BY BRIGHT JACOB
Ever since the commencement of electioneering campaigns in Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria, the controversial “glitches” noticed during some of the speeches of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have continued to polarise political commentators, as well as supporters and opponents of the former governor of Lagos State, and have also caused to sprout, a burgeoning and deep-seated fear among some stakeholders about the mental and physical fitness of the presidential hopeful.
However, after Tinubu’s appearance at Chatham House, in the United Kingdom, where he went to address stakeholders and expounded to the international community his intention to address the economic conundrum, insecurity woes, et al, bedeviling Nigeria, the political juggernaut may have won over not a few diehard naysayers, who, instead of beholding a stuttering mishap, saw a well-articulated and composed presidential candidate, who, in their opinion, is poised to pilot the affairs of Nigeria, come May 29, 2023.
Tinubu, during his days as an activist and member of the National Democratic Coalition, was widely viewed to have encapsulated boldness and zeal for the ideologies he propagated and more. And across the echelon of those who confronted military dictatorship in Nigeria head-on, he was an intrepid stalwart of the coalition, who, at a point, had to flee the country into exile.
While in exile, he continued the fight for the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria, and would eventually be “given his flowers” after he returned and contested the governorship seat of Lagos State in 1999, and emerged the victor.
As Governor, his mental latitude to proffer solutions to the staggering challenges facing a cosmopolitan city like Lagos was tested. He earned a favourable appraisal for performing significantly well towards the overall growth of the state. Also, through his laudable feats in the state, many firsts were recorded, and Lagos State was set on the pedestal of growth and economic prosperity.
Thus, after the Independent National Electoral Commission flagged off the commencement of campaigns, all eyes were on Tinubu. Nigerians wanted to ascertain his mental and physical fitness themselves, firsthand. And they didn’t have to wait so long as Chartham House provided that opportunity.
After addressing the crowd, which some of his antagonists acknowledged was commendable, Tinubu, in “team-spirit” style, delegated some members of his team to answer questions from journalists and other attendees. However, some critics cried foul about this action, insisting that the political gladiator should have answered the questions thrown at him.
Noteworthy, a freelance journalist at the Chatham House event, challenged Tinubu to answer questions himself. She had gone ahead to ask the APC candidate to clear the air on his records, viz academic, age and work records. To the admiration of his supporters, Tinubu spoke enthusiastically, saying that there is no ambiguity in his records.
And it didn’t stop there. In a follow-up interview with Peter Okwoche of the British Broadcasting Corporation Africa, Tinubu further expressed himself admirably to the satisfaction of even eagle-eyed Nigerians, who sat glued to their television screens to make an assessment of him themselves.
“Interestingly, politics is a game of numbers and social media has no polling booth. So, in all our ramifications, they’re just on a wild goose chase, but they’re entitled to their opinions, anyway”
Reacting to the development in a television interview monitored by The Point, the APC’s Deputy Director, Media and Publicity, Ali Ali, said that Tinubu “surprised” those who thought there would be “glitches” they would latch onto and feast on.
Ali said, “I would say he did very well as expected, maybe to the surprise of his traducers who thought, as usual, there would be one or two glitches and they would latch onto that and make a feast out of it,” he said.
“But you can see that he spoke well and, of course, naturally, people react differently. Some would applaud and some would naturally condemn. Such is the enigma called Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Continuing, he said, “A lot of people say his cognitive abilities are on the decline and they make a feast out of it. You see all kinds of memes on social media.
“But occasionally, it happens to people…senior moments, they call it, I think, in medical terms. It happens to the best of people,” Ali added.
On his part, a political scientist, Moyo Jaji, revealed that in spite of the pull-down-your-opponent brand of politics prevalent in Nigeria, people cannot be fooled on issues anymore as the world was now a global village where anyone could see the happenings in the political arena and be able to give their respective interpretations.
Jaji submitted that based on the commendable performance of Tinubu at Chatham House, his opponents should “leave the man alone” and focus on how to win elections for their own candidates.
