Tag: tinubu

All Progressive Congress (APC) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has defended his decision to withdraw from consideration as the APC Vice presidential candidate.

 In a statement yesterday, shortly after Prof. Yemi Osinbajo was presented as Gen. Muhammadu Buhari’s running mate, Tinubu said he is contended being the National Leader of the party he has helped to build.

 The statement reads: “I am a Nigerian who loves his country and I am hopeful about what it can become. I have seen and conducted myself as a patriot long before I thought of myself as a politician.  I shall always walk this line and no other.

  “After all the political calculations are made and the dust of competition has settled, it must be this nation and its people who stand first and foremost. The question becomes whether we stand strong, able to shape ourselves into our best future or will we stand frail and trembling, burdened by the abject failure to surmount the multiple problems confronting us.

 “It is against this backdrop that I assess any action I take. Here I come to my name being placed in consideration as the vice presidential candidate for our party, the APC.  I have laboured hard to move this party from being merely an idea in the minds of a few into being a political organisation that might win this election and govern the nation in way that gives the people the hope and opportunity they seek. Nothing is more important to me than to realise this dream not for myself but for the people of this land I so love.

  “I helped to build this party, giving no thought to seeking an elected office because of it. My contribution to the party was never based on the expectation of a later political handout. Nigeria is in trouble and we are well past the moment for such narrow, selfish games.

  “There came a time during the course of the events when our presidential candidate, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari offered the vice presidential slot to me.  Being a normal human being, I was deeply moved and honoured that he would consider me for the position. Being a patriot, I had to weigh my potential candidacy in all of its dimensions.

“I have concluded that the interests of the sparty, our campaign and of the nation are better served if I retain my position as the National Leader of the APC, allowing me to be a bridge builder across all divides.  Although, I declined the position, I want to thank Gen Buhari for extending the honour to me.

 “Despite all the noise and opposition around my possible selection, he stood firm and steadfast. He showed the traits of a leader in holding to a decision he believed was right despite the errant plots against it.

  “When my name was raised, the political hatchet men tried to chop it down with rumour and lies. Over the years, I have developed a thick skin. The personal attacks did not bother me. I am used to them. While I have a thick skin, I don’t have a thick mind.  There has been one form of attack that has troubled me. That is the attack based on religion. The PDP (Peoples Democratic Party) and others have stoked fear of a Muslim/Muslim ticket.

  “I have removed myself from consideration so what I now say cannot be seen as self-serving.  I plead with the people of this nation to never allow the power lust of cynical politicians to set brothers against brothers and neighbours against neighbours. If you look at those politicians who raise this issue the most, they are the least devout and faithful to any religion other their self-interests.

  “Nigeria has too many secular problems – insecurity, economic collapse, poverty, corruption and mis-governance – to allow inept people to use religion to keep us from solving these challenges for the benefit of all.

  “Those who exploit religion should be wary. For there really is a God and He does not like it when you play with his people or use His name to do the opposite of what He intends.

  “I ask the people to remove religion from the electoral equation now that the tickets of both parties are mixed.  I ask you to select the ticket best able to end the downward slide that Nigeria has endured since this government took over. I ask you to remember that too many Christians and Muslims are poor. Most of all, I ask you to remember that the true religion of the PDP is poverty and the APC has come to bring prosperity to the people.  Please vote for that.

  “The Nigeria I see is a nation that shall overcome. The Nigeria I see is a nation ready to sweep aside the broken ways of our recent past and the government and politicians who impose distress upon us. The Nigeria I see and seek is one where each person, every man, woman and child may live free of terrorism, free of the despair of poverty and free of the fear that the government meant to serve and protect them has turned its back to them  in cold and utter indifference.

  “I see and seek a Nigeria where progressive, democratic governance creates the political and economic space needed for each of us to contribute to rescuing and retooling this nation.  And, in the process of this benign endeavour, may each and every one of us share in the sound promise and good prosperity that shall describe the architecture of our national revival.

