The political scene in Nigeria has been heated up the moment former Lagos Governor, Bola Ahmed Tinubu made it known he was running for the No 1 seat in Nigeria. There have been several talks, speculations, opinions, especially from different opinion leaders in the society.
There are people who are against his aspirations, most especially some of the Big Boys he made and whom Asiwaju helped to become the successful politicians they are today. Some of them have now turned against him and are even working against his presidential ambition.
These are Big Boys he single-handedly brought up to become what they are today, majorly in Politics. Some of them are now Ministers, Governors, House of Reps members, and even VP, etc.
But in the last few months, some of these men have been disassociating themselves from what Tinubu stands for. Don’t forget that Tinubu’s long term dream was to rule this country and he has been working silently for almost 3 decades. He made it known a few weeks back when he was in Aso-Rock to inform Buhari about his ambition to run. That is one of the reasons he has been positioning some of his boys to fill up the key and strategic positions in government.
Since the time Tinubu assumed office as Lagos State Governor and now, there is hardly anyone who has worked closely with him and is not holding a big office. 1t’s been 15 years since he left office as the governor but his foot and fingerprints are everywhere at both the state and national levels. He sees the greatness in people and what they can do, sometimes before they see it. See the long list of the Big Boys he has made: Babatunde Raji Fasola, Olorunnibe Mamora, Sunday Dare, Rauf Aregbesola, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Muiz Banire, Gbenga Ashafa, Babafemi Ojudu, Femi Gbajabiamila, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Folly Coker, Oba Oniru, Oba Saheed Elegushi, to mention a few. They are governors, ministers, lawmakers, royal fathers, heads of parastatals and agencies.
Just as the late South African leader Nelson Mandela, Asiwaju is a believer of humanity. Asiwaju is astute in politics, yet soft as a dove. There is hardly any politician that can exhibit these 2 traits in a political space where Interest overrides Loyalty; more reasons there have been insinuations that some of those he has raised and carried on his wings are beginning to plot his downfall.
Barely a year ago, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo described Asiwaju as a nation builder, who has invested in many people to become leaders in their respective areas. He wrote: “You have inspired many with your political career and service. You have also made many leaders out of your followers.”
In one of Asiwaju’s birthday tributes, the wife of former Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola stated that whenever he prays; he intercedes for Asiwaju because of the selfless kindness and love he has shown him. Aregbesola has admitted severally that he had given up hope of becoming a governor in Osun State when Asiwaju encouraged him and mobilized him with all that was necessary to win the electoral battle back in 2009.
Veteran journalist and social crusader, cum politician, Senator Babafemi Ojudu had also referred to Asiwaju as a blessing from God in this generation. These are people who have at one time or the other benefited from the political benevolence of Asiwaju at some point.
The presidential bid has however turned well-grounded foot soldiers against their Grand Commander. Asiwaju who has gone on electoral break has suddenly become an opponent to his very own political recruits whom he built from the ground up. However, sources close to Asiwaju maintained that he has foreseen the political calculation many years ago and had prepared for any of his boys who decide to go prodigal on him even before they think about it.
Revealed an insider, “People don’t understand that the man that has the vision is different from the man you gave the vision to. He understands everything; he can talk to the commoners and big people. He understands everybody’s language. He relates with everybody irrespective of class without any limitation, and he forgives people’s imperfections long before they exhibit them.”
Previously thought to be unbreakable, the relationship between Tinubu and Aregbesola has definitely not been sparkling in recent times. Let’s tell you how the wall began to crack between Asiwaju and Ogbeni. Sometime in 2020, Asiwaju disbanded all political groups within the party in Lagos state “to bring about discipline”.
Barely two weeks later, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola revamped the Mandate Group — Tinubu’s core support group — and appointed his protege, Abdullahi Enilolobo, as the new Chairman. Tinubu’s right-hand man, James Odunmbaku, was elevated to the position of “apex leader”. Fast forward to his birthday the same year, Aregbesola called Tinubu “my brother and my partner” on-air, in place of the usual “my leader and my mentor”, and this did not escape the attention of some of Tinubu’s loyalists, some of whom questioned the minister on his “new direction”. He reportedly told them he was talking about “partner in the struggle for democracy in Nigeria”.
Also, an unlikely speaker at another birthday event was Nasir el-Rufai, the governor of Kaduna State who does not see eye-to-eye with Tinubu, the political leader of Aregbesola. “I want to congratulate my brother, Ogbeni (Aregbesola), on his birthday. You know I’m your man any day. I’m not Asiwaju’s man and you are Asiwaju’s man, but I am your man any day. Asiwaju and I have differences but you and I have no differences,” el-Rufai said.
Insiders are reluctant to admit, given what they see as Aregbesola’s “unquestionable loyalty” to Tinubu, but the minister of Interior has been having a very cold war with Adegboyega Oyetola, his successor as Governor. The irony is that if Asiwaju Tinubu decides not to run in 2023, Aregbesola would ordinarily be his natural pick for the job, so his recent behaviour has been baffling,” a source had disclosed to City People.
As for the VP, it is no longer news that Asiwaju played a key role in his emergence as the second in command, whether we follow Chief Bisi Akande’s account or not, Asiwaju remains constant in the picture.
Asiwaju’s choice of Osinbajo was strategic. Osinbajo is a Christian who has no political structures of his own, he knew that Osinbajo would find it hard to raise the necessary political capital to pose any significant threat to Tinubu’s presidential aspiration when the time comes
Tinubu resolved to take 2 measures: He is not too friendly with Osinbajo so as not to encourage and make him feel comfortable enough to develop ideas of seeking to eventually contest for the presidency. Not many people know that Osinbajo and Asiwaju almost stopped contacting each other as soon as he became Vice President except at public functions, to show political stability. Asiwaju also surrounded Osinbajo’s camp with a network of informers who will report on every move he makes. Recall that Osinbajo served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State during Tinubu’s administration.
Osinbajo once admitted that he did not and had never met Bola Tinubu before he was appointed Commissioner.
“That says a lot about the kind of individual that Asiwaju is. This is the kind of thinking that makes nations great; That is the kind of thinking that would make Nigeria great”, he once told newsmen. Asiwaju is a man who prepares ahead for any political eventuality, and one of his projections is to likely have to shadow box Osinbajo for the presidential ticket, should there even be primary elections in the end.
Senator Babafemi Ojudu, who has vowed not to support Asiwaju’s presidential bid had at one time referred to Asiwaju as a chosen one for this generation. In his own account 10 years ago, he wrote: “My relationship with Asiwaju Tinubu dates back to the days of military dictatorship, a period spanning over twenty years. During this period and up till now, I have watched Asiwaju Bola Ahmed give and give, without expecting anything in return. The manner and rate at which he gives to people like me, sometimes shocking us beyond words.”
“Many today, including myself, are beneficiaries of his kindness. I have tried to measure up in this regard, but the more I try, the more I realise that a man who would measure up to Asiwaju in Nigeria in acts of kindness must belong to another generation as I have come to believe it is one per generation. Tinubu has already been chosen as the one for our own generation.
Talk about giving back to humanity, I say without apologies that Tinubu has given more than enough. If it were possible for humanity to return excesses (like we have in budgetary situations), Tinubu would have too much kindness to take back.
Some years ago my wife and two sons went to Maryland, US on holiday. A few days after they arrived one of them came down with acute malaria. For those familiar with American hospitals, malaria patients are treated as people with communicable diseases.”
“The boy was taken to the hospital and of course immediately quarantined while trying to figure out what treatment to apply. When a call came through informing me of the development, I was confused not knowing what to do. Somehow, my colleague at The News Magazine, Mr Bayo Onanuga informed Asiwaju of the development. Asiwaju, without even calling me, instructed his cousin Dr Ade Tinubu, a medical doctor practising then in a hospital in Maryland to immediately proceed to the hospital and ensure the boy’s life was saved. As I often tell people who are very close to me, if Asiwaju did nothing for me other than this while in power for 8 years, I will forever be grateful to him. But he did more.” He wrote.
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