The date was 11th of April and the venue was the online microblogging platform – Twitter. On this day Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the Nigerian Vice President addressed his country in about 7 minutes pre-recorded video. He told them two things:
- He wants to be president. Meaning, he wants to succeed his boss.
- He also told them why he is the man for the job.
But you may ask, is he truly the man? Will he succeed? Our answer is simple – Nigerians will decide. Nevertheless, for now, let us look at some matters arising from his declaration.
Nigeria`s next president could be this man if wishes were horses. Are wishes truly horses? Unfortunately not so. However, politics in Nigeria are hardly for the bookmakers.
The right to gun for Nigeria`s first citizen is well within the right of the current Vice President as a Nigerian. But like already asked, is he truly the right man for the season? That is the question, and from this single question comes very many others. We will check out these other questions later, but right now let`s look at the man Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
So, who is Prof. Yemi Osinbajo? Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is Nigeria`s current vice president. President Buhari`s second in command. He is an accomplished legal luminary, a professor of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He also holds the honour of a Grand Commander of the Order of Niger (GCON), an honour bestowed by virtue of occupying the office of Vice President of Nigeria.
In many respect, Prof. Osinbajo is a successful man and accomplished professional. He was a university lecturer until 1999, when he joined the Lagos State government as the Attorney General. This was under the administration of Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the man whom he is set to fight to finish, for the APC ticket.
He is also a Christian preacher of the gospel. They call it Pastor, and his ministry is with the Redeem Christian Church of God, a Nigerian leading Pentecostal church, overseen by Pastor Eunuch Adeboye. They call him Daddy G O, which stands for General overseer.
Yes, many good things could be said about the Nigerian Vice President. However, like every coin, the sides are always at least two. Sometimes, there could even be multiple fragments of a single side of the same coin. All you need is to zoom out and look closer.
Prof. Osinbajo have had the rare honour of leadership as a politician, but that’s not all. His venture into politics at the national level evokes mixed feelings in the minds of many Nigerians. For over seven years, he has served under a government that have overseen what many would describe as the most perilous period in the annals of Nigerian history.
In the past seven years of President Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo`s administration, Nigeria has lost ground in virtually all indices of national growth and development. However, the economics of their leadership as woeful as it certainly is may not be all that defines their regime.
Then what could be more woeful? The question is worth asking, and I will tell you the answer in one simple everyday word – INSECURITY. Yes, insecurity. That is the buzzword.
In the last 7 years of Prof. Osinbajo`s joint ticket with Buhari, peace and security have eluded Nigeria and Nigerians. The country has been floating on a sea of blood – the blood of innocent men and women, murdered by terrorists manifesting in many shapes, and forms, nomenclatures and brands. There are brands called – Fulani headers, cattle rustlers, bandits and some others, simply called, – kidnappers.
Whatever the brand, their mission is same – murder, arson, kidnapping for ransom, and all forms of criminality.
Who are the victims of these crimes? These are mostly innocent and defenseless average Nigerian citizens. Some of these victims are traders, farmers and Christians, some of who are of same Redeem church denomination as Prof. Osinbajo.
To be fair to Prof. Osinbajo, he is only the second in command and not in charge of many things. Fair enough, but some people will say that this is only one side of the argument. Those who hold this contrary view will ask – can the Vice President claim innocence in the failures and criminal complicity of the Buhari led Federal Government?
Before you answer that, first consider how Prof. Osinbajo started his declaration speech.
“Dear Nigerians, for the past 7 years I have served under a true Nigerian PATRIOT, a SERVANT of the nation in war and peace, a man of INTERGRITY…”
Do you know whom Prof. Osinbajo was praising in that comment? No other person than his boss for the past terrifying seven years of economic woes and Nigeria`s near total security collapse and failure as a state – Muhammadu Buhari.
Note importantly that Prof. Osinbajo was not only directly and willfully associating himself with Buhari`s failures.
In fact, he started his run to become Nigeria`s president by admitting complicity in Nigeria`s past seven years of disaster, bloodletting, poverty and deprivations. His first sentence as a presidential aspirant was dismissal of what Nigerians have passed through in the past 7 years.
