The number 23 has a strong character all by itself what being a prime number to start with then having been worn by such sport greats as David Beckham, Lebron James and Michael Jordan amongst many but the reason for this meander down the rabbit hole is the claymore that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu detonated on the Nigerian politicosphere during a 35 paragraph press release.

In Selecting Senator Kashim Shettima, BAT as we have come to be inundated by, on this presidential campaign has finally confirmed the fears of half the populace of Africa’s most populous nation on his dream of a Muslim-Muslim candidacy reality. A reality that first gains credence in paragraph 23 of his press conference which goes thus:

“Both sides of the debate have impressive reason and passionate arguments supporting their position. Both arguments are right in their own way. But neither is right in the way that Nigeria needs at the moment. As president, I hope to govern this nation toward uncommon progress. This will require innovation. It will require steps never before taken. It will also require decisions that are politically difficult and rare.”

Of uttermost concern is the latter half of the paragraph especially as regards the need for steps never before taken and requiring politically difficult and rare decisive decisions but before broaching that, a little examination of the first half of the paragraph shows a conundrum that already exists and why this was always going to be a touchy subject however one tries to approach it from.

If truth is a state, a fixed point in time and event and a debate has but two sides, then both could hardly be right if there necessitates a need for one to be wrong as is likewise similar for both to be wrong if we expect that one side ought to be right. For a little bit of clarity on the matter we might have to read paragraph 22 which goes thus:

“I am mindful of the energetic discourse concerning the possible religion of my running mate. Just and noble people have talked to me about this. Some have counseled that I should select a Christian to please the Christian community. Others have said I should pick a Muslim to appeal to the Muslim community. Clearly, I cannot do both.”

If we are to assume that the Christian pleasing community made their strongest case based on equity, fairness, and Justice, what points would the Muslim pleasing community have proffered in their arguments? Or are we to take the paragraph at face value and assume that the “Just” people spoke for a Christian Vice while the “Nobles” spoke on behalf of the Muslims seeing as the vast majority of Nobility/Traditional Rulers in the APC strongholds of the North and South-West are Islamic adherents. Anyways we would now never know until a book is written by the main protagonist about the last couple of months.

Do we now return to our main staple of discussion? Going by his personal admission, "the spirit of 93 is upon us, and looking to build upon the sustainable progress that has been laid these past seven years by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari", what difficult political decisions would BAT have to take or make that hasn’t been already done?

If we cross-examine the acceptance of the Hope ’93 team of Alhaji Moshood Kashimawo Abiola and Alhaji Babagana Kingibe the glaring happenstance would be that circa that era, the Nigerian divide was strictly along ethnicity lines, intermarriages across faiths were more rampant in those days as religious tolerance as exemplified by non-other than BAT and his adorable wife Mrs. Remi Tinubu who is a Christian. The monster that is religious intolerance would really start to grow its horns with the advent of this current democratic dispensation we began in 1999.

Were we to throw our search beam on the praise of the current administration, we are once again left with a barrage of missiles as to the current state of the economy as well as the state of security of the nation as a whole. We all know where we stand on the two subject matters, the dollar keeps rising but even more worrisome, the Naira is falling against most African currencies. Bread was shared as a souvenir at an “owambe” I attended yesterday (I kid you not).
The North East has Boko Haram, North West has Bandits, North Central has the Herdsmen and rustlers while the South East has “Ungun Known Men”. Let the South West not sleep with both eyes closed as the Amotekun have their work cut out for them in the shape of kidnappers hiding in the various forest reserves.

Is selecting Senator Kashim Shettima a difficult and rare decision? I would opine that only the politically uninitiated would admit yes and the reason for that is simple, his selection is purely a politically motivated one with the sole purpose of guaranteeing that BAT gets as many votes as possible in the coming elections from first and foremost the North East Zone which is supposed to be the stronghold of Alhaji Abubakar Atiku who is the flag bearer of the People’s Democratic Party, the main opposition and later the entire North in General.

The competency of the newly declared Vice Presidential candidate is very obvious from his curriculum vitae, need we add that there are no gaps or missing certificates from primary up to NYSC and even masters to boot but what probably makes him the most qualified man as at this moment is the linage from which he descended.

