One day after work, I decided to take a ‘break’. I have been having too much to worry about these past few weeks and I feared and still fear I might just pass out never to awaken. I needed and still need to take things easy.

So that day after work and when I say ‘work’, I mean the process of having to absent-mindedly perform the same rituals daily, drafting court processes, having to face haughty clients who believe they know better than me because I am young at the Bar and would prefer to speak to my Boss instead, I decided to go to another ‘Bar’ where seniority isn’t of paramount importance; where no one cares about your age as long as you can drop some quids to get some green bottles… bottles filled with bitter liquids, though sweetening to the mind… enough to make me forget my sorrows and worries albeit temporarily.

Some tables away from mine were two weather beaten men. They were drinking the local gin called paraga peacefully and all of a sudden I heard some noise from their end. From their vituperations, I could decipher their names: Baba Kamoru and Baba Silifa. Below is the exchange that ensued between them:

Baba Kamoru: How dare you insult Bola Tinubu. He is GOD.

Baba Silifa: Are you alright? How dare you call him God? God should slap your mouth for that blasphemy

Baba Kamoru: Look at you, Mungo Park. Don’t you know that Asiwaju Tinubu rescued us from the evil PDP? Don’t you know he has liberated us from slavery?

Baba Silifa: I can see that you have had too much to drink. How on earth would you say that Tinubu liberated us from slavery? Were you ever in bondage? And how is Mr Tinubu innocent of the many vices the PDP guys are accused of?

Baba Kamoru; What are you talking about? Our Asiwaju does not impose candidates on people, he is not corrupt, and he is not guilty of nepotism .

(Baba Silifa cuts in)

Baba Silifa: Are you saying Asiwaju is not corrupt? How come he is a BILLIONAIRE today when it is an open secret that when he returned from exile in 1998, he was broke? You said he doesn’t impose candidates on people, but would you pretend not to know that about 6 of his family members hold strategic positions in Government?

Baba Kamoru: I have nothing more to say to you. But I have to tell you that Bola Tinubu was responsible for Goodluck Jonathan’s electoral success in 2011…”

There and then, I felt I had had enough of Baba Kamoru’s gibberish. I did not even wait to finish my drink before I sauntered off.

Bola Tinubu means different things to different people. To some, he is a GOD. Infact, they believe that he should be worshipped on Mondays and Fridays. These set of people don’t even mind cutting off their testicles to appease him or even a burnt offering. One even told me that he can sacrifice his SON to Tinubu just as Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac to God. To them, he can do no wrong. He is the all in all, the alpha and omega, beginning and the end, unmovable mover, unchangeable changer, the “I am that I am in Nigerian politics.”

To some, Asiwaju Tinubu is just like any average politician we have around: corrupt, inept, grossly and acutely incompetent, gallery player, macabre dancer, opportunist and a propagator of the gospel of ‘Do-as-i-say-not-as-i-do’.

I have always felt indifferent towards him actually. To me, he is no different from any other politician we have around. He says something one minute and does something the next moment. This write-up would attempt to deliberate if Bola Tinubu is as ‘important’ as his supporters sum him up to be,

A scrutiny of his democratic and ‘moral’ credentials would also be attempted.

The following issues would be attempted.

How did Bola Tinubu come into prominence?
What role did he play in ACN’s sweep of the South West?
Did he influence Jonathan’s victory in the South West during the 2011 Presidential elections?
Is he different from the typical Nigerian politician?
Isn’t he overrated?

ISSUE ONE

The raging question here is how Bola Tinubu came into prominence. Till 2003, he was just another AD Governor who did not even win the AD primaries in 1999 but who got the AD ticket because the ‘Afenifere’ elders prevailed on the winner of the primaries, the late Funsho Williams to step down for Tinubu because Tinubu is an Awoist.

So how did he become so powerful?

Olusegun Obasanjo has to be credited with Tinubu’s rise. He, it was who gave Tinubu national prominence when he refused to pay Lagos State Local Government Allocations, even when the Supreme Court ordered him to.

After standing toe to toe with Obasanjo, he became ‘GOD’ to some people. Many wondered how he was able to steer the Lagos ship without federal allocations. Many failed to realize that he was able to do that because Lagos state makes trillions yearly from Internal Generated Revenues (IGRs), in other words, Lagos can survive without federal allocations.

To cut the story short, Obasanjo has to be acknowledged for making Tinubu a ‘thin-god’ out of nothing.

ISSUE TWO

Another bugging question is “what role did Tinubu play in the ACN capture of the South-West”?

I must confess to you, that the PDP defeated the PDP in the 2011 gubernatorial elections. Apart from the states won under the Salami led ‘Court of Appeal’ the other states were lost because the PDP self-destructed – apart from Lagos.

Let me use Oyo State as an example.

