Putting this piece together has become extremely necessary. I had no other choice but to give in to the demands of the Obidients who shredded and called me all sorts of names because of the article I wrote explaining why the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is no match for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. One of them insisted I should give them five reasons why I believe Asiwaju is the best for Nigeria as president right now. And here I am, doing justice to that assignment. Hopefully, at the end of the day, many of them will understand what we are talking about when we root so passionately and unapologetically
for Asiwaju. I hope too, that even the neutrals will be able to see where we are coming from.
For starters, Nigeria, right now is at the precipice of absolute collapse. If truth be told, the country has never been in such precarious situation before. The economy has never been this battered. Insecurity has never been so terrifying. What we need is a man with the experience and knowledge to turn things around and take us out of the woods. We need an exceptional manager of men and resources and a seasoned administrator. And am so sorry to break your heart, guys, your hero, Peter Obi, is not that man.
Asiwaju became governor of Lagos when the state was at its lowest ebb. It’s IGR was a paltry N600m per month. That could barely transform the state to the mega city it aspired to be. It was regarded the dirtiest city in the world. Infrastructure was largely insufficient and to make matters worse, OBJ had seized Lagos state’s monthly allocation. No state could survive without it’s monthly allocation. Tinubu knew he needed more than a miracle to perform as governor. And the only way was to totally transform the economy and shore up the IGR. He grew the IGR from N600m to N8b per month. It’s a whole lot more than that today.
Your Obi didn’t grow the IGR of Anambra state. If anything, he weakened it. He left the economy worse than he met it. These are not my opinions but verifiable facts, which is why the people of Anambra despise him and he has not yet gone there to campaign. Right now, he has sent his agents to pacify the people and persuade the traditional rulers to plead with the people to welcome him and not humiliate him when he finally comes. Until he gets assurance the coast is clear, he wont step foot into Anambra to campaign.
Secondly, you will agree with me that Nigeria has never been more divided than it is at this time. The preponderance of tribal and religious sentiments have never been more alarming. The president we need at this time is one that has been known to be a unifier of men, irrespective of tribal or religious affiliations. We need a tested bridge builder, a man whom the people, no matter the region of the country they are from, will trust and listen to when he tells them, ‘you can count on me, I will not abandon you.’ And again, my brother, Peter Obi does not fit that bill. Ask his people in Anambra, they will tell you he has built nothing and unified nothing. Asiwaju, long before now, has proven that he is a unifier, of men and women of different tribes and religion, a bridge builder who has been building Bridge’s across the length and breadth of Nigeria even before Obi had any clear idea where he was going to end up in life after leaving school.
As Lagos governor, where Tinubu threw the doors of our civil service open to the Igbos and other non Lagosians, with some of them rising to the top of the ranks, Obi, in his time, flushed out non indigenes from the Anambra civil service. He also chased northerners out of the state. Go online to confirm all these. It was under Asiwaju that we had an Igbo Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, by name Ben Akabueze. Today, Akabueze is the Director General of the Budget Office of the federal republic of Nigeria. He wasn’t the only one. We had an Hausa in his government and even to this day, we still have an Hausa in Lagos state government. His government as governor of Lagos was an incredible mix of some of the brightest minds from different parts of South west. The likes of Dele Alake from Ondo state, Yemi Osinbajo from Ogun, Rauf Aregbesola from Osun and so many others. Do you know how he got the Jagaban title? He was given that title by the Emir of Borgu, Dr. Halliru Dantoro, who said he had to think of way to say thank you to Asiwaju because he helped him legally fight the Niger stats government then in his quest to become the Emir. And he is not the only one Asiwaju helped to install as Emir. Up north, there are many past and present governors whom Asiwaju supported to get to office. Let’s not even talk about Senators and House of Reps members. He has supported several governments and built relationships with people outside of government.
