Long ago in Macedonia, there was a young prince called Alexander who became an ancient Macedonian ruler and king in his 20s after the demise of his father, King Phillips, who was murdered in cold-blood after a palace coup was by his bodyguard in 336 B.C.
Alexander, one of history’s greatest military minds, was well tutored and educated by Aristotle, the famous philosopher and teacher.
He was audacious, skillful, ambitious, purposeful, and a great motivator of men of wars. He later earned the ‘Great’ appellation after his name due to his exploits in war which has stuck till today.
While it lasted, King Alexander conquered violent suppression of the Theban rebellion, the massive Persians empire and led the campaigns through Egypt and Babylon, thereby establishing new cities and frontiers.
He was revered as one of the most powerful and influential leaders the ancient world ever produced.
Before his death at age 32, Alexander had conquered most of the known ancient Greek world, a remarkable achievement in only 12 years.
He was such a boundless, charismatic and ambitious young man of his generation who not only established the largest empire the ancient world had ever seen, he also inspired such loyalty in his men who followed him everywhere and were ready to die for him.
Many decades after, it appears the Alexander spirit is still reverberating in this part of the world and the man at the centre of it all is none but Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban of Borgu Kingdom and a presidential hopeful.
Although he is yet to declare his interest to occupy the coveted seat officially, Tinubu has continued to fight many battles both seen and unseen, and has remained audacious and resolute in his pursuit of political activism buoyed in good governance.
With a formidable army of loyalists, foot-soldiers, canvassers, political allies across the geo-political zones in the country, it would not be out of place to say that a grand expedition for a shot at the presidency in 2023 may have begun.
No doubt, Tinubu, a cat with nine lives has survived many battles after he cut his teeth politically, being at the helm of affairs as Lagos state governor in1999, no doubt, has prepared him for tasks ahead and he has not looked back.
Aside from expanding his political territories and networks, Tinubu has continued to groom successive generations, build future leaders and political bridges across the countries.
Unlike other political comedians, this enigma who has survived countless pig-fights in the murky waters of Nigerian politics has over the years demonstrated lofty capacity to rule his fathers land as president and commander-in-chief.
Till today, how he managed to crush political impediments on his path and still manage to grow his reputation as an enviable generalissimo in Nigeria politics still remain a mystery to many.
As the 2023 elections draw near, the Lion of Bourdillon, as he is fondly called in the political parlance, has continued to roar and at the same time stooping to conquer.
His prowess and audacity became more pronounced when he deployed his political strategy which culminated into crass defeat suffered by the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which held sway for 16 years as Nigeria’s ruling party.
It is only a criminal revisionist that will not attribute the feat achieved in 2015 to a Tinubu inspired amalgam of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and a handful of break-away faction of the All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP).
While launching the South West Agenda for Asiwaju Tinubu (SWAGA), a presidential campaign council in Lagos, recently, one of the arrowhead, of the pro-Tinubu group, Dayo Adeyeye, said the group will continue to appeal to Tinubu to contest for the position of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because governance is not what to be experimented with.
When Tinubu clocked 84 years in 2016, President Muhammadu Buhari extolled his forthrightness, diligence and doggedness.
Buhari commended his visionary leadership style and the deployment of a formidable opposition party that worked vigorously within a short period to oust a party that had been in power for 16 years.
“The president assures the national leader that his patriotism and commitment to democracy and good governance, and his generous spirit will always be remembered and appreciated by generations of Nigerians,” Buhari said.
Now that Asiwaju Tinubu has been adjudged as having the clout and has started enjoying political endorsement even ahead of his much anticipated declaration, the question remains; who can stop this lion from roaring? Who will?
Osasona, ANIPR, FFPS a publicist, journalist and poet, writes from Abuja
