₦airaland Forum

This week has been an eventful week full of political emotions, with Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Prof Yemi Osinbajo finally throwing his hat in the ring by entering the presidential race after much dilly-dallying.

Osinbajo's announcement is very much in line with my postulations of every A list government functionary or politician submitting himself to the electorates for validation when it comes to the presidential elections. As the white man would always say, better late than never.

Before I go further, please allow me to disabuse the minds of so many individuals who believe Osinbajo's presidential bid is an affront to Tinubu, and so label it a betrayal. Please and Please remove the emotions and reason rationally, putting ourselves in the shoes of the Vice President.

Prof. Osinbajo is 65 years old and currently serves as Vice President, making him ineligible for any post other than the Presidency because he can't serve as Vice President again. For someone who was a commissioner in 1999, Osinbajo is a professional politician who has been around the corridors of power for 23 years at the age of 65.

It would be tough to force Osinbajo into early retirement since he is a full-blooded politician like any other. He has no choice but to fire his final shot after arriving at his final political bus stop.

We can move forward without political bias if you have this in the back of your mind. Let us analyze the same way we eliminated sentiments from castigating Osinbajo's prospects at the presidency, having bravely faced the odds and grabbed the bull by the horns.

Is Osinbajo standing on Buhari's or Tinubu's mandate? Allow me to be as direct as possible; although I don't need your approval because the case is clearer than DSTV.

I've seen pro-Osinbajo supporters argue for him like a spotless general, and I've laughed at their assertions, which is, of course, the hallmark of hypocrisy.

Those who despise Tinubu blame him for three key reasons: the first is Tinubu's role in bringing Buhari to power, the second is Tinubu's age, and the third is Tinubu's "King Making status."

So, before we get into the meat of the topic, let's briefly go through the three reasons listed above.

So why is Osinbajo exonerated if Tinubu brought Buhari and Buhari failed according to them? If this isn't hypocrisy, then what is? Tinubu, who has no daily access to Buhari unlike Osinbajo, who sits with Buhari every day, is crucified while the contributor is acquitted.

In all of the governorship races that we have observed, no political appointee has remained faithful to the master.

So why blame Tinubu for Buhari's failure while absolving Osinbajo of his own failure? For crying out loud, Osinbajo is the head of the economic team, and all you say is that the economy and insecurity is why Buhari failed, but you exonerate the driver of the vehicle because you are tribalistic or hypocritical.

Persons appoint people to oversee strategic formations for a variety of reasons. Dangote is the CEO of his company, not a manager, and his achievements thus far have been the result of a team effort. If Dangote fails, his team will fail, and if he succeeds, his team will succeed.

So, if you must praise Osinbajo, you must also commend Buhari; there is no way to divorce either of the couples because "What the electorates have married together, no man can separate," which is why they ran as a pair in the elections.

Nigerians chose Buhari and Osinbajo, not just Buhari. Because hate and hypocrisy don't want us to hear the truth, I'll say it again. Nigerians voted for Buhari and Osinbajo, who ran on the same ticket.

Buhari and Tinubu were never elected by Nigerians. And history has shown that when power is acquired, whoever served as a King Maker is always forgotten. Only bad witches will blame Tinubu for any apparent failure of Buhari and exonerate Osinbajo, I insist only evil sorcerers would do it.

If you don't agree that Tinubu is 70, then on what basis should we agree that Osinbajo is 65? After all, they were both government employees at one point or another. So, if Tinubu has an OFFICIAL AGE, then Osinbajo should have one as well. Saying Tinubu has an official age but ignoring Osinbajo does a lot to demonstrate your hypocrisy.

When you talk about Tinubu's kingship status, isn't it ironic that a kingmaker is actually the most capable hand, which is why he's been entrusted with the job? He wouldn't be a kingmaker in the first place if he didn't possess the characteristics of a king.

Matters Arising:

Now that I've laid out my points, let me elaborate on whose mandate Osinbajo is depending on to win the APC primary.

Is it Buhari or Tinubu, who is in charge?

Let's begin with HE. Yes, President Buhari has a 60 per cent say in who succeeds him, but is it democratic if Buhari imposes Osinbajo? So, what morals are you teaching, and how is Buhari different from Tinubu if he forces Osinbajo on the party? Hate prevents us from thinking clearly, yet you point to Tinubu and say he's not a democrat.

Tinubu and other like-minded people formed the APC, which was painstakingly constructed to be a democratic institution, which is still alive and in force. When it comes to party tickets, delegates are the representatives of the party members.

The Governors control a significant portion of the delegates, therefore let us draw our conclusions and see how it affects Osinbajo.

