By- Edmund Otudeko
Any one attempting to write Tom’s surname on a smartphone or tablet
will find that the in-built auto-correct feature will attempt to write
the surname as ‘Bikini’-that flimsy, not-meant-for-high-occasion
clothing worn by fun seekers on beaches.
While this gives good cause to LaughOutLoud, it isn’t really Tom’s fault
but it is very telling in an ironic way. Tom has come to symbolize
that typical ‘not-to-be-taken-serious’ Nigerian politician whose value
at any gathering is, at best, comic, and at worst, disruptive. This is
why, when Tom recently felt compelled to write an article justifying why
he decided to renounce his membership of the only credible opposition
party in Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress (APC), many people were
amused. This is because he didn’t have to offer any justification. No
one was expecting any justification from him. After all, what is it to
Nigerians that this Tom was decamping…once again…as usual and…as
expected?
After reflecting on Tom’s flip flopping on the
political stage over the years, his ignominious role in the dark days of
Nigeria’s political history and his childish rant in the letter
announcing his departure from the APC, one could not but understand how,
in the minds of discerning citizens and keen political watchers, the
reputation of Tom as one not to be entrusted with the important and
consequential was fully earned.
Given his antecedents as the
‘sell out’ Chairman of the National Republican Convention, Tom is
rightly regarded in political circles as the fun seeking beach goer in a
bikini. While I won’t advise any one to conjure up the picture of Tom
in a bikini in one’s mind, the metaphor explains why Tom will never be
trusted with any office of consequence. No one invites the bikini
wearer to the high table.
Tom continues to complain to any one
who would listen that he was barred by certain forces from emerging as
the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress. The truth is
that Tom keeps missing the point and breaking one of the fundamental
rules of life inscribed in the Temple of Apollo in Delphi: Man, know
thyself. Tom should look in the mirror and limit his ambitions and his
opinion of himself. Tom was not barred by ‘certain forces’. Tom was
barred by the will of the members of the party. And the members were
right. No Nigerian would have taken the party seriously with Tom as its
Chairman.
Only very exceptional men can manage the inherent
weakness of man in failing to know himself. Tom does not appear to be
one of such exceptional men. Tom needs to begin to see himself as he is
seen and as he is:
• Tom cannot, even under the most
twisted definition of the term, be counted as a true Nigerian
Progressive. He is one of those of whom Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu
spoke of in the Punch Newspapers of June 12, 2013: “Many who connived
with the clique in those debasing and disenfranchising years are … today
even masquerading as champions of democracy … Such people include those
… who now today sit atop parties’ Boards of Trustees … Some reign at
the pinnacle of the legislative arm of government in Abuja. There are
numerous others in the arms of government and even among the
progressives, who ought really to search their conscience, if the
survival, well-being and progress of Nigeria is truly in their agenda.”
• Tom cannot live down his role in the scuttling of the aspirations
of Nigerians in 1993. For, if one is revolted by the duplicitous
politicians who, while heading political parties connived with the
military to annul and waste the democratic gains of the June 12, 1993
Presidential Elections, one of one’s prime objects of anger should be
Tom.
• If one is convinced-as are all independent observers
and students of history-that most of our nation’s woes are the result of
years of military misadventure in governance aided by self-serving and
sycophantic civilian politicians, Tom should deservedly be one’s
punching bag.
• Tom is one of the Nigerians who have helped
the PDP design, oil and perfect its anti-democratic electoral fraud
machine. One needs look no further than to Chief Tom Ikimi, the owner
of the ‘Obasan-joooh….Obasan-jooh’ voice that, in 2003, manufactured the
contraption that foisted even more years of PDP misrule on Nigeria.
(In furtherance of that electoral fraud machine, the PDP stole the
recent election in Ekiti and, even before formally declaring for the
PDP, Tom is already helping that party spread the official lie by
blaming APC’s loss in that state on the perception of APC’s leaders by
the people of Ekiti.)
• Tom is one of the lead facilitators
of that dark episode in Nigeria’s history when, 19 years ago, the
respected playwright and activist, Mr. Ken Saro Wiwa and others were
gruesomely murdered by the ruthless regime of General Sani Abacha which
Tom enthusiastically, obediently and dutifully served as an adviser and
foreign minister and who proudly and unapologetically defended gruesome
murders and miscarriage of justice before the whole world.
•
Tom is undoubtedly that imposing man who possesses fairly impressive
oratory prowess. But it is largely for amusement as of those fun
seekers in bikinis. However, people who know what is at stake should
not be amused by it. We must begin to reject the culture and leaders
that promote the use of empty words and phrases to disguise the issues
or to disguise their own lack of understanding of the issues and lack of
good will and intentions.
