2023: Emilokan and the Saboteurs
By: Sani Danaudi Mohammed
AREWA AGENDA – The founder of journalism in Nigeria, Reverend Henry Townsend introduced the profession by publishing the first tabloid ‘Iwe Irohin Fun Awon Ara Egba’ 1859 in Abeokuta has probably had no inkling how far his idea would stretch through the decades. However,164 years down the line, the paper that was established to give Egbas a voice has completely changed the famous ancient City of Abeokuta to a temple for speaking the truth to power and those Sabotaging the Presidential ambition of the Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress and Former Governor of Lagos State Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu.
The famous “Emilokan” It is my turn was declared in June 2022 when he met with the party National delegates in the city of Abeokuta a few weeks before the party’s National convention. It was a dominant discourse on Social Media that many of the APC supporters were in a war of words amidst rumours of endorsement of the President of the 9th Senate Ahmad Muhammad Lawan. The narratives and assertions that he made Muhammadu Buhari President in 2015 greeted Many Nigerians with mixed reactions. Political affairs and public affairs commentators who shared their views mostly agreed that his statements played a significant role in ensuring that the ruling APC allowed free, fair and credible Presidential primaries where he eventually emerged as the party’s flag bearer.
Six months after, Another video surfaced again in Abeokuta where he said, the recent Naira redesigned and the fuel queues that continue unabated are targeted at him. Although his words are said to have been reported out of context by his allies, the expressions are yet to exonerate him from making the President a subject of discussion and the target of his grievances.The transliteration of his Abeokuta recent statements reads as follows; Whether they like it or not, we shall wrestle power from them, Even if they say there is no fuel, we shall trek and use our PVC. Whether, we like or not. there is something special about Abeokuta where this declaration is made.
Those who shared the perceptions that the Abeokuta summon was a message to those in power and not the opposition were vindicated by the Immediate Past Commissioner of Education, Bauchi State Dr Aliyu U Tilde now a Frontline advocate for Tinubu’s Presidency. His Collum title “Fuel and Naira Scarcity, a stitch in time, Mr President” draws the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari on the need to fasten his belt and campaign for the victory of his party in 2023 citing examples of how Obasanjo and other Governors fought hard to ensure their party’s won in 2007. Tilde’s submissions may be giving different insinuations and interpretations but he Spoke in the best way that Tinubu deserves more than support from the President as his successor.
Did Tinubu made Buhari President?
As a Muslim, It is only the Almighty Allah that gives power to whoever he wishes at his discretion because all powers are limited and only his powers are endless. Remember, in the process of conquering one’s dream, Key actors come into play directly or indirectly to facilitate making one’s dream a reality. This is where Tinubu came into play to complement previous attempts of Buhari to emerge President in 2015. Since President Muhammadu Buhari’s surgeon into politics in 2003, the North has always been a solid ground for him by maintaining an estimated 12m Votes in his previous three contests.
Tinubu tagged a political kingmaker cannot be contested in an argument with anyone having made Professor Yemi Osinbanjo a Vice President, Raji Fashola, Ambode and Samwolu Governors of Lagos State, He controls the Governors of the South West States, many Ministers and Members of the National Assembly including the Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Bajabiamila and James Falake the Secretary of Tinubu/Shettima PCC among others are few of the many beneficiaries of his political kingship.
President Muhammadu Buhari has maintained 12M Votes in the core North where he is been tagged as “Mai Gaskiya” but failed to clinch a seat after three attempts in 2003,2007 and 2011. The structures Tinubu built in the South gave the All Progressive Congress an easy ride and path to Presidency in 2025. This may be the reason why he angrily made the popular Pronouncement of “EMILOKAN”. Until he speaks further, Nigerians are still throwing stones in the bush on who exactly is Tinubu referring to as a Saboteur of his Presidency. Nigerians will be kingly watching from a distance as the journey is soaring higher with less than a month to the Presidential elections.
