Just a few weeks back, I came across a publication titled ‘The burden of choice: Nigerians must defeat Tinubu’ written by a senior and highly respected colleague.
This scrutiny is not only a personal defence but constructive criticism against the blackmailer wearing the cap of a commentator on national issues.
However, it may look absurd for somebody like me, a very keen learner, to step into the shoes of the controversial political analyst (author) talk more of rubbing shoulders with an experienced fellow in writing, particularly in the journalism profession.
Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish Islamic scholar and preacher known for promoting interfaith dialogue, in his words of wisdom by frequently emphasising on love, altruism, service to humanity and finding balance between spiritual and secular life, says: “Matured people never make difference of opinion a means of conflict”. But the world over, everybody has the constitutional right to freedom of speech, irrespective of ethno-religious or political background.
The writer of ‘The burden of choice: Nigerians must defeat Tinubu’, should know that Akanbi (Tinubu) ought to be given another mandate to steer the country to greater heights or Next Level, a mantra deployed by the late President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
There is a proverb with no single or individual authorship traced to the 16th century which reads: “The devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know”. It is expressed in Yoruba as “Èṣù tí a mọ̀, kì í pa ni bí èyí tí a kò mọ̀.”
In this journey, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration is poised to reconfigure the nation’s system for effective and accelerated growth. The policy direction is geared towards giving the poor a relief and competitive advantage, regardless of status. Tinubu is leading this crusade, championing the sacrifice that must be made to put Nigeria on the path of prosperity. Meanwhile, Nigerians must support this cause, rally round the man who has chosen to take the bull by the horn.
For the avoidance of doubt, I recall that Nigeria’s economic turbulence began when our own Buhari won the 2015 presidential election. He announced the first increase in fuel price from N87 to N115 per litre as against his campaign pledge of selling it at N50 per litre.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) threatened to stage a nationwide protest but we, the northerners, frowned on that, believing it was a move to rescue the country. The Buhari administration told us that it was cleaning the mess by the Goodluck Jonathan government. The cluelessness situation persisted and the pump price skyrocketed to N210 by the tail end of 2023.
Since the 1970s, politics in Nigeria has been an avenue for trading and deception. The campaign slogans have been on provision of petty gains for the populace. Real development drives have suffered neglect. Other basic social amenities like pipe borne water, electricity and improved education and healthcare have been in a shambles.
In salvaging Nigeria from the spill-over or inherited economic turbulence, one has to be just and thorough in making a comparative analysis to avoid arriving at a haphazard conclusion. I mean every leader, no matter how good, must have his shortcomings. Should we divulge so many facts on how the person in question was alleged to have engaged some mercenaries to criticise the government he was serving as SSA, for him to collect millions in the name of ushering a rejoinder, the inside scoop is better left unsaid in the public domain.
Now, for Isa Yuguda’s unalloyed loyalty to President Tinubu of the ruling APC to be duly considered without recourse to any questioning, the great task ahead of the North East Coordinator, Renewed Hope Initiative with budgetary allocation exceeding that of his eight-year tenure as Bauchi state governor when the author witnessed a monumental financial stability while serving as Senior Special Assistant on media is to woo Sanusi Muhammad back to the right track. I believe the strategy, if well deployed will augur well for his political career.
A Yoruba adage says: “Bí a kò bá lè ṣẹ́gun wọn, a máa bá wọn ṣe” translates to: “If you can’t beat them join them”.
Ironically, for an economist and accountant, Yuguda with records of long serving years in the banking and financial sector while nursing his political ambition before eventually venturing into partisan politics to follow the bandwagon by boarding into the Tinubu’s ship, exposes the allegations of the writer as a smear campaign or attempt to blackmail Tinubu over his untiring effort to reconstruct Nigeria
Take or leave it, Nigeria under Asiwaju has recorded an evolution in the political paradigm in key areas like tax reforms, establishing the National Education Loan Fund to assist students of tertiary institutions in getting access to financial intervention, proposed state police and the initiative to give local governments their allocations directly, to mention but a few.
As for me, Tinubu has done better in transforming Nigeria with the strong conviction that if given the second chance, things will change for the better. Besides, who else can make the hot context with a great man, master strategist, even “Ogbologbo Oloselu” (experienced politician) who engineered an alliance to dethrone a sitting government?
Almost all opposition governors have since collapsed their structures to support the man at Nigeria’s helm of affairs. This is the first of its kind in Nigeria’s political swagger ahead of the 2027 presidential election. My hands are clean.
Gabi, a journalist, writes from Bauchi, Bauchi state, via [email protected], +2348033990884