* Bola Tinubu alliance helped Buhari win
presidential poll
* Ex-Lagos governor now one of the most
powerful godfathers
* Seen as favouring technocrats who can solve
problems
By Tim Cocks
LAGOS, April 22 (Reuters) - "I am a talent hunter.
I put talents in office, I help them," says former
Lagos state governor and opposition alliance
leader Bola Tinubu, being quite open about his
role as one of Nigeria's most powerful political
godfathers.
"I use the best hand, the best brain, the best
experience for the job," he told Reuters after
voting this month in a governorship election in
Nigeria's economic capital which, as expected,
his hand picked candidate Akinwunmi Ambode
won.
But it isn't only in his traditional fiefdom in the
ethnic Yoruba southwest that Tinubu has sought
to be a kingmaker. His support for former
military ruler Muhammadu Buhari was seen as a
key factor in the latter's win against President
Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential
election in Africa's biggest economy and oil
producer.
The pro-Buhari alliance that Tinubu headed, the
All Progressives Congress (APC), rallied elites
around Buhari in the southwest, Nigeria's
wealthiest region. That enabled Buhari to tackle
a perception that his support lies only in the
dust-blown, largely Muslim north. The religiously
mixed southwest had voted overwhelmingly for
Jonathan in the 2011 race.
So 'The Jagaban', an honorific title beloved of
Tinubu's supporters, could have much say in
what reform policies the new government will
focus on, and who fills which cabinet posts.
"The party he led is half of the APC. He can ...
lay claim to that power," said Clement Nwankwo
of the Situation Room civil society group. "Buhari
will feel (an) ... obligation to him."
To supporters Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim, is a wily
political operator with a passion for getting the
job done and a knack for picking bright,
committed technocrats to do it. To critics he is a
ruthless godfather who doles out lucrative
contracts to his friends' firms, insists on
installing his man in office and is capable of
sending in street thugs if he fails to get his way.
The APC, which came to power on anger over
corruption and growing insecurity, has declined
to speak publicly about policies.
THE JAGABAN
The Nigerian practice of political godfathering
has long been criticised by rights campaigners as
impeding democracy by enabling powerful
oligarchs to capture state institutions.
But few deny that in Lagos, at least, the former
governor managed to fix things no one thought
fixable.
Under his tenure at the turn of the millennium
and that of his successor Babatunde Fashola, a
technocrat hand picked by Tinubu, the city
scrubbed up dramatically. Trash got collected,
crime fell, trees were planted and traffic was
better managed.
"There were refuse mountains around, tax
collection was very low," recalls Folarin Gbadebo-
Smith, a former council leader under Tinubu. "But
very quickly he seemed to sort things out."
Gbadebo-Smith noticed an advantage Tinubu has
over other Nigerian "big men" is that you could
disagree with him and he listened, changing his
mind when faced with a good argument.
He also sets high standards, says Lagos waste
management head Ola Oresanya, to whom
Tinubu gave three months to make a noticeable
difference or be fired.
"He likes to say 'I promised I would do this, and I
have.'"
But like other powerful political figures in Nigeria,
Tinubu's power resides largely in the huge
patronage he wields, which has given him
influence over, for instance, the 'area boys' --
Lagos street toughs who run rackets and guard
cars. Ingeniously, he gave some of them
uniforms and turned them into traffic cops.
After he voted on April 11, a group of area boys
mobbed The Jagaban, and he lectured them on
their disorderly behaviour.
"If you want me to do something for you, line up
in an orderly manner. Then I can share my
peanuts," he told them, adding: "some of you
have not even voted."
A day later, when celebrations erupted outside
his home, two groups of area boys got into a
fight over money that had been distributed and
they began hitting each other with planks of
wood, a Reuters reporter saw. But interviewed
later, many of them said they loved Tinubu since
"he's a man of the common people."
A businessman close to him says although
Tinubu runs a formidable business empire, he is
often short of cash because he gives so much
away to oil the wheels of patronage.
Yet Tinubu may have less influence over Buhari
than he had hoped, argues Kayode Akindele, CEO
of consultancy 46 Parallels.
"He didn't really deliver in the southwest. It was
only a slight lead," he said, compared to the
absolute thumping Jonathan received from
voters in the largely Muslim north.
"The APC, post-elections, is now very northern,"
he added. That could limit any influence The
Jagaban has -- and replicate the north-south
rivalry that divided Jonathan's outgoing party.
(Editing by Giles Elgood)

http://www.trust.org/item/20150422111031-rmlvf/

lalasticlala

Proud of Tinubu's achievement! It's even more resounding reading his history and how he started in Chicago recruited right on graduation, remaining on the Deans list throughout and being hired by the consulting company that eventually sent him to work for the oil giant Saudi Aramco. Eventually events brought him to Nigeria, working on Mobil Nigeria and rising to the position of Treasurer.

Very impressive!

Meanwhile some haters from the hate filled region are still rudderless and hating!

madamoringo:
Proud of Tinubu's achievement! It's even more resounding reading his history and how he started in Chicago recruited right on graduation, remaining on the Deans list throughout and being hired by the consulting company that eventually sent him to work for the oil giant Saudi Aramco. Eventually events brought him to Nigeria, working on Mobil Nigeria and rising to the position of Treasurer.

Very impressive!

Meanwhile some haters from the hate filled region are still rudderless and hating!

please can you post the link to this info? thanks