*2023 PRESIDENCY AND THE ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY OF TINUBU*
The visitation of Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to Ogun state yesterday was not only an embarrassment to him and his supporters but one that reduced the office of the governorship of the state and it leadership. The outing was used to praised himself as a political God who can install and remove. What a sensible way for one to dig his political grave by himself. Though, some would defend this act as a response to the obvious frustration around Tinubu regarding his 2023 presidency ambition. He had obviously shown a man whose temperament is unpresidential. An evident show of frustration and one who would be ready for showdown with perceived enemy if eventually come to power.
First, I think Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu needs to be grateful to God for taking him this far politically. Looking back for him, he should understands that not all that started with him can match his political records today and hence, he needs not remind us and God how fortunate he had been but should be grateful for his achievements so far. While he was out of the country fighting the military junta, many were here in the country as well doing the same and have paid the ultimate price for it without any reward or compensation even for the families they left behind. Some were imprisoned and others underwent torture and brutality. The cases were of diverse bitter experiences for diverse categories of people. Therefore, no single individual can lay claim as hero of democracy.
Historically, Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu doesn’t made himself a governor in 1999. He sought the support of some people and through those supports, he emerged the governor of Lagos State. Those that backed him betrayed some people just for his sake and this is understandable politically. Tinubu cannot say today that he satisfied all those that supported him to power infact, he later became an enemy to Afenifere group that backed him to power. All these are in the public and needs no argument. This is politics and would continue to happen politically.
According to Tinubu yesterday, he made General Muhammadu Buhari to become President Muhammadu Buhari but Tinubu had forgotten that without Buhari and others agreeing to the merger that formed APC, his party, ACN would never have tasted power at the federal level even for the next sixty years as planned by the PDP. Tinubu himself was also power hunger at the time seeking to take over the federal level at all costs. It wasn’t an help to Buhari at the time but a ladder he also wanted to climb to the top. As at 2014, how many state can the ACN be boast of? What was the impact of ACN in the northern part of the country and even the southeast and southsouth? All these Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu have suddenly forgotten. And is all those that took part in the merger that were adequately compensated? Tinubu himself is an ingrate.
As a master, leader, mentor or boss, it is important one should always have it at the back of his or her mind that you can only teach or guide someone to the top or become something in life but never can you determine their destiny. The statement by Tinubu that he wanted to be remembered in history as president is not only insensitive and selfish but a pure case of entitlement mentality which might not even see the light of the day. It is better to leave the stage when ovation is loudest but this Tinubu has failed to understand.
If presidency is Tinubu’s lifetime ambition, is it all ambitions that are fulfilled in life? Does many not have governorship ambition when he was installed in Lagos State? When he was singlehandedly picking successors in Lagos State and determining who get what, does he not know that he had also truncated the lifetime ambitions of many by not giving them a level playing field? While many would have prepared seriously for certain political positions in Lagos State, this man, Tinubu would just go and pick someone who wasn’t even ready for such and threw away the ambition of the other individual. Even if such person decided to go ahead and contest just like Ambode did, the influence of Tinubu would make such to loose because no one would queue behind such person for the fear of Tinubu. This has been the working template of Ashiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu politically.
Even though Tinubu has vowed to fight dirty, it’s obvious he meant what he threatened. Tinubu should know that he is not the one that gives power because all power belongs to God. Why was AD, AC and ACN not able to win against the PDP until the merger? What was the total votes margin that ACN stronghold like Lagos State gave to Buhari in 2015 compared to CPC, ANPP and nPDP stronghold? If Tinubu’s party before the merger could not singlehandedly take the federal government away from the PDP then he’s just a regional leader. In fact, at a time, AC had only Lagos State and the remaining five states in the southwest were PDP. The National Leader status ascribed to Tinubu is just a honour and not a reference for him to play God.
