WoundedLamb:
Well penned down. I don't really know why he termed Osibanjo becoming the president "the law of natural progression" when the position of the vice president is neither a perquisite to nor an assurance of becoming the next president. I guess only time can answer his question.

OP, it's a good practice to put the name of the writer at the beginning of the text.


Thanks for sharing.

Done, thanks

By Olu Fasan

NOW we know! The Jagaban of Borgu and Asiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will run for president in 2023. He hasn’t said so publicly himself, of course. But his apparent confidant, Tanko Yakasai, a founding member of Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, recently affirmed Tinubu’s presidential ambition.

Speaking to a national daily, Yakasai said Tinubu’s widely- publicised visit to him on November 24 was to solicit his support for his ambition to become Nigeria’s next president. Asked if Tinubu categorically told him he would join the 2023 presidential race, Yakasai replied: “He did and he asked for my support.”

Well, Tinubu’s presidential ambition triggers many issues for future columns, but my only concern here is whether it would throw up apolitical oddity in which a sitting vice president defies the law of natural progression and refuses to run for president because his “godfather” wants to run for the office.

Surely, if Tinubu wants to run for president in 2023, the inevitable questions are: What about Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo? Would he too seek his party’s nomination? Or would he chicken out and throw in the towelbecause of Tinubu?

Let me state at this point that neither Osinbajo’s candidacy nor, even less so, Tinubu’s candidacy is of interest to me. This is because my principled position is that Nigeria’s next president should be of Igbo extraction.

If a Yoruba becomes president in 2023 and does eight years, power will then return to the North for another eight years. Thus, by 2039, the Igbo would have produced no president for 40 years since 1999. That’s not a fair way to treat one leg of the tripod of the largest ethnic groups on which Nigeria originally stood.

Nor is that sustainable in terms of this country’s unity and stability. So, my preference is for the two main parties, APC and PDP, to pick their presidential candidates from the South-East.

That said, my pragmatic assumption is that APC would not give its presidential ticket to the South-East where it’s electorally weak. Consider the recent Anambra State governorship election: Andy Uba, APC’s candidate, came a distant third. Thus, more likely, APC would give its presidential ticket to the South-West, which then makes the Tinubu-Osinbajo political calculations interesting and intriguing.

Tellingly, the argument about why Osinbajo should not run for president if Tinubu wants the job turns on loyalty and gratitude. The argument goes like this: Osinbajo would not have been vice president without Tinubu; so he owes Tinubu an eternal debt, and would be disloyal to challenge him for their party’s presidential ticket. But this is utter hogwash, based on a false narrative that Tinubu helped Osinbajo to become APC’s presidential running-mate in 2015 out of sheer generosity or favour. But that’s not true!

In reality, once Tinubu couldn’t becomeGeneral Muhammadu Buhari’s running-mate because Nigerians wouldn’t accept a Muslim-Muslim ticket,the challenge for APC was finding a Yoruba Christian who could enhance the Buhari ticket. Remember: Buhari was deeply unpopular in the South-West.

Even in 2011, when he ran with Pastor Tunde Bakare, a Yoruba Christian, as his running-mate, he secured only 321,609 votes in the South-West as against Goodluck Jonathan’s 1,369,943. In 2015, Jonathan, who had warmed himself to Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s biological and political families, secured the support ofAfenifere by promising to implement the report of his government’s 2014 National Conference, if re-elected.

In those circumstances, Osinbajo’s choice as Buhari’s running-mate was strategic. A pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, he received Pastor Adeboye’s endorsement and the support of most Pentecostal Christians in the South-West.

Then, there was the Awolowo connection. Osinbajo is married to one of Chief Awolowo’s granddaughters, andAwolowo’s wife, HID, publicly welcomed his choice as Buhari’s running-mate. Truth is: Osinbajo’s choice won the APC lots of Christian votes in the South-West and blunted Afenifere’s support for Jonathan. Even so, Jonathan still won 42 percent of the South-West’s votes as against Buhari’s 56 percent! Hard to imagine the outcome without Osinbajo on the ticket!

Of course, no one can deny Tinubu’s role in Osinbajo’s emergence as APC’s vice-presidential candidate in 2015. But everyone gets a helping hand in life, including Tinubu himself. He became the gubernatorial candidate of Alliance for Democracy, AD,in 1999 because Chief Abraham Adesanya and other Afenifere leaders, who controlled the party, preferred him to his rivals.

