The seed that cleared the path for the former Lagos State governor, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu was sown on Monday, and it was shown by those who never really wanted him to smell the APC ticket.
That’s the irony of Tinubu`s rise to new level power and political influence within the APC, and beyond, as the 2023 election draws closer.
Until the final moment this seed was sown, Tinubu`s path to victory was gloomy, murky and muddy. He was almost heading for tragedy in the All Progressive Congress, APC, where he is supposed to dorminate as the National Leader.
However, those who planned for his downfall eventually built the lather with which he climbed out of the ditch that the Jagaban of Lagos was almost deep into, especially following his outburst in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Senator Bola Tinubu last Thursday stared the honest nest when he claimed to have been personally responsible for rescuing President Muhammadu Buhari from perennial political failure.
He made this comment while addressing some APC party faithfuls in the South West state on Thursday, and the statement did not go down well in Abuja and the corridors of power at the APC secretariat.
The former two-time governor of Lagos State later backtracked from this statement two days after making he claim. He quickly blamed the dust that his comment has raised on his “political detractors”, who are keying into it and twisting the comment to cause disaffection between him and President Buhari.
In the statement released Bola Tinubu`s aid, he said the following:
“We have entered the meat of primary season. Sensationalism and willful inaccuracy tend to push aside truth during such moments. I make this statement so that truth and accuracy may have a chance. It is important that people truly know what I said and where I stand. Whatever view you have of me is within your right to make. But let it be based on truth and not on falsehood or reckless exaggeration. There have been gross misinterpretations in some sectors of the media regarding comments I made on Thursday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.”
“To a degree, the erroneous interpretations may be somewhat innocent given that I spoke in Yoruba. Those who do not understand the nuances of this richly layered and subtly language may have inadvertently yet erroneously missed the true meaning of what I said while attempting to translate my statement.
“Instead of weighing what I said carefully, they translated so quickly and thus inaccurately in an attempt to meet media deadlines. Of course, there are also those who knew better but they conveyed these inaccuracies because the sensationalism suits their political purposes.
“Again, such propaganda and misinformation becomes daily fare in the heat of the political season. Let’s just state what needs to be stated. My opponents want to present a narrative that I made comments disrespectful of President Muhammadu Buhari in hopes that such a narrative would convince President Buhari to oppose my aspirations regarding the approaching primary. President Buhari is an experienced and accomplished leader. I do not believe he will be taken by the tricks of such people.
“Let me also erase any doubt. My respect and regard for President Buhari as Commander-in- chief of this nation and as a person are high and unfailing. I shall never denigrate him. I certainly did not do so in Abeokuta. We have been political partners for a long time and I hope that partnership continues well into the future. I would do nothing to jeopardize it.
“I believe our party is the best hope for the nation to right itself. I believe I have a future role larger than the one I now have. I also believe President Buhari has a continuing and important role to play even after his tenure as president is over.
“Indeed, I consistently supported the president and his administration. Even when the administration has come under intense criticism, my feet have always been planted solidly in defence of the president.
“The president personally nominated me to coordinate his re-election campaign in 2019. He did this not because I opposed him or because I was indifferent. He did so because I was firmly with him in 2015 and has stood firmly beside him ever since.
“When I publicly announced my aspiration to seek the party nomination for the upcoming presidential election, I stressed that my strategic objective was to build on the foundation laid by the Buhari administration. In fact, I believe I was the first aspirant to inform President Buhari of this presidential intention. It was a sign of the respect I have for him and his office.” Said the former Lagos State governor.
A clear affirmation of the growing bad blood between Tinubu and a section of the APC leadership emerged when the National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdulahi Adamu publicly denounced Bola Tinubu and threatened him with sanction.
Following Senator Tinubu`s initial outburst about how he made Muhammadu Buhari president, the APC National Chairman while addressing newsmen at APC national secretariat in Abuja on Saturday, declared that Senator Tinubu insulted President Buhari in his comments.
Consequently, he said that Senator Bola Tinubu would be sanctioned by the party for these comments, which he made while addressing APC delegates in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
Incidentally, possibly while plotting the planed sanction, the APC chairman took a decision, which turned out to be an error of judgement that quickly ballooned Tinubu towards the finish line.
The APC chairman, Senator Abdulahi Adamu on Monday released a statement to the party`s National Working Committee (NWC) about the selection of the President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan as the consensus candidate going into the primaries.
This did not go down well with other interests in the party. Not even within the NWC was this announcement welcomed. The fact that the Chairman said that his announcement was first cleared with President before the decision was made, did not persuade those who were against it and out to draw blood.
This was the seed that turned things around for Tinubu. The decision of choosing Senator Ahmed Lawan as a consensus candidate was immediately seen by the South West politician as a plan by the North to keep power in the North.
This was seen as contrary to rotating power to the South, which they were looking forward to in the South West, as they are better positioned than the rest of the South to clinch the power rotating to the South.
Therefore, those who were in competition with Ahmed Tinubu suddenly realized the need to work for the common interest of the South West, and they saw in Tinubu the candidate that can deliver the goods for the zone.
Bola Tinubu therefore became a beneficiary of the same “evil plot” by his so-called “political detractors”. The plan to stop his presidential ambition quickly turned into a blessing and a grand plan to clear his path to the clinching the APC ticket.
