Tinubu has become eloquent in the days running into his emergence as candidate for the ruling party, APC, while aspiring to the highest office in the land. In his rage in Abeokuta on June 2, 2022, we saw the aspirations of a man (though exceedingly ambitious to put his name in the book of history) yearning to right the wrongs done to the country from the past.
Lately, I have had to deal with pressures from friends who perceive Aṣiwaju Bọla Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu and the new face for the ruling All Progressive Congress Party (APC), differently. In a prolonged election that resulted in an overwhelming victory, Asiwaju had flogged other contestants who jostled for the APC’s 2023 presidential ticket mercilessly. My friends would thus question my sudden patronage of this Presidential Contestant. A particular one had alarmed, “I won’t debate with you anymore because I have a feeling you are exceedingly favourably disposed to Tinubu presidency (somewhat similar to the cult-like followership Buhari enjoyed especially during his first term…).”
It is for this friend and others like him I decided to pull up my quill and scroll. For the records, I was as acerbic about Tinubu as any of his famous archrivals. My annoyance was premised on his ubiquitousness and dominance of rule in Lagos State. But I never waited to see this beyond the precocious lenses through which I observed him. I was battle-ready to offer a stiff opposition to his rule, however insignificant. I do not know what it was particularly, but I noticed that having listened to him a couple of times, I was prepared to join his “cult”. I could identify uniqueness; I could process lushness and spot the brilliance of a rare gem. Meanwhile, while I was on BAT’s opposite side, I could not even bear the patience to have him muster a word.
There are rare talents in the world whose astuteness might not even have been their own making. They abound in every profession and sphere of influence. In football, we know them: Ronaldo and Messi; in golf, we know Tiger Woods; in female tennis, we know the Williams (sisters); in the Nigerian banking, it is Tolu Elumelu; in the Nigerian law, we had Gani Fawehinmi (of a blessed memory); and in the Nigerian polity, we know Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The list would go on. But a failure at the recognition and appraisal of these icons for the amazing stunts they have pulled from their various ends and brilliant capacities is a failure at ingenuity. It is said that it takes brilliance to identify brilliance and ingenuity to see a genius. You do not fight such people with spectacular and amazing victories every time; you do not scold them; you do not lambast them or be bitter about their successes. Albeit it is a matter of choice you belong to them, but you do not denigrate them lest you denigrate yourself.
Away from Aṣiwaju’s formidable team and structure built around the country; away from his numerous track records of victories, away from his ingenuity at recognizing hidden potentials and parade of self-worth, Asiwaju is a dogged and resilient fighter with an enthralling stretch of patience and a sight of purpose. He has been around for quite some time (since 1992) and has dominated the Nigerian polity (since 1999) yet he has never featured on any presidential ticket. He was resilient against the turbulence of the then ruling party, the PDP, when it was stiff. He is a cat focused on its prey for devourment and with a calculated stealth and gait. Well, this is not bootlicking. In situations where there is almost not even any “saliva” for the writer to lick from nor any “boot” to acquire, what is there to achieve in placing another individual unjustifiably on high pedestal? But we reveal all of these to you from a perspective that is factual, and devoid of sentiments.
Leadership is beyond the integrity of President Muhammadu (Buhari); it transcends the courageousness of Nyesom (Wike); it goes beyond the structure/formidability of Rabiu Musa (Kwankwaso); it is above the exposure of Peter (Obi); it forms a part of the holiness of Pastor Tunde (Bakare); it is a portion of the recalcitrance of Yahaya (Bello); it needs the wealthiness of Atiku (Abubakar); it wants the experience of (Rotimi) Amaechi; it demands the tolerance of Ibikunle (Amosun); it lives with the ruggedness of Ọmọyẹlé (Sòwòrẹ́); it remains unforgotten with the eloquence/erudition of Yemi (Osinbajo); it seeks the empathy of Goodluck (Jonathan); it bedazzles with the credentials of Kingsley (Moghalu); and celebrated with the self-appraisal of Olusẹgun (Ọbasanjọ). The list would go on and on. But leadership goes beyond the sorts. It is rather about the combination of all those astonishing qualities and their disposition in one individual. They are what we see in Bọla Ahmed (Tinubu).
The concern about his health is a question of uncertainty. Nobody truly knows that. The truth is, there are worse hidden ailments that people battle with than those apparent from their physicality. Again, the presidential slot is not one given on the premise of agility but rather one allotted on the basis of sanity and intellection. This is the reason the coveted office offers the most laborious comfort one ever gets in the land. Aṣiwaju wields power; he spits fire; he commands his subjects and stands his ground on issues bordering on the State. We do not need an outsider to right our wrongs as a nation but rather those armed with the history of how our dwindling state had been birthed. For quite some time, I have observed the politics in Nigeria, and I came to understand that your lack of presence in the political space since time immemorial will limit your ability to call the shot. The cankerworms in the polity will disrespect you; they will eat you up and bury you while your reign is still on. I thenceforth drew the conclusion that the Nigerian leadership demands precedence. It is thus the pitfall of democracy that, by its very nature, only few people are paraded in governance. It is never the aspirants’ fault. To become relevant in democratic spaces across the world (except for the Donald-Trump-like exceptions), one must have been around for quite some time.
Tinubu has become eloquent in the days running into his emergence as candidate for the ruling party, APC, while aspiring to the highest office in the land. In his rage in Abeokuta on June 2, 2022, we saw the aspirations of a man (though exceedingly ambitious to put his name in the book of history) yearning to right the wrongs done to the country from the past. We saw someone, albeit with a haggard look, mustering all energy to position himself for the restoration of faith and hope in the Nigeria project. It takes a proper discernment of affairs to right the wrongs in any endeavor. You would never be able to solve a problem you do not understand its dynamics. If Tinubu’s frail condition does not deteriorate, if his mental health would remain lucid, with his emergence as Nigeria president at the forthcoming polls, Nigeria will become better than what currently obtains. For his words, we should hold this as gospel. The elder statesman had affirmed that he is “a thinker and a doer”. His wife is a pastor and so, he epitomizes religious tolerance. The people needed to govern our State must not be egocentric, religiously biased, and/or tribal. Such is Asiwaju who makes competence the yardstick for friendship and places potentials ahead of familiarity.
Hussein Adegoke
