“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do to conclusions”. Benjamin Franklin was right, and Senator Abu Ibrahim believes Nigeria should take his advice by embracing Asiwaju Bola Tinubu- the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election. He affirms that Tinubu has the magic wand to handle security and turn the economy around withina short period.
With this possibility, Tinubu will be key to the reactivation of Nigeria in the areas of peace-building, security, trade, partnerships, and investment, especially now that Nigeria faces some crucial problems.
The country is buried in the middle of a triple threat, one that could decimate socio and public health systems and reverse twenty years of poverty reduction and inequality efforts. A struggling economy and security issues leave little space for optimism. Through creative solutions, from Tinubu, Nigeria will begin to shed entrenched roadblocks and create its own framework for investment and growth.
Senator Abu Ibrahim sees Asiwaju Bola Tinubu as a very cerebral person whose success is based on intelligence and wisdom. He is a courageous and selfless person who can change the narratives in many aspects of life such as security, health, education, agriculture, transportation and wealth building. Has done these before when he was governor of Lagos state, and the records are there for all to see.
He believes Tinubu has the entire country as his support base, for he made the coming to power of President Muhammadu Buhari .
“He made Buhari able to win the presidency. He tried three times before then and he failed. But the moment Tinubu came in, Buhari won. So, the over 12 million voters of Buhari in Northern Nigeria liked Tinubu. And that’s why I said the easiest way for APC to win the 2023 presidential election is to get Tinubu and give him the ticket. Once you put Tinubu on the ballot, he will win because the political base of Buhari is with him and that’s about 12 million voters. “
The two of them first met in the Senate under former President Ibrahim Babangida then in 1992. Tinubu was in the Social Democratic Party, SDP while Ibrahim was in the National Republican Convention, NRC. Since then on the two of them have been relating. And that relationship between them played much role in the formation of APC and the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Surprisingly, I was the one who started the issue of Asiwaju and Buhari coming together. I was in the defunct ANPP with Buhari. I was also in CPC with him. Asiwaju is my friend outside the party. So, Tinubu was in ACN, Buhari was in CPC. Buhari contested election three times; he couldn’t win because he couldn’t get the spread of votes across the country. So, one day I suggested to Buhari that the only way he could win was to get the spread of votes across Nigeria and the only way to do that was to get a strong politician from the South. I suggested Tinubu who was immediately invited for a meeting in Kaduna, and the discussion started. That was around 2010. At that time, we were talking of alliance, not merger because the 2011 election was coming. The election was very near then. So, we were talking of alliance. But you know that under the presidential system, forging alliance is very difficult unlike under the parliamentary system. So, unfortunately, that didn’t work. And election took place in 2011 and Buhari lost again. So, after that election, we said let’s start early: we began to talk about issue of merger. Subsequently, I was one of the prime movers of the merger – starting from the alliance between the CPC and the ACN”.
In his views Senator Tinubu is a person who has really prepared himself to move Nigeria forward. After 30-odd years in politics. As soon as he became Governor of Lagos state he strengthened the ties he had earlier on built. While in the Senate, Tinubu began to build relationships across the country. He longed for such roots to be grown to create links and web that can be used to discuss and solve national issues. Right now he is actually activating these links now to move Nigeria forward — as the country needs a break into enduring peace and prosperity.
“We were in the same Senate and we were both Senators. During our contributions to debate on the floors of the Senate, I noticed that Asiwaju was very articulate. I admired the way he usually spoke and we became friends. We had become very close friends before the dissolution of the Senate by the military regime of late General Sani Abacha. So, after the dissolution of the Senate, we continued to interact. We held a meeting in Lagos after the dissolution of the Senate which was termed illegal by the then military government and we were arrested and taken to Alagbon Close where we were detained. But they couldn’t get Asiwaju initially. We were detained and later granted bail because we were accused of trying to overthrow the then military government. We were later granted bail, but they asked us to be reporting back to the security operatives. In the process of our reporting back, somehow they found Asiwaju and arrested him and our bail was revoked and all of us were then detained again. So, we started the process of trying to leave detention again. I became very close again with Asiwaju during our detention. It is a very long story— how we were taken to court, released and so on. So, I knew him from the Senate, to the period of our detention in Lagos for about a month or so. We stayed in the same detention facility and since then, we have been very, very close. “
To him, Tinubu is a stalwart of political creativity. No doubt, he is one of those shaking the Nigerian political and social terrains. Thanks to his exceptional political acumen, good head hunting ability to spot talent over the years, dedicated services to the people. He reflects on the eventful path that brought him to this state. He says Tinubu is one of those who blazed the democratic trail that we are all gainfully treading on today, paying homage to him as one of those men who fill life with excellent portrayals that endure in his memory.
Soon the military began to relax ground after power partners — people like Tinubu and others — joined the fight from exile. Having approached the springtime of that period in Nigeria — a place far from the apprehensive darkness of the General Abacha era. And gradually inched into the freedom of light, a time when the country emerged into the sunlight of democratic culture.
Talk of a man who gently trod the path of public life successfully, bonding with people of different social and religious backgrounds, and very many will give you the name of Senator Bola Tinubu. With his generosity, Tinubu certainly has a lot of IOUs to collect across the country. Is 2023 really going to be payback time? Senator Ibrahim believes so.
Asked about the kind of person Asiwaju is, he says “Asiwaju is a kind person, very generous and somebody who can mentor people. You can see how he did it in Lagos. He is a nationalist; he believes in Nigeria, he believes in the unity of Nigeria. Look at the way he put his cabinet together as the governor of Lagos State – the cabinet was made up of people from various parts of the country. And from then, I realized that he loves Nigeria so much, he believes in the unity of this country, he is a stabilizer— every tribe relates with him easily. He is not a tribalist and he is a very generous person.”
He is one of a few who skillfully navigate the contours of politics and produced benchmarking performance while mentoring so many. In doing so, he is creating links and building network across the country. Anomalously, he is maintaining these links and relationships despite his busy schedule. This explains why people like Senator Ibrahim is able to maintain relationship with him over the years, even at the time both of them were not in the same political party.
“Sometimes, I am surprised too that even when we were in different political parties, we still relate very well. I think that also demonstrated the magnanimity of Asiwaju – if you are his friend, you are his friend for ever and he will do everything possible to maintain that link. When he was governor, I used to go to Lagos a lot to discuss with him. He was a governor, I was in the Senate and we continued to relate.”
He firmly believes that Tinubu is a man of great insight, who knows that the land is endowed with immense potential and resources which a man of good eye for possibilities can steer to greatness. Thus with his capacity for creativity, he has the resolve to unearth, put value and market needs to be at the helm of leadership of the country at this time.
A thinker and leader in every aspect, Tinubu pays keen attention to details and brings to the fore effective planning, resource management and problem solving. These he is presenting to the people as he seeks the electorate mandate to be president of Nigeria.
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