Pendulum : Bola Tinubu And His Date With Destiny In 2023 By Dele Momodu

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 theses 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 so 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 annointed 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.

For 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 head hunted by top accounting firms like Arthur
Andersen and Deloitte, Haskins and Sells. He eventually joined
Mobil in Nigeria where he excelled spectacullarly 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.

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