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In the 2007 General Elections, Tinubu succeeded in convincing the erstwhile Vice President Atiku Abubakar to become the flag bearer of his party, the Action Congress. He became involved in negotiations to bring together the fragmented opposition parties into a “mega-party” capable of challenging the then-ruling PDP. He spearheaded the creation of a “mega opposition” party with the merger of Nigeria’s three biggest opposition parties the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and the new PDP (nPDP), a faction of the then ruling People’s Democratic Party into the All Progressives Congress (APC).
However, The categories of saboteurs cannot easily be exhausted as they range from economic, political, and social to almost every sphere of human activity. The interest at the moment is political saboteurs aim at ensuring that the ruling All Progressive Congress lose completely the sympathy of the Nigerians which may have a consequential effect on the outcome of the general elections. The redesigning of the Naira by Mr Godwin Emefele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the long queues been experience in our filling Stations calls for great concern not only to Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu but to the downtrodden as well.
As the Kingmaker that he now is, this has served him well. The public does not think too deeply about the many unpalatable issues that have dogged his life mainly because as Kingmaker he is in a relatively safe enough position to operate without too much-unwanted scrutiny. But when he ventures from the relative safety of his present Kingmaker role to try to become King, Asiwaju Tinubu should expect not to be spared the harsh scrutiny that such a quest entails. And neither the convenience of partisan sentiments nor the best airbrushing efforts by his army of image launderers can save him in this respect.
The categories of saboteurs cannot easily be exhausted as they range from economic, political, and social to almost every sphere of human activity. The interest at the moment is political saboteurs aim at ensuring that the ruling All Progressive Congress lose completely the sympathy of the Nigerians which may have a consequential effect on the outcome of the general elections. The redesigning of the Naira by Mr Godwin Emefele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the long queues been experience in our filling Stations calls for great concern not only to Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu but to the downtrodden as well.
I am not here to substantiate whether or not Tinubu’s saboteurs are internal or external but it is very clear that a ruling party that want continue in power must come up boldly to give Nigerians confidence that its Presidential Candidate has all it takes to sustain the tempo of President Muhammadu Buhari. We witnessed how Former President Obasanjo fought for the late Umaru Musa Yar’adua in 2007 even though there were insinuations of the rigging which the later President confirmed. This may be likely the reason why President Buhari is away from most Presidential campaigns and rallies to give other Political Parties confidence in his readiness to give Nigerians and live behind lifetime legacies of a free, fair and credible process.
The popular Igbo proverb Said, that when a masquerade dances on the road, someone in the bush is beating the drums for it, and when a child is asked by his father to go and steal, he pushes the doors down instead. Be as it may be, the Saboteurs of Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu Presidency are right beside him. The reason is that in 2019, ending fuel queues was one of the success stories of the APC Government and it should not be different this time especially when the President is the Minister of Petroleum and former Governor of Bayelsa State Sylva, another strong member of APC is the Minister of State for Petroleum. The Abeokuta summon of alleged sabotage by the Presidential Candidate of the ruling All Progressive Congress calls for great concerns and actions to end the hardships currently experienced by Nigerians.
Therefore, the insinuations that he made Buhari President cannot be overemphasized considering the roles played in the merger and conversing support for the success of APC in 2015 and 2019 respectively of which the President is expected to rreplicateTinubu,
As the Kingmaker that he now is, this has served him well. The public does not think too deeply about the many unpalatable issues that have dogged his life mainly because as Kingmaker he is in a relatively safe enough position to operate without too much-unwanted scrutiny. But when he ventures from the relative safety of his present Kingmaker role to try to become King, He should expect not to be spared the harsh scrutiny that such a quest entails. And neither the convenience of partisan sentiments nor the best airbrushing efforts by his army of image launderers can save him in this respect. Long as the North want to build a long-term political relationship and enjoy a fruitful trust, then the North must not sabotage his Presidency internally or externally.
Get your PVC and votes on February 25th.
Danaudi, National President of Arewa Youths Advocate for Peace and Unity Initiative Writes from Bauchi via [email protected].
