Marwa: Military hierarchy tried to stop Tinubu from becoming Lagos governor
Buba Marwa, chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), says top military leaders attempted to block President Bola Tinubu from emerging as governor of Lagos state in 1999.
Marwa, who served as the military administrator of Lagos from 1996 to 1999, said the military establishment viewed Tinubu as a threat because of his pro-democracy activities with the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) during the struggle against military rule.
Speaking on Saturday in Abuja at the public presentation of Buni Boy, a book authored by the late Niyi Ayoola-Daniels, Marwa recounted that Lagos residents had embraced his administration despite their opposition to military rule. Their support, he said, strengthened his resolve to conduct a transparent and credible transition election.
“Even though the head of state then, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, did not interfere in my conduct of the governorship election, the military hierarchy did,” Marwa said.
“After seeing the then-Senator Bola Tinubu’s strong campaign and popularity, the military hierarchy instructed me to prevent him from becoming governor because of his pro-democracy activism in NADECO against the military government then.
“But I chose to conduct a free and fair election that produced the most popular candidate as governor of Lagos State. The rest today is history.”
Marwa, a retired brigadier general, added that his three decades in the military deepened his belief in Nigeria’s unity, describing the army as an institution built on national cohesion.
“In the army, intermarriage and close fellowship pushed us to look past ethnic lines and stand together as one,” he said.
“Wherever I stand in this country, whether among the Ogoni, the Bachama, the Igbo or the Idoma, anywhere at all, I am at home.”
Tinubu’s political journey dates back to the early 1990s. He joined the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in 1991 and was a key supporter of MKO Abiola, the party’s presidential candidate. He was elected to the senate in 1992, representing Lagos West, where he chaired the committee on banking, finance, appropriation, and currency.
After the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Tinubu became a founding member of NADECO, which mobilised for the restoration of democratic rule and the recognition of Abiola as the lawful winner. Like other activists, he went into exile, continuing the campaign abroad through NADECO’s international network.
Following the death of military ruler Sani Abacha in 1998, Tinubu returned to Nigeria and re-entered politics. He was elected governor of Lagos on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1999.