  “However, not everyone that shouts the name of Nigeria believes in this vision. There are many who would have you laid low and our future tossed asunder that they may persist in reaping the unjust reward of their selfish ways.

 “There are wolves in sheep clothing and even jackals in wolf’s clothing. I have seen them but not as residents in some strange zoo. They populate the halls of this diminished government and the party from which this government was born.

  “We have come to the field of fateful choice. We have been brought to test the scales of weighty decision. Shall we lift this nation upward so that from its higher vantage point we may clearly see the road to our better destiny? Or shall we continue to march the march of fools into the dark of darkness. The current path has but one end. It shall take us into the den of national collapse. We have gone far enough down this wicked avenue to be aware of what its continuance portends.

  “We must awaken of our own accord, my dear people, before the bell of doom rings upon us. If we wait until that moment, we would have waited too long. Our future, our fate, our destiny would have been cast into the snare of utter misfortune. This is not the song of greatness. It is the poetics of ruin.

  “For me, political ambition will never triumph over patriotic conviction. This delicate moment affords no space for emotion to intrude to blind us from what is best. The APC is the best and only vehicle to enact the progressive and broad change this nation cries for.  I eagerly lend myself to this fine cause without me having to be on the ticket.

“This is a time for cohesion and an overriding sense of mission. We must defeat the foe before us and resist all temptations intended to entice us to fight among ourselves.

  “I sincerely commit myself to the rescue agenda of Gen Buhari and Prof Osinbajo.

   “I declare to you, I will work and dedicate myself so that our ticket succeeds and wins the 2015 election — not for his good, not for my good, not even for the party’s good but for the good of the nation we inhabit.

   “Some may call what I have done a sacrifice. I call it otherwise. It is my patriotic contribution and duty. I do so with a happy and uplifted heart and clear conscience because I have committed myself to seeking the best for this nation before seeking what is good for myself. This is the creed of statesmanship I chose to follow. May this be the creed of our party as Gen Buhari leads us to historic victory in the 2015 elections.

  “May the light of a bright future always shine on you and on our beloved nation, the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

All Progressives Congress (APC) leader and former Governor of Lagos State Asiwaju Bola Tinubu yesterday urged the state’s governorship aspirants to accept the outcome of the primaries.

He made the appeal in his goodwill message during the party’s delegates primary to elect the standard bearer in the forthcoming election.

Tinubu noted that the way the aspirants conduct themselves after yesterday’s primary will be a reflection of what Lagos represents to all Nigerians: a model of democracy, a symbol of peace and cohesion.

“I urge us all to comport ourselves in a brotherly manner and with a democratic spirit. And to accept the result of the primary as the choice of our party that we may move forward to protect the Lagos we have jointly built and to continue the progress we jointly seek.

“Please reflect on what is good for Lagos. Our enemy is lying in wait, expecting us to fall apart and come against each other. You are 12 aspirants and like the 12 tribes of Isreal you have some differences but you must remain one and united.

“No one tears down what he has laboured hard to build. Let us put the enemy to shame by resolving to work together as a family because that is what we are and must always be; a family.

“For the party and for all of us to win and succeed come February, we must join hands in common cause and for one single, solitary purpose. That cause is to win the general election so that progressive and enlightened good governance shall continue to reside in Lagos and so that our state remains a shining example to the rest of the nation.”

The statement added: “Today is a historic and momentous date. It is a moment when you have come together in the open air and light of day to select the person who will be the party’s standard bearer for our beloved state. As such, today shall advance the march of  democracy in our state, our party and our country. With over 6,000 delegates representing the entire party in Lagos State gathered here to fulfil their right and duty to elect our flag bearer for Lagos state, we mark this time as an important moment.

