Tinubu: A Youth Leader and Fixer!

  POLITICAL NOTES

A former Lagos State governor and 2023 presidential hopeful, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has not ceased to entertain the country, as he continues to consult in respect of his presidential bid. He has also consistently suffered bashing, in some instances, deserving. But, above all, he has remained unbending, resolute and consistent in the march towards 2023, despite misgivings from ‘haters’. 

Recently, on Friday, February 25, 2022, to be specific, Tinubu visited the palace of the Ataoja of Osogbo, in Osun State, Jimoh Olanipekun, to inform him of his political ambition and there and then, declared himself as a youth, attracting a chorus response: “youth leader” from those around. Before this, he had also asked some youths during a visit to the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, to pave the way for the older generation to emerge president before clogging the space.

At the weekend, Tinubu, while addressing a council of traditional rulers in Ekiti State, presided over by its chairman, the Onisan of Isan Ekiti, Oba Gabriel Adejumo, said, “We have struggled for democracy and today, we have democracy, but we are  not stable yet. There is insecurity, hopelessness, lack of education, and suffering in the land.”

It was against this ugly situation that the former Lagos governor, said he joined the presidential race to fix things. He did not forget to add, however, that the nation should have moved beyond the state it is now but for leadership, which is what he is asking to be given the opportunity to offer. 

Perhaps, Tinubu, has forgotten too that he has to inherit both the liability and asset of the outgoing government of Muhammadu Buhari, not only for being a member of the ruling party, but importantly, because of the roles he allegedly played in installing a government that has bequeathed “insecurity, hopelessness, lack of education, and suffering” on the people. 

He can’t choose to exhibit “convenient amnesia” by boasting to build on the “legacy” of Buhari in one breath and espousing to fix the ills of the country, which the government can’t fix, in another, forgetting deliberately, that the Buhari administration, a government he helped to install is responsible for the ills he has identified, yet, without alluding to any efforts he made to assist the government in first fixing those ills. Certainly, the days ahead are interesting!