Adebayo Alao-Akala was not a bad Governor. He only had problems with human relations and public perception. He had problems with many PDP members from Ibadan who supported ACN’S Ajimobi to spite him. His ex-boss, Rashidi Ladoja also ran for the post of Governor under the Accord Party and he effectively divided the PDP votes in the state.

Without Ladoja’s ‘spoiler act’ and Akala’s beef with the Ibadan PDP elite, Ajimobi of the ACN would NEVER have emerged as Oyo State Governor.

So how was Tinubu responsible for ACN’S victory in Oyo State? Any hands up?

ISSUE THREE

Now, this is the most annoying of all. Many people believe that Goodluck Jonathan won the Presidential elections in 5 out of the 6 South Western States because of a deal he struck with Bola Tinubu.

How true is this bold assertion?

I would debunk that vexatious and false claim by using a case study and an example.

Goodluck Jonathan won Lagos State by a wide margin and many deluded people are of the opinion that Tinubu did it for him. How? Lagos state is not just a Yoruba state. It is inhabited by a lot of Igbos and South-South indigenes (PRO-JONATHAN). Did Tinubu have to beg or coerce these people to vote for Jonathan because they had a deal?

The other example is this. During the elections, I was a student of the University of Ibadan. Many UITES voted en masse for the ACN during the governorship election. However during thepPresidential election, the average Yoruba man, Igbo man and Ijaw man on campus voted for Jonathan and he won by an alarming margin. Jonathan also won my area which is Oluyole (AJIMOBI’s neighbourhood). Now tell me, did Tinubu go door to door to beg or order people to vote for Jonathan because they struck a deal.

NO! The people in the South-West voted for Jonathan because they wanted to. Tinubu had NO imput in Jonathan’s victory in the South-west because people in the South-West are not dogmatic and do not require Tinubu to tell them their left to their right,

SIMPLE!

ISSUE FOUR

Is Tinubu different from the average Nigerian politician? No! Like many politicians, his massive wealth is questionable. He reportedly owns many hotels, The Nation Newspaper, Alpha Beta, TV Continental and many other business interest, he plays to the gallery (The Boko Haram issue is an example), he encourages nepotism as he has more often than not imposed members of his family on the people. His wife is a Senator (His wife was reported to have told the Late Habibat Mogaji that “I am contesting for the post of Senator because I am tired of staying at home”), his daughter has reportedly been appointed IYALOJA OF LAGOS to replace his late mother, his In-Law is a member of the State House of assembly, and many many more.

His party ACN is the perfect example for undemocratic practices. Bisi Akande has been the chairman of the party since 2005, ‘LIE’ Mohammed has been the spokesman since 2005 too (8 years). They have not held conventions to replace their National officers in ages, candidates do not hold primaries as Mr Tinubu ‘s Bourdillon house is the place where candidates are picked by the godfather himself. Candidates are imposed on the other candidates (even the ‘devilish’ PDP are angelic enough to hold primaries’).

So, is Mr Tinubu different from the PDP politicians he fervently criticizes?

NOOOO!

ISSUE FIVE

Is Bola Ahmed Tinubu overrated? I think so. His supporters have made it seem like the Yorubas are so dogmatic that they follow Mr Tinubu’s instructions and orders to the letter. The ACN is in control of the South-West because the the PDP self-destructed and also because the people got tired of the PDP leaders. Not because Mr Tinubu ordered them to vote the ACN in.

So, to the people outside the South-West who think we are under the emperor’s spell over here, I am sorry to disappoint you. The Emperor and his followers suffer from a grand delusion of grandeur…they are lost in a world of their self-importance. We vote for candidates whom we believe are capable and not because the emperor has willed it to be so.

- Follow this writer on Twitter: @Oddy4real

Fair write-up: though I must own that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated very admirable succession planning, and certainly bequeathed to Lagos a far better successor than Obasanjo ever did, either in '79, or 2007. Obasanjo, each time, deliberately set out to seek and deliver a weak successor, for reasons best known to him. Tinubu, on the contrary, delivered a strong-minded intellectually savvy and vision driven man. He just made sure the man was perfectly loyal to him. I don't mind that.

Having said that, I think it is more than clear by now that he is maximum ruler and supreme dictator within the ACN. The ACN has no internal democracy and his word is law. No one can deny that.

From one slave master to another!

Shame!

Deep Sight: Fair write-up: though I must own that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has demonstrated very admirable succession planning, and certainly bequeathed to Lagos a far better successor than Obasanjo ever did, either in '79, or 2007. Obasanjo, each time, deliberately set out to seek and deliver a weak successor, for reasons best known to him. Tinubu, on the contrary, delivered a strong-minded intellectually savvy and vision driven man. He just made sure the man was perfectly loyal to him. I don't mind that.

Having said that, I think it is more than clear by now that he is maximum ruler and supreme dictator within the ACN. The ACN has no internal democracy and his word is law. No one can deny that.

Well said...

