One of the earliest pidgin saying that helped shaped my perspective is “Monkey dey work, Baboon dey chop” which literally means that “one man is doing the work while another is eating the fruits of his labour.” This saying has gained traction for some decades now as it has become apparent that a few people who are not in any way contributing to the growth of this nation are those reaping bountifully from the sweat of those toiling for it as a result of their privileged and entitled status. Gradually, this inverse arrangement has become the norm as more Nigerians graduate into the class of the physically and mentally indolent group waiting to reap from where they didn’t sow. It’s the reason why at the inception of this administration, many who worked very hard to see that this administration does not see the light of day started talking about sharing offices in it on the strength that they are also Nigerians. They started rationalizing why Buhari should appoint more people from the opponent camp because he took an oath of office to be Nigeria president. They even went as far as insulting and blackmailing his diehard supporters of looking for pecuniary gains when they were in fact the ones wearing the shoes of crass opportunism, hypocrisy and greed.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu became the democratically elected governor of Lagos state in 1999 until 2007 when he completed his constitutionally allowed two tenures. During this period, he built a formidable economy for Lagos, cultivated and groomed some cerebral brains that helped him drive his vision for Lagos state while his colleagues were squabbling over petty power plays and crude accumulation, killing off the dreams and visibility of those they consider as threats to their domination and power. He also put in place a successful and workable political machine that ensures that only the best brains are in the line up for potential succession. These brains who have been students of his progressive school of development have taken Lagos to the status of one of the biggest economies in Africa while his colleagues have faded off into political oblivion after their lacklustre performance in office. Tinubu has not held any other political office after his stint as Lagos state governor but has worked tirelessly to grow the ACN first in the South West before becoming part of the coalition that formed APC. He has helped to give progressive leadership to the people of the SW and most of his exports that came to the centre have performed creditably. When he was building all these men, nobody had any problem with his sacrifice. But after working so hard and achieving so much as a king maker, those with baboon mentality feel he should restrict himself to that role because he is too old and unfit for power. This baboon mentality amongst some Nigerians must be challenged with the most potent weapons of counter propaganda as it’s borne out of the highest form of hypocrisy, greed, selfishness and meanness. A man who has made so much sacrifice building a political base for himself should abandon his right to aspire for the highest office in the land but their heroes who have nothing to show for their donkey years in office or our national space are the ones that should be given a chance. All those who have failed to make any tangible impact whether as youth or old men should still be allowed to come and play trial and error politics with our lives. At this stage of our democratic sojourn, we do not need those whose hearts and brains are still in the past. We do not need those who still believe in encouraging people to steal meat in the soup pots instead of going fishing to prepare the soup. We do not need political time wasters, destiny killers and wasters. We do not need those who will come to reverse the gains we have made at truly becoming independent militarily, economically and psychologically. We need a leader that will be his own man and not an appendage of local and foreign masters. We need a leader that will be ready to administer the bitter pills we need to grow as a nation. We need a surgeon willing to take the knife to our cancers though it may be very painful. Above all, we need a leader truly ready for the office of the president of the federal republic of Nigeria, armed with a working document and a clear plan of where he intends to take us post Buhari, 2023, not those with brain cobwebs only bent on using our present contrived insecurity to promise a utopian empire they know is not possible. If Tinubu has so prepared himself and is that man, I will support him over other baboons with no proven credentials because the world has moved beyond the politics of amala and gbegiri or tuwo da mian kuka.

HAJARA USMAN🇳🇬