumpeted an 11-point agenda
which he promised would reposition Kaduna as a national force. Promises
were made to revive the state’s health and educational sectors as well
as improve water supply, infrastructure and roads. As of May 15, 2010,
when his name was submitted to the National Assembly, no significant
inroads had been made in any of these areas. Mr. Sambo did record
significant success in cleaning up Kaduna’s image as a hotbed of ethnic
clashes. He is widely credited as the brain behind Operation Yaki, an
innovative task force which combined the strengths of local vigilante
groups, the police and even the armed forces. The security force has
been responsible for reducing crime in the state and preventing the
spillover of clashes that have occurred in Plateau and Bauchi. Prior to
his life in the public sector, Mr. Sambo was a businessman of some
renown. He still owns three companies and developed a reputation as a
very prominent architect in the 1980s. A quiet, unassuming character,
he is not the most inspirational of speakers and will probably connect
only with his constituents.

The banker and the policeman

The Action Congress of Nigeria
(ACN) were the last major party to name a presidential running mate.
The delay bordered on the absurd after at least three names were on the
verge of being announced before being pulled at the last minute. It was
hardly heartening to supporters of the party that Sunny Ugochukwu,
Ngozi Okonji-Iweala and Chris Ngige were all considered before former
banker Fola Adeola was eventually named this week. The delay also
exposed the underlying rift that lay between Nuhu Ribadu and Bola
Tinubu. The setbacks notwithstanding, Fola Adeola will join the
campaign trail from Monday and appears a popular choice amongst party
support. With Nuhu Ribadu at the helm, the ACN are using the
‘progressive’ tag as a mantra and, on paper, Mr. Adeola certainly fits
the bill. The chartered accountant was the founder and managing
director of Guaranty Trust Bank until he retired in 2002. His
professional life has been largely without scandal and GTB was one of
the banks that avoided the banking crisis of 2009.

In spite of his impressive CV, Mr.
Adeola comes with no real political experience. This is not for a lack
of trying. As a PDP candidate, he contested in the 2007 elections for
the Ogun Central Senatorial district but eventually lost out to Iyabo
Obasanjo-Bello. In 2003, he was reportedly offered the position of
finance minister in President Obasanjo’s regime. He refused for reasons
that remained undisclosed. He has played a prominent role in the
National Pensions Commission but has never been involved in frontline
politics. What he may lack in political sense, he makes up for in
strong rhetoric. Where Mr. Ribadu is more reticent, his running mate is
a trained motivational speaker. His speeches, however, are usually
aimed at high-level professionals and executives. It will be
interesting to see if he can adapt his style when addressing grassroot
voters. As a Muslim, he and Ribadu echo the Abiola/Kingibe ticket in
1992’s annulled elections. Supporters point to the overwhelming
popularity of that particular duo. Critics, on the other hand, suggest
that ethnic and religious tensions have heightened somewhat since then.

The pastor and the general

Many of Muhammed Buhari’s critics
have expressed concerns about his inflexible style, expressing concern
that this may extend to his religious views. The former general has
been at great pains to deny suggestions that he has an underlying
radical Islamist agenda. It is believed that this counted against him
in the 2003 and 2007 elections. It was always likely, therefore, that
he would pick a Christian southerner as a running mate, but he went a
step further by naming a bonafide pastor in Tunde Bakare. It remains to
be seen if the move is a masterstroke for the Congress for Progressive
Change (CPC) but Mr. Bakare is an immensely popular personality.
Although not a politician, the head of the Latter Rain Assembly, has
never been shy about criticising the government. So vehement was his
criticism that he was detained and questioned by state security
officials in 2002 for speaking out against President Obasanjo’s
administration. He famously called the former president ‘a false
messiah.’ A fiery character, the Pentecostal pastor has achieved great
success through his brand of ‘televangelism’ both domestically and
internationally. He also started an advocacy group, Save Nigeria Group,
which played a pivotal role in organizing protest rallies during the
late President Yar’Adua’s protracted absence. The pastor created a stir
last year after his group visited President Jonathan last year and
reportedly declined a $50,000 gift. His lack of political clout is an
obvious disadvantage but, like Mr. Adeola, he can speak directly to a
crowd, thanks to his background as a lawyer and pastor. Mr. Buhari is
occasionally labeled as being aloof but his running mate talks in a
language that people can identify with.

Although an intriguing choice as
running mate, he is similar in many ways to Mr. Buhari. The two men can
be described as radicals who often hold extremist views. Neither has
yet displayed a capacity to show great flexibility in their approach.
As a firebrand character, Mr. Bakare’s presence in the campaign team
will not counterbalance the public’s view of Mr. Buhari.

The governor and the governor

At 71, John Odigie Oyegun is the
oldest of the men seeking to be vice-president. As the All Nigeria
People’s party (ANPP) presidential candidate Ibrahim Shekarau’s running
mate, Mr. Oyegun does however possess some political pedigree. In 1992,
he was elected as the first civilian governor of the newly-formed Edo
state but was removed when Sani Abacha seized power. A development
planner by training, Mr. Oyegun had previously been in the employ of
the federal civil service and had served as a permanent secretary
across several ministries. ANPP’s strategy is clear. The plan is to use
Mr. Oyegun to capture votes in the South-South where the party has no
foothold. Although Mr. Oyegun is remembered favourably from his
20-month stint, he has little clout in the region. He is the party’s
deputy chairman in the south but his appointment may lend little value
to the chances of the ANPP. Mr. Oyegun is a highly knowledgeable and
eloquent individual but his age might be a disadvantage. With the
rigours of a political campaign to consider, this could prove a crucial
factor for a party still struggling with its identity.