My point here is that Osinbajo’s choice as Buhari’s running-mate in 2015 wasn’t merely a product of Tinubu’s generosity or favour; rather, it was a function of strategic and pragmatic calculations: Osinbajo brought something to the table!

But let’s leave aside how Osinbajo became APC’s vice-presidential nominee in 2015. The fact is that he has been Nigeria’s vice president since 2015 and has served the president loyally and the country meritoriously.

Recently, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, a non-partisan private sector organisation, paid a glowing tribute to Osinbajo, calling him a “worthy Vice President and fantastic leader of this country”. Wouldn’t it be perverse if he doesn’t run for president?

In the US, over the past 50 years, no vice-president who sought to succeed a president has failed to get their party’s nomination. In Nigeria, Alex Ekwueme and Atiku Abubakar failed: Ekwueme because of a coup, Atiku because he fell out with his boss, Olusegun Obasanjo.

Only Jonathan succeeded, well, by replacing his boss, Umaru Yar’Adua, who died in office. But Osinbajo’s case is different. By 2023, he would have served outstandingly as vice-president for eight years. Elsewhere, he would have the inside track when it comes to running for his party’s presidential nomination.

Here are two questions for Professor Osinbajo: Does he believe he can run Nigeria as president? Does he have the fire in his belly to fight for his party’s nomination? If he answers “yes” to both questions, then he would be a coward not to throw his hat into the ring. Simply put: He must!

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/12/2023-presidency-would-osinbajo-be-a-fighter-or-a-coward/amp/

Cc:
Seun
Mynd44
Lalasticlala

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He was a great man. May his soul rest in peace

Osinbajo is more than capable

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A group, Cross River Renaissance Movement, has endorsed the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, to contest for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party come 2023.

The group said their support was based on the fact that Wike fights for the poor and the weak.

The pressure group which draws its membership from the Cross River State House of Assembly, immediate past commissioners, said this in a communique issued at the end of its meeting in Calabar, on Tuesday.

A former River State Commissioner for Water Resources, Gabe Odu-Oji, who read the communique said, “Against the background of the clarion call and passionate expectation of Nigerians for good and enduring leadership; having been dissatisfied with the rudderless leadership provided by the APC in the last six years, resolved amongst other issues, to call on leadership of the PDP to present a man with character and content as flag-bearer for the party’s presidential ticket in 2023 in order to further strengthen the faith of the people in the Nigerian polity.

“The group notes in particular, the sterling leadership qualities and developmental strides of the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and after a careful prognosis of the political situation in the country, characterised by high-level insecurity across board, rising banditry, the proliferation of secessionist groups currently threatening the very fabric of our national unity, hereby calls on His Excellency, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, to declare for the 2023 presidential election in order to salvage Nigeria as clearly demonstrated in his outing as Governor of Rivers State.”

The group described Wike as “a nationalist who truly believes in the unity and indissolubility of Nigeria and has clearly demonstrated this in his uncompromising stance against separatist agitations and his liberal posture as demonstrated during the Sokoto inferno.”

The Cross River PDP Renaissance Movement further stated that the ingenuity in social engineering exhibited by the governor in handling the security situation in the Niger-Delta, has brought about peace in the region.

The group said it considered this trait as “a major panacea required in resolving the current security challenges plaguing the country.”

https://punchng.com/2023-pdp-group-endorses-wike-for-president/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1636503583

Covid-19 really did alot of damages to our economic growth but we must rise as a great country to make sure we do everything posibble to make sure our economic growth remains stabilized. Nice speech Mr Vice President

Covid-19 really did alot of damages to our economic growth but we must rise as a great country to make sure we do everything posibble to make sure our economic growth remains stabilized. Nice speech Mr Vice President

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STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE 
 
VP OSINBAJO TO ATTEND 2ND EDITION OF NIGERIA-COTE D’IVOIRE BI-NATIONAL COMMISSION IN ABIDJAN*

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN is today attending the 2nd edition of the Nigeria-Cote d’Ivoire Bi-National Commission  meeting in Abidjan.
 
The Commission, which was established in 2013, is a reflection of the fraternal and cordial relations that exist between both countries regarded as the biggest economies in West Africa.
 
The maiden edition of the Bi-National Commission, which took place in Abuja in August 2013, led to the signing of six sectoral Agreements, as well as the establishment of Special Implementation Committees in both countries to monitor progress.
 