Jaji said, “The variant of politics we play in Nigeria is to Nigeria alone, and not anywhere else. It’s our own brand of politics, pull-down-your-opponents politics. You don’t address issues at stake….you know, muckraking and the rest of all that.
“But the most important thing now is that the world is a global village. Nobody can fool anybody anymore. Like the Chatham House appearance Asiwaju made, everybody saw what happened, and depending on the side of the divide you are, you give it the interpretation (you choose).
“But the truth is very constant. No matter what you say, people are sensible and discernable and will know what is true and false. So, to that extent, most of the opponents of Asiwaju, they never liked it (his commendable performance), and it goes to show what some of us have been saying…they should leave the man alone, they should concentrate on their own candidates. Winning elections for their own candidates should be their primary objective,” he added.
Speaking further, Jaji noted that Tinubu’s mind was the most important ingredient needed for governance and not necessarily his prowess in physical activities. Jaji supported his argument with the presidency of Roosevelt of the United States of America, who, he said, was confined to a wheelchair, but was the only US president to serve three terms in office.
As a mark of Tinubu’s physical fitness, Jaji said that the APC candidate had toured all of Nigeria, with the exception of the South East.
According to him, the other candidates were yet to achieve this feat. He also reminded all and sundry that politics was a game of numbers.
“It is the brain of Asiwaju that we need. I often cite an example from American history. One of the most performing presidents in American history is Fredrick Roosevelt. He was the only American president that had three terms (in office). He was the one at the helm of affairs at the lowest ebb of American self-confidence. That was during the war.
“Roosevelt brought them the new deal that brought America out of economic problems. The point I am trying to make is that he ruled America in a wheelchair. So, it’s not the physical condition that matters now, it is the brain and the kind of team you have around you.
“Interestingly, politics is a game of numbers and social media has no polling booth. So, in all our ramifications, they’re just on a wild goose chase, but they’re entitled to their opinions, anyway,” he further declared.
Jaji also urged Nigerians to dispel all fears they may have about Tinubu’s health and physical fitness, insisting that the former governor had proven over time to be a good manager of both human and material resources.
Using Lagos State to drive home his point, Jaji said that Tinubu met the Internally Generated Revenue of the state “at less than N1bn” and by the time he left office, the IGR had grown to over N20bn. “They’re not only making money, but they’re also using it to develop the place. That’s why Lagos is ranked about the 6th largest economy in Africa,” Jaji said.
Addressing the backlash from the action of Tinubu delegating the Governor of Kaduna state, Nasir El-Rufai, Dele Alake, and others, to answer questions originally meant for him (Tinubu), Jaji said it was simply a demonstration by Tinubu to show that “no man is an island”, and the fact that “a tree does not make a forest”.
Harping on his accomplishments as governor, Jaji said it would have been impossible “without the assistance of people”. Apart from this, he said it lent credence to Tinubu’s prowess as “a headhunter who goes for the best”.
Also, Jaji said that virtually all management textbooks talk extensively about delegating responsibility to trusted aides. He further argued that after the Chatham House experience, videos of prominent individuals delegating aides to answer questions had emerged.
His words: “Asiwaju has demonstrated it openly now that no man is an island. And we always say that a tree does not make a forest. And if we say he did this or that, he couldn’t have done it alone without the assistance of other people. And before this issue cropped up, we have been saying that Asiwaju is a headhunter and goes for the finest of the best.
“And look at it, these people who had taken his tutelage or introduced to public service, which among them can we say is not good? Is it Fashola (Babatunde)? Is it Wale Edun? Is it Dele Alake? These are the people around him that made everything tick for Lagos, but as a leader, the buck stops at his desk.
“And any management book you read, they won’t tell you that it’s wrong for a leader to delegate responsibility to his trusted aides, and that was exactly what he did.
“And since the confusion broke out, we’ve been shown videos of the American president, Biden, delegating questions to one of his aides. We’ve been shown Henry Ford (former US president) asking people to answer questions, and so, it’s not a big deal.
“You cannot falsify anything on anyone’s behalf if you don’t have the true story about that person. That’s why I say they are just chasing shadows for lack of nothing to say,” Jaji told our correspondent.