Do you know what is even worse? He is also very proud to acknowledge and admit his complicity. This explains why, even as a professor of law and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he chose to commence his declaration with such poorly choreographed sycophancy and brutal lies.
Check the words – PATRIOT, SERVANT and INTERGRITY, all for this Nigeria`s President Muhammadu Buhari. Politics is indeed funny, and the Nigeria version is even funnier.
Now, the die is cast, the vice president is in the ring. Yes, he has been in the race for long. We all know that, but now the dog is out of the bag.
The next question is – What can Prof. Osinbajo do to ensure that the long nursed ambition does not return to the dogs?
For 7 years now, he has been campaigning to realise this ambition of succeeding President Buhari. However, his pitch has largely been to his boss – President Buhari, and not to Nigerians, whose vote he will need at the ballot. That is, – if the votes of Nigerians ever count in the coming election.
In his defense for prioritizing the pleasure of President Buhari over Nigerians, those who seek to sell the Prof. Osinbajo`s ambition will be quick to remind you how the Nigerian political system works. First, you will need a solid political structure to situate your ambition. Then you begin the pitch for the votes of the Nigerian people.
Therefore, for the past 7 years they will argue that Prof. Osinbajo have shown absolute loyalty to President Buhari to earn his support for the APC ticket. Then, we can assume that his eventual public declaration, indicates that he may have gotten a positive signal in this direction.
Now assuming he succeeds in grabbing the APC ticket, and assuming again the new electoral law helps the Nigeria Independent Electoral Commission INEC conduct a credible election, then the next stage of his campaign would be pitching to Nigerian to solicit for their votes.
That is where the questions Prof. Osinbajo MUST answer begins:
- Is Nigeria better today than 2015, when he took over the reins of power Nigeria with Muhammadu Buhari?
This is one question that encompasses very many other questions. From Poverty Index. Misery index. Corruption index. Inflation rate. Security. Education. Unemployment rate. Ease of doing business. Energy. Life expectancy. Healthcare. And all areas of measuring standard of living, Prof. Osinbajo MUST tell Nigerians what part of their lives his joint ticket with Buhari has improved and how so.
- During these years of deliberate condoning of Fulani Headers terrorism by President Buhari who have raked havoc in Nigeria and murdered thousands of Nigerians, what did he do or say in his position as the Vice President?
Yes, we know the limitations of his powers as the second in command. We know the real power lies in the hand of the president. But in response, some people will ask. And so what?
The atrocities of Buhari`s leadership started way back in the first term, yet he supported his quest for a second term. He threw is electoral value to Buhari`s advantage yet again the second time.
Prof. Osinbajo could argue that in 2015, he may have known very little about Buhari. Then, how about in 2019, when the real nature of the president and support to terrorist Fulani headers, and his incapacity to lead the Nigeria country became crystal clear?
- What are his justifications for referring to President Buhari as a Patriot, Servant leader and a person of integrity?
In what ways has he ever directly admitted and condemned Buhari`s failures and his indiscretions as a leader, just as you have directly and loudly praised him in your declaration to run for president?
- Is his singular ambition to succeed President Buhari worth the lives of Nigerians and properties that have been lost as a result of Buhari`s continuation in office?
Is there any reason why he did not resign from Buhari`s government having seen his state of mind and the dangers he posed to the unity of Nigeria and the lives of Nigerians?
- What has the Christian community benefitted from your 7 years in Aso Rock?
As a pastor with the Redeem Christian Church of God, and considering his qualification and professional capacity as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and a professor of law, what was his contribution to bringing to justice those who murdered his fellow Christians, especially the Redeem preacher killed in Abuja, whose known killers were discharged owing to lack of diligent prosecution?
Again, to be fair to the Vice President, there is an argument that can be made in his favour. He can argue that he was effective in the few days Buhari transmitted presidential powers to him, while incapacitated and out of the country. For this reason, he would have done things differently if he were fully in charge in the past 7 years.
Fair enough. That is a credible argument, but not enough. Does this argument dissipate the need to address the above questions? The answer is NO. Did he do all he could have lawfully down within his power to stop the carnage? We all have our opinion. The professor must do what he knows how to do best. TALK. He does not lack the words and the eloquence.
He just needs to find the courage.
