I live six thousand miles away from Lagos. When Asiwaju Bola Tinubu was governor of Lagos State many years ago, I had no interest in Nigerian politics or Nigerians. The few words I heard about Asiwaju came while I lived in Maryland; a few of his relatives attended the same church I did in Washington, DC, and Baltimore.
In 2013 I revived my dormant journalism career and immersed myself in Nigerian politics, focusing on the electoral process in my home state of Osun. That was my first active writing about Nigerian politics, and it was then that I experienced the Tinubu “tintinnabulation.” My eyes and ears opened to countless stories about the former Lagos governor. I was able to sift the wheat from the chaff, discerning sensible accounts from senseless ones about the man who is now Nigeria’s president‑elect. Without doubt, Tinubu is one of the most revered strategists and politicians in African history. He has millions of admirers who swarm around him like bees over a honeycomb, while his haters are equally numerous. Their attacks are coarse, hoarse, biting, brash, and brazen. From camps of bitterness and hate, venomous vitriol against the “Jagaban of Borgu” is spewed without restraint. Tinubu is not only beloved and hated; he is feared, and that fear feels very real.
About a month after Muhammadu Buhari was declared the winner of the 2015 presidential election, I met an alhaji in Houston, Texas, who was introduced at dinner as the President’s “brother.” About twenty people attended the four‑hour dinner and discussion. It quickly became clear that the Congress for Progressive Change wing of the All Progressives Congress had already decided to sideline Tinubu, the powerhouse of Southwest politics who had helped Buhari rise to power. “Yes, we thank Tinubu for his contributions, but he cannot control us as he does his governors. No, we will not let him,” the man told me. I wondered whether this move stemmed from outright hatred of Tinubu, fear of his potential control over government machinery, or both. The conversation convinced me that Tinubu would be forced into a solitary, sidelined role for at least four years—a reality that persisted for almost eight years of Buhari’s rule.
After the Saturday, February 25 presidential election, the Independent National Electoral Commission declared that the 71‑year‑old husband of an ordained pastor had won in twelve of Nigeria’s thirty‑six states, securing 8,794,726 votes and becoming president‑elect. A few days later, a sensational online tabloid claimed that close staffers in the presidency said Buhari did not intend to hand over power to the president‑elect. The presidency immediately denied the report. A presidential spokesman said, “The government is already in a transition phase. The Transition Committee, composed of representatives of the outgoing and incoming administrations, meets almost daily to plan the handover to the Tinubu/Shettima administration. Thirteen sub‑committees are working on matters such as military drills and the withdrawal of President Buhari. So far, everything is proceeding smoothly with no indication of any hitches.”
Before the recent elections, a close ally of a former Nigerian president confided that the former president had boasted to friends that “there are two people who will never become president while I am alive—Atiku Abubakar and Bola Tinubu. Over my dead body will any of them become president.” The former president had travelled the country campaigning against the two men in emirs’ palaces and former rulers’ mansions. I was not shocked when, a few days ago, I read another report of grand plans by some forces to ignite violence and chaos around the democratic handover. The swirling talk of an interim government cannot be ignored; many suspect that Tinubu is the target. Some forces seem bent on truncating our democracy and denying elected officials the chance to serve, even if it means setting Nigeria ablaze. For them, politics and government are lifelines to financial survival, and they view the stakes of over 200 million Nigerians as fair game.
Why is there such a cache of hatred against Tinubu? Who fears a Tinubu presidency, and why? The recent “naira‑notes‑exchange” scandal cost the Nigerian economy over N20 trillion, an agenda allegedly designed to destroy Tinubu’s presidential dream, yet it set the nation back a decade while the man remains standing. Rumors of an interim government and a coordinated “bonfire” in major cities targeting Tinubu are a purulent, petulant proposition.
All over the world no electoral system is perfect, but Nigeria appears to be inching toward improvement. In the last election, unknown men and women who never imagined a chance to win secured victories across the country. They lacked money for voter bribes or campaign flyers, yet they will now serve in state Houses of Assembly, the National Assembly, and soon occupy governors’ mansions. That is encouraging for many. The 2023 election is over; court battles ahead are welcome and part of the process. If judicial adjudication orders the baton to pass from Tinubu to Atiku, who came second, Nigerians will respect that decision. Until then, Tinubu remains president‑elect, will be sworn in according to the Constitution, and will take the reins of power. The interim government concocted by some and their evil sponsors will not see the light of day. Nigerians will not allow the country to be burnt down by those defeated by humiliation, nor will they permit crooks to handpick a pervert to preside over Nigeria. It will not happen.
— Twitter: @FolaOjotweet
Comments are closed for this story.