Tinubu and Our Politics
From the North came elder statesman Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais and former Kano Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau. Other former governors at the occasion were Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (Balyesa), Segun Osoba (Osun) and Abubakar Audu (Kogi). The chair of the main event was former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku. There was […]
From the North came elder statesman Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule, Justice Muhammad Lawal Uwais and former Kano Governor, Ibrahim Shekarau. Other former governors at the occasion were Lucky Igbinedion (Edo), Diepreye Alamieyeseigha (Balyesa), Segun Osoba (Osun) and Abubakar Audu (Kogi). The chair of the main event was former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku. There was a phalanx of Obas and Imams from closer home, to add gravity to the occasion.
All ACN political office holders, past and present, were there, wearing the blue aso-ebi sown for the occasion. Governors from the five states, which ACN managed to snatch from dominant Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), paid glowing tributes to their leader. They admitted that without Tinubu’s political acumen and financial muscle, they could not have won their elections or prevailed at the tribunals.
In a surpringly under-reported incidence, only Governor Raji Fashola of Lagos spoke slightly off cue, when he said he was passing a message from Tinubu’s friends and associates, advising that while Tinubu may not love his followers equally, he should show justice to all. ‘The Leader’ did not let even this mild rebuke to go unchallenged.
In a revealing riposte, which underscored his immense power in the party, he replied: “If there is no partiality, you (Fashola) cannot be governor. I exercise quick judgement. Whichever way it goes, I say sorry. With my decision on you, Fayemi, Aregbesola, Ajimobi, I have no regrets. What can I change at 60? I will continue with my behaviour. I used the best brains and used the best tools to search for them. It was not politically easy to assemble the team. Many of them did not have party cards, except Lekan Pitan and Rauf Aregbesola.”
Even without boasting about it himself, Tinubu is as successful a politician as it is possible to be in our context. Other godfathers rely on the afterglow of former office to influence their successors. They quickly find out that old protégés are in an unhealthy hurry to escape from their shadows. Tinubu has cast such a wide net that it seems impossible to escape from his grip. Some politicians may be where they are by sheer luck, but he has remained relevant, as Chief MKO Abiola might say, by managing to dance on one leg!
One columnist in a newspaper, not incidentally, owned by the former Lagos State governor, said his influence out of public office is an example of “soft power”. It may be. But hidden inside those velvet gloves are hands of steel, oiled by money, foot soldiers and media presence.
But no matter how powerful individuals become, they still remain flesh and blood. Tinubu has put up an impressive show for his 60th birthday. The political class must have got the message, if there was any doubt that he is now the single most powerful Yoruba politician. That’s not a small achievement in a region with many assertive and talented leaders in various fields. But where does the Asiwaju road show go from here?
Unless he is content to remain the kingmaker of the South-West, Tinubu has to commit to working with other party leaders to create a national platform that can seriously challenge the ruling Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) at the centre. The ACN has a few notable politicians from outside the South-West. Nuhu Ribadu, it’s presidential candidate in 2011, is from the North. So it’s tempting to think that the party can hang on to its home base and gradually build a national presence.
But neither Tinubu nor, more importantly, the poorly governed people of Nigeria, will have the patience to wait for such slow solutions. If, in 2011, the ACN leader only fielded Ribadu after he failed to be on the Presidential ticket with Buhari, in the botched CPC/ ACN alliance, nothing will hold him back in 2015! Nothing, except the very real prospect that if the opposition parties decide, once again, to go it alone, they and us, will be the losers.
Whether in the ACN or the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the politics of personality has its limits. General Buhari has shown that a trusted leader can change his platform without losing his followers. But up against a party determined to rule us forever, popularity alone has not done the magic. The opposition parties need unity, organisation, money, and they need to work harder to win power, than the PDP is doing to keep it. Individual ambitions must be subsumed until the main objective is achieved. For if they continue to squable about personalities and not programmes, what will distinguish them from the more self-seeking crowd in the PDP?
In 2011 an aspiring President Jonathan promised Nigerians “fresh air”. It is fair to say that except for those living in the well-ventilated corridors of power, the majority of us are still waiting for this fair breeze. To the old problems of corruption, poverty and crime have now been added those of social division and terrorism. Jonathan and the PDP are not to blame for all these plagues. But since they are happening under their watch, we look towards them for solutions.
If PDP fails to reform itself, much less transform Nigeria, then Tinubu and other opposition leaders have a chance to form the next government. But they must learn from our recent past and, indeed, from the experience of other African countries, including Senegal recently, how a divided opposition can wrestle the mantle from a ruling party. The country is ready for change. Indeed, it may only survive if there is a serious attempt at renewal. But that will not happen just because Mr A or B wants to be president!