Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu at 70!

By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.

 

You are a politician, I am not! I will rather be comfortable with being called a Nation Builder. I stood up to you during the last Edo Gubernatorial election, ran a video to counter yours on the election. I have written several not too pleasant articles about you. You may never forgive me for one; “Bola Ahmed Tinubu; The fall of an Emperor at Lekki Toll-Gate”, the consequences of that prophetic writing only you with God can reverse!

And I use this occasion to plead with you to see reasons to function from the place of your ordination as the kingmaker and not the king!

Your Excellency, this occasion is not one for standing against celebrants. It is one for celebrating everything good about them and this I will like to do in this piece with you. I may resume with what I am known for with my writings tomorrow!

You are no doubt a leader, a political juggernaut, one who through hard work has bestride our political landscape from 1990 till date, meaning for over two decades of your official age you remain insurmountable in our political field of play!

The last man standing who trampled upon the ego of a military/civilian President in Olusegun Obasanjo, by you and no other, was the statement made loud and clear, that the chief tenet of democracy is the rule of law! You refused to be ruled by OBJ yet forced him to Preside over you and us in Lagos State according to the oath he took of the constitution! You gave life to the Judiciary in our democracy, many time winning over Federal might in court.

The Lion of Lagos, whose den is now at Bourdillon. Unfortunately, those you helped to power are worse than Obasanjo in their impunity and like a faithful party man, you are forced into silence! May I use this occasion to remind you that Bola has traversed party, and Tinubu has Towered over APC, like it or not you are not just a statesman, you are an Elder Statesman!

You are indeed a general in the game of politics who should not retire, for Nigeria needs you now more than ever. The one and only Afobaje (kingmaker) and instrument in the hand of God making the impossible possible politically. But for God through you Buhari would have died with an unfulfilled dream! I wonder if the size of your eyeballs enhances your sight politically, seeing once, what many may not see 10 times.

Your life, like that of every star is riddled with controversy, there is no point dwelling on them on this occasion of your 70th birthday!

I have followed your political rising from your days in my hood; Coker Street of Orile Agege Community. Though, you seem to have forgotten that ours was the genesis of your political book and the Alif of your political writing. Please, call and keep to mind my dear Orile Agege and Lagos West, and as we call it; Tinubu’s County, Alimoso, our coven of political craft!

Sir, I might have not been your fan, but, I have been a friend from a distance, one who from unfeigned love for you have frowned while fans smile. But I can’t squeeze my face at you today Sir. Though beaming with smiles and all happy for you, but let me ice your birthday cake with a mix of truth.

It might be a bit bitter, the mouth we all know wants the sweet but bitters are the health of the stomach. Her Excellency, the First Lady and Distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Lagos Central, I mean your ever beautiful wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu may not share my views, for the joy of wanting to relive the honour of a First Lady at the national level.

My sister, Chief Mrs. Folasade Tinubu-Ojo, the Iya loja General of Nigeria whose kernel you didn’t only crack but milked for her to drink will never be able to see reasons with me, she might be having the dream of becoming the Iya loja of Africa.

Should I talk of my brother, Oluseyi Tinubu, who after conquering outdoor advertising world in Lagos has moved to Abuja and he is waiting behind you to take over Nigeria. Sir, the people you made in politics, several of them have proven they can’t stand alone without you. Many who took you for granted are langushing in their political grave. Those courageous to swallow their pride and kowtow to your grace are beginning to breathe politically again. The relevance of many are tied to Bola Ahmed Tinubu, little wonder all they do is sing your praises!

Neither would I demean the size of the elephant, the Ajanaku of Nigerian politics filled my sight, but would I for the bullion van that rode into your compound join the chorus; “a o merin joba e we ku ewele”, of the sycophants who feed from the fall off from your table. I am too much in love with nature to wish the elephant a fall into the pit of political extinction.

Sir, the game is more difficult to play when the Kingmaker chooses to be king, for he then becomes one who wants to become king without makers!

The Maker of men is God but his formula hasn’t changed, He will always do it through other men. Sir, your ordination is to make kings. I can bet sir, that if you pick any unknown candidate, without political pedigree, nor family aputtance in Nigeria as your choice for the office of the President of Nigeria at this time of our political day towards 2023, you will maestro the game, turn the tables and make that underdog the President. This of course will be difficult if not impossible to do with yourself!

Sir, your ambition must not blur your vision from seeing what Directorate of Politics and Governance, DPG, is all about. DPG is a joker that can thrive, but you saw a move by RCCG to stop you and you called out Islamic organizations to also form their DPG. I have never known you to play religious politics this, you have to redress. How can the husband of a Pastor of the Headquarters of RCCG become suspicious of DPG?

How can he who is one with Pastor Oluremi Tinubu and is thus positioned to make our long dream of love (Christianity) and peace (Islam) conference at freeing the masses of oppression and our politics of bitterness be taken over by what he is sent to end?

Sir, you may not share my view, but please give it consideration. Your pride is not in becoming the President, it is in bringing Muslims and Christians together to form the 3rd force needed to make another underdog the President. You have done it before with an alliance of “rags and tags” parties put together behind a frustrated candidate you virtually begged to give it a final trial. You can do it again with a tribe! The hope of the Igbo Nation hangs in the balance and with it justice, equity and fairness, the evil of this is what is bedeviling our country.

Sir, what will it look like if on this occasion of your 70th birthday, you sacrifice your age long ambition for the unity of this country, call for a love and peace conference between Muslims and Christians put the force behind a South Eastern Candidate with respect for right of others to their religion and a Northern Muslim without bias for the religion of others.

It is to a man like you that we must look at this time and season. If you don’t have persons you can trust, we can get the church to make recommendation and Islamic organization on your call for DPG to do the same, this way we may come up with persons who will not fail God, Nigeria and You!

To the Jagaban of Africa, Asiwaju of Nigeria, the only national leader of APC, the father of modern Lagos.

Be the game changer! I say a very glorious 70th birthday Sir!

 

Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is the President, Project Victory Call Initiative, A.K.A PVC Naija, an NGO committed to Political Education and Advocacy

bolajiakinyemi66@gmail.com

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