Senator Kashim Shettima is the son of Sir Shettima Kashim Ibrahim an illustrious son of the Borno whose early career in education culminated when he joined politics in 1951-52; he was elected into the Northern Regional Assembly; he was nominated from the North as a cabinet nominee. Thereafter, he was appointed the Federal Minister for Social Services and later that of Education. In 1956, he was appointed as the Waziri of Borno by the Shehu. Waziri Ibrahim Shettima became the Governor of the Northern region in 1962, holding office until the military coup of 16 January 1966. He was appointed a CBE in 1960 and knighted as a KCMG in 1962.

If this has left you with more questions than answers then welcome to how I am also feeling but the one sure fact we can all take away is that If we are truly going to see innovative, rare, and difficult decisions from BAT and his Vice Presidential candidate (congratulations to the senator) we are going to have to wait and see if voting Nigerians buy into Asiwaju’s dream of a nation blind to its religious differences.

One comes across the minions on Facebook and WhatsApp regularly, it's a thing that we should all be sad off to think that the mentor would demand that the Mentee squash his dreams for him.

While Nigerian politicians should be wary of online polls, this is perhaps the one time where the real thoughts of the people have been captured. With Osinbajo you don't any form of paid trumpeters or placard carrying mobs...
The people truly love the VP

Quite luminary

This kain news no dey blow... Kudos to the President and VP Osinbajo

I'm loathe to respond to people on this platform but this sorta broadside is a complete no no ...
A lil expose on why or how you'd equate an Atiku to Osinbajo would have sufficed to help establish your case but really short of both having occupied the VP position there's really nothing I can think of that would allow you loftily raise Atiku to such plateaus as that.

Onepeople:
Sowore we might disagree on some certain issues, but you see this Osinbajo is no no for me ,you can't hate Atiku and love Osinbajo, on what ground? Pastors tag is to confuse the gullible.

Sometimes we really need to let sleeping dogs lie, cos even when they bark, the carriage keeping matching on...

While we must feel the pain of the bereaved, the unity of Nigeria is Paramount yet the security of lives and properties of all Nigerians must be borne by the chief security offices of the hot zones

As for me and my house we shall vote Osinbajo, for he's proven himself capable on both occasions as the full mantle was given to him.

At this juncture I'd like for you to recommend a candidate from each party and elsewhere whom you think can perform the Job

socialmediaman:


Nobody can end insecurity in the north, the military is as corrupt as anything and there’s little or nothing they can do about it. Replace the generals and a campaign of calumny starts that you have an anti north agenda and that will make the problem even worse

Statistically speaking less than half Nigerians alive today tasted IBB at the helm of power.

As for his claims of two or three, I'm lost on who the others might be as no one else can hold a candle to Prof Osinbajo.

Anyone that knows not the history and hence differences between NLTP and RUGA yet feels he's got a fundamental right to regurgitate fallacies fed him by equally uninformed persons constitute the population that would rather not embrace positive forward steps irrespective of however little.

What's the latest on the customs vs NBBF kit?

It's not the first time we've witnessed the humility of Prof. Osinbajo and to take nothing away from a great personality like Kingsley Moghalu, I think the only thing note worthy is the expression on the faces of the people surrounding both of them.
It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words

Best response on this thread

IKUBABAYEYE001:
Kingsley Moghalu is a good man, A patriot, and intellectual but you see that man called Osinbajo keeps radiating Leadership, Service and Humility. A perfect fit for the Nigeria of our dream. Osinbajo 2023, Done and Dusted

I'm not in the habit of calling anyone a wailer, but the urgency with which you respond to all posts concerning Prof Osinbajo's mind boggling

Juliusmalema:
Osinbajo has really shown that one can be Incompetent and still



Still submitting

Whomever says Osinbajo is silent is either paid to do so or is a self delusionist otherwise it's both.

Juliusmalema:



What power does he posses?

He posses power of hypocritical silence...

Else let him resign and go home.

Same Osinbajo who headed so many economic teams that landed Nigeria in prizes of goods tripling.

Osinbajo is a serial disaster, more disastrous than Buhari.

Stay one lane na, how can you be driving forward with reverse?

Myer:


Then he should resign to save his integrity or whatever is left of it.

I used to defend Osinbajo too cos like you rightly said, the office if the Vice President is more or less a figure head unless the president is indisposed and his responsibilities given to the Vice.

No he wasn't, it was the national assembly. All Atiku did was amass the wealth of this country for himself and his friends.

FunnyJosh:


A lot. Atiku was VP too, he was the biggest opposition to the megalomaniac propensity of Obasanjo. The VP needs to do more than giving motivational speeches at social events.

Star boy shall prevail

This final analogy has him lost in thought...