Today's summit, which is to be co-chaired by Prof. Osinbajo and the Prime Minister of Ivory Coast, Patrick Jerome Achi, is expected to enter into new Agreements which cover Agriculture; Digital Economy; Education; Consular and Immigration Matters; and prevention of Human Trafficking, amongst other very important areas of collaboration. 
 
A Bi-national Commission is a high-level strategic dialogue designed to deepen mutual cooperation in a number of social, economic and political sectors, based on an agreement between two countries to implement specific cooperation agenda.
 
The Vice President will also hold a bilateral interaction with the Ivorian President, Alassane Ouattara, before he returns to Abuja later today.
 
Prof. Osinbajo will be accompanied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Amb. Zubairu Dada, and Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Katagum.
 
*Laolu Akande*
*Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media & Publicity*
*Office of the Vice President*
*6th November, 2021*

https://www.facebook.com/100068819936024/posts/188624366774893/

slowice:


[s][/s]So you believe osinbajo simply because he said he isn't the owner of the property and doubt Sahara reporter? What proof did osibanjo tender to back up his denial? Abi if he owned the property you would expect him to publicly claim it? Check yourself bro, what's good for the goose is definitely good for the gander[s][/s]

You are wrong here, Osinbajo doesn't have to proof anything cos there was no any documents or evidence linking him to the property. The man Sahara Reporters mentioned as the one that sold the property for him came out to debunk the false allegations with a statement personally signed by him. So who need to show proof here ?

You are agitating and you don't want to engage them ? How do you intend to achieve what you are agitating for ? By magic ? I really don't get.

It is no longer a rumour that popular online news blog SAHARA REPORTERS has been struggling lately due to her false, mischievous and unverifiable stories.

Earlier today, Sahara Reporters published a news story with the headline, "German Politician Vows To Make Germany Intervene In Biafra Struggle". Quoting Sahara Reporters, "A member of the German Parliament, Andrej Hunko has assured the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and other agitators in the southeastern part of Nigeria that Germany will intervene in their struggle".

Contrary to what Sahara Reporters published, the man vehemently debunked the false claim when another German asked him to confirm the story. Recall that the same Sahara Reporters made a false accusations against the country's Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo SAN, linking him to the Ikoyi collapsed building by claiming the land property was sold to him by one Chief Michael Ade-Ojo, the founder of Elizade Motors. The business mogul later debunked the rumour and called it fake with a statement personally signed & released to the press.

Where is the true and pure Journalism we used to experience in Nigeria?

https://twitter.com/kongoecho/status/1456589240545026053?t=Y_y9vzFUBJvREZvAdkmDIQ&s=19

Your papah fell off after you were born�That is the reason why you become an online troll.

Omoyele Sowore and his crew on Sahara Reporters are so wicked and at the same time dangerous to our environments. How can you be playing dirty politics with a lugubrious events like IKOYI building collapse when many families are busy mourning.

How nonsensical is it that Sahara Reporters story would be quoting a seller on the streets ? How ? Where is the true & pure journalism ?
How is it difficult for media platform like Sahara Reporters to check out the ownership of the said land from the appropriate quarters ?

Was Sowore and his media crew politically sponsored just to dent the good image of Osinbajo, being known how much the VP is liked, admired and how he connects with many Nigerians ? I really feel for the man and I hope he can pursue a legal action against evil media platform Sahara Reporters.

Osinbajo is a respected and honorable man and despite the allegations, he still find a way to commiserate with the families of the victims. May God save Nigeria/Nigerians from enemies within.

This werey Timi Frank has come again ? Anyway, Osinbajo has spoken. Can you all rest now ?

Sahara Reporters should put their head in shame. That media platform has been worse since Omoyele Sowore (Owner) started dazzling into politics. I wonder what they want to gain in tarnishing the image of a respected great man like Osinbajo. No sane person should take them serious anymore. Nigeria deserve pure journalism not beer parlor jists.

JavaScript90:
[s][/s]Of course he will deny. Mr vice president, own up to your crime[s][/s]

Crime ? Even if he does, where is the crime ? You are too dull........How can you own that kind of property without any proper documentation ? You no wise at all

PrinceOfLagos:
[s][/s]Now I believe that Osibanjo truly own the collapsed building[s][/s]

And you can own that kind of property without any proper documentation ? Now I believe you are not wise

No amount of blackmail can dent the good image of Osinbajo.

Osinbajo is just a blessing to Nigeria. We hope for more good work from him.