2023: The Bola Tinubu Factor, By Sunny Awurum
POLITICS DIGEST – While critics would refer to him as a godfather, political pundits refer to Tinubu as a leader who has the capacity to reshape the political landscape of Nigeria.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is one unique Nigerian political leader who rose to become the ‘El Generalissimo of Nigerian Politics’.
He never discriminates against people no matter where they come from. Since joined politics, the former Governor of Lagos State has been very firm and consistent with his political party. He started with Alliance for Democracy (AD) which later metamorphosed into Action Congress (AC), and AC later became Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and now APC which he founded. He is a politician that vehemently refused to collapse his political structure, to join the Peoples Democratic Party when his government was in loggerheads with the Obasanjo led administration over allocation due to the creation of Local Council Development Areas, LCDA, in Lagos.
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During the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s military junta, Asiwaju Tinubu risked his life with the ‘Afenifere’, a pro-democracy group insisting on participatory democracy. While critics expect Tinubu to tactically rubbish community policing initiative otherwise known as Operation Amotekun, due to his closeness to President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling APC, Asiwaju damned the consequence but described the operation as more of a blessing than a threat as envisaged by naysayers. According to the only true leader that has birthed other leaders across Nigeria on insecurity, “A governor must view safety and security as a foremost priority, integral to his mandate. To turn a blind eye to these concerns would be a grave dereliction. That the South-West governors seek to work together to complement the extant security architecture is, in principle, a commendable undertaking.
“In embracing this concept, they have acted in consonance with the spirit of their offices for the better interests of their people. … Amotekun is to be another set of eyes and ears to assist the police. As such, it is but the second generation of Neighborhood Watch expanded to a regional scale. “Conceptually, there is nothing wrong with this. It does not appear to insult the constitution. However, my position regarding Amotekun is not blind or uncritical; there are several organisational and functional aspects of the proposal that could cause some problems if left unresolved” It’s time Nigeria stop the trial style of leadership without a background check before 2023. If we truly desire a unifier and a true leader that cuts across the board as a President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should be seriously considered as the next President of Nigeria.
Awurum is a political analyst based in Lagos.