On the eve of Osinbajo's announcement, he hosted some APC governors to announce his decision to run for President of the Federal Republic Of Nigeria. The number of Governors who attended was not explicitly specified, with some claiming that there were ten and others claiming that there were fewer than ten.

Did you see any photos of Osinbajo and the Governors with whom he met? This is a powerful statement.

The Governors were hosted by Asiwaju the next day, with 17 Governors in attendance, according to reports.

Prof Osinbajo hosted APC senators a few days ago, with 23 in attendance from the squad of 77, majority of these Senators are said to be Tinubu's hardcore supporters who are actively campaigning for the Jagaban. Are you aware that a Senator attended the event wearing Tinubu's facemask?

Osinbajo is an aspirant, according to another senator, while Tinubu is their candidate.

Remember when Tinubu met with APC senators and members of the House of Representatives? It was a packed house, and the House of Representatives members went even further to show their support for Tinubu by shouting AYE...."The Ayes have it!"

Osinbajo has just acknowledged that he is a member of the party and he's from Ogun State, where he was born. Who is the Governor of Ogun State, please?

Dapo Abiodun is the current Governor of Ogun State, and he attended the meeting with Tinubu less than three hours after Osinbajo's pronouncement, the last time I checked.

Tinubu's meeting with the APC governors was hosted by Bagudu, the governor of Kebbi State, which says a lot. You don't entertain your adversaries, right? Tinubu travels with a group of sitting governors in tow.

You may not like Tinubu, and that is within your right, but dismissing his accomplishments makes no sense. Tinubu's only legacy or antecedents are his time at Mobil and his time as Governor of Lagos State.

The legacy or antecedents of Osinbajo can be measured by his governance as a Lagos commissioner and as Vice President.

How did Osinbajo fare as Lagos's commissioner? As a Vice President, how did Osinbajo fare?

An indictment against Buhari is an indictment against Osinbajo, who can't indict Buhari and blame Tinubu, who lives thousands of miles away from Abuja while pardoning Osinbajo, who sleeps in the same building as Buhari.

Let us now examine the political landscape to see on whose behalf Osinbajo would campaign. It is important to understand that if you are not a delegate in the next primaries, you can only wish and have no say.

How many structures has Osinbajo erected across the 36 states of the party in his seven years as Vee Pee? How many APC leaders has he produced in the last seven years as vice president? How many state chairmen has Osinbajo installed across the country's 36 states?

In the last seven years, how many careers has he blossomed? To imply that the Vice President is not a politician is an insult; he was elected, not appointed. Since his ascension to Vice President, how many APC functions has Osinbajo sponsored?

Let me remind you of how Osinbajo portrayed his ascension to Vice President.

“In 2014, there’s no way I could have won a Local Government election, no way. NOBODY KNEW ME but today I’m Vice President…….

I was in my hotel room preparing for a case at the Supreme Court when a phone came in asking where I was that I’ve been nominated as Vice Presidential Candidate of APC”

He said this during an event in Tinubu's honour, and he specifically mentioned Tinubu, so let me ask, what has changed since then? How many leader has Osinbajo ushered in?

Then, what has changed for Tinubu's fans since then? Tinubu has produced a number of leaders. As you can see, the change is more noticeable than with 7up.

Conclusion.

Meanwhile in all of these na una talk say Buhari don fail no be me. As am speaking in your own words, so do not quote me I said Buhari is a failure.

Only Buhari's imposition can save Osinbajo. If the APC is a nasty party populated by elderly and wicked people, why do you FOOLISHLY conclude that these old and immoral people would vote for a saint in Pastor Yemi Osinbajo?

Isn't there a double standard here? Because the vast majority of those who are yelling are anti-APC, not APC members. Don't you think you're a slowpoke? You want to anoint a saint with the blood of an evil party? You call Buhari a tyrant and a criminal, and you expect him to hand over power to a POPE? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no

Let us strive to conduct this campaign in a dignified manner since Osinbajo and Tinubu should not pose a threat to one another. Tinubu's mandate contains Osinbajo's mission.

My brothers and sisters truth no dey break TEETH. People wey no like Buhari wey despise am they hope say the same Buhari go give their aspirant wey dem like. Abeg make una no use laugh kill me oh.

Allow everyone to go out on the field and gauge their popularity without regard to Buhari's mandate. "Don't set sail on the same star as someone else."

"A stream never forgets its source, no matter how far it flows." Tinubu is just too large for your partisan interpretation, which makes no political sense.

My name na Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah and I am the Principal/Chairman of Bush Radio Academy.