Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a man of great and communicable personal conviction. He is a man that celebrates the zest of combat and the joy of right thinking. We should appreciate him for his extraordinary contribution to the growth of democracy in Nigeria. Without him, Nigeria would have been a one party state. His courage in confronting the brutal politics of Obasanjo\u2019s government is the reason we have a robust democratic experience today. Tinubu has become a major stakeholder in the larger Nigerian politics. He owes his success in politics to the grace of God and a roaming, restless intelligence. But I have watched in some quarters as slander and fabrications, like an acid rain of scorn, descend on him. Most of his virulent critics are speaking out in contravention of ethical values. I gasped at their blend of naivete and effrontery.<\/p>\n
\u00a0As I write this article, my wish is that my words would not seem frivolous. I have no desire to attract attention. Rather, I believe that when mis-truths are promoted publically, they must be dealt with publically. Simply put: there is need to frame an appropriate article of indignation. Most of these characters that are bashing Asiwaju don\u2019t know anything about him. A person\u2019s life is like the scripture: figurative: few eyes can see the mysteries of his life. Only the man who makes the voyage can speak truly about it. But like Professor Wole Soyinka said, \u2018why should voices raised in ignorance affect my peace\u2019.\u00a0 Asiwaju is a man of easy confidence. He is not mean spirited. He is moved by the plight of Nigerians. He is not immune to such calls on his feelings. He responds to pity. This man is working hard so that Nigerian can get new leaders who can make our country both dynamic and just; leaders who have a sense of compassion and are dedicated to individual initiatives.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Recently, one Godwin Ameh of the People\u2019s Democratic Party (PDP) described Tinubu as a frustrated politician and a desperate emperor. The party fumed that Asiwaju would be held responsible if any of its leaders, followers or governorship hopefuls was again murdered like the late Funsho Williams. \u201cIndeed, it is the attitude of a drowning man, this time around struggling for political survival. On our part, we shall not underestimate the desperation of Tinubu. We however promise him that no hatchet plot against any of our members shall prosper.\u201d This kind of comments causes the analytical blood to tingle.\u00a0 Is Bola Tinubu a murderous and violent man?\u00a0 Is he standing trial for murder? \u00a0Has he ever been convicted for murder? These are comments that are ignoring the mute reproaches of logic; comments that are dismayingly insentive. Asiwaju has said that All Progressive Congress (APC) is not into the promotion and perpetration of violence but about ideas and peaceful competition in an atmosphere that is free and fair.\u00a0 \u201cOur adversaries must be mindful that nobody has a monopoly of violence. Peaceful and civilized approach to issues triumphs over violence. This government must rescue millions of Nigerians from their poverty rather than intimidate them with police.\u201d This is what he stands for and nothing more. He abhors violence.<\/p>\n
Femi Aribisala said APC adventure marks the end of the road politically for Tinubu. \u201cIt is downhill all the way for him from now on. The very things that made Tinubu successful in the Southwest are bound to shipwreck him in APC. Tinubu call himself the leader of APC and his alliance partners seem readily inclined to humour him with that inconsequential title for the time being. But as the so-called leader of the new coalition he is not going to able to handpick the presidential candidate in the same undemocratic way he does in the South West.\u201d All these evangelistic and dismayingly superficial views are worrisome. To Aribisala, attacking Tinubu has become a cheering -section enthusiasm. A moment thought should have sufficed to inform him that he doesn\u2019t know much about the man he takes pleasure in bashing. We should speak our minds in deference to the sensitivities of others. That which is permitted is not ipso facto commendable nor is that which is practiced, ipso facto desirable. Aribisala takes pleasure in pontificating. I can imagine him shimmering with pleasure while praying for the downfall of another man. But I know that Aribisala is a man. And like all men, he is fallible. When a man doesn\u2019t realize this, he becomes a hypocrite.\u00a0\u00a0 Hypocrisy, La Rochejoucauld said, \u201cis the tribute vice pays to virtue.\u201d Tinubu is not an autocrat. He is not a dictator. He is a man whose strength is derived from his integrity, his nimble mind and unquestionable political agility. He is a man who has understanding of rights exercisable under the constitution. \u00a0Aribisala has been blinded by hatred that he cannot see the enormous contributions Asiwaju has made to the growth of democracy in our country. The special Adviser on media to Tinubu, Sunday Dare, has done enough justice to Aribisala\u2019s pathetic attack on our leader. He also pointed to him some of the remarkable things Asiwaju has done in pursuant of a vibrant democracy. \u201cTinubu is a leader of a political reform movement along with other patriotic Nigerians.