“I want to use this opportunity to commend all the aspirants. You all have tried hard and have sweated and toiled for the good of the state and the party. Traversing every inch of the state, appealing to voters and explaining your vision and programmes for Lagos, you all have acquitted yourselves very well indeed. I am proud of how you campaigned. You have done so by trying to sell your vision and not by tearing each other down.  You have competed fairly and honestly yet have remained brothers throughout. This is as it should and must be. Even after today is over and done, we must continue in this same spirit.

 “When I met with all of you some time ago , you spoke of the need to have a fair democratic process in selecting the flag bearer. Today you have that process.

“However, we must be realistic. As much as I wish the party could reward you all for your intelligent and sincere efforts, it is impossible to do so.  There are 12 good men seeking but one position. Only one of you can win this contest today. We believe in you as you believe in yourself that you are all qualified in your own right.

“But for the party and for all of us to win and succeed come February, we must join hands in common cause and for one single, solitary purpose after today. That cause is to win the general election so that progressive and enlightened good governance shall continue to reside in Lagos and so that our state remains a shining example to the rest of the nation.  The way we conduct ourselves after this primary will be a reflection of what Lagos represents to all Nigerians: a model of democracy, a symbol of peace and cohesion.”

ALL Progressives Congress’ (APC’s) national leader Senator Bola Tinubu has advocated a mental revolution among Nigerians, as a condition for the country’s socio-economic growth.

He spoke yesterday at the presentation of a book, titled: “Entrepreneurship Development Manual with Pre-Retirement Modules”, in Lagos.

The book was edited by Dr. Michael Oladun.

Tinubu, who was represented by renowned scholar Prof. Adebayo Williams, explained that given the familiar call for revolution as a pre-condition for desirable change in Nigeria, the primary and fundamental revolution was that of the mind.

He urged Nigerians to encourage not only the production of knowledge, but the spreading of same.

His words: “When people call for revolution in this country, the first revolution has to do with mental revolution; a shifting in the whole paradigm. The white man was able to come to Africa and conquer us not because of superior artillery, it was because of superior knowledge.

“ If ever we want to come out of our political, economic and, in fact, spiritual rot, we need knowledge revolution”.

Tinubu, who was also the chief launcher, praised the author for “the work of prodigious scholarship”, clarifying that the transition “from pre-retirement to activity is not a tea party. It requires adaptability and flexibility”.

The APC chieftain expressed satisfaction with the book, noting that it was the result of “focus, a lot of brilliance, discipline, rigorous research and scholarship and also depth.”

He also explained that quite a number of people had retired from positions in the university to become barons and captains of industry.

Alluding to a French philosophical saying, which says “knowledge is sustained only by the production of new knowledge”, the former Lagos State governor said: “This book is a welcome addition to the production of new knowledge in cutting edge scientific research”.

Presenting the book, Prof. Williams bought five copies for an undisclosed amount, saying Tinubu had reached out earlier to the editor and the contributors.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, who was the Special Guest of Honour, explained that empowerment, especially of the youth, had been the focus of the administration in various sectors, including education, environment and others.

He was represented by the Executive Director (Technical) of Lagos State Pension Commission, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga.

The governor said the book would be a manual of importance in Lagos and would also be made available to officials for their use in retirement.

Dr. Akin Ogunbiyi, who chaired the event, while using the Yoruba adage, said: “There are three phases in a man’s life, including youth, adult life and old age.”

He added that the three periods connote distinctive definitive phases in the life of an individual.

According to him, the consequences of how someone applies each of the earlier two phases would determine how the third phase would be spent.

Reviewing the book, Vice Chancellor, Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji, Prof. Sola Fajana, said the book was presented in simple and reader-friendly prose, adding that retirees and senior citizens would find it interesting.

The book, the editor explained, was sub-divided into three parts with 25 chapters, including three case studies.

He said the work was to “create/urge entrepreneurial skills in individuals globally and create wealth for the domestic Nigerian economy and Africa; to aid technological advancement in Africa coupled with social services to the society and humanity in general by acting as an agent of change, innovation and creativity in all that we do in life”.

