Tinubu And Thorny Road To Aso Rock

Tinubu And Thorny Road To Aso Rock

The Insight by Lateef Adewole

About one year ago, after months or years of speculation about the interest of the Asiwaju of Lagos in becoming the number one citizen of the country, precisely Monday, 10th of January, 2022, the Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, made his ambition public. This was done after a nationwide consultative tour, and visiting President Muhammadu Buhari to intimate him of his intention. After his private meeting with the president, he addressed a press conference at the state house.

There, he said: “I have informed the President of my ambition but I have not informed Nigerians yet, I am still consulting. And I have no problem consulting. And I’ve not set a parameter of limitation to the extent of how many people I will consult. You will soon hear. All you want to hear is the categorical declaration. You’ve gotten that truth from me that I have informed Mr President of my ambition, and you don’t expect more answers than that.”

Since that day, all hell was let loose. Despite the fact that Nigerians have always suspected his interest in the top job, yet, it seemed they never expected him to pursue it. The reason for this is not based on any legitimacy but individuals’ subjective opinions. From then on, he began to face clearer, more confrontational and open battles to realise his ambition. Why do I say this? It is because, all along, since supporting Buhari to win the presidential election to upstage a sitting president, he has been faced with endless battles, not only from outside but more from within his own party, APC.

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Immediately after the new government was sworn-in, it took only some months before Buhari was ring-fenced and highjacked by a few, often referred to as the “cabal”. This group of people took charge at the villa and ensured only those they wished should access the president did. With such intrigues, while trying to cut the influence of Tinubu in the party, on the president and in the new administration of APC, he was sidelined. It was glaring how he was left in the lurch for dead. His access to President Buhari was curtailed, contrary to expectations, based on his personal contributions in bringing the government to power.

Truly, Tinubu became a butt of jokes from the opposition parties and members, and from his traditional enemies. They laughed at him and abused him for “betraying” the south, by supporting Buhari, a northerner, against Jonathan, his fellow southerner. In all honesty, allowing emotion and sentiment to get the better of me, I criticised him too. I supported Jonathan and wanted him to complete his two terms.

Although, my main reason was that I did not see Buhari as suitable to run a diversified, multi-ethnic, multicultural, multireligious, country like Nigeria in this 21st century and under a democratic system. I felt he does not have the temperament, the capacity and dexterity to lead at this time. It happened that I was proven right within the shortest time after he became president. This is by the way.

However, with the benefit of hindsight, I was wrong with regards to wanting power to remain in the south at that time. It was a fair position that Tinubu and others who formed APC took to have supported power shift to the north. This tore PDP into two and took many of the bigwigs in the party, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwa, five “powerful” sitting governors, many senators and rep. members, state lawmakers, and numerous other party stalwarts and faithfuls. All hinged their position on fairness of power shift to the north.

But, isn’t it ironic today that this very same set of people, Atiku, Saraki, Tambuwa, and many of them, have abandoned the same “fairness” principle they believed and championed in 2015, but now championing that power should be retained in the north, after eight years of President Buhari, a northerner? Atiku is now the flag bearer of the main opposition party and all the political sojourners to APC then have since returned home (PDP). They are fighting to keep the presidency in the north in perpetuity. What hypocrisy!

Back to Tinubu. In less than a year of the new administration of Buhari, all efforts were geared towards dismantling the political structure of Tinubu by the cabal. The then party Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomole, who they felt was his loyalist, was removed in controversial circumstances. Many of his foot soldiers were sidelined in appointments and positions in government. He was not involved as well, as expected, to contribute his quota in the new administration, for the progress of the country and success of the government.

This went on until it was nearing time for another election. Tinubu suddenly became the “beautiful bride” once again. He was courted. Against many peoples’ expectations, he supported President Buhari and emersed himself in his reelection, deployed all his resources and they won. Thunder does not strike twice on the same spot. That was not the case with Tinubu, he was ostracised the second time immediately the second term kicked off. And like the previous time, he became object of ridicule for jesters. But he was patient and endured all that were thrown at him.

Political watchers knew why all that happened. It was all targeted at waning his political prowess, clipping his wings so much so that by the time it was time for another election when Buhari would have completed his constitutionally allowed two terms, Tinubu’s dream of nearing the presidency would have collapsed. Unfortunately for them, he survived. So, when he eventually came public with his declaration, it jolted them. “Eni a ro pe ko le p’ago, o se bi ere bi ere o k’ole alaruru”. Then, another round of battle began.

It has been a long time since Nigerians witnessed such intriguing presidential primary contest like seen in APC last year. They started with criminally outrageous fees for the forms, which was fixed at a whooping N100 million. This became a screening tactics as “men and women were separated from boys and girls”. To the shock of Nigerians, about 28 people bought the forms. In this difficult economy? That was incredible.

After all the shenanigans that heralded the sorting, screening and interviews of aspirants, 23 aspirants scaled through. All along, every effort was made to stop Tinubu. Consensus was accentuated as a means to take him out because many knew he would not be that consensus candidate. Buhari’s name was peddled to intimidate him to silence or step down, but he did not bulge. He remained steadfast and focused on his goal. All he demanded was a free and fair primary, which he believes if he loses, he will peacefully go back home, but his enemies feared that he would be unbeatable in a free contest. That was exactly what happened.

Like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said and I quote: “The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night”. While majority of the aspirants were banking on some endorsement by the president and waiting to be announced as the “annointed” candidate, Tinubu continued to work very hard, building bridges, winning allies, consulting people, negotiating and bargaining compromises, and spreading his tentacles, as he had done in the last thirty years since 1992. The outcome was evident at the presidential primary where he scored 57.7% of the total vote cast, among 22 aspirants to clinch the ticket. He scored 1,271 fro a total of 2,203 vote cast. Then, another round of battle started.

Since becoming the APC presidential flag bearer, Tinubu couldn’t have received as much attacks in his lifetime as he has received in the past six months. They came from all fronts; internal and external. So far, he has managed to wriggle through them till date. The first challenge he was confronted with was choosing a running mate. Being a muslim from the south, the christian community felt he should automatically pick a christian from the north. Many of his allies who are christians from the north must have been positioning themselves for his pick.

Unfortunately, he disappointed them when he picked Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate. A consideration he said was purely political, expedient and had nothing to do with religion. The Christians didn’t want to hear that. Well, I agreed with him. I wrote an article on that at the time; “Muslim-Muslim Ticket and Political Expidiency”. I opined that given the shape that the presidential contest was taking, with Atiku emerging as PDP flag bearer, Tinubu must do everything possible to counter that move, if not to completely neutralise the massive influence of Atiku in the north. Shettima is from the same region as Atiku. All that fell on deaf ears. Well, we have since moved pass that.

Isn’t it funny that the same people who accused Tinubu of wanting to turn Nigeria to an Islamic State by choosing a muslim as his running mate, are now campaigning in the north that Tinubu is not a “real” muslim? They are now using his having a pastor as wife and that he couldn’t recite verses of the Qur’an, against him. How does one reconcile the two? If he is now no more a muslim, how does “Muslim-Muslim” ticket matter then? Politics is indeed, a dirty game. Narratives must be manipulated to suit one’s interest irrespective of how callous or dangerous they can be. Such is the height of desperation.

Campaigns have started since September 28, 2022. There is nothing that has not been unearthed about Tinubu, just to get him out of the race. None has succeeded so far. All manners of accusations and allegations have been levied against him. Multiple court cases to stop him have failed. Blackmails, intimidation of his supporters online and offline, threats, and so on, have been thrown in the mix, he has remained standing. He was called sick, invalid, senile, and all. Yet, so far in this campaign, no other candidate could rival his hard work. He has traversed the whole country multiple times.

The level of his engagements, their depth and reach, have been unprecedented in Nigerian election history. Nearly every single segment and sector of our society have been met, interacted with by him to sell himself and his manifesto. He is the clearest in terms of what exactly he wants to do, how he wants to do them and when he intends to do them. He is known for being visionary from his track records, he has brought that to bear on his campaign, selling his vision to Nigerians, far and wide. They believe him. He has done it before. It is hoped that he can replicate it again at national level.

Today, 28 days to the D-day: the presidential election, Tinubu has not rested on his oars. He has remained resilient and pushing forward. That took him to Abeokuta on Wednesday. There, he appealed to the people to be patient and endure all that they are going through at the moment with regards to the hardship imposed by the ongoing fuel scarcity. He felt that saboteurs are creating the artificial petrol scarcity to make the APC government look bad. By extension, it will create bitterness against the party in the minds of voters so that they won’t vote for him. This is not impossible. In politics, just like in war, all is fair.

The story of naira redesign cannot be said to be targeted at Tinubu or him alone, even if at all it is true. He is not the only politician contesting. If vote buying allegation is levied against politicians, focusing only on Tinubu will be senseless. Since the policy was announced, National Assembly has made several interventions for CBN to reevaluate the position and process. That chamber does not consist of only APC members or Tinubu’s people. Many PDP candidates have spoken against the deadline imposed despite the unavailability of the new notes. The Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has asked for extension of the deadline.

Nigerians should better brace up for the consequences for some days before and after the deadline. Many business owners have vowed not to accept old notes from Monday 30th January, to avoid falling victim in the event they couldn’t exchange their cash sales revenues for the new notes. In many communities, towns, and cities in some states, people have stopped collecting old notes since a week to the deadline; market sellers, transporters, and all. Donations of old notes were even rejected in some places of worship. Business transactions have been crippled by this. Old notes are been exchanged at discounted values by unscrupulous bankers who are cashing-in on the desperation of the people to change their money. Yet, the new notes are nowhere to be found.

Personally, I have only seen and touched just two N1000 new notes since it was released. I am yet to see or touch the N500 and N200 notes. Just few days to the end of the old notes, people are still being given old notes from inside the banks when they make withdrawals. Many banks’ ATMs are still dispensing old notes. Those dispensing new notes have small amounts loaded into them. What kind of dysfunctional management of the currency is that? Wasn’t it thought through?

It is ludicrous for anyone to think they can beat these politicians in their game. I have a feeling that same politicians who could have been the target of the policy, as alleged, would have found their ways around it. It might surprise us all when the new notes start coming out close to, and on the day of the election. Then, all that “gragra” would have been defeated. But in truth, it will help reduce vote buying to some extent as the politicians wouldn’t have as much access to as large a cash as they would have previously stockpiled for the elections. That is a positive. But, ordinary citizens will suffer for it too.

Power belongs to God. He gives whoever He wishes. But there is nothing abnormal to aspire. It is within Tinubu’s right to want to become the president, just like every other Nigerian. It is left for the people if they want him to be their president or not. That is why we call it democracy: government of the people, by the people and for the people. Rather than the anti-Tinubu forces to focus on attacking him, they should work harder to sell their alternative candidates to the electorates. Let them know why theirs are better than Tinubu to lead the country and solve the people’s problems. Otherwise, “O.Y.O na their case o!”

In all, as we count down to February 25, we can only hope and pray for the best to emerge. This will be after we have done our own part as human beings. God won’t come down to vote, but He has a way of answering prayers. Nigerians should come out enmass to vote for their preferred candidates. Violence should be eschewed. We will continue to preach against people selling their votes even if it will still happen. May God save our country. I wish Tinubu and all other contestants well.

May God continue to protect us and guide us aright.

God Bless Nigeria.

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January 28, 2023.