One of the positive fallouts of the All Progressives Congress (APC) victory is the blissful return of the broom to our markets. At the height of the revolution, it was difficult to get this basic item in homes where the vacuum cleaner was yet to supplant good old brooms. Apart from the fact that the prices of brooms hit the roof, the innocent commodity became politicised overnight. No thanks to the APC. And in the Taraba State capital, Jalingo, for instance, we had all sorts of comic encounters with the broom.
I remember a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain jumping out of his skin when he saw something ominous lying on the floor of his sitting room. It was a thick broom, freshly wpven with its long horrific spikes, striking out like arrows. We rushed to the hysteric chieftain who was now shouting and pointing to the offensive object on the floor. You would’ve thought he saw a cobra!
Let me make a confession here: There was no sincere PDP person, who wasn’t concerned about that weapon of mass destruction; that anti-ballistic missile with which the APC swept 16 years away. Yes, many PDP men and women can’t forgive the broom. Or forget the man credited with the virulent concept: Former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. And there was nothing more symbolic of the troubles PDP saw coming as the image of a frenzied Tinubu practically riding on that broom, like the mythical Hilda the witch. At the campaigns, Tinubu was the one with the most soundbites. He danced Shoki and Sekem with the broom. He jumped on the rostrums. He sang songs of liberations. He outspent his fellow travellers. He was consumed by the project and he never hid it.
I even started admiring the guy. Here was a man of war, who never stopped fighting from the days of the NADECO – that pestilent force that rooted out the General Sani Abacha junta. He returned home from exile to all sorts of allegations, especially his contentious Chicago degree. He survived. He ran Lagos State for eight years and did a great job. Some would say he actually registered the state as his company. He was the CEO of Lagos State and he had all the Cs of O. But Lagos became better as he routed the area boys and started cleaning up the business nerve centre of Africa. Tinubu’s mum certainly didn’t raise any fool. In time, the godfather dug in and began his ascendancy to regional leadership. Controlling virtually the South West states, all the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN)governors became his “boys.” Nigeria’s own Berlusconi was born! To complete the dominance, Tinubu waded in to control the minds of Nigerians through the media. Today, Berlusconi is arguably the biggest media mogul in the country. It is a weapon, bigger than the broom, he can use on his traducers. Financially, he is arguably one of the richest men on the continent. And politically, he still has the South West in his firm grip. The Vice President, Osibanjo is said to be one of his boys. When the VP of even a banana republic is your boy, then, ladies and gentlemen, you are a behemoth.
And this size is also Tinubu’s undoing. Today, some people are busy accusing him of being overambitious. But here is the thing: When the APC was busy using Tinubu’s billions to fund its campaign, didn’t they know he would make demands on his investments? Didn’t they know that anytime he made such investments, he got a good return? Or did they ever think he was doing it for free? I blame Tinubu too for some of his current travail. Why didn’t he tell the APC from the start why he was sinking in his money in the project? He should have said something like, “gentlemen, I’m a political business man. All these billions I’m doling out is for a reason. Please, when we get to the villa, I want to produce the Senate President, his deputy and the Speaker. I also want to nominate the SGF and almost all the ministers. I want some juicy contracts too just like I did in Lagos and all the other states I paid for.” He should have signed an agreement. Politicians have no honour, even if they are in APC. And no one rewards you for your effort. Rather, they could renege on a gentleman’s agreement. Tinubu should have known this.
But conversely too, what was the APC thinking? You call a man the National Leader of your party and then you deny him the rights and privilege of a leader? You call a man the National Leader and you didn’t think he should be calling the shots? You took all the billions from this dude and then you now say he can’t even crown one of his boys as anything? So, what is the meaning of “National Leader” if Tinubu can’t be in charge?
And the president too. What was Oga Buhari thinking when he was collecting all that money from Tinubu? I have heard all sorts of things. Someone told me Tinubu merely contributed his quota. That others also contributed their share to the victory of the party. I have heard something like, “was it Tinubu’s personal money, after all?” And I asked myself: “So, if you all knew that Tinubu’s money was tainted, why would a clean party or a saintly politician like Buhari mess around with such unholy funds?” At the inauguration, Buhari said Tinubu was the one who singlehandedly, practically, got the party the victory. So, what changed now?
Yet some have opined that Tinubu should have been humble enough; that he should have retreated into the background once the battle was won. Those holding this view said Tinubu underestimated the substance of power – that inexplicable quality that makes powerful people want to be in charge. Tinubu ought to have known that President Buhari wasn’t another Babatunde Fashola or Rauf Aregbesola – all his former staff who became states’ CEOs. And even if Tinubu could have pulled it off, it is certainly not with this president. This is Buhari, folks. A former Head of State; a man of few words; obstinate and opinionated; a recluse; a man with a penchant for high level accountability and transparency. How did Tinubu ever imagine he could have caged such a wild one? Like our people would say: e no look the thing well well.
Emmanuel Bello / The Sun.