In the next few days, President elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu will be 71 and many Nigerians are celebrating him. Many people don’t really know the real Asiwaju Bola Tinubu but they pretend they do. Many often claim they know Asiwaju Bola Tinubu like the back of their hands, but City People has since found out that they don’t know the Jagan Borgu quite well.
What many saw him do for several months, during the campaign amazed so many people because it gave a lie to all the allegations levelled against him. Some said Tinubu does not enjoy good health and that he is suffering from Dementia.
But many saw how Tinubu had embarked on a whistle stop campaign rallies across about 36 states back-to-back.
And they saw him making speeches and dancing to Buga songs. And the question they kept asking is where did Tinubu, who has been described as the most travelled presidential candidate in recent times get that energy that Najatu says he doesn’t have?
Each time many people encounter him they always marvel at where he gets his raw energy which makes him drop off to sleep at 3am every day.
Many of those who know him well will readily tell you that Tinubu has always exhibited raw energy since his forays into Politics in the early 90s.
His story is well known by his associates who always commend his hardwork and doggedness as a politician.
Many call him a Master Strategist in Politics and he has won laurels and awards for this aspect of him. He is known to always take a 10 years to 15 years outlook when it comes to planning.
But in a bid to demarket him, many of his former associates make unsubstantiated allegations about him. That is why there is no manner of allegation that has not been levelled against him.
Of course, he has refused to respond to any one. That is one of his strong points. He usually doesn’t respond to allegations and he has told his aides not to respond, unless it is absolutely necessary.
Another strong point of his, is that he easily forgives and forgets. That is why he has accommodated all those who have revolted against him in the last 25 years. Many of his Boys usually betray him because of their ambition. But once they retrace their steps, he takes them back. So when next you see him at an event you will see that 80% are those he has helped in the past but who have all turned around to betray him, when it mattered most.
One of the closest allies to him is Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola. He is one man who has interacted and worked closely with him.
When Asiwaju turned 60 on 29th March 2012, Fashola described him as a Logistician. The letter written to BRF requesting for him to make a contribution to a book being written to commemorate Tinubu’s 60th Birthday Anniversary indicated that, “the topic we have chosen for you is Asiwaju As A Logistician.
Why did he call Asiwaju a Logistician. “In describing Asiwaju as a Logistician, I took the literal meaning of the word and that was the context in which I spoke”, Fashola reiterated.
“A logistician is someone who is skilled in the practical organisation that is required to make a complicated plan successful when a lot of people and equipment is involved”, BRF revealed. “Let me say generally about his public image that I do not remember one public contest where he has lost the war, I speak to many battle fronts…Of course, he bears many battle scars and these attest to his tactical ability to surrender battles in order to win wars”.
“I have never told him this before, but I think his looks are perhaps his biggest weapon. He wears a placid face that masks his intellect, quick thinking and probing mind. By the time I started working with him, I realised how much advantage his looks gave him against his adversaries. It was always tempting to underestimate him, but many of his opponents have found out often too late that they have been outwitted by a man of razor-sharp mind and quick-wit.
Truth be told, many always underate Asiwaju when they meet him for the very first time he will play the role of a dunce and sometimes ask you stupid questions just to size you up.
And by the time your meeting with him is over you will realise how foolish you have been in your assessment of him.
Many of his aides insist that Najatu never understood Asiwaju. They claim that all his pretence to be asleep whenever he is meeting with people is all a diversionary tactics.
A Nigerian businessman who once met with Tinubu whilst he was Lagos Governor told City People that as his meeting with Asiwaju progressed he pretended to be asleep only for Tinubu to draw his conclusions and told him and his business partner, the way out of the business challenge they brought to him to help solve.
Interestingly in his recent special interview with The News he told his interviewers that he is smarter than most people who come his way and he usually does not allow people to deceive him whenever he meets with them. I might keep quiet. I might pretend as if I don’t know you are lying to me. But I will let you get a way with your antics to let peace reign. That is how he got the nickname, City Boy, meaning a smart boy who knows how to wriggle out of situations that many can’t get out of.
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