The event was organised by Crystal Expertise Resources Ltd in collaboration with Office of the HOS, Public Service Office, Governor’s Office, Alausa, Ikeja.

It attracted other dignitaries, including former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Executive Directorate, Chief Michael Olorunfemi; Elder Ademola Adelusi and Executive Secretary, Lagos State Skills Development Centre Olawumi Gasper.

Others were Abiola Owoaje of the Lagos State Printing Corporation; Mr. Amusu Oladapo, Elder Agboola Ojo; Rev. Jacob Sunday Ajulo; and Mr. Friday Salami.

In the course of reading Sunday Sun of November 16,2014, this writer stumbled on a publication with the above caption, the first thing that came to mind was: what could have been the link between this gentleman and almajiri journalism?

It was upon reading through that it dawned on me that the piece, ostensibly authored through borrowed name, Taiwo Sanyaolu, which had earlier been syndicated in other newspapers was actually a thoughtless rejoinder to a popular Friday column in The Nation newspaper edition of November 14, 2014. The column, Podium Snap, has the imprimatur of Mobolaji Sanusi, a long-standing courageous columnist and journalist.

The piece by Sanyaolu is clearly the hand of Esau and the voice of Jacob. This is because this proxy writer is a lackey of Muiz Banire, the disgruntled National Legal Adviser ofAll Progressives Congress (APC). Let me state, ab initio, that I am a resident of Mushin and a sympathiser of the APC in the state and Nigeria as a whole. So, I know the ‘supposed author’ of the said rejoinder to be an aluminium seller in a small shop in Mushin who lacks the capacity to put up such write-up. But since Banire has chosen to act by proxy through that low standing in the society, it shows the calibre of men he breeds around that area.

Banire’s proxy, Sanyaolu, erroneously described Mobolaji Sanusi as a desperate journalist because he seems not to know his academic pedigree as a master’s degree holder in Commercial Law and another in Managerial Psychology from the great University of Ibadan – and he is obviously doing well in life. Even though, if he is supporting Tinubu as alluded, it shows Tinubu, an accountant of international exposure and globally accomplished Nigerian politician, has a knack for men of intellect and intelligence with sound academic background. He is not a political hypocrite like Banire, whose treacherous inordinate ambition to overthrow the leadership status quo ante in the state has become legendary and unsettling to sane minds.

Sanyaolu’s attempt at covering up for Banire by saying that he never ‘specifically’ mentioned Tinubu’s name in the Premium Times interview was because as an Aluminium seller, he might not appreciate what lawyers call innuendo, otherwise, he needs the services of a clear-egged lawyer or another truly educated fellow, not the warped interpretative view of his master, to know that Banire was actually referring to Tinubu.

Sanyaolu, though quite an insignificant person, showed that the conceited garb of Banire has been bequeathed to him when he took Tinubu, the leader and elder of his party, under the guise of writing a rejoinder, to the cleaners where he stated: ‘However, since Sanusi has decoded it is Asiwaju that was being referred to, I will respond in that context. When it is clear that Tinubu has defecated in the temple and torn the holy scripts to clean his ass and the whole world is condemning his sins…’ and that Sanusi shamelessly condemns ‘anybody who opposes the denigrating politics of his lord and saviour in Bourdillon.’

This kind of supercilious statement can only come from an ungrateful element. If not, how can a free-born Yoruba man be so spiteful of his benefactor/elder as Banire and his proxy had done to the brand name Tinubu and to also, without a prick of conscience, cruelly describe the politics he has immensely benefited and still benefiting from as ‘denigrating?’ Even if such is denigrating, it is not someone like Banire that can solve the conundrum because allowing that will be tantamount to saying that an armed robber, after unleashing several fatal onslaughts against the people should be pardoned for subsequently using his loot and blood money for puritanical essence.

