Nigeria’s immediate past vice president, Yemi Osinbajo, stirred the hornet’s nest when he decided to contest last year’s presidential election with his political godfather and former boss, the current president of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, and that singular action patently configured his (Osinbajo’s) progress timer in the world of politics to reverse mechanism.
Osinbajo, in the process of throwing his hat into the ring, ran the gauntlet of unforgiving Nigerians who chided him for wanting to go toe to toe with Tinubu.
He was subsequently labelled a “traitor” who, because of the attractive allure of power, was described as an ingrate that bites the finger that fed him.
A pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God and also a professor of Law, Osinbajo is one of the founding partners of SimmonsCooper law firm.
He burst into the bright lights of politics when he was appointed by Tinubu in 1999 as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State.
Osinbajo would go on to serve throughout Tinubu’s eight years as governor of Lagos state and while he was strutting his administrative know-how and reforming the legal system in the state, he succeeded in carving a niche for himself through his loyalty, unassuming nature and wittiness.
At that time, too, the All Progressives Congress was not in power – the party had not even been formed – and Osinbajo thus operated in a political landscape in which the parties which existed at the time were playing catch-up against the party of the day, the People’s Democratic Party.
Following the formation of the All Progressives Congress in 2013, Muhammad Buhari won the presidential primary of the party for the 2015
presidential election and it was then time to produce a worthy vice presidential candidate for Buhari, the high-flying flagbearer of the APC who was enjoying a cult-like following among Nigerians.
Tinubu, the widely touted national leader of the APC and kingmaker whose ubiquitous influence had rallied the troops for Buhari’s victory at the primary, was approached to be the latter’s running mate but even though Tinubu could impose himself on Buhari and the party because he had the political muscle, he thought otherwise and instead thrust Osinbajo unto the vice presidential candidate hot seat.
Immediately Osinbajo came aboard, Buhari was smitten with Osinbajo’s aura, and the Buhari-Osinbajo ticket was born, and their “fellowship”, like the biblical story of David and Goliath, went on to move mountains by dethroning giants, the PDP, in 2015.
The politician, Osinbajo, was then formally born and by the time the trappings of power were fully unwrapped by him, Osinbajo was already the head of Nigeria’s economic team and this, as well as other opportunities afforded him by his position, began to incentivise his dream of sitting atop Nigeria’s political empire.
Nothing lasts forever. And so when the curtain of Buhari’s government was about to fall, a succession struggle, naturally, ensued and Osinbajo, like the North Star, had his presidency ambition maintained in a fixed position.
He was not backing down and so the battle lines were drawn between Tinubu and him.
Interestingly, one rallying point for Osinbajo’s candidacy was the fact that he performed brilliantly when Buhari, who had been sick and sought medical assistance outside the shores of Nigeria, put him temporarily at the helm of affairs. Osinbajo won not a few hearts and so his support base in the APC grew significantly.
“Tinubu’s influence in the APC is very strong. Osinbajo cannot survive there. Hence, this decision to stay quiet. So, count 2027 out for him. We won’t see him coming out to contest again”
Thus, at the APC Special Convention for its Presidential Primary, which was held at the Eagles Square in Abuja in June 2022, Osinbajo told delegates that he was the best man for the job. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria also took a swipe, most likely, at Tinubu when he prickled the conscience of the delegates by telling them that they could not wish the country well and voted for someone they did not believe in.
Though Osinbajo also claimed that Nigeria’s circumstances would not afford the country’s next leader any time to learn on the job, Tinubu, undaunted, brought his ‘A’ game into the fray and Osinbajo was roundly beaten to third place behind former Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, who came second.
After Tinubu’s victory, there was an uneasy calm in the polity.
“Will Osinbajo hide his head in shame,” “Will he beg Tinubu for forgiveness?” were some of the questions some Nigerians were asking about Osinbajo’s debacle.
His political foes and supporters alike wanted answers, and only one man could indulge them: Osinbajo.
To, perhaps, burst the bubble of some other Nigerians who wanted him to remain defiant in the face of Tinubu’s victory, Osinbajo eventually congratulated Tinubu, saying that for many decades, their flagbearer had shown passion, patriotism, courage and determination in the cause of nation-building.
“His sterling contributions to our democracy and its progress stand him out. His wealth of experience will certainly be critical in our party’s continued efforts to attain a more secure and prosperous Nigeria,” he added.
Despite Osinbajo using his best efforts to try to call a lasting truce, including the several meetings he later had with Tinubu, the tension engineered by the strained relationship between him and the president has not been fully doused and many Nigerians today still hold Osinbajo accountable for the choice he made vis-à-vis the office of president.
One of Osinbajo’s greatest critics, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, said about the former vice president, “I have no sympathy for Osinbajo. A treacherous Judas of a pastor!
“Someone nominated you to stand in for him; you went there to stand in for yourself? You? What election have you won on your own in your life without the help of Tinubu?
“I may dislike Tinubu. But I respect loyalty!”
Barely two months after leaving office as vice president on May 29, 2023, Osinbajo landed an international appointment.
He was made a Global Advisor for the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, a body saddled with the development of clean energy. But here is the catch: Osinbajo has inadvertently gone AWOL in the political arena.
Meanwhile, a political analyst, Ifeoma Ogbonna, told The Point, “I don’t know why anyone will even be looking for Osinbajo in the first place. The man is doing what’s best for him…hiding from the spotlight.
“Osinbajo will likely never be the president of Nigeria. He knows this and that must be the reason why he chose to go away from us.
“Tinubu’s influence in the APC is very strong. Osinbajo cannot survive there. Hence, this decision to stay quiet. So, count 2027 out for him. We won’t see him coming out to contest again.
“I agree with those who say that he is a traitor and that he betrayed Tinubu. Osinbajo knew what he was doing and getting into. 2023 was his best chance when he was vice president but he bungled it.”
Another analyst, Ifiok Usanga, said, “Even if Tinubu wins in 2027, it will be very hard for Osinbajo to shine in 2031.
“Let us not forget that he was vice president under Buhari. He worked for Buhari and that government almost wrecked Nigeria. Osinbajo cannot extricate himself from this fact. Nigerians will remember this about him.
“But to answer your other question, there is nothing wrong if he was to be given another chance.
“While he was acting president, he went against the cabal in Buhari’s government. He took some drastic decisions which put heat under the seats of those who thought they held this country under their whims.
“So, truth be told, Osinbajo showed some guts. But he spoiled it when he later told Nigerians that he would continue with Buhari’s legacies.
“In any case, I wish him well wherever he is now.”
