By Bala Ibrahim.
Leadership, particularly political party leadership, is an important responsibility that helps to direct the affairs of the party, for improved efficiency, and the ultimate achievement of it’s goal, which is electoral victory. Leaders are therefore expected to provide the clarity of purpose, motivation, and the needed guidance, for the party to arrive at the bus stop of success. Such thrust from leaders helps in serving several functions that are crucial to the success of the party, especially in the countdown to the general elections.
Nigeria is at that crossroad or critical political juncture, in which every decision made matters beyond the ordinary, and fortunately for the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, the captain of the plane, in the person of Senator Abdullahi Adamu, is a veteran in the art of party politics and the intrigues therein. Because politics is the art of governance, as well as the exercise of control within the party and the society at large, through the making and enforcement of collective decisions, one of the most important functions of a leader is to provide the vision, along with the thrust for the actualization of the vision. Sen. Abdullahi Adamu is not only providing the vision, but also the push or thrust, out of the trust that for the presidential race, it is the turn of Tinubu to turn the tide.
There is an apprehension in the minds of some political pundits, one of whom spoke to me yesterday, that, although the north is the stronghold of the APC, which governs 14 out of the 19 states of the region, but because Tinubu is not from the region, the chances of the north voting for him are slim. They would rather vote for their own, he said. I said to him, sorry, wrong number!. Tinubu’s victory in the north in particular, and the country in general, is a fait accompli.
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All the analysis and permutations are sign posting in the direction of success for Tinubu, and virtually all of them are coming from the mouth of the northerners, including the party chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu. Time without number, I’ve heard the chairman refer to Tinubu as, “ the President in waiting”. And the reason is simple- he is providing the thrust, out of the trust that it is the turn of Tinubu to turn the tide.
To turn the tide means to reverse the situation, and from the body language of the APC northern governors, and the thrust from the party Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, Tinubu has come to do that, including shaming the sceptics. It may be recalled that, at the last national convention of the party on the 8th of June 2022, Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu polled 1,271 votes, defeating 13 aspirants, after seven others stepped down for him at the last minute. The feat was accomplished through the unanimous support of the 14 northern governors, who were unambiguous in saying that it is the turn of the south to have a go at the presidency.
Yes, there is a justifiable concern that Tinubu would slug it out with the candidates of 16 other parties, including heavy weights like the Waziri of Adamawa, Atiku Abubakar of the People Democratic Party (PDP) and Eng. Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People Party (NNPP), who are not only from the north, but strong forces to reckon with in the region in particular, and the country in general. But again, sorry, wrong number!, there is a collective thrust and trust, that it is the turn of Tinubu to turn the tide. And the crusade is championed by the Chairman, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu.
In the beginning, because of the intrigues that played out, some detractors attempted creating a crack in the crusade, by insinuating something secretly illicit against the candidature of Tinubu, pointing accusing finger at the chairman, but that was only in the imagination of the political nincompoop.
Knowing Sen. Abdullahi Adamu well, alongside his non destructive predisposition, Tinubu has been busy debunking the conspiracy, including a personal visit to the chairman, with a follow up by his wife the next day, where they publicly punctured the machination.
The northern support is not surprising anyway, because, in recent years, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had taken deliberate steps to build alliances with the political leaders in the north, especially in the states of Katsina and Kano, the key reservoirs of votes in the region. Tinubu’s concern for the concerns of Kano in particular, has helped to woo an incredible support and sympathy for him.
Indeed there is the issue of Kwankwaso and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau in Kano, but given the political dynamics of Kano, with the antecedent of the state in voting based on circumstantial merits, as they did in voting Abiola against their own, late Bashir Tofa in 1993, many pundits are of the belief that, the support of the northern governors of the APC, and the trust and thrust by the Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, would combine to convince Kano to agree that, it is the turn of Tinubu to turn the tide.
Hon. Festus Keyamo, SAN, the APC Presidential campaign spokesperson was quick with a josh on the PDP, the presumed brain behind the non existent crack in the APC crusade, thus: “If PDP begs us, we may consider donating the real unifier, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to assist in unifying their ranks, to get them ready for their comprehensive defeat in 2023. We want a healthy opposition during the election. We don’t want the excuse that we fought with a disabled opponent”.
