Many people often wonder who taught Asiwaju Bola Tinubu the A.B.C of politics. Some would say, may be, it’s the late MKO Abiola. Some would suggest that perhaps it’s his years with the grand old men of Afenifere like Baba Fasorantin, late Sen. Abraham Adesanya, late Sir. Olaniwun Ajayi and Papa Adebanjo. Perhaps, but we can authoritatively reveal that it’s a man called Richard Michael Daley, the former Mayor of the City of Chicago. Every body in Chicago knows Richard Michael Daley. Those who have never met him, have heard about him .
Richard Daley was a former Mayor of Chicago, Illinois. Daley was elected Mayor in 1989. He was re-elected 5 times until he declined to run for a 7th term. At 22 years, Richard Daley was the longest serving Chicago Mayor, surpassing the tenure of his father, Richard J. Daley. Mayor Daley took over the Chicago Public Schools, developed tourism, oversaw the construction of Millennium Park, and increased environmental efforts and the rapid development of the city’s central business district downtown and adjacent near North, near South and near West sides. Daley expanded employees’ benefits to sex partners to be the same among City workers, and advocated gun control. Daley was a national leader in privatisation, the lease and sale of public assets to private corporations. Daley was criticised when family, personal friends, and political allies seemed to disproportionately benefit from city’s award of contracts. Mayor Daley took office in a City with regular annual budget surpluses and left the City with massive structural deficits. His budgets ran up the largest deficits in Chicago’s history.
But unknown to many, there was one Nigerian, who shaped his life after Richard Daley. He is Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos State and National Leader of the APC. He was a former student of Richard J. Daley College in Illinois, Tinubu was once the governor of Lagos State, a state that boasts the most populous city in West Africa. His mission has always been about reconstruction, renewal, and the establishment of a new state. His administration strove to improve Education, Healthcare services; Roads and other public services. Although the state is one of the world’s top oil producers and has vast untapped reserves of gas and iron ore, Nigeria is hampered by government debts and widespread poverty.
Tinubu learned about democratic principles, while living in the United States (US). From Daley College, he transferred to Chicago State University and graduated summa cum laude.
After graduation, he worked for Arthur Andersen; Deloitte, Haskins and Sells; and GTE Services Corp. before returning to Nigeria in 1983 to work for Mobil Oil Nigeria. At Mobil, he advanced to Treasurer of the company.
Tinubu returned to his homeland when exiles were asked to help rebuild the country and was elected to the Nigerian Senate in 1992. After the presidential election was annulled in 1993, Tinubu became a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition of Nigeria, (NADECO), that mobilised support to restore democracy. In 1999. In the process of restoration of civilian rule, Tinubu was elected Governor of Lagos.
To a former Chicago columnist, Mike Royko, Daley was “Boss” Richard Daley in his 1971 book by that title. When Daley died on December 20, 1976, Royko wrote:
“If ever a man reflected a city, it was Richard J. Daley,” for better or worse. He was “strong (and) hard-driving” with Texas-sized ambitions, but also “arrogant, crude, conniving, ruthless, suspicious, intolerant, raucous, hot-tempered, devious, big and powerful.” He was Chicago.
Now, the son – mayor since April 24, 1989. His official biography reads:
Now, in his sixth mayoral term, “Richard M. Daley has earned a national reputation for his innovative, community-based programes (on) education, public safety, neighborhood development and other challenges facing American cities.” More on that below.
On April 25, 2005. Time magazine called him “the nation’s top urban executive.” A week earlier, it said:
“He wields near-imperial power” (in) steer(ing) the Windy City into a period of impressive stability, with declining unemployment and splashy growth.” Never mind that the facts belie the hyperbole. More on that as well.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal praised him as “a fix-it, problem-solving man” and most recently in a February 7 interview as: “The President’s Mayor….whose personality and history are inseparable from Chicago(‘s) political culture….successful and enormously popular.” He hopes bringing the 2016 Olympics to Chicago will “showcase the city (as a) gleaming tourist destination (and) At this stage in the process, the city’s bid is not just Chicago anymore. It’s the United States of America.” Indeed, and like the nation, Chicago and Illinois reek with problems, corruption, and are for sale to the highest bidders, business ones, of course.
Quote:
“Tinubu learnt about democratic principles while living in the United States (US)”
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