ISSUES IN TINUBU’s AMBITION

(Published in The Nation newspaper of Saturday, January 15, 2022)

Last week Monday, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu visited President Muhammadu Buhari to discuss important national and party matters and on his way out he addressed the State House Press Corp where he answered questions on his presidential ambition. Asiwaju Tinubu was most daring, courageous and audacious when he made a categorical declaration that he would run for the nation’s highest office and he had already informed the President about his intention. The 2023 polls are less than 14 months away. These are not times for tentativeness, anonymous ambiguity or timidity on the part of any serious presidential contender who seeks to make an impact in an election only months away. 

Speaking with the Presidential Villa reporters Corp after his private meeting with the President, Tinubu described his aspiration as a lifelong ambition

All too often we have been saddled with accidental leaders who never deliberately desired and sought the country’s apex position of leadership and were thus largely unprepared for the tremendous responsibility. A candidate who has a passionate desire to lead the country is also more likely to have prepared himself for the demands of the office than one who is thrust on the throne by sheer luck. This does not mean of course that it is not impossible to seek public office for the pomp, glamour and material benefits rather than an ardent desire to offer transformational public service. 

Tinubu naturally referred to his accomplishments and legacies as governor of Lagos State as an indication of his capacity to offer the country transformational leadership. It is difficult to credibly dispute this claim. On assumption of office in 1999, Tinubu inherited a practically collapsed and insolvent state. Coming up with an inspirational vision, a systematic programme of action, and appointing an impressive array of talents to actualize this plan, he offered the effective leadership that laid the foundation for the sustained progress Lagos State has been enjoying since then.

Some critics have faulted Tinubu’s assertion that he intends to build on the foundation and accomplishments of the Buhari administration. They referred to what they consider the “faults and failings” of the APC government even when these so called “failings” are matters of perspectives. But should an aspirant running on the APC platform like Tinubu focus on the negatives of the administration rather than its positives and attainments? I don’t get the logic. One indisputable fact is no government in the world and in history is so perfect to the extent that it could satisfy all the yearnings of every citizen. While the Buhari administration certainly has its low points, the government has also scored many big points that will remain landmarks for generations to come.

Others contend that as a kingmaker, Tinubu should not seek to become king. This may be true of a traditional, absolutist monarchy as in the Obaship institution of the Yoruba or the Emirate system in the north. However the concept of kingmaker is irrelevant and misplaced in a constitutional democracy like we run today. Anyone who has been supported by Tinubu in their quest to hold elective public office in the states or at the centre had to go through democratic elections in which the electorates are the Kings. In this context, the concept of kingmaker is meaningless. Thus, Tinubu’s concluding answer to the question is apt. His words: “Whatever is your attribute is your own opinion. Me, I want to pursue my ambition without the title of a kingmaker. You can write your literature or your story based upon your own perception”.

Responding to a question from the Presidential press Corp, on the purported presidential ambitions of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Dr Kayode Fayemi, Ekiti State governor and Chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, Tinubu appropriately stated that he would not discuss other individuals but would rather focus on his own ambition.