Banire and his cohorts simply lack the locus standi to fight against imposition because they owe what they are today to that self-appellated ‘denigrating politics.’ Allowing Banire’s coup d’état against Tinubu will amount to swallowing Sanyaolu’s logic that ‘Lagosians are not idiots that can be manipulated anyhow without resistance for politics of imposition to continue forever’ Sanyaolu tries to cover up the formative political years of Banire in politics as if letting the public be aware that it was Oba Olatunji Hamzat that introduced him to Tinubu was a crime where he quoted Sanusi as having said: ‘Banire was a product of one Olatunji Hamzat’s political benevolence…. For God’s sake, is Hamzat now ‘anyone?’ Whoever was present in Mushin before and after 1999 knew that Dr. Banire was a political factor in Mushin through his party activities and not by any godfather. His ascension to commissionership in Lagos State in 1999 was as a result of his excellent political performance in assisting Alliance for Democracy in the company of Senator Ganiyu Solomon and others to emerge winner in the governorship election that produced Tinubu as governor.’

How can Sanyaolu, even at the suspected goading of Banire describe Olatunji Hamzat as just ‘one’ in the politics of Mushin area? No political scorn can be more serious than this. As at 1999, the name Banire could not even be located on the political radar of the state.  Also, as at the last time I checked from the right quarters in the University of Lagos, the record still shows that Banire left the institution as an assistant lecturer contrary to the erroneous misinformation by Sanyaolu that his paymaster was ‘a notable senior lecturer in 1999 in the prestigious Faculty of Law, University of Lagos.’

The only ‘notable’ thing about Banire was that despite his touted tight schedule as special adviser and commissioner for 12 years, he was able to complete his doctorate in law. What a genius is this man that deployed public time, office and influence to achieve a personal academic end? He deserves 100 gbosas for this rape on public trust! Sanyaolu accused Sanusi of claiming that ‘Banire was using a ramshackle automobile before 1999 without mentioning the brand of the automobile.’

Let me as a Mushin resident help Sanusi put the record straight by stating that Banire was not what this hack writer wants us to believe him to be. For example, Banire got married in 1994 in his inherited one room in his father’s house at No.1, Suberu Banire Street, Ilasamaja, Mushin. Some friends later contributed money with which he moved to a two-bedroom apartment at 27, Araromi Street, Mushin from where he was appointed through the influence of Alhaji Hamzat as a Special Adviser to Tinubu.

Before his appointment, he had a ramshackle 1986 Toyota Camry car that broke down intermittently on the road. This was also complemented by his white-turned-brown collar “jalamia” which was his best-priced wear then.

Sanyaolu wants the world to erroneously believe that Banire is a true advocate of opposition to imposition in the APC, but is the situation on ground in Mushin where he reigns as emperor different?

Let us run a quick check on the record of this sudden “advocate of true democracy.” Apart from having a strong-hold on Mushin politics, government and party, Banire routinely imposed his stooges on members of the party. He imposed the immediate past chairman of Mushin Local Government who just completed an inglorious two terms in office and also single-handedly selected all the ten councillors, the Secretary to the Local Government and its Supervisors. Another stooge of his has retained the position of the LG party chairman since AC, ACN days and now APC. He also ensured, against popular outcry, that the two members representing Mushin in the state House of Assembly serving their third term are his persons.

Sanyaolu speciously believes that Banire has become ‘an indispensable product in the government of Governor Fashola.’ It is apt to ask if the government has collapsed since he was booted out after 12 self-ingratiating years in power. Yet, he has been fighting to return to power and struggling to fix his people in strategic positions, including the Speakership of the state House. But his proxy, Sanyaolu, lied he never sponsored anybody for such positions.