Tom, in his defection rant, claimed
to have played a prominent role in the founding of the Action Congress
of Nigeria and the All Progressives Congress and felt that entitled him
to the Chairmanship of the APC. In light of the above, he should know
that if he had been promoted ‘in his bikini’ to such a high office in
the APC, which is Nigeria’s surest bet out of the doldrums, all
progressives would have been part of those George Santayana referred to
as “Those who do not remember history” and are, ipso facto, “condemned
to repeat its mistakes.” If the military and the PDP would gladly treat
Chief Tom Ikimi as a leader, the APC rightly cured itself of such
malady. The APC must not been seen as suffering from collective
amnesia.
The only problem with Tom’s rant and diatribe is his
attempt to cast aspersions on otherwise principled politicians dedicated
to the struggle to liberate Nigeria from the shackles of corrupt and
inept leadership foisted on the nation by Tom’s natural family, the
Peoples Democratic Party (“PDP”). In the same old, intellectually lazy
fashion we have become accustomed to from PDP sympathizers and enemies
of progressive politics, Tim joined the ranks of desperate detractors of
the Asiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in attempting to cast
aspersions on his person and integrity.
It is a historical
fact that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is one of the visionary behind, and
one of the principal architects involved in, the formation of the All
Progressives Congress. It was the Asiwaju’s personal leadership that
led the now-defunct Action Congress of Nigeria to unanimously support
the vision to cast lot with the APC and it was his (and few others’)
tireless and selfless investment of time and resources that built the
APC into the formidable alternative party that it now is.
Long
before the formation of the APC, the Asiwaju has since cemented his
reputation as the leader of a new brand of politics and activism in
Nigeria. The politics that vigorously promote the welfare of the
electorate and activism that courageously and doggedly pursues the
enthronement of the rule of law and the pursuit of business as unusual
for the sake of the greater good.
In his first Inaugural
Address as the Governor of Lagos State, he famously said, “As
flag-bearers, we are not unmindful of the heavy burden and
responsibility that we carry. We are not unmindful of the huge
expectations of our people, young and old, man and woman, able and
disabled. Nor are we unmindful of the misery and poverty that the
generality of our people have had to endure almost forty years after
Independence. … Our goal, as the Prophet of old commands, is to lighten
the burden of our people, alleviating poverty by providing jobs for our
youths, houses, secure homes, water, good roads and creating efficient
mass transportation system, industrial development and providing life
more abundant for our people.”
And long before his election
into executive office, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu played key roles in
Nigerian politics. He was elected to the Senate from Lagos West
constituency with the highest votes in the country in the short-lived
Third Republic. In the Senate he was the Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Banking, Finance, Currency and Appropriations. In that
capacity, he initiated a far-reaching probe of the finances of the
National Assembly that set him at loggerheads with the legislative
bureaucracy and the military regime at the helm of affairs at the time.
Asiwaju was also at the forefront of Chief MKO Abiola’s campaign for
presidency in 1993. When the June 12, 1993 election, described as the
freest and fairest in the country’s history was annulled, he emerged as
one of the fiercest opponents of the annulment. As the arrowhead of the
struggle to actualize Abiola’s mandate, the military junta reached out
to him severally to jump ship and come over to their side. He was
offered juicy appointments and contracts to no avail. He refused to
betray his principled commitment to the sanctity of a free and fair
election. Exasperated by Tinubu’s intransigence, the military viciously
went after him. He was detained. His house was fire-bombed. He
eventually had to flee the country for his dear life. His wife, now
Senator Oluremi Tinubu and her children had to be smuggled out into
exile. Tinubu, while in exile remained steadfast in his commitment to
the pro-democracy struggle, making great personal and financial
sacrifices towards this effort. A pseudo democrat would rather enjoy the
transient benefits of economic and political power rather than risk his
life fighting for truth and justice but not Tinubu who remained
steadfast.
It is in the light of the Asiwaju’s indisputable
record of service and sterling leadership that the attempts by some
elements in and outside the APC to reduce the Asiwaju’s influence in the
party raise red flags for many Nigerians who have anchored their hope
of Nigerian redemption on the APC.
Do people like Tom think
that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s claim to leadership is simply that he
was once elected to the Senate of the Federal Republic or that he
performed as one of the most conscientious Governors of Lagos State in
recent years? No! It is because of his profile in courage! It is
because of his sacrifice for the greater good in good times and bad
times. Who was the rallying point and strategic voice for all the
opposition figures in the dark days following the annulment of the June
12, 1993 Presidential elections? Who was in the forefront of the global
assault on the regime of General Sani Abacha? Who was the governor
that redefined governance after years of mismanagement by the military?
Who was the governor with the courage and vision to fight all the way to
the Supreme Court to establish the fiscal rights of States in the
Federation? Who is the politician with acumen and endurance to organize
the political opposition that our
democracy surely needs to survive? It is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Thus, to reduce the influence of such a leader or to discount the value
of his guidance is the recipe for doom. The people perish when they
lack vision, so the holy writ says. In the same way, the APC will lose
its way if it forsakes the counsel, leadership and vision of its
founders and, in particular, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The Asiwaju has
always sided with the aspirations of the people of Nigeria and his
vision is, first, of leadership that is not about the spoils of office
or ethnic loyalties but about ideas. The prime idea being that
democratic governance must be transparently fair and must deliver
tangible benefits to the people.
