
Fellow Nigerians permit me to say,
it is no longer a secret that the former Governor of Lagos State and easily one
of the most influential politicians in Africa, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has
his gaze firmly fixed on the Nigerian Presidential seat in Abuja.
Let me put it
more frontally, Tinubu will love to drop the Chieftaincy title, Asiwaju, for
that of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Who wouldn’t, anyway? I once tried my luck
despite not having ten percent of Tinubu’s stupendous resources, extensive
networks, public service experience and achievements and so on. I know that
some will think it is too early to be talking about a successor to President Muhammadu
Buhari given that his second term is barely six months old. Nevertheless, the
political gladiators are already baring their fangs and showing their hands and
flapping their wings. It would be silly of anyone to shut their eyes to such
developments.
The
debate is already raging, as always. We love to talk. Don’t we? That’s our
pastime, sadly or joyously. The naysayers are having a field day with a
plethora of reasons and questions on why he cannot succeed. What does Tinubu
want again? He can’t win! He is not fit enough! He is too tainted and
tarnished! The Hausa-Fulani will never give him power. How can he think he can
attain what Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Moshood Abiola failed to get? Why
can’t he field one of the people he empowered in the past? Too many questions
begging for answers.
I
often wonder what exactly the matter is with us we practically groan and
grumble over anything and everything. Someone once wrote that we all have the
Abacha traits in us. We are all autocratic and oppressive in nature, the reason
Democracy is not working here and may never work in most parts of Africa. We
are just too intolerant and too dismissive. But for me and my house, I’m a
consummate Democrat. I believe everyone has the right to aspire to any height in
life, especially in politics. Political leadership is not the personal property
of any person, dynasty or group!
If
you ask me, I will tell you, unequivocally, and repeatedly, that Tinubu
is eminently qualified to contest. If you ask me if he is a saint, I will say
no. None of us is. Not even Buhari. Not you, not me. Nations are not governed
by saints but by performers. That is one of the recurring themes that I
regularly propagate in my musings and reflections. I have no illusions that
Tinubu will definitely perform as President of Nigeria if he ever contests and
wins. He has a knack for identifying brilliant minds and fertile brains, and
the ability to nurture them to greatness. He has demonstrated this repeatedly
and almost endlessly. Examples abound without doubt.
Does
Tinubu suffer from excesses and shortcomings? Perhaps, again like all mortals,
he does. This does not diminish his greatness. His excesses are mitigated by
several strong and positive qualities. He is generous to a fault. He has lifted
many souls, old and young, from penury and perdition. He is a classic example
of the Good Samaritan. We all have our shortcomings and why should Tinubu be an
exception. Too many unprintable rumours, myths and comments have been
circulated in writing and also spoken about him, some bordering on character
assassination and unverifiable vilification, but God chooses and anoints those
he wants. And no one can challenge God. It is obvious that Tinubu has been
richly blessed, despite his apparent foibles. Such is life.
I
have followed his trajectory for close to three decades. His story is a stuff
of fairy tales. All those who have disparaged, derided, denigrated and despised
him have not been able to bring him down, despite their monumental efforts to
achieve this. When you think he is supine, broken and out, he rises, like the
Black onyx and soars again. I witnessed this, live and direct, during our exile
days. Many times, we all felt down and out but Tinubu’s passion and influence
re-engineered things and made us redouble our efforts. The reason is simple.
Tinubu has an uncommon audacity. I believe his bravery has taken him beyond his
own imagination. A man who has survived too many tribulations like him cannot
be an ordinary soul. God must love him dearly and extraordinarily. He has
fought many battles that he won, spectacularly. He is naturally smart and
adequately fearless. A mutual friend once told a few of us that he is very sure
Tinubu would still take the risk even if you say a particular venture will kill
him. He has such kamikaze instincts. You can’t go far in life if you’re
too squeamish and Tinubu is a living proof that courage conquers all.
It
is wrong to say Tinubu has no right to run for the Presidency in 2023. Who are
those who will run if he does not? How are they better? What qualifies them to
run that disqualifies him from running? Yes, I may prefer younger people to
take over but many of them we have seen have not justified the noise about “not
too young to rule,” by ruling senselessly and recklessly. I’m now convinced
that age should not be a deliberate barrier; track record of achievements
should be the priority. I welcome all those who want to run and believe that
they should be allowed to run without hindrance. It is wrong to muzzle the
opposition, or even an opponent because any nationalist and patriot will want
the best for Nigeria and as long as the people express their preference for
that person, he should be given the opportunity. Nigeria has suffered and
continues to suffer because Murtala Mohammed, Chief M. K. O. Abiola and, to a
lesser extent, Chief Obafemi Awolowo were not allowed to rule Nigeria by the
selfish manipulations and evil machinations of incurably selfish and obviously
misguided elements.
Let’s
now take on the issues I earlier mentioned, one by one. Those who are
petrified, or just being cheeky, that the Hausa/Fulani will never hand over
power to the South and, by extension, to Tinubu, and others, really baffle me.
Self-doubt is one of the biggest afflictions of the Southerners. Too many
people suffer from inferiority complex. They have resigned themselves to
slavery and servitude, voluntarily, in their own country. This is one of the
reasons the Tinubu experiment and controversy is ‘sweeting’ me. If Tinubu
cannot be supported by the North, despite all he did for Muhammadu Buhari to
become President, after chasing the shadows for three record times, then there
is no hope for Nigeria. In any event, I must stress that it is an insult to
other parts of Northern Nigeria to suggest that there is a monolithic and
homogenous North. We all know that is far from the truth. There are
diverse and disparate tribes in the Middle belt. Even within the core
north, there are several minority tribes who do not share the same aspirations
as their more visible and vociferous neighbours. We must discourage the notion
of master-servant relationship in this country. We must promote unity and
uphold the rights of every Nigerian citizen. Personally, I don’t care where the
next President comes from, North, East, South or West. All aspirants are
welcome. The more, the merrier.
That
is why I’m not for zoning, in any form. I want aspirants to contest on their
disastrous or meritorious records. Let the electorates be the judges. But to
say someone is automatically disqualified on account of ethnicity, or even
religion is so unfortunate and so not right and definitely unacceptable,
at this time and age. It is one of the reasons that we have been robbed of
stellar leaders in the past and the present. Are we not tired of this
intractable backwardness?
On
Awolowo and Abiola, it was the same myopia that made some powerful forces to
gang up against them. What did the enemies of progress then gain after all?
Let’s concede that Awolowo did not win, what of Abiola who was robbed in broad
daylight and even paid the supreme price! Who knows if Tinubu will finally
cross the bridge and finish the final lap of this marathon? No one knows God’s
plans. Goodluck Jonathan never dreamt of being Deputy Governor, talk less of
becoming President of Africa’s most populous country. Yemi Osinbajo had
resigned himself to Law and Pastoral work but suddenly and unexpectedly became
Vice President, almost effortlessly. He was probably home, arms akimbo when he
was called and anointed from the blues. Also, his helicopter crashed one
terrible afternoon on his way to some political rallies in Kogi State, yet none
of the passengers died. Many have died in less chaotically dangerous
circumstances, and not a scratch on these children of God. Was that not a
powerful sign and testimony that these are not mere mortals to be rubbished or
traduced.