1. U dnt av to write 'GOD' istead of 'god'. Psychologically, u knw d mere writing of 'GOD' will spark a resentment in some particular people, and they wldnt want to hear more of it.
I put it to u that it was a deliberate option to tickle other people's psychosis against him!

2. By point one, it is safe to admit that ur write up is not to sort people's opininon but to incite them against the essence of Tinubu.

3. As much as u love to ommit the fact dt in 2007 election, he uses all his might to prevent the PDP from taking over the state by rigging and all other means!

If we av that kind of a man in Ogun state in 2007 when we clearly voted for SIA but was overturned by the usual crookness of the PDP, only for their forced candidate to run the state in fear and wretchedness without a mentionable progress !

4. Whether u like it or not, ACN has been a progressive party that has brought nothing but progress to the SW. And whether tinubu is milking us dry or not, is it nt better with the progress we are experiencing than the era of the PDP where we were being milked dry and yet without a single progress?

Your penchant to appear objective or neutral so you can receive pats on the back from pro-jonathan citizens has led you down the path of peddling lies and stuff you imagined or dreamed up as facts. No one in the south-west would ever be in that argument or scenario you creatively cooked up except of course those touts and never do wells who basically rely on Tinubu to feed them and take care of their needs. Now tell us, where in Nigeria is exempt from such politics? Mind you, politics can only be as sophisticated as the general populace.

My family has never supported the pdp since 1999 but only naivety would lead you to believe they don't do appraisals or criticize when necessary. However when its time to go to the polls, constantly people are forced to chosse the lesser evil. The southwest pdp is comatose because of the kind of characters it indulges. The likes of Obasanjo and Bode George cannot lead decent yoruba administrators. The best minds simply avoid the pdp down here. So what do we have? We have a situation where tinubu, a smart politician takes advantage of the uniqueness of lagos and its opportunites to build for himself great financial muscle without which the media war and the legal war would not have been won against the pdp. How else do you think people like Aregbesola, Fashola, Fayemi could afford expensive gubernatorial campaigns? How else could you stand up to a ruthless machine like the pdp?


Some of us just sit around in delusion expecting angels to come down and run our political affairs. All the politicians are "inept, corrupt, incompetent" while it is you in your peanut paying less than two years old legal practice that's the mohatma ghandi we've been waiting for. From where did these guys come from? Is it not from amongst us? Even Tinubu rose to a very respectable point in his career before he ventured into politics. Learn to put your money where your mouth is and get involved. Don't just sit in one corner nose turned up against those who have taken the plunge into it. People have taken a stance and its not a perfect one, what is yours? If you're pro-pdp be bold enough to admit it and you'll get more respect.


If there were three lagos type of states in different parts of the country, there would be three tinubus. Except the politician is cowardly or dull, no politician will pass up the opportunity of annexing such endlessly flowing resources to further his political ambitions and build a small empire for himself.


Like it or not, Tinubu is instrumental to the comatose state of the pdp in the southwest. However , the absence of a real option in elections isn't healthy. To achieve this the pdp may have to wait for the exits of Bode George, Obasanjo , Oyinlola and co. You cannot keep pushing George in my face when on the other side, they've got Akande, Obanikoro when there is Fashola, fayose, oyinlola when they present the likes of fayemi , aregbesola etc. People like funsho williams were once in the pdp, they got rid of them only to champion dullards like obanikoro.

Your claim the huge population of non yorubas helped jonathan win in lagos in 2011 is while being naïve, also arrogant. If the President believes influential political figures and Governors are not instrumental to winning elections, even more so than actual performance, why is he locked in various battles to control the party and the Governors forum? As it stands, except some great work is done that people in this area can relate with, the south-west is a goner for Jonathan in 2015. Maybe then we'll know how significant this your non-yoruba voting bloc is .

Conclusively, I believe you're the one suffering from grand delusion. You keep on throwing e-tantrums that are inconsequential (and poorly written too) with only the little danger of mis-informing those that are not informed. People have made their stance known, made alliances imperfect as it may seem, while bitter little cowards like you throw potshots without caring to let us know what they stand for.

Another PDP hit job from the stables of Reno omokri and abati.rubbish.
The only factual statement made in this write up is that tinubu means different things to different people.
One thing for sure is that tinubu was responsible for Jonathan's victory in the SW.if he had mobilised for buhari,only the person who wants his fingers to remain intact dare vote for PDP.
Now to get to the other point.
As long as tinubu can keep PDP out of the SW ,the Yorubas are willing to live with his excesses.
Without doubt,he is guilty having many conflict of interest but not to the extent of moving money directly from the CBN to a personal account.he also put smart and intelligent people in places of governance.
WHAT REVEALS AN INEPT ATTEMPT TO REHABILITATE PDP ,IS WHERE THE POSTER CALLED AKALA A PERFORMER.nice try.you can have him to perform for your family.he is definitely not good for the people of oyo

The OP has lost his case!