Also, the Asiwaju’s vision is
of the promotion of leaders whose democratic credentials are
unimpeachable, he himself having sacrificed greatly both during the
struggle for the enthronement of democracy and now during this struggle
for the enthronement of good governance. In the dark days of the June
12 struggle, was it not the Asiwaju who sacrificed greatly to mobilise
and support the forces of democratic governance? Was it not the Asiwaju
who successfully led the defence of the Constitution and the rights of
states against an imperial presidency? Was he not the one who led
democratic forces to ward off an onslaught of the might of the humongous
and corruptly oiled political machinery of the PDP in the desperate
effort to ‘capture’ the states of the South West? Was it not during his
leadership that the winning electoral strategies that restored
progressivism to most parts of the South West were successfully
formulated and implemented?
Furthermore, the Asiwaju’s vision
for the APC is of the elevation to leadership of persons who are not men
of mere words but men who have toiled in office for the sake of the
people and who have performed so exceptionally well that they can raise
their heads up high and walk confidently among the people of this
country. The Asiwaju himself was a popular Governor of the cosmopolitan
state of Lagos for 8 years. It was the Asiwaju’s administration in
Lagos that in 2001 became, perhaps, the first state administration to
record 90% budget performance. In fact, for his excellent performance
as the Executive Governor of Lagos State of Nigeria (1999 – 2007),
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu received several awards. These include Best
Governor in Nigeria for Y2000 by the Nigerian-Belgian Chamber of
Commerce; Y2002 Best Practices Prize in Improving the Living
Environment, awarded by the Federal Ministry of Works and the UN Habitat
Group; and the Y2000 Best
Computerized Government in Nigeria Award by the Computer Association of Nigeria.
In the Asiwaju’s vision, the APC should be a party of resolute leaders
who are in the forefront of the fight for justice, for good governance,
for the integrity of the ballot box, for real development and for change
in a corrupt and dysfunctional polity. It should be a party of leaders
who are echoing the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln who himself paid
the supreme sacrifice in his leadership of his people by dedicating
themselves to the unfinished work which heroes in the past have thus far
so nobly advanced. The APC of the Asiwaju’s vision should be a party
of leaders dedicated to the great task remaining before us: that this
nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that the
government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish.
The APC will also do well to take advantage of the
Asiwaju’s wide, varied and rich experience of Nigeria. He has been
priviledged to know Nigeria well from the perspective of an ordinary
citizen living in a country struggling with developmental issues and
every day infrastructural problems; from the perspective of a Nigerian
living in the diaspora; from the perspective of a citizen making his
first foray into the murky waters of politics; from the perspective of
an activist-politician co-leading the often very dangerous struggle
against military dictatorship; from the perspective of a public servant
twice elected to serve as the governor of the largest, richest and most
cosmopolitan state in Nigeria; and from the perspective of a political
leader now seeking to put democracy on firmer footing by organizing a
viable, coherent, and alternative political leadership for Nigeria
For the umpteenth time, people like Tom must surely be reminded that it
is intellectually lazy to capitalize on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s
relationship with the Managing Director of Oando Plc to create
ridiculous conspiracy theories. Surely, the deal between Oando Plc and
Conoco Phillips is one scrutinized by regulators in Nigeria, the United
States and South Africa. To suggest that it was a front for some shady
deal is lazy and also mischievous, uninformed and rash.
Tom
referred to the number of defectors from the APC to justify his own
defection. But he should be reminded that the struggle of the
opposition is not one that can be endured by all. It is a natural
phenomenon for the chaff to be separated from the grain. The wheel of
the formidable machine of progressivism will continue to roll
undeterred. When the battle is finally ended and the roll is called, we
know those whose names will be missing.
Even the most ardent
sympathizer and fan of the PDP or President Goodluck Jonathan now agrees
that Nigeria is in desperate need of a breath of fresh air, longing for
an influx of air that is not stale or smelly, a portion of air that is
not "contaminated" with unpleasant people or situations and demanding a
new, fresh, and imaginative approach to the Nigerian Project. Gladly,
the All Progressives Congress (APC) has, thanks to the vision of courage
of selfless and indefatigable progressives, offered longsuffering
Nigerians an alternative to the clueless and debilitating failed
leadership offered the nation by the PDP over the last 15 years.
And
as the year of battle draws close, there may be more defections but
there also will be more people enlisting for the struggle. But even as
the APC is seeking the help of all and sundry to defeat the cancerous
monster that is the PDP, only men of sterling characters and reputation
may apply. Beach goers and large men in Bikinis may keep amusing
themselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment