Why APC Governors and Delegates Will Follow Buhari’s Leading by Babatunde Obele
Editor's note: Babatunde Obele, a sociologist from Abuja, in this opinion posited that delegates on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will following President Muhammadu Buhari's leading in electing the presidential candidate of the party.
Just recently, I wrote an article stating why Tinubu may not get APC’s Presidential ticket. In that article, I had quoted Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, the former Director General of Tinubu’s Presidential Campaign, who left the ruling All Progressive Congress, (APC) and joined the New Nigeria Peoples party, (NNPP). In a statement he issued to explain the reason for his decision to leave the APC, he partly stated that “…there is a difference between service for the common good and a quest to be worshiped by one’s allies. We must never confuse loyalty with slavery…”
While Jibrin was trying to explain his experience in the local politics of Kano and how the personalization of state power is affecting democratic experience in that important state, he was also sending a strong message to political actors who have the predisposition towards the personalization of state power. Ironically, the first name that comes to mind in relation to the personalization of state power in Nigeria is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the prime exemplification of godfatherism in Nigerian politics.
Source: Facebook
Anyone who was in doubt of Tinubu’s dictatorial tendencies would have had a change of heart after listening to his outbursts while addressing party faithfuls in Ogun State, on June 2, 2022. Speaking on Buhari’s emergence at that event, he said “If not for me that led the war front, Buhari won’t have emerged. He contested first, second and third times, but lost. He even said on television that he won’t contest again. But I went to his home in Katsina, I told him you would contest and win, but you won’t joke with the matters of the Yoruba. Since he has emerged, I have not been appointed minister. I didn’t get nor request a contract. This time, it’s Yoruba’s turn and in Yorubaland, it’s my turn.”
The above statement by Tinubu further reveals why many informed minds are worried about his dictatorial tendencies. How can anyone who sincerely wants to be president be so bold as to publicly declare that he made a sitting president, President; and that he must, therefore, be rewarded with Presidency? That statement is an affront, not only to the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but to the sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who voted for President Muhammadu Buhari both in 2015 and 2019. It clearly shows that Tinubu lacks the basic minimum dignity to be considered for such an important position. This is a fact that is known by Buhari and every key stakeholder in the power equation.
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It doesn’t matter how anyone looks at it, the bottom-line is that Tinubu, —the Emperor of Lagos, — is a difficult name to market to Nigerians, especially at such a time as this. I’m aware that following Mr. President’s lead, most of the APC governors and delegates have already resolved to vote Prof Yemi Osinbajo, a candidate that has a broader appeal to a greater section of our citizens. That is good for the APC and our national interest.
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