\u00a0 When Tinubu held fast against the tyranny of the PDP and its attempt to capture all states by any means necessary that was the work of a man committed to democracy. If he had not stood against the great odds against him and his party, the PDP would likely have turned Nigeria into a one-party state by now. Instead, the APC has come about and now challenges the PDP in an unprecedented manner. Any objective person would conclude that this competition is beneficial for the public and for the growth of Nigerian democracy.\u00a0 It begs the question why Aribisala seems not to see this enormous contribution. He does not see it because those whose favor he seeks do not want him to expose this truth to the wider public.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Dare also said that the \u00a0men Tinubu has helped in their quest for public office such as Fashola, Fayemi, Aregbesola, Oshiohmole, Ajimobi, Amosun, \u00a0are not non performing \u201cyes men\u201d. \u201cThey are all dynamic and outstanding performers in their own right. Each is different than the other and each state government excels in its own unique way.\u00a0 This means that Tinubu is not orchestrating them into some limited uniformity but stands out of the way for them to lead as they believe.\u00a0 No major politician in Nigeria has a track record as good as Tinubu\u2019s when it comes to supporting able people for office then leaving them to perform as they believe. Nowhere in the PDP does this happen. If Aribisala wants to see and criticize something with dynastic pretense, he should do an expose on the PDP. In barking at Tinubu, he is barking at the wrong house.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Toni Kan just published an article entitled \u2018the liability called Tinubu\u2019. In that article he said Tinubu has been riding rough \u2013shod over the west as if it were a personal fiefdom. \u201cOpeyemi Bamidele\u2019s defection and direct challenge to Fayemi should have sent warning signals but Tinubu carried on.\u00a0 How does a man whose wife and son-in-law are federal legislators hope to rally the troops when it matters?. What does this writer want?\u00a0 Does he want Tinubu to rally his troops? Or he is wishing for his down fall? I am amazed at the immaturity of his expression. Bamidele is a man that has a right to live his life the way he wants. Tinubu does not run his life for him. Bamidele has never said he is bitter with Tinubu. On the contrary, his problem is with John Fayemi. To drag Tinubu into this matter smacks of mischief.\u00a0 In a recent interview in the Sun newspaper, Bamidele absolved Tinubu of all blames in the Ekiti saga. I will quote Bamidele at length so that people like Kan will understand; people like him who get thrill from insulting our leader.\u00a0 Hear him:\u00a0 \u201cFrom the moment Governor Fayemi dissolved the ward exco, the party became factionalized in Ekiti. Each time you called a ward meeting, there would now be two in every ward. One meeting with a few people presided over by the ward exco handpicked by Governor Fayemi, and another popular meeting holding somewhere, presided over by those who were elected by card-carrying members of the party. So, when people were saying that ACN was factionalized between Fayemi and Bamidele, no, there was nothing like Bamidele faction. The popular exco elected by the people were sympathetic to my cause. I indentified with them. And that was where you had the conventional people-the traditional ACN members who were in the trenches with this governorship candidate who became governor for three and half years and who eventually felt betrayed by the governor. And at the end of the day, when we left ACN for Labour Party, where did we get all the crowd that went with us? Governor Fayemi himself had prepared the ground. And in fairness with the national leadership of the party, I want to say they tried all they could. Five times they met with us. Of the five times, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Chief Bisi Akande actually flew to Ado-Ekiti in chopper to appeal to everybody. And the conclusion at the meeting was that the governor should reinstate the members of the ward excos he had dissolved, so that we could have a status quo ante of a situation, and then we will go back to talk about what we will do with the primaries.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Kan said that Tinubu is riding rough-shod? Do these comments from Bamidele portray our leader in such a light? Maybe, the writer does not understand the meaning of rough-shod. I am amused at the sputtering outrage of this kind of critics. What is wrong about his wife and son-in-law being members of federal legislators? The pages of history are littered with tales of political families. Tinubu family is a political family. PDP may see him as a dangerous radical but he is a most engaging and un-dogmatic man. His actions will always make the na\u00efve and the gullible uneasy.<\/p>\n
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Ikechukwu orji\u00a0 is a Media Consultant and\u00a0 Journalist.<\/p>\n
He lives in Lagos.<\/p>\n