•Asiwaju BOLA AHMED TINUBU, APC Presidential Candidate
Currently trending on Twitter and all other social media pages is the nickname ‘City Boy’ which has become a viral phenomenon. It is the new alias the APC presidential candidate, Asiwaju Tinubu has adopted for himself. Infact, he was very popular as Jagaban, but the nickname ‘City Boy’ has since taken the centre stage.
The nickname readily fits this man who has lived and worked all his life in mega cities. From his childhood days to his college days abroad in Chicago and co, Asiwaju has had a lot of experiences when it comes to city life. He is not one who only knows what city life is all about, he also knows how to make a place a city and this is what he has done not only in Lagos, we are seeing blueprints in other states.
He loves the name, Yes, and the name has taken over, and of course, everything about him speaks class. Having spent a lot of time living in the cosmopolitan cities in the world where he worked, before settling to work with Mobil Plc, an oil company here in Nigeria, Asiwaju Tinubu is one of the highly-rated in that sector in the world. He has the qualities of a City Boy. No wonder the name has pushed aside his “Jagaban” title. In every nook and cranny now, all over social media and beyond, City Boy has become the in-thing.
How did Asiwaju come about this name, as he now loves to be addressed? Well, let us quickly tell you that Asiwaju did not come up with the name himself. It was the aftermath of music star, Brymo’s tweet after visiting him, couple of months back, that led to the generation of the nickname.
What made this nicxkname popular was when the star artiste, Brymo tweeted: “let the city boy be president for once, “And also his son, Seyi Tinubu posted “Back in the City with the City Boy”. These tweets recently generated a lot of reactions from the public, infact if you ask us, this has made the nickname to stick on people’s mouths, that everywhere you go, people are talking about the City Boy.
This nickname does not just exist, it is for a reason, infact political reason as such. Asiwaju Tinubu embarked on a 10-day trip to the Uk and when he got back few days ago, everyone on Twitter went agog with the shout of the City Boy. Infact, some held rallies for his come back!
Ever since the nickname stuck on Asiwaju Tinubu, even his media cabinet, supporters, and the party as a whole have come up with different campaign materials using the city boy inscription. This includes caps, shirts, pictures, and all. This was evident at the youth rally for the City Boy in Abuja where youths gathered in large numbers to show their unwavering support for Asiwaju in their City Boy clothings. There is also another political support group called City Boy Movement in Abuja, all in support of Asiwaju Tinubu.
On Twitter, Brymo, popularly known as Olofooro, tweeted and declared his intention to support Asiwaju Tinubu for his 2023 presidential ambition. He wrote,
“Yet… he’s the one with a plan, we all know that… Let a city boy be president for once!.. never met the man, or anyone who represents, or is acquainted to him, or even his relations and political affiliates – and if we stopped trying to kiiilll them off for being old.”. Since then the nickname has stuck.
Asiwaju himself acknowledged this nickname during the party congress where he reassured the audience and said, “Don’t worry, I am from Lagos, I am a City Boy”.
The generalissimo of Lagos politics and the National Leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu is now fondly called City Boy by his admirers. The tag carries with it the power, and influence Tinubu is known to wield over the politics of South West Nigeria, Lagos, in particular. Jagaban, AKA City Boy, is undoubtedly a big wig in Nigerian politics and his eyes is firmly set on 2023.
It is a measure of the importance and relevance of the man known as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu that since the return to civilian rule in 1999, he has managed to remain a major reference in the politics of Lagos State, the South West of Nigeria, and parts of the West African sub-region.
In one of his interviews, he once referred to himself as a “smart boy”. He said, “I always try to make sure that people don’t deceive me, that is why I call myself a smart boy, I see through deception easily and bring into play defensive mechanisms that will get me out of trouble. You don’t deceive me easily . If I just submit to your deception, I only submit. I am a very highly inquisitive person”.
Infact, the nickname City Boy could also not be far drawn from the fact that Asiwaju singlehandedly transformed Lagos to the mega city it is today. He once said, “I have a track record, I have governed a state that is a microcosm of this country. I have navigated it from a brink of collapse. Some of you saw Lagos, what it was then, the second or dirtiest capital city of a state in the world. You all wrote or read about it- the international classification of Lagos then, but I faced the challenges squarely, tapped the best of human resources to think along with me, developed a blue print and from the blueprint, we developed a ten-point agenda as a must for Lagos to excel and we have religiously adhered to that and Lagos has excelled. I have demonstrated my capacity, my gift. I did it and you all , one way or the other, witnessed it. I still have the vision, the focus of a mission that can make Nigeria a better country for all of us.”.
These are some of the blue prints of Asiwaju which have truly earned him the nick name, City Boy.
Asiwaju Tinubu could be described as one of those creations of the stormy moments in Nigerian history, following the annulment of the June 12, 1993 presidential elections in Nigeria. Before then, Tinubu was a regular technocrat working in an oil company as a Treasurer. He also served briefly as a Senator of the Federal Republic, representing Lagos South-West in 1992 before he became Lagos Governor for 2 terms.
-TAYO OYEDIJI
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