TINUBU, NOT THE MESSIAH NIGERIA AWAITS By Solanke Taiwo Teemoney

In Nigeria of today, the more you decide to keep quiet and just do your things, the more things happen that will make it cogent and compelling for you to speak as a man of conscience. This is more so when the issues involved are such that key stakeholders cannot pretend not to know the truth, except you are just choosing to be a passive onlooker who, in truth, must either be a coward or a collaborator. Bola Tinubu, to his disillusioned fanatics is a conquering hero. It is hard to fathom that any intelligent being will see him as such. They gave him the hyperbolic title ASIWAJU. Truly, one does not know where to begin unpacking the moral and intellectual idiocy of their thinking. The biggest fantasy promulgated by these people is that Tinubu, is the greatest politician alive. Let the truth be told : the Asiwaju is not an adept politician.He is most celebrated among his contemporaries for his outstanding political achievements and the most applauded as a political icon with deep intellectual prowess, which also made him to have uniquely surrounded himself with men and women of great intellect, seasoned essayists, political activists and scholars of national and international pedigree because only the deep can call to the deep. He is a visionary per excellence, a political leader extra ordinaire, whose doggedness and strong convictions will never allow him to be compromised in the collective struggle to rescue Nigeria from bad rulership and misplaced governance. He is an AUTOCRAT. Opacity deserves not the slightest defense. To his supporters, Tinubu is the Mother Teresa of fraudulent politicians and they love him to death for this. Sick ain’t it. The more you delve into his shady past, the more you stray away from common sense and into the angry hands of his bellicose supporters. Who are ever ready to tear you limb by limb. The liturgy is pushing the rapture that only demagoguery can create. Their passionate support for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his presumed ‘unblemished innocence’ (sic); betrays their fascination with zealotry. His administrative acumen is matchless. As Governor of Lagos State for eight years, Tinubu practically laid the foundation for the rapid transformation of Lagos from a metropolitan state to a model mega city in Africa that it is today. His creative genius came handy as he grew the state’s monthly Internally Generated Revenue from the paltry sum of N600 million to N7 billion by the time he was leaving office in 2007. Today, the current monthly IGR of Lagos State is over N20 billion. Amidst the odds and hurdles of legal and political dimensions that lasted for over two years, Tinubu’s administration dared the Federal Government and created 37 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) in addition to the existing 20 local councils. He pioneered the take-off of the Annual Lagos Economic Summit as well as the repositioning of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) as the dynamo for rapid economic development in Lagos State and Nigeria as a whole. He revolutionised the state’s civil service and land administration system through the introduction of high technology-driven record and payment systems. He equally established the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Lagos State Bus Assets (LAGBUS), Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority (LAMATA), Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Highway Mangers and Drain Ducks as well as several other government and private sector-driven agencies to improve transportation, traffic and waste management in the city of Lagos. Before his assumption of office as governor, ugly heaps of refuse dumps on the streets and T-junctions were a common feature within the Lagos metropolis while there was regular and static traffic congestion, gully erosion resulting from the blockage of drainages and the headache relating to a ravenous surge of the ocean, which almost claimed about thirty per cent of the settlements and infrastructure along the coastal line. Tinubu created the Ministry of Waterfront & Infrastructure and pioneered the Atlantic City Project to reclaim Lagos landmass on the shoreline from the tyranny of the ocean, and today, more spaces have been provided for exploits on the island, spreading to the Lekki-Epe axis. he is never ever distracted from pursuing the laudable vision and selfless goal of nation building, helping on daily basis to chart a new course for our country with a view to liberating the masses from abject poverty, endemic insecurity and uncertainty that are products of several decades of bad governance, policy summersault and integrity deficit. Here is a man who is never perturbed or ruffled by the obtuse ranting and misguided vituperations of his detractors as he has always remained focused. I suspect this is, most likely, the secret of his outstanding and matchless accomplishments in virtually all areas of life: in politics, he is a quintessential leader and elderstatesman