Tinubu and the avoidable catastrophes

In principle, as a democrat, I support protests designed to restructure Nigeria because, truly, many things are not okay in our country. We love the government, but there are too many avoidable misdemeanours in our country. The truth must be told.

However, as an emerging politician, I chose to stand out for my party in government because of the organisers of the ongoing protest. However, the ongoing mass action could have been avoided if the president and his team were more rationally strategic.

This protest is a case of alignment of forces who are ready to demarket the Tinubu led administration ahead of the 2027 political contest.

The opposition figures and notable businessmen, in collaboration with some aggrieved chieftains of my party have reactivated the strategies used by the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to demarket the PDP, and the strategies seem to be working because President Bola Tinubu allowed it.

The manner at which the immediate past Governor of Kaduna State and ex-FCT Minister, Nasir Elrufai, was dropped after his nomination as Minister of Power will haunt our government in the North. Elrufai, take it or leave it, was one of the top prominent figures that shattered the plans of Buhari led cabal to retain power in the North in favour of Tinubu. He was everywhere, galvanizing the special interest groups and opinion shapers in the North against retaining power in the region. He de-marketed Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the PDP in the north, and ensured the civil society movements in the North never bought into the agenda to retain presidency in the North. The influence of an Elrufai from the North is better, for instance, than the presence of 10 Badarus in the cabinet of Tinubu.

Elrufai, though has his flaws like everyone of us, but he is not a rebellious character as people wanted us to believe. In my rating, Elrufai is a man who love justice, equity, and fairness. He stood against the third term ambition of his boss, Olusegun Obasanjo, and also ensured the Buhari led cabal did not succeed in their agenda to retain power in the North. How then could such a courageous man be castigated rather than being honoured? How do our politicians reason in Africa? Why would loyalty to our system, institutions and the constitution of Nigeria become someone’s albatross?

In the West, losing Kayode Fayemi, the immediate past Governor of Ekiti-State, out of the central business of government in Abuja, was a mistake that is now haunting the Tinubu administration. Aside from Fayemi stepping down from the presidential race, his intellect and impact in marketing Tinubu for the presidential seat both locally and internationally can not be ignored. Today, Fayemi, a prominent power controlling the civil society in Southwest, is being humiliated and hunted around the country by the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) for being too “ambitious”.

Also, losing Rauf Aregbesola, former governor of Osun State, a very prominent figure with a higher degree of control over the southwest media and civil society groups, is currently hunting our government. Aregbesola was one of the major mobilizers of the media and civic society groups during the reign of the defunct ACN. Babatunde Fashola, a two-term Lagos Governor and two-term Works Minister was also discarded and left to fizzle out. We now have a case of a general at the battle front whose most potent soldiers were left sleeping at home. The Soldiers we have around our General today are more interested in competing with Aliko Dangote and Femi Otedola than using their energy, talents and network to work for the success of our party and the Tinubu led administration.

There’s no protest in Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and Oyo. Scanty protest in Ogun, leaving Lagos alone to be the battle field as usual. The Igbos, as has been said, are out in Lagos protesting, using the civil society movements owned by the Yorubas. I leave the rest to the wise!!

Some of the major structures behind the support of the civil society movements for the defunct ACN/CPC were Nasir Elrufai, Kayode Fayemi, Babatunde Fashola, and Rauf Aregbesola, four hitherto prominent intellectually and dependable loyalists–from the southwest and north–already frozen out of the system by the cabal around Mr. President.

The realism of the need for the government to maintain power and structure of the civil society groups has been exposed during this proclaimed nationwide protest against hunger which is not holding in the East and scanty in the South-south, the two zones where Nyelsom Wike, the FCT Minister, Works Minister, David Umahi, former Abia Governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, Ex-NLC President, Adams Oshiomole and Goodswill Akpabio, the Senate President, and other prominent loyalists hails from. Mr. President, the protest is not holding in the East and South-south because those who control the “streets” are rightly placed in government.

The need for a government having intelligent and capable hands in the saddle is very sacrosanct. Four prominent hitherto political solidiers, loyalists, and politicians with influence have been blacklisted and now, Mr. Tinubu is bearing the brunt.

Today, most people in the government are only loyal to their ambition to rival Bill Gates in terms of accumulation of wealth. Scrutinize the current cabinet members and you will be surprised at the line up.

I also felt that the caliber of people saddled with the responsibility of galvanizing the Youth wing for the country were not selected based on merit. I think those who recommended the leadership of the Youth wing of the Government of Nigeria to Mr. President only considered loyalty to their personal agenda, sacrificing capacity and merit. The leadership of the Youth wing has been uninspiring, lame and dull. Appeasing, appealing, and communication with youth is nonexistent. If only Tinubu’s administration had played politics well, then the administration witnessing a massive protest from the youth, after just one year in office despite the recent pro-youth policies of the Government such as student loan, new minimum wage, start-up grants, etc, would have been avoidable.

But for reasons unknown to rational and logical reasoning, we have left out most of our best hands in the North and West in terms of strategic planning, policy research and implementation, media and public relations, foreign policy, political mobilization etc, thereby allowing political enemies to penetrate our home. I wish Mr. President the wisdom to tackle the current self-inflicted catastrophes.

Maxwell Adeyemi Adeleye, a Strategic Communications Expert, writes from the United Kingdom. He can be reached via [email protected].