By AKINOLA BRIGHT
One of the things that desroi June 12 was MKO’s Choice of VP. Adedibu warned him not to pick someone who contested keenly against him because in Adedibu’s word “Anyone who runs keenly against you actually wants your position not your deputy”. However, Abiola feared the Governors and bowed to their wish of Kingibe, a man who almost defeated him at the Jos Convention of the SDP Presidential Primaries. When the struggle for June 12 got hot, I remembered reading TEMPO Magazine in front of BrodaChemist Owode Oyo, where I saw Kingibe being sworn in as the minister for External Affairs, the ticket of Abiola was torn into two unequal parts, months after he was disowned by the SDP Chairman who opted for ING. Abiola became a Political Orphan.
But looking at Atiku, he dodged this bullet by picking Okowa as against Wike recommended by PDP Governors, indeed, that was smart but unfortunately, Okowa’s treacherous act against Wike may work against the ticket badly. Had Okowa shown interest in Atiku from the beginning, he would not have been seen today as a traitor. Okowa was part of the Governors who encouraged Wike to run, and he is from same zone with Wike. Too bad.
Tinubu, on the other hand, beat all his challengers silly. He defeated them in a manner clearly different from SDP Jos convention in 1993. Nobody was close. The gap represents the actual difference between the investment Tinubu made in the politics of Nigeria for over 30 years compared to others who came “yesterday”. Although both Tinubu and Atiku never held public office since 2007, however, Atiku has been contesting since 2007, the last time Tinubu contested was 2003, yet, JAGABAN distanced himself electorally from his challengers who had mocked him and boasted to humiliate the greatest investor in the APC Political family. Tinubu is the name every aspirant who just cut their teeth politically mention whenever their desire is to make news headlines.
Tinubu didn’t choose the way Atiku chose. Tinubu’s sense of judgement is sounder and sharper and because he was 100% with MKO Abiola unlike Atiku who joined later after losing to Abiola and later withdrew further after his failed attempt to become Abiola’s running mate. Tinubu chose Shettima.
Shettima never contested with Tinubu. It was Shettima who started Tinubu’s campaign in Abuja at Yar’adua Centre. It was Shettima who was with Tinubu in every trip. It was Shettima who championed power shift to the South. It was Shettima who reminded APC Stakeholders about the giant strides of Asiwaju that gave the party victory in 2015. It was Shettima who stabilised Borno State without causing chaos with his successor. This points to one thing…..SHETTIMA is neither Kingibe nor Okowa.
June 12 may be another history struggling to repeat itself in 2023, however, Tinubu will ensure that only the positive of that history is retained in 2023 and errors that brought the negative will be avoided.
Nigeria will conquer the menace of religion, the godfatherism nature of religious leaders and associations.