Unknown to many, the foundation for the All Progressives Congress, APC’s, victory for the 2023 general elections did not start with the party’s Primaries in May. Rather, the winning strategy started long before the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari on the victory podium on May 29, 2015.
The alliance between the duo of Buhari and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before 2015 became the straw that that ended the 16-year reign of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, which had hitherto vowed to rule Nigeria for 60 years unhindered. But that dream ended in just 16 years with the alliance between these two great Nigerians. It was a strategic alliance that began with big vision and aspirations.
This is the main reason I always doff my hat for the charismatic personality, a political colossus, a visionary leader of our time, master strategist and a political philosopher called Asiwaju Tinubu who saw tomorrow ahead of all and even the opposition party. .
This is why I often describe him as the Abraham Lincoln, Lee Kuan Yeu, Thomas Nyerere and Dr Nelson Mandela of Nigeria. All these great personalities roll into one person, this phenomenal enigma called Tinubu.
These great leaders came to their countries at different times and made landmark changes in the socio-political and economic developments of their societies and today, their contributions are still standing.
A leader is a person whose vision is to impact and improve the society better that he met it before becoming a politician. This is why Tinubu stands head and shoulders above other presidential contestants.
In 1999, after his political tutelage under the late Shehu Musa Yar ‘Adua, he contested the gubernatorial election of Lagos State and also won . He began the mega transformation of a state once noted as the dirtiest in the world to its present status. He left office since 2007 after his two terms of 8 years but continues to remain relevant among his peers who were governors at the same time.
In 2011, the idea of political alliance was muted between the CPC and ACN in order to checkmate the plan of PDP to foist a one-party system into the country but it couldn’t materialize. Like we all know, politics is a serious business so in every business, strategic planning is required. While Buhari commanded a cult-like followers from the North, Tinubu has built a strong political base in the South West, controlling about six states including Edo.
Tinubu already had a lot of things to bring to the table while Buhari had over 12 million voters to bring on board. Although his three previous attempts failed which was basically for inability to build a political party with national outlook and today that traumatic experience of Buhari became the force that catapulted the APC into Aso Rock Villa.
That strategic political alliance between Tinubu and Buhari in 2014 was the catalyst that destroyed the dream for one-party system and political dominance of the space for sixty years crashed like the pack of cards before their very eyes.
While PDP ruled the country for 16 years and destroyed all the public corporations under the guise of privatization scheme without adding new infrastructure into the country despite the fact that oil was hovering between $100 to $130 for five years, APC came with Tripod mechanism to develop the country. In the history of Nigeria, Buhari administration has achieved a milestone on infrastructure which no other administration has ever achieved. Not even the PDP’s 16 years often referred to as the years of the locust in Nigeria.
In politics, it’s rub my back and I rub your back . Apart from the huge political influence of Asiwaju across the country, he is also the most prepared for the job. In addition, his political partner, Buhari will pay him back this time around. So, those who think they can become president of the country by bullying other people or region or demystifying other candidates or use Facebook or WhatsApp to run down others should better sit down and learn politics from the scratch because presidency is not a hundred metres race.
.Otunba Sola Olatunji, Chairman of Ikale Heritage Development Association, write from Lagos.