TheRareGem1:


Not when he expresses his opinion bruh. He's the SA on political adviser, a former lawmaker who is free to express his opinion especially on politics

By now, you should know what the VP says, if you see a statement now, you should know his imprint.

If I am your boss, I know your capability, I know I can trust you, allow you to rep me knowing full well that you will go there without me telling you what to say, Ie delegating you doesn't mean I will tell you what to say. For instance, the VP represent the President on many occasion Outside Africa, does that mean the President tell the VP what to say and what not to say?

So many people on this thread have comments that indicate they didn't read the story. Instead of them to address the writer as Senator Ojodu they are thinking it is VP Osinbajo.

Many people fail to realize the impact that Prof Osinbajo has across board especially as regards to national issues.

A story that didn't catch fire in 2018 is it now that it will be relevant? Now shouting lalasticlala on top of bomboclat. We ain't ready yet. PS: all those allegations against the good person of VP Osinbajo have all been quelled and squashed... Get your head out of the sand Ostrich.

Juliusmalema:
Osinbajo Unlike the Biblical Daniel, His Hypocrisy getting bigger by the day



Of late, the Pharisee called Professor Yemi Osinbajo has been on a roll with his scalding attacks on the immediate-past government. Many are wondering if his pleasant posture when he was the acting president was an adopted persona for personal political gain. Now, as the 2019 election approaches with all its permutations, amid the failure of his party to deliver on its electoral promises, his attacks have grown in intensity. He wants to be seen as some sort of hero and the personification of virtue and ethics for a new Nigeria. But he is not.


He was perhaps also eager to impress his principal – and the world to believe this government is transparent, prudent and abhors corruption. Osinbajo has become the new messenger of a message stymied by its own apostle. He wants everyone to believe he is tough. Unfortunately, the reality also is that he is not. The truth is that our vice-president is a spineless professor.

His pastoral calling and erudition, he had reckoned, would sway his audience as he breathlessly recounted in public events how the previous government stole the nation blind. But his sanctimonious posture about the saint-like character of the Buhari government is undermined by the public evidence of malfeasance going on under their watch. To be honest, Osinbajo initially projected a patina of professionalism in a motley crowd of confused politicians and earned some public applause and praise as the elixir in the mix.


His populist visits to airports, markets and filling stations, even though were publicity stunts, were refreshing and momentarily soothing to the feel, as cosmetic as they were to the underlying problems of mismanagement and the lack of maintenance. But all that seems to have given way, revealing a less-than-noble image of a man too imbued with his own self-righteousness. His jubilant regurgitation of huge amounts of money stolen by others while ignoring the loud evidence against his own party men is a telling testament to the fact that the so-called man of God is not a man of truth. I had been reluctant to call him out on his actions, because of his peculiar circumstances and out of respect for his pastoral calling. But his hypocrisy was getting bigger by the day.


How did things get to this point?

Well, there is a proverb in the land of my fathers that when an otherwise intelligent person mixes with too many clowns, over time, it will become difficult to differentiate one from the other. Osinbajo makes the truth messy in his quest to label others. If he was not ashamed of the two partisan looters lists his government released recently, then I make bold to say Osinbajo cannot be trusted as a fair arbiter of truth. And when next he stands on the pulpit preaching the word of God, I will flee the venue. Remember, the Bible warns us to be careful that towards the end, many false prophets will come and will perform miracles in God's name.


His recent public outings appeared deliberately and desperately designed to shore up the sagging image of his party and its narrative. And to achieve this, Osinbajo deployed pointed hyperboles and pathetic hypocrisies to drive home his message of they are corrupt, we are clean. The irony here is that those still on trial over humongous looting of the treasury but switched from the party of the corrupt, the PDP to the party of the saint, the APC, were suddenly given the deodorant treatment. In Osinbajo's world of dual morality, these ex-sinners are not looters and their loot cannot be used to build schools, hospitals, provide potable drinking water and construct roads, build bridges etc. As the Americans would say, gimme a break!

If people were easily taken in by a bait-and-switch campaign in 2015 to get the APC elected, I can assure Osinbajo that he has to try harder this time around. Why? Because the supposedly penniless man of integrity (was he really penniless in the first place?) who was trusted to right all the wrongs has proved to be a total disappointment on all fronts. The man has surrounded himself with the putative culprits of the system who are still offending. Osinbajo's pastoral morality which had served as a cover for hypocrisy would fail.

