One of the national leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, declared last year that there was room for everyone in the party to aspire for the most coveted seat in the land, the presidency. The statement was taken to mean that unlike the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has a zoning principle, there was none in the APC.
Being a chieftain of the party, the statement had also created panic in the camp of the President especially based on allegations that the South-west, which played a significant role to install the new political order, has been sidelined for no just reason.
Sometime ago, it was also rumoured that Tinubu was in the middle of shopping for a replacement of the leadership of the party in the centre.
This panic, The Next Edition gathered, is said to be responsible for the appointment of Tinubu, the former Governor of Lagos State and the National Leader of APC, to lead the Consultation, Reconciliation and Confidence Building Committee of the ruling party in an effort to appease his loyalists.
According to a two-paragraph statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, the assignment would involve resolving disagreements in the party.
The statement reads: “As part of on-going efforts to improve cohesion within the All Progressives Congress (APC), President Muhammadu Buhari, has designated Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to lead the Consultation, Reconciliation and Confidence building efforts.
“The assignment will involve resolving disagreements among party members, party leadership and political office holders in some states of the federation.”
Is this move a second thought? Or is it a grand design to lure the National leader back into their fold? Tinubu is a progressive and a people-oriented person who is very much aware of the agitations in the country. As his followers would say, he is politically gifted and could also look into the seeds of time and tell which seeds would germinate and which would not. In 2015, he worked to replace a sitting president and termed the defeat of the former President, Goodluck Jonathan, a “common sense revolution.”
To him, it was a patriotic duty to defeat a sitting President. 2015 was the first time in Nigeria’s democratic history that a president of the ruling party lost power to the opposition candidate.
Two years down the road, many Nigerians say that the change that was promised is just a mirage. “What troubles Tinubu the most is the issue of national unity,” a source close to Tinubu revealed to The Next Edition. “Chief Bisi Akande and Bola Ahmed Tinubu are not members of Buhari’s kitchen cabinet. The President surrounds himself with only people from Daura. Unfortunately, these people are not as socially exposed as Akande and Tinubu.
“If he had not sidelined them, there wouldn’t have been the issue of lopsided appointments because they would have been in a better position to advise him. In what was believed to be a panic move, the President has appointed Tinubu to lead APC reconciliation committee. Tinubu has made up his mind already. He will reconcile aggrieved members to work for a sellable candidate, not Buhari. Tinubu will not leave APC. If he leaves, where do you expect him to go?” The source said.
The APC chieftain who pleaded anonymity further stated that “The APC is not as popular as it was a few years ago. Many would put the blame on President Muhammadu Buhari. Tinubu is a master of the game. He is a strategist. He is very much concerned about his legacy and what Nigerians would say about him many years from now. He knows very well that with Buhari as candidate, it would be very difficult for the APC to win in 2019.”
It would be recalled that in 2014, many thought that Tinubu would be Buhari’s running mate. There were campaigns against Muslim/Muslim ticket. Another issue was the perception of Buhari who was always painted as a religious bigot who would Islamize Nigeria if he won the election. Just as this aspect was generating controversies, Tinubu pulled off a master stroke by presenting Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), as Buhari’s running mate. That was the game changer. He disappointed members of the PDP who thought he would run so that they would continue their campaign of calumny.
Political analysts believe that Tinubu’s support is needed again if Buhari is to stand a chance of winning in 2019 and that is why he has been given the task of reconciling aggrieved member of the party.
Should Asiwaju take the ‘bait?’ A former Minister, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, does not think so. He has warned Tinubu to be careful of Buhari over his new appointment to reconcile aggrieved members of the party ahead of 2019 general elections.
Ogunlewe said that it might be one of President Buhari’s plans to use and dump Tinubu again. “The reconciliation they are talking about is too belated. What are they reconciling? Since Buhari came into power in 2015, he has refused to make appointments into the boards of parastatals and agencies.
“Many of those who worked for the success of the party have been abandoned. They don’t know what is going on in the government. They have no say in the affairs of the government.
“The level of neglect of members of the APC is unimaginable. They are not enjoying anything at the local government, state and national levels. They are supposed to be members of boards, but they are not. So, what are their benefits? What have they gained?” he queried.
Another concerned Nigerian, Barrister Lukman Adeniyi who is a political observer and a strong advocate of restructuring said, “They say once beaten twice shy. The Tinubu I know will never allow himself to be fooled twice. He has learnt his lessons the hard way.”
Asked what would happen if he doesn’t succeed in getting another candidate to replace Buhari, he said, “he will repeat what he did in 2011 when he campaigned for Jonathan instead of Ribadu his own party’s presidential candidate.”
Speaking further, he said “Tinubu will bring out a progressive this time around. If he doesn’t succeed in defeating Buhari and the Coalition Movement of Nigeria succeeds in presenting a younger candidate who radiates hope, he will surely support that person.”
In 2011, the presidential candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria ACN, Nuhu Ribadu, was allegedly abandoned by Tinubu for Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP. It was alleged that he dumped Ribadu for Jonathan when he saw that Ribdau was not popular enough to win the election. He was defeated by Jonathan in all ACN controlled states, including Lagos.
Speaking then at Onikan Stadium during an Ndigbo APC governorship rally in 2015, the former Lagos State governor, confirmed that he campaigned for Jonathan in 2011. He said, “In 2011, I helped Jonathan become President because he made us believe he was a breath of fresh air. I didn’t say because he was from Bayelsa that I would not help him. We voted for him because he promised to make our lives better.”
As the drama unfolds in the political scene, one hopes that all efforts are geared towards bringing dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of all Nigerians especially the most vulnerable groups.