Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” The above quote is from arguably the greatest English playwright, William Shakespeare, in his famous play “Twelfth Night,” written in 1602. This quote is still very relevant 500 years later. These words, which Malvolio mentioned in a letter where twins got separated during a storm that wrecked their ship, are still very relevant today, especially as they relate to the art of politicking within the Nigerian political space. One of such political bigwigs who fits accurately into the above quote by Shakespeare is the incumbent President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. The former Lagos State honcho is undoubtedly a man born with a silver spoon in his early days. His mother, late Alhaja Habibatu Mogaji, the former Iyaloja-General of Lagos, was a woman of repute and opulence. Suffice it to say, without equivocation, President Bola Tinubu was born great as he practically lacked nothing growing up in his youthful years.
If, however, greatness is achieved by dint of hard work, then Mr. President can equally pass for a man who dared it all to become great. From being an A+ student from his school days in the United States of America, to his remarkable impact in the private sector – Deloitte & Touche, National Oil, and Mobil Oil respectively, and later to his indelible mark of leadership on the political scene, he indeed carved a niche for himself. President Tinubu was not only born with powerful connections, he also worked harder (sometimes engaging in what many termed as ‘dirty’ or menial jobs even with a background of wealth) and made a big difference in his career on the one hand, and his country’s political space on the other hand. Not many with a similar background today in Nigeria can boast of working the extra mile to achieve further greatness to sustain the altitude, as examples abound. From financing political activities as a private sector business mogul, to participating in the aborted 3rd Republic as a Senator, to becoming the Lagos State Governor in 1999, and finally becoming the numero uno of the Federal Republic; President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has achieved and is still achieving greatness on all fronts.
In life, there have been several occasions where greatness was thrust upon some persons. One of such was when the former President Olusegun Obasanjo was approached in 1998 to flag the ticket of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) as a presidential candidate of the most populous black nation. While still in Yola prison awaiting what fate would befall him for the alleged attempted coup d’etat against the former military dictator, late Sani Abacha, Obasanjo had greatness thrust upon him. Another of such was when former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was called upon to step in as the Acting President after the sudden demise of his principal, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Again, a similar scenario played out from 2021 when several individuals, groups – artisans, market men and women, social clubs among others came out to call on the then Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to throw his hat into the presidential race. Such was how fate pushed Nigerians into thrusting the country’s leadership upon Asiwaju Tinubu as it were.
Now that the two-term former governor of Lagos State and an aficionado of the game of politics in Nigeria is seated as the country’s numero uno, he has a bigger role to play in consolidating whatever gains the Buhari/Osinbajo-led government has bequeathed to Nigerians. He is equally tasked with the herculean and onerous job of reworking the many shortfalