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I have always thought Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT), to be a master strategist in the art of politics and I must admit, I had seen him make deft political moves with clinical finishing. Prior to the APC presidential primary convention, it was obvious from President Buhari’s body language and that of the National Chairman of the APC, that he wasn’t the anointed candidate of the cabal. But he ended up trouncing not just his opponents but he trounced the President, the Vice President, the National Chairman and the Party. He left them mesmerized and in wonder of his political wizardry.
The margin by which he won proved that in politics the difference between winning and losing is in the strategy employed. I have heard people argue that he literally bought the APC primary election with his money, and I disagree with this line of thought, because I have seen money fail in politics, particularly when and where money was not properly deployed to meet targeted objectives.
Give to Caesar his due credits. As far as the APC primary election was concerned BAT and his handlers proved that a sick old man with strategy is far much better and useful than twenty healthy young men without strategy.
I was almost going to give him the general election until he showed he could also be dumb, if not dumber than we thought, with that mistake of a Muslim-Muslim ticket which he hopes will win him voters. It’s possible he made that dumb move with the mindset of locking up millions of votes from Borno after all in election, winning is everything. But that was his dumbest political move. Of course, a combination of Zulum and Shettima will deliver Borno to APC, but that’s too much a price to pay considering losing the support and trust of the entire Christian community.
The rancour and uproar that erupted following that decision showed he didn’t consult widely, or he didn’t get wise counsel. If he had consulted, he would have realized that the move is unpopular and can cost him the 2023 election.
President Buhari is the most dangerous that had happened to Nigeria’s unity. He did more harm than good. His divisive government polarised the country, splitting the country down the middle between Christians and Muslims, North and South. Constant killings and political division have damaged the country and ruined mental health of citizens.
The people don’t trust the government. They have lost faith in the Federation, and the word ‘revolution’ is now freely spoken in the open. All the people want now, is for him to peacefully retire and go away giving Nigeria a chance to recover from the damage his bad leadership has caused. Fortunately, even he, is eager to see his regime come to an end and we just cannot wait to see him fade away on his presidential expiry date.
He who the gods want to kill, they first visit with madness. BAT won the APC primary dramatically but frittered all the goodwill away by his wrong choice of a Vice Presidential candidate. Either he failed to gauge the people’s political temperature properly or he was insensitive and cared less about the sentiments of his Christian supporters.
When you are a snob and think you are better than everybody else, you do whatever you want. This was exactly what BAT did when he snubbed the wise counsel of his Christian supporters like Babachir Lawal and proceeded with the choice of a fellow Muslim as running mate. When he spoke about his choice, he sounded confident and prided himself as a man that is never indecisive when it comes to making hard decisions.
Unfortunately, this time he made a decision that has brought opprobrium not just to the ticket, but to his Party. No fair-minded person will want to have anything to do with the APC ticket, not because former Gov.
Shettima is a bad person, far from it, but because many Christians who lived through the past seven years wherein the President is a Muslim; the Chief Justice of Nigeria – a Muslim the House Speaker is a Muslim, the Senate President is a Muslim, the National Security Adviser – a Muslim, the Chief of Army Staff – a Muslim, the Chief of Air Staff – a Muslim, the Chief of Secret Police a Muslim, the Inspector General of Police – a Muslim; the National Chairman of APC – a Muslim, the Deputy National Chairman – a Muslim, cannot be convinced that the presidential candidate and his vice will be all Muslims without darker motives being imputed. This is a serious imbalance as this country is neither a Muslim country nor is it a Christian country.
The BAT campaign team is obviously feeling the heat against his Muslim-Muslim ticket hence they took the extra ordinary plot of renting fake Bishops to grace the unveiling of his running mate. The video of the impostors, dressed in cassocks and groomed to pose as Christian bishops went viral. The fake bishops without churches were said to been procured from different corners of the streets, including motor parks. They were recruited to give Christian voters the false impression that the Mujahedeen’s plot with a Muslim-Muslim ticket means well for Nigeria. If BAT thinks this is going to win him voters or that renting some fake Christian Bishops will calm down angry voters, it shows he is dumber than we thought.
They couldn’t even keep their words to reward the fake bishops with N100,000 appearance fee, as allegedly agreed on. They reportedly shortchanged them by paying N40k which is a breach of contract. There should be honor among thieves. Deceit and telling lies are some of the reasons why people are angry with politicians and particularly with the APC led government. It is the reason why the Party was roundly rejected in the recent Osun State governorship election.
With inflation rate hitting 18.6%; the dollar exchanging at N627 to 1US dollar; petrol selling at N179 per litre, kerosene selling at N850 per litre, diesel selling N900 per litre, interest rate at 14% and ASUU strike extending beyond 165 days and with APC even at the Federal level running out of lies and spins, I am at a loss what magic BAT will spin. APC has nothing more to tell Nigerians. The country is in ruins and need a team with capacity to unite the people and build back a Nigeria where our people no matter the tribe and tongue will live and work in a safe environment that guarantees the highest level of economic and social empowerment.
For some reasons, I am not worried about APC’s dumb move, though very concerned and share in the feelings of others who feel disappointed. Never the less, I am consoled by the beauty of the multi-party democracy that we practice which gives people the right of participation and guarantees freedom of choice.
I have heard both fair-minded Christians and Muslims alike express sad and mixed feelings about the APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket, may be because it is the ruling party. I will advise those very angry about the issue to calm down because we have a better choice before us. There is the Atiku/ Ifeanyi Okowa balanced ticket which has prioritised fostering the spirit of cooperation and consensus in a nation of diverse ethnic groups, cultures and religions like ours. The Atiku/Ifeanyi Okowa ticket promises unity, peace, security, human capital development, health, quality education, political and economic reforms.
As a patriot and reformist, I am not pitching for any religion or tribe neither am I pitching for a saint in politics. If I am looking for saints, I know my way to the cathedral of saints. Instead, I am rather pitching for that leader with clear understanding of the basic issues faced by ordinary Nigerians; a leader with the capacity to galvanise all the human and capital resources that we have and deploy them into the service of the people.
I am pitching for the leader that will be more accountable and who will nurture good institutionalized democratic governance. Not people with fine story lines and darker agenda.
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