The Day Tinubu Goofed

By Sam Onimisi
It is no doubt a painful exercise to have to oppose someone who is perceived as an icon and who in the past, has demonstrated some attributes of a great leader. If anything, it is a proof of the truism that no man is infallible and so, when they fall, it should be duly reported and the individual has to be put in his proper place. Former Lagos State Governor and national leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu missed the mark last week when he accused President Goodluck Jonathan of dividing the country along ethnic and religious lines without producing a shred of evidence. As the foremost opposition leader in the country today, his views on all issues especially, on emotive subjects, such as religion carries a lot of weight. But this time and on this occasion, Asiwaju Tinubu goofed badly.
First, his insistence on a genuinely organized national conference, in the face of serious threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty is correct. If he attacks Mr. President on this issue for rejecting the call for a national conference, that is as it should be; for only the wilfully blind would kick against the need for a national dialogue at this point in time or at any other point for that matter. I join Asiwaju Tinubu and other well-meaning Nigerians in calling on Mr. President to see the need for and embrace the call for a national conference to decide on centrifugal forces militating against the oneness of Nigeria. This is because the existing institutions of state has proved incapable of doing so on the basis of moral illegitimacy. This is a matter for another day. Now back to Tinubu’s attack. “Mr. President should stop dividing the country on the basis of religion and ethnicity. Don’t divide Nigeria between Christians and Muslims. We need religious tolerance and inter-faith harmony in this country.… We want unity in diversity for economic prosperity and not divide-and-rule for political adversity,” he said.
Asiwaju Tinubu said these on an occasion when his friends and associates were gathered at Ilesha, Osun State to celebrate a new Chieftaincy title, the Agba-Akin Adinni of Ijesha. His dress for the occasion was that of an Islamic Mujahid, not different from what the Boko Haram sponsors puts on daily. He failed to adduce reason or evidence of the President’s divisive religious antics which could be interpreted to mean a divide-and-rule move. For a man whose words are wont to be taken seriously, it was a gaffe too loose to be responsible. Tinubu may have some mementos to show for his neutral stance on ethnic sentiment, given the fact that he appointed or allowed to be appointed some Igbo residents in Lagos as commissioners in charge of some innocuous portfolios. However, the same thing cannot be said of his religious tolerance-the very high ground on which he attacked Jonathan.
Truly as he admitted: “… born a Muslim as a politician I secure votes from Christians, Muslims and traditionalists”; it can be said that he woo non-Muslims only for electoral purposes, and here are the proofs. Since he became governor in 1999, Tinubu appointed Muslims in larger number into his cabinet and gave them juicy port-folios. When it was time to leave in 2007, he did all he could to ensure that another Muslim succeeded him. If Fashola turned out to be an excellent choice, it is not because he is a Muslim by faith but because he is a fine mind. Governor Rauf Aregbesola was the commissioner for works under governor Tinubu whose support made the former governor of Osun State. Tinubu has literally confined Lagos Christians to the deputy governors position – something of a second fiddle. He is on record to have caused his deputy to be removed twice during his tenure (remember Femi Pedro?) if he perceived they could pose a threat to his electoral maneuvers.
As the kingmaker in 2007, he ensured that a woman was picked by Fashola as running mate who, was also dropped in 2011 for another woman – to avoid a situation when a Christian woman would be strong enough to challenge or bid for the office of the governor. If Tinubu ought to be commended for reserving the deputy governor’s office for gender equity, it is not a proof that he didn’t do so for religious reasons. Yes, the Asiwaju of Lagos and Jagaba of Borgu is married to a Christian woman and often attend church ceremonies along with her. But those who knows him enough vowed that it is all a cosmetics and not a proof of religious tolerance. “He wanted a fine lady at all cost and found one in Oluremi who gave one strong condition. That she be left alone with her Christian faith, to which Bola concurred.” In other words, if and whenever he needs support, he is ready to drop his religious fundamentalism and pick it up again after he has had his way! Talk of a clever politician!!
As someone eying national political leadership, one would have thought that his party would be sensitive enough to ensure religious equity in his party staff structure. Does he not stand accused of religious sentiment if under his watch, the ACN has a Muslim National Chairman, national secretary, national publicity secretary etc? Yet, he is the National Leader of the party! Moreover, of the four states the ACN won in the last general election, three has Muslim governors as against one Christian (who, incidentally is running his 2007 stolen mandate). Perhaps if the Ekiti State governor had run under another party, Tinubu would not have been motivated to support his legal battles by which he reclaimed his mandate. If it has been proven that Tinubu’s religious bigotry is worse than his victim, his political or undemocratic records is not better either. What are the proofs?
The deluge of protests by ACN candidates or aspirants prior to the last general elections is an evidence of Asiwaju’s imposition of his choice boys as against the duly elected choice of the people. Given the performance of opposition parties in the gubernatorial election in Lagos State, the subsequent local government election won 100% by ACN is another proof that Tinubu and his party are not any more democratic than the PDP he was denigrating. The truth is, many probably loathe the PDP than Tinubu but as a participant and watcher of political practice in Nigeria, Tinubu neither represents an ideal opposition leader nor is his party any different from the ruling party at the centre.
Leadership demands more than guts and refined leadership ought to be transparent and exemplary. If as it has been alleged, that Asiwaju Tinubu is neither cleaner nor as liberal as he claims, it is time Asiwaju learn to be a true front line leader in political ethics and religious fidelity. The sum total is that Tinubu is not as excellent as he pretends to be. Being a product of political impurity and the whimsical process which gave birth to civil rule in 1999, Tinubu could not have beaten other candidates to emerge the governor of an urbane and cosmopolitan state like Lagos. The president may be guilty of sundry other accusations or even dereliction of responsibility, but to accuse him of trying to divide Nigerians on religious basis, especially by a person as vulnerable as Tinubu, is to stand truth on its head. An ostrich may bury its head on the sand, but its entire body is right outside and naked. The Agba-Akin Adinni is translated to mean Senior Commander of the faithful in Yoruba Islamic tradition. Step forward Asiwaju in front of the mirror, and let Bola Tinubu sees who is dividing Nigerians on religious lines!