Ordinarily, Osinbajo is a man who would have been after my own heart. He approximates Nigeria's new-breed leaders many yearn for. But he appears to have been sucked into the old ways of doing things by his long association with his godfather; unlike the biblical Daniel who when he found himself in a similar situation, displayed an excellent spirit (Daniel 1:8 ). Osinbajo lacks the critical distance needed from the past because he is inextricably tied to the apron strings of Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State. Until Tinubu's regime is probed (I am waiting patiently for that day) for a full accounting and he (Osinbajo) emerges unscathed, I will be reluctant to roll out the red carpet for him. For those who don't know, Osinbajo served as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice for eight years when Tinubu held sway as the governor of Lagos State.

Even more crucial to my grouse about Osinbajo is that he lacks the gumption of a leader and a redeemer he postures to be. He failed the leadership test when under his watch as the acting president, a coalition of northern groups, Arewa Youths Consultative Forum, issued a reckless six-month ultimatum to people of Igbo extraction living in the North to vacate the region before October 1, 2017. What did he do? Nothing! In short, for a long time, he failed to make any comment on the issue. When he finally did, he was appeasing, pleading and making general statements about the need for unity. That single incident injured my estimation and respect for the vice-president.

I expected him to order the immediate arrest of those who issued that statement to send a powerful deterrent message to narrow ethnic agitators in the country that he would not tolerate their challenge. He would have acted against those folks with the full arsenal of the coercive force of the state and the heavens would not have fallen. Having seen that the acting president lacked the ability to enforce and deter, the guys who issued the ultimatum started to stroll about the country unhindered. If they were testing Osinbajo's will to act, they clearly won.

I don't know if members of the Buhari cabinet think highly of him either. If they do, then it certainly didn't look that way when he was the acting president. Remember how the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, casually dismissed Osinbajo's endorsement of the EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu's continuous stay as the anti-graft agency helmsman, as his personal opinion? Because according to him, “The fundamental consideration about the alleged statement is the fact that at no point ever did the Federal Executive Council sit down to arrive at the decision in one way or the other as far as the issue of nomination or otherwise is concerned.

When Osinbajo was the acting president, a large chunk of the $25 billion contracts were awarded by the GMD of NNPC, Maikanti Baru without going through due process, nor was the approval of the board obtained. It is a measure of how highly top officials of this government regard him that even while presidential authority had been transferred to him as the coordinator, Baru would sneak out of town to take contract papers to Buhari who was at the time marooned in a London hospital to sign.

Osinbajo has so far failed to utter any statement of condemnation (until this week's killings in Benue) of terrorist-Fulani herdsmen as they continue the mindless killing of innocent people all over the country. I don't know how this man-of-God pastor[b]sleeps at night knowing that the elected government he serves in as the number two is a government that attaches more value to the lives of cows than that of humans.[/b] I hope one day when he returns to the pulpit to preach the word of God, he will not have cows as his congregation. Remember the Benue State government had accused him of failing to act when as the acting president, the state government alerted him of a plot by terrorist-Fulani herdsmen to unleash violence on some communities in the state. He however denied he was notified.

Sometime last year, Osinbajo in his attempt to impress his boss amid the groundswell of agitation for the restructuring of the country, derided those protesting against their marginalisation by this government. This was how he put it. It is also not true that those who make marginalisation charges are altruistic. Often what they are saying is I am marginalised, appoint me.

I was shocked to the marrow by that statement. Really, I asked myself, how can the cry of maginalisation caused by the deliberate policies of this government and the subsequent clamour for restructuring of the country to make it work better, suddenly translate to seeking appointment from this government. What an insult from Pastor Osinbajo! Is this what small power does to even men of God? Why was he so willing to stake his reputation on another man's conscience?

We saw this before in 2015. Babatunde Fashola, the then governor of Lagos State was all over the place campaigning for Buhari. He lured many to believe the many lies told about the leadership prowess of Buhari to deliver. Today as a minister, Fashola has lost his voice and credibility. Shortly after he handed over power in Lagos, he was found to have misused public money on an industrial scale including inflated contracts to dig two boreholes for a whopping sum of N139 million, upgrade of his personal website for N78.3 million, and sundry malfeasance. Osinbajo is treading the same path as the new poster boy of 2019 to re-elect Buhari even in the face of his glaring failure. He is desperately blaming others for Buhari's colossal failure. He has so far failed to tell Nigerians what Buhari has achieved in three years to deserve a second term other than to say the previous government stole this and that amount.