Some
contend that Tinubu should not contest but instead allow one of his proteges to
run instead. However, it is my belief that such a decision is solely his. It
must always be remembered that he had the chance to be Vice-President and could
have put his foot down to make the coalition work. On that occasion, for the
good of his Party and the Nation, he gave up his dream and ambition and put
forward another spectacular candidate, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who has
not let his mentor down and has shown admirable comportment and grace. I
believe there must, therefore, be some cogent reasons why he feels the time has
come to be the king rather than a Kingmaker in perpetuity. There is nothing
wrong in him making such an informed decision. He should be allowed to exercise
his franchise and bet on himself again. Tinubu is an enigmatic calculator who
knows how to permutate the game and stun his opponents. Like Buhari, I want to
assume that Tinubu had planned this journey for a very long time. All the steps
he has taken since 1999 obviously point to this fact. The kind of
political and social machinery that he has built is probably only matched and
surpassed by those of great leaders that nurtured and forged our Independence,
like the Owelle of Onitsha, Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir
Ahmadu Bello, the Odole of Ife, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, and the Aare Ona Kakanfo
of Yorubaland, Chief Moshood Abiola. The rest is in the hands of God.
To me, Tinubu’s ambition is not an impossible mission. He is a master strategist
who has acquired the templates of others like Major General Shehu Musa
Yar’Adua, Chief Moshood Abiola, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, plus being one of those
who ran Buhari’s campaigns, substantially. He knows the Nigerian terrain very
well and even his enemies respect him tremendously.
For
me, what gives Tinubu pre-eminence over most of the others who are contending
for the crown but presently hiding behind one finger is his glittering records
and achievements in both the private and public sectors. I really do not care
about his past because as a Christian, none of us can judge anyone, and I have
ample examples of the possible transformation and transfiguration of human
beings, as the Lord pleases. That is a long time ago and gone with the winds.
He has done more than enough to remove that from his narrative. Whatever his
background was, he cannot be robbed of his victory and glory perpetually.
Yes, it is clear that he came from very humble beginnings of deprivation
and chronic need but he sought to improve himself by seeking the golden fleece.
He succeeded in his quest attaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
His success in this regard can be measured by the fact that he was headhunted
by top accounting firms like Arthur Andersen and Deloitte, Haskins and Sells.
He eventually joined Mobil in Nigeria where he excelled spectacularly and rose
to become a top executive in the company. His should thus be a veritable
inspiration to majority of those in similar circumstances today, that anyone
can rise up from the pit of hell to any heights, by dint of hard work and
uncommon sagacity and determination.
His
political career started in 1992. He was elected to the highest legislative
house in the Nigerian Senate. When that ill-fated experiment by General Ibrahim
Babangida went the way, it was programmed to go, Tinubu fled Nigeria and
regrouped with like-minded patriotic Nigerians to form the external wing of the
pro-democracy National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). After the death of
General Sani Abacha, Tinubu returned home to contest as Governor of Lagos State
and won a convincing victory.
It is Tinubu’s achievements as a
two-term Governor of Lagos State that has projected him to the prominent and
exalted position that he now occupies in the Nigerian political sphere. He
began the systematic and robust increase of the internally generated revenue of
Lagos State which his successors have had no choice but to emulate, and sustain
incrementally thus making Lagos State one of the richest self-sustaining
‘governments’ in Africa. His indomitable and indefatigable spirit led him to
challenge the Federal Government headlong and succeeded in standing tall as he
fought President Olusegun Obasanjo to a standstill. Despite not having access
to funding for his local governments, Tinubu single-handedly revived and
revamped Local Governments in Lagos State and brought tremendous developments
to practically every part of Lagos State. His other great political prowess is
in identifying quality and talented leaders from hitherto political obscurity
and foisting them on the people to great effect.
I
strongly believe that Tinubu should be given a chance on the merit when, and
if, he eventually proclaims his candidacy. Others will eventually come forth
and should also be considered on their merits. As they do, we will have cause
to revisit their suitability. Our country can only gain from such robustly
healthy competition. We have a preponderance of brilliant men and women who can
take Nigeria to the zenith of greatness but they are usually wasted on the
altar of greed and selfishness.
What
is clear to me is that it is only a matter of time before events begin to
unfold.
In
the meantime, I can only wish Tinubu all the best in his appointment with
destiny.
WRITTEN BY DELE MOMODU
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