Now, what this means is that you can be sure that under an Asiwaju presidency, we will have an all inclusive government, no tribe will be left out. The best brains from different tribes will be brought on board to come and help salvage the country. Even your Obi will be offered a position and given a responsibility where he won’t need to be lying all the time to sound intelligent. But I can tell you that an Igbo president will be disastrous in that regard. Obi will put your people everywhere. Ordinary Okonjo Iweala filled up every available position under her ministry with her kinsmen as former minister of finance. It is the way of the Igbos. Go to several Yoruba owned companies, you will find Igbos and other tribes there. So long as you can add value to the organisation, the Yoruba man does not care where you come from. And that has been Asiwaju’s style. But go to Igbo owned companies, they load them full with their people. The implication of this is that a Peter Obi, rather than put square pegs in square holes will opt to do the contrary because making his kinsmen feel proud of him will be his priority. He will appoint idiots to come do jobs meant for geniuses.
Thirdly, out of the three major contenders for the throne, Tinubu has proven to be the smartest and the one with a lot going for him upstairs. He proved this right from his university days when he not only graduated with distinctions but was a student tutor till he graduated. He excelled everywhere he worked. At Exxon Mobil, he turned around the Treasury dept. There was a lot of rot in the system when he got there and he simply asked if he would be given the free hand to hire some wizkids like him to help him in the department and management agreed. That was how he brought a few guys down from the US, persuaded them to resign from their various jobs and together they exposed the rot in the system and a lot of heads rolled subsequently.
In Lagos, he started the single treasury account, a model that has since been adopted by other states and even the federal government. So, we are talking about a man who understands the dynamics of finance and the economy as a whole. Right now, we can’t afford to start playing trial and errors. We need tested hands. Your Obi failed woefully in that department. The only thing he could think of was to steal the state funds and put in his FAMILY business, can you beat that?
You people keep shouting Tinubu is old, Tinubu is sick, is the man going to Ask Rock to carry and lay bricks? The man has a lot in his brain, all he needs to do is sit down, appoint the right hands, hold regular meetings with them and perform oversight functions, that’s all. Your Obi only speaks grammar without saying anything anyone can hold onto as far as proffering solutions to these problems are concerned.
The problem of banditry, kidnapping and terrorism is one that bothers everyone. Can your Peter Obi proffer a semblance of solution to the problem? It’s a capital NO! and why did I say so? As governor of Anambra state, the state experienced it’s most horrendous killings ever. That was when the tag ‘unknown gunmen’ became very popular in the state. Elite Anambra citizens fled the state for fear of being killed or kidnapped. One of the criminal groups was said to have been run by some of Obi’s thugs.
This is why I often sympathise with people like you and other Obidiots who, out of your deep seated hatred for Asiwaju, have not even bothered to research the antecedents of the man you adore and call the would be savior of Nigeria.
Do you know that, as we speak, Asiwaju is already meeting with security experts and getting a first hand feel of the challenges of our security agencies other than the ones we hear and read about all the time? Do you think it’s by coincidence that from his time to now, Lagos has remained the safest state in the country? Tinubu invested heavily in security while he was governor, equipping the police in a way that had never been done before by any state. It is on record that under his watch, the Lagos state started a Police Support initiative that has since been emulated by other states. Even at the APC presidential screening, when asked to say how he will address the issues of insecurity, among other things, he talked about how he will use his influence to attract foreign military assistance in terms of training and personal support.
Finally, let us even use our heads here. How many senators does Labour party have? How many House of Reps members do they have? Possibly zero! So why should I pray for an Obi to be president when I know that not only is he mentally incapable to rule Nigeria with it’s myriads of problems, the Senate will also frustrate his government by not approving of funds he will need to run the country. Then, they will now move to impeach him afterwards citing non performance. So how does that help me or the generality of Nigerians in any way? By the time they drag this with him in his first two to three years, we will be in deep trouble. Nigeria’s economy will further disintegrate and the country will be in complete chaos. When two elephants fight, na who dey suffer?
Let me conclude here for now. If you have any counter arguments, do not hesitate to let them out. Just remember, your saint and hero, Peter Obi, is not the man you guys think he is. He is not even half as competent as you claim he is. Take your time to study Asiwaju and do so dispassionately, then let me know what you think. I will be waiting.
WALE LAWAL
(08037209290)
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