Now to the very critical point: By now everybody knows the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) looted public treasury to finance the 2015 election. Osinbajo has repeatedly stated this much in his public statements. But what Osinbajo has not ventured to tell the public is how the All Progressives Congress (APC) raised money to finance the 2015 campaign. Charity they say begins at home. If Pastor Osinbajo wanted to succeed in his campaign against corruption, he should have started the cleansing with his party and then apply the same standards to all others.

Only recently, the INEC admitted the Edo and Ondo governorship elections were heavily corrupted and that victory went to the highest bidder. Need I remind Osinbajo that his party, the APC, won the elections? The question is, where did the money used to procure the mandates come from? A man who runs from the truth will eventually find out head got no place to go.

Oh, I just remembered. Someone whispered to me that Osinbajo may have prayed and fasted for seven days, thereafter, the heavens opened and money in different currencies, particularly the U.S dollar and British pounds poured forth and filled Osinbajo house and this was used to finance Buhari's election and the APC's wins in the two states.

Not long after his unfortunate job-seeking remark, Osinbajo declared that Buhari's appointments were in favour of the South. It was one more instance when our so-called man of God stood facts on their heads. [/b]In case he did not know, the heads of the entire national security positions in this country are under the firm control of one ethnic group.

Now, lets imagine for a moment that Osinbajo was not a part of this government; would he have muttered all this nonsense? I guess not! [b]One last word for the pastor vice president, no man has ever succeeded in separating himself from his shadow.



https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2018/04/27/osinbajo-unlike-the-biblical-daniel/

lalasticlala

It's ok to remain grounded on Nigerian issues in diaspora, but to be actively involved in the Dubai strategy as we've come to understand it to be, is unbecoming. Prof Osinbajo's records are unblemished?

Who else ponders on what the relationship was between Olusegun Bamgbose and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo before whatever they might have had turned sour? I asked this because the fascination and dedication that the national coordinator, concerned advocate for good governed has for all news that seeks to drive a wedge between the vice president and hos principal is only bettered by that of a Tasmanian daredevil in a blood lust.

A cursory google search of the new Nigerian people’s party chieftain showed a myriad of topics but one of the most startling is that in which he’s urging Igbo leaders to work hand in hand with self-proclaimed IPOB and ESN leader Nnamdi Kanu to achieve plan. Everyone with a Medulla Oblongata in Nigeria in the last year, knows clearly that the only plan that Mazi has, is that of secession and the way he’s going about that is through violence and mayhem, leaving none, safe in its wake.

The seasoned lawyer who has shown interest in the apex job where he has promised to turn Nigeria around in 24 months if he takes over from Buhari, reminds me of another, in his love-hate relationship with the number 2 citizen being that he has also told Nigerians not to take the covid 19 vaccine and we all know how FANI turned coat. Which going by what Pa Obasanjo told us many years ago should not have been surprising. PS: Anyone with access to FFK should please help us ask him what became of the three southerners who were already being groomed to take over from Osinbajo after his predicted sack from office in February 2020.

Back to Uncle Segun though, can someone please help explain to him the constitutional section that states that it is optional for the President to hand over power if his foreign trip is designated to last more than 21 days. But if he is still adamant about what he wants Bubu to do and how he should do it, then playing him the video of AIR FORCE 1 featuring Harrison Ford while serving him a glass of juice and the new Russian constitution that enables Putin to remain in power for the next 15 years should all come in handy.

People like Bambgose only differ from the Reno’s and Fani’s of this world in that, with the former, they aren’t hired guns for the highest bidder or in the case of the latter, sugared silvered spooned kids whose family name opened doors for them. Yet in the end, they are all united in their love-hate relationship for Vice President Yemi Osinbajo only because of his dedication to his constitutionally empowered office and his loyalty to President Buhari.

The only way to curb these attacks is to ensure that justice is served and the perps brought to book.but for a lasting solution for all parties, the NLTP needs to be implemented across the country.

The weather could be a blessing in disguise... There's a silver lining in even the darkest of clouds

Such an elucidatory piece requires good promotion.

Just when we was saying that vice president Yemi Osinbajo is interested in developing the music industry. This is highly impactful.

A more capable hand to lead this in 2023 there is none.
Prof. Osinbajo proved in those 51 days that like Django unchained he's not to be trifled with on matters that border on the welfare of the average Nigerian.

After not having anything to show for the weekly stipend you get to malign prof Osinbajo you come up with this hogwash that has been disavowed by even the firs themselves... Such a pity.


https://www.thecable.ng/firs-denies-giving-osinbajo-n90bn-election-fund