Tinubu’s goofs

No, I am not about to write on the APC presidential candidate’s absence at the recent Arise TV Presidential Town Hall meeting. The candidate and the campaign council have said that there are several other platforms and ways by which they can and are reaching the electorate rather than through media debates which some argue reach out mainly to the elites(a small proportion of the electorate in comparison to the larger voting population that reside mainly in rural area). More importantly, because of what people are likely to infer from title of this piece I should interject some preliminary phrases. I am not about to dress down Asiwaju as such, far be it from me. Neither am I about to blemish his towering political stature. Rather, I wish to draw his attention (and those of his supporters) to a flaw of his, a weakness actually. All character flaws or weaknesses whether small or big have same negative effects. What is more, they sometimes prop up, rear their ugly heads at inauspicious times. 

Thus, my objective is to call out the Jagaban to endeavour to rein in this flaw of his, overcome this weakness so as to garner respect from more persons. Otherwise, should he fail to root it out, many right-thinking persons would begin to view him in a different light and would even begin to doubt his democratic credentials. My loving thoughts to Aswaju is that he summons the courage to deal and do away with this ‘character flaw’ sooner than later. Yes, BAT is not alone, other persons, politicians, etc., have their own weaknesses and even more, whether overt or covert. However, given his standing in our society as one of the foremost politicians and leaders in our country, Jagaban should stand out from the crowd, from his peers; he should set a high standard for himself, below which he should not descend, no matter the seeming provocation or temptation……

I first noticed this trait (that is what it can be likened to upon looking back now) in Aswaju when he was giving his ‘victory speech’ after winning his party’s primaries to emerge as its presidential flag bearer. His written address itself from which he read was politically correct. Remember, that he spoke off the cuff sometimes, impromptu sometimes in the course of that address. And one of the things that depressed me was what he said to the president of the Senate, Dr. Ahmed Lawan. Looking straight at Lawan, his co-contestant that had been touted as President Buhari’s ‘consensus candidate’ (which the president denied just before the primary election proper), he said to him,  “Now you can lick your wounds”. 

 Recall that the senate president placed fourth in that race.  Lawan and those around him laughed this comment off as a joke. I was however, sad at this remark of BAT to a fellow competitor. It was meant to be a healthy competition, only one person could emerge victorious from the array of contestants. If the APC’s presidential candidate’s statement of ‘’Now you can lick your wounds” to the Senate President was supposed to be a joke, it was a rather expensive joke. It amounted to ridicule, mocking, adding salt to Lawan’s injury so to speak. Ridiculing and the like should not be found in the lexicon of a leader. A leader should be a healer of wounds, not one that rubs salt into wounds. It was equivalent to telling the senate president something to the effect, ‘Your loss serves you right, go and cry me a river’.  Disappointed as I was at Asiwaju’s ridicule of a fellow contestant in the primary election, especially as I hold him in high esteem, I  sought to console myself by regarding that remark as a slip of the tongue, just one goof.

Then, at the APC final rally for its Osun governorship candidate in Osogbo in July, BAT made another verbal goof. While literally dismissing the Labour party, he told his assembled party faithful that that party is labouring in vain. “May you not labour in vain; you will not labour in vain’. Needless to add that the Labour party viewed this comment of Jagaban as seeking to undermine its efforts, mocking it, and its e-rats went on what some would consider an overdrive with the hashtag ‘there is dignity in labour’. Agreed, Asiwaju is not the only presidential candidate engaged in mocking and ridiculing of political opponents. ‘’They all do it’’, many would say. Nonetheless, since Jagaban is considered as the leading candidate as per the last poll by an international organisation, he has an obligation to stand on high moral ground, to set a high standard for himself, to show the right path by personal example.

It is said that when something happens the first time, it could be a mistake, the second time, it can be termed a coincidence and when it happens a third time, it could well be a character trait. BAT yet again let out an outburst during a meeting in Lagos. Following a rather distasteful song by some supporters who were mocking Funke Akindele in comparison with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu,  Asiwaju retorted, “Don’t even bother to mention her name in my presence. It is an insult. It is disrespectful’’.  Funke by the way is the Lagos PDP governorship candidate’s running mate. PDP had never governed Lagos state since inception of this fourth Republic in 1999. It has always been under the firm grip of the progressives (AD, ACN, APC) led by Jagaban, himself a two-term governor of the state that is Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre.  Humility, modesty remains an eternal virtue, for all seasons and for all times. We are all creatures of the Almighty, the differences among each and everyone of us having come about essentially by the way each of us has sought to develop the talents we are each imbued with by the Creator. Thus, each deserves the respect of the other as a fellow human being in his/her right, irrespective of ephemeral political, economic and social standing. It is a mark of our true humanity. 

Moreover, given the important roles women play, have been destined to play in our world, they deserve the utmost respect, not least from the men folk. This condescending remark of BAT towards a woman pricked me because Jagaban had earned praise from me when I saw a photo of him some months ago, respectfully bowing to a woman (mother of Senate Chief Whip, Orji Uzor Kalu) in greeting when he visited Madam Kalu at her home. Alas, this his disdainful comment towards a woman has turned the thumbs up I gave him for that his uncommon gesture towards Madam Kalu to a thumbs down. I conclude by saying that I have written this article out of love, not to defame Jagaban in the least. If he is able to earnestly do away with aforementioned traits or weaknesses  which cast him as a supercilious person that looks down on others, he will be more loved.

Ikeano writes from Lafia, Nasarawa state via [email protected] 08033077519