NIGERIA: WAITING FOR MR PRESIDENT by Olusegun Adeyeye

 NIGERIA: WAITING FOR MR PRESIDENT

By Segun Adeyeye

In the next few hours a new era will be ushered into Nigeria with the swearing into office of ASIWAJU BOLA AHMED TINUBU  as the 16th president of Nigeria.

This piece chronicles the trajectory of the impending Bola Tinubu presidency, the antecedents of the President-elect and what Nigerians can expect in this new era that is upon us.

After the annulment of the historic June 12 1993 presidential election and the abortion of the political transition process that would have produced an Abiola-Kingibe presidency; there was so much despair and anguish among Nigerians, leaving a disappointed citizenry to wonder if the country had not missed the boat on a voyage that was primed to take us out of the woods development wise. In the ensuing years, a flip through the then MKO Abiola's presidential campaign document tagged 'Farewell To Poverty' always gave a vast majority of Nigerians this nagging feeling of 'what might have been'.

It is however gratifying and comforting that 30years after the 1993 sad experience, another progressive in the mould of ABIOLA has finally been elected into the Nigerian presidency in the person of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and curiously there are similarities between the two; both came out of the Southern minority Muslims block, had brilliant careers as Accountants and they both picked northern Muslims, specifically from the north eastern region as running mates.

With the election of Tinubu, the journey to greatness that reactionary forces sought to truncate in 1993 has effectively resumed. Significantly, this is the first time in Nigeria's history that a product of the democratic struggle will be elected into and will be stepping into the highest office in the land.

It has since been noted by perceptive observers that one of the trajedies at the return of civillian rule in 1999  was the near total absence of the gladiators who fought the military to a standstill at the upper echelons of government. But for a few exceptions in Governors Bola Tinubu, Olusegun Osoba and Lam Adesina of Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States respectively and a smattering of State legislator, the early governments both at the Federal and State levels, including Principal Officers at the National assemby were formed largely by neutral fence-sitters or in some cases active collaborators with the military usurpers; those who were at the forefront of the then five political parties (the five fingers of a leprous hand with apologies to the late Chief Bola Ige) who adopted the late military dictator, Gen Sani Abacha as their sole presidential candidate in a sham election effectively designed to turn Nigeria into a full fledged banana republic.

There is a need to document this sad chapter in our collective history so that current and future generations will know who their authentic heroes are.

Then Governor (now President-elect) Bola Tinubu brought into his Lagos State cabinet such fellow stalwarts of the democratic struggle as Dr. Dele Alake, Senators Michael Opeyemi Bamidele, Tokunbo Afikuyomi, Sunday Dare, Comrade Joe Igbokwe among others and the foundation of progressive governance they collectively built is still  speaking in Lagos today.Apart from his sterling pro-democracy credentials and going ahead to run an exemplary government as Governor of Lagos State, Nigerians have a lot to commend the President elect for.

But for the heroic sacrifices of the likes of Bola Tinubu, Nigeria in all probabilities would be a one-party State today, with all its attendant horrors.

We were all witnesses in this country when a past Chairman of the then ruling political party boasted like the Biblical King Herod that his bumbling party would rule(or ruing) Nigeria for 60 years.

Truly, a survey of the political landscape then seemed to corroborate the man's seemingly outlandish projections as there were no opposition parties on the horizon that appeared strong enough to effectively challenge let alone dislodge the then behemoth.

However, that boastful party Chairman apparently did not reckon with a certain Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who against all odds succeeded in building his then essentially regional ACTION CONGRESS party into a pan-Nigerian political platform(ACTION CONGRESS OF NIGERIA) and subsequently went on to spearhead the first merger of political parties in the history of Nigeria to form the ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS (APC) in 2013 and in less than two years after, led the onslaught that routed and dislodged  the then ruling party the PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY(PDP) from power.

It was such an unprecedented feat then that news of his pivotal role reverberated beyond the shores of Nigeria and caught the attention of such notable media outfits as the Financial Times of London which gave it a sizable coverage.