of national and international repute; in business, Asiwaju is a shining star and indeed a great success; as a community leader, the Jagarban is a rare breed. Here is an energetic and resourceful mobiliser for the common good, a man full of compassion, an epitome of kindness and generous spirit. To the chagrin of his sworn enemies and to the credit of his large-heartedness, Asiwaju’s network of political influence in Nigeria today has grown beyond what some agents of mischief can wake up one day and think of cutting to size. His determination and quest for a just, egalitarian, viable and prosperous society have left him with no other choice than to join hands with like-minded political juggernauts, elder statesmen, human rights and pro-democracy activists, highly respected legal luminaries, prolific journalists and labour unionists from across the nation and even beyond, to the extent that he is one of the most detribalised citizens of contemporary Nigeria. The success story of the APC, as the most formidable opposition party driving the change movement in Nigeria today, cannot be said to have been completed without a considerable mention of the invaluable sacrifice and hardwork of a man who puts everything he has into any cause or struggle once he is convinced about it. His cabinet was more or less an epitome of the Nigerianity movement; it was an assemblage of representatives from different parts of the country. The rollcall of those Asiwaju appointed into his star-studded cabinet, in addition to prominent sons and daughters of Lagos State, included Pastor Ben Akabueze (Anambra), who served as Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning; Mr. Dele Alake (Ekiti) who served as Commissioner for Information and Strategy; Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN (Ogun), who served as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. He is a Senior Pastor in the RCCG and now the Vice President of Nigeria ; Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, an engineer, (Osun), who served as Commissioner for Works & Infrastructure; Mr. Wale Edun (Ogun), who served as Commissioner for Finance; Dr. Bayo Adewusi (Oyo), who equally served as Commissioner for Finance; Chief Ebenezer Akinbolade (Ondo), who served as Commissioner for Establishment & Training and so on. I (an Ekiti man) was equally opportuned to serve in that cabinet as Commissioner for Youth, Sports & Social Development before later serving as Commissioner for Information & Strategy in Governor Fashola’s cabinet. To those who want to put Asiwaju in the dustbin of history for their own selfish political gain, they must realise that this is a tall dream in the realm of phantasm. It is a dream that can never come true. This is a man who has affected many lives across and beyond the shores of Nigeria in a most positive manner. By his active involvement in national re-engineering and restructuring, Asiwaju has further helped to define politics as a call to service and stewardship to humanity. To those who brand him negatively as someone who rose up from the gutter to the ladder, they should be reminded that Asiwaju was already a self-made success and an accomplished professional of global reckoning before he ventured into politics. After a very brilliant academic exploit in the United States (U.S.), Asiwaju had worked meritoriously with multinational companies in the U.S., including Exxon Mobil Petroleum, before he was posted to Nigeria as a Senoir Audit Manager of this multinational petroleum company. For the records, Asiwaju could only take a leave of absence as Treasurer of Exxon Mobil to allow him contest for the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1991, following persistent persuasion from many admirers of his, including my humble self. Before then, he was a major player in the finance sector and a notable financier of various religious and development-driven activities in Lagos State and other states of the federation. While he was doing all these, we recognised his passion for progressive development but I doubt if he himself knew the magnitude of leadership skills, talents and intellectual power embedded in him until his eventual foray into active politics. Actually, his extreme commitment to democracy, the rule of law and social justice and the diverse leadership roles he played during the protracted June 12 struggle, home and abroad, had further placed Asiwaju in the mainstream of popular democratic movement in Nigeria, and he has continued to occupy this placement in history till today, to the extent that no one can successfully re-write his history by a mere launching of a futile smear documentary campaign against this great man of destiny. Despite his unbeatable and enviable contribution to the Nigerian project, none of his biological children is a commissioner or member of the legislature today whereas many of his ardent critics, including some of his close allies, already had their children appointed as Commissioners and Special Advisers as well as elected members of National and State