More importantly too, there is no character assassination in what Sanusi wrote on Banire except his “crime” of pointing out that if anybody is qualified to fight against imposition, that person should not be Banire or any of those secretly rooting for him. Furthermore, Banire, through Sanyaolu, displayed recklessness when it was unfoundedly stated: “One wonders if the threat by Tinubu to sack Sanusi some few weeks back due to allegations of wrongdoing at The Nation was what made him to indulge in gutter journalism and Almajiri penmanship.” This is, to me, not only laughable, but sheer falsehood and malicious blackmail which is better left for Sanusi himself to handle as a lawyer. What a libel that speaks volume of the desperation of this paper and the writer to join in blackmailing this man.

The truth is that Banire has proven to be interested in becoming the next Tinubu of Lagos even in the life time of the APC’s national leader. And the Yoruba adage, ‘Odale abale lo,’ suffices here.

 

. Adisa, a political scientist, lives in Mushin, Lagos.

Thursday’s invasion of the National Assembly by armed policemen yesterday drew the ire of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC),Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.

He accused President Goodluck Jonathan of masterminding the attack, and described the action as nothing short of brigandage masquerading as governance.

He said the Jonathan government has lost its head and run amok.

“ By deploying hundreds of policemen to prevent the Speaker of the House from entering the National Assembly, the President has revealed his hand to be a devious one,” Tinubu said in a statement.

“Having asked the Speaker to convene the House to consider extending the state of emergency in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, the Jonathan government then deployed the nation’s Police to stop the fourth ranking citizen of the nation from entering his place of work.

“The President and his men have their hand written all over the invasion of the National Assembly. No Commissioner of Police will ever embark on such an action without the clearance of the Inspector General of Police and no IGP will order his men out here without approval by the Presidency.

“Nigerians know where the buck stops. The Jonathan Presidency must take full responsibility for the attack on the leadership of the National Assembly.”

Tinubu said the federal government cannot claim to be unaware of what the Police would do as “his gangster’s antic occurred almost at their doorstep. The Jonathan presidency can no longer play ignorant regarding the noxious things done for partisan ends.”

Tinubu said that rather than give the Boko Haram’s continous threat to national security the priority attention it deserves, “the President’s men decided to turn the event into a partisan and embarrassing circus. Perhaps they saw this as a birthday present to Mr. President.

“But it is nothing but brigandage masquerading as governance. What this Presidency does not realise is how terribly it has exposed its pettiness and dictatorial penchant for elevating narrow political interests above the fate of the nation.

“There is little wonder the nation is losing ground to Boko Haram. This government has allowed and even welcomed the downward slide.

“The priorities of the Jonathan Presidency are as wrong as wrong can get. Their actions are devoid of national purpose. They reek of pungent ambition. A weakness of character now permeates national leadership.

“This Presidency leaves the nation’s grave problems unattended yet have the rashness to create new ones by trashing the nation’s democratic institutions and mocking constitutional checks and balances. The most notable achievement of the Jonathan government has been to bring democracy to its knees. This is not the hallmark of a President but the work of a potentate.

“While enjoying the taste of this cheap tactical victory, it is hoped Nigerians and the international community are sampling the bigger picture. In trying to quash the opposition by all means necessary, this government unleash forces they do not even recognize let alone be able to control them.”

On the Boko Haram menace, Tinubu said that the situation got to this level after the government snubbed the hand of cooperation extended to it by the opposition.

“We have provided suggestions on fighting the group and winning the hearts and minds of the people. Had the Jonathan government taken these suggestions, things would not be as they are today. This government scoffed at our help,” he said.

He added: “The Jonathan Presidency is a government that has lost its head. This government has run amok and has jettisoned all sense of proportion.

“The nation now faces two threats. One is Boko Haram’s attack on the people. The other is the Presidency’s attack on the people’s democracy. As such, a state of emergency now exists in Abuja, in Aso Villa itself because of this breakdown of democratic governance.

“Jonathan and his men are the reason for the state of emergency. It seems that the only way this emergency shall be lifted is for this government to perpetuate itself in office. The removal of this government from office shall not be done with military power, armed might or police brutality. Their ouster will come from a nobler source: the power of the people and their want for democratic good governance.”