Democracy is yet to evolve a better avenue to political power aside the pathway of periodic elections, which the world over demands active politicking and sometimes ferociously fought elections.

So much has consequently been said and written about Bola Tinubu the politician and political strategist;; a lot more need to be said about Tinubu the astute administrator, human resources manager, shrewd financial engineer and team leader par excellence. After all, politics is merely a route to political power; such power still need to be deployed for the advancement and prosperity of the greatest majority. 

Having therefore been instrumental in  building a platform that has again delivered the presidency to his party after some bitterly fought elections, what manner of President will Bola Tinubu be?

In 2007, when the nation of Ghana marked 50 years as an independent country, a team of Journalists from The News Magazine Nigeria travelled to Ghana and sat down for an Interview with the then President John Kuffour. One interesting question the man was asked was relative to Nigeria whether the success and stability that Ghana has enjoyed was traceable to the advanced level of education of a succession of her leaders many of whom parade Oxford PhD certificates in diverse fields and post graduate law degrees. The response of the ex-Ghanaian leader was to the effect that the number one ingredient that has to be in place in any leader for him to achieve any form of success is the element of COMPASSION

and evidence abounds the world over to corroborate the truth of the ex- Ghanaian leader's assertion.

Fellow Nigerians, this writer can joyfully declare to you that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu; your in-coming President is a dealer in compassion. That attribute metaphorically oozes out of him.

As Governor, he led his State with huge doses of compassion and empathy. There were several reports of his direct intervention in cases of citizens in medical crisis by picking up their medical bills. In some instances of people in critical conditions, necessitating rapid evacuations, he has been reported to facilitate the deployment of air ambulances at huge costs to airlift people to receive timely  medical attention all in a bid to save the lives of his fellow countrymen and women.

Still on the subject of compassion, Bola Tinubu as Governor pioneered the payment of WAEC fees for Students in secondary schools. According to him, this began after he witnessed a beleaguered mother who came to seek help from his mother, the late Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji for the payment of her son's WAEC fees.

Having got wind of this, Bola Tinubu felt such reliefs could be extended beyond the hapless woman and her Son to every parent or guardian throughout the State as a way of taking that financial burden off them. This welfarist policy like many that he pioneered while in office has since been sustained by his successors and in fact been modelled by other State Governments across Nigeria.

It's been said that; a leader can only take his followers to a destination he has been to himself. More often than not, such exploratory and adventurous journeys are undertaken via the  mind of the leader through vision. Fellow compatriots, our soon-to-be-sworn in President is a grand visionary.

His vision for Nigeria has been encapsulated in his 80 page campaign document tagged RENEWED HOPE and it will serve as a Road Map to the new Nigeria we all yearn for.

Those who know him closely vow that Tinubu will watch over every aspect of that document to ensure its delivery.

Being well versed in the socio-economic fabric of Nigeria, Tinubu will diversify the Nigerian economy. Nigeria has severally been tagged as an ocean of gas with a speck of oil because of our humongous gas deposits. Tinubu is poised to take advantage of global dynamics to create wealth for Nigeria in this and other areas.

The incoming president will not shy away from taking bold decisions or initiating ground breaking and monumental reforms in order to steer the ship of Nigeria in a different direction that will enhance our commonwealth and usher in the Nigeria of our dreams. When those reforms do come, let's buy into them and see them as pills recommended by a competent Doctor  for the healing of a 'sick' Nigeria.

On our foreign policy, many are confident that Tinubu will 'fight' for a seat for Nigeria at the table of the Committee of developed Nations and where there are no seats, they vow he will carve out a chair and take along for Nigeria.

Let's therefore embrace our patriotic duty of rallying round our new President and leader at this time in our chequered history as he leads from the front in the mammoth effort to reawaken and reenergize this giant of the African continent and leader of the black race.

Let's face the future with RENEWED HOPE

Welcome President Bola Ahmed Tinubu

God Bless The Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Adeyeye is a Lagos based Corporate Lawyer and Content Developer.

(segunadeyeyeceo@yahoo.com)

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