Assemblies. Of course, such children, as Nigerians, have a constitutional right to be so appointed or elected. However, when his wife got elected as Senator, his detractors grumbled and when one of his daughters emerged as a leader of market women in Lagos, Asiwaju’s enemies told him to bring his head to be hanged. As a Nigerian, and a proudly Ogun state indigenous son and as a student of history, I am not convinced that these men deserved the attempt to totally condemn them to the dust bin of history as if they had no cause to disagree with the political establishment that would make it sound as if a disagreement with them was tantamount to working against the Yoruba race and interest. Well, the late Chief Awolowo might not have been alive to offer a later day explanation while the late Chief Omoboriowo might not have had the wherewithal to decisively deal with the matter before he passed on. To the contrary, however, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is alive and has the human and material resources as well as the media strength (be it in print, in electronic or through the social media) to squarely address the issues after the elections. Most significantly, I call on Asiwaju to allow stakeholders within Nollywood adopt the title “THE LION OF BOURDILLON” to make a major movie that will document the man, Asiwaju; his rise from grass to grace; his role in the struggle for democratisation; his contributions to the growth of our polity and in helping to lay the foundations for good governance and democracy; his political wizardry; his unusual transformation from the corporate boardroom to becoming a statesman with unusual political savvy and eventually a rallying point for opposition and change movement in Nigeria; and, of course, the conspiracy and allegations against him, among other salient issues that need to be documented for history even in the simplest form through the entertainment industry. If the saying is true that nothing frightens the Lion in the jungle, then Asiwaju must not allow himself to be distracted from the present assignment that history has placed on his shoulders as he can always come back to comprehensively and decisively deal with this naughty matter. Surely, if it is still the same Asiwaju I have always known, I am sure he would stay resolute and not get distracted. And that is part of my hatred for this Bourdillon-based but globally connected Lion, whose roaring, even when done silently, is most ravaging and fearful for a political order whose fear of the people has become so morbid. My hatred for him is that I cannot stop loving him. I hate this man because I celebrate him and because I know many Nigerians celebrate him as an unusual leader. So you can imagine my jubilation and cause for celebration, when Olabode George called Asiwaju Bola Tinubu a “crook”. He even questioned his pedigree. LMAO. Hallelujah!! A new Yoruba leader is born. Let the coronation begin. Iya ilu,bata, agogo and shekere please…… But something interesting happened on the way to the Palace. Like Tinubu, Bode George is also a crook. As military Governor of Ondo State. He stole blindly from the Yoruba people of the State. Also, as Chairman of Nigerian Port Authority, he looted with impunity. To the sum of #84 billion. We do not need to pontificate what kind of a person Mr. George is because we know what kind of a country Nigeria is. He was found guilty of 47 out of 68 counts he was charged with and was sentenced to 30 months in jail. Now the jailbird wants to be king. He wants to be heard. And people are granting him audience. An assault to intelligence. It illuminate the grotesque reality of THE NEW YORUBA. As we let rich memories slip from our minds. In the old Yoruba kingdom, pariahs like Bode George and Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, were who they were: PARIAHS! Seen but too ashamed to hold conversations with decent folks. Nowadays, they run the Kingdom. No thanks to the manacles and chains of poverty that have turned intelligent and hitherto moralistic men to beggars and shameful sycophants. The very idea of a YORUBA LEADER should go the way of the corset. It is an outdated idea. It perpetuate a damaging link between us and reality. Creating room for opportunistic men. Turning scofflaws into lawmakers and robbers into freedom fighters. People who we should look at as ignominy we see as ASIWAJU. We now have leaders who lack democratic vision and want to limit our political imaginations. To their supporters I say: take a serious look at them without the alcohol (ogogoro) in your system; look at where we have landed. Our mechanics of history are particularly fraught. We have shut the doors on our glorious past. "To ri pe a fe jeran, an pe MALU ni buroda. YORUBA RONU OOOOOO……!!! “After rain comes sunshine; after darkness comes the glorious dawn. There is no sorrow without its alloy of joy; there is no joy without its admixture of sorrow. Behind the ugly terrible mask of misfortune lies the beautiful soothing countenance of prosperity. So tear the mask.” -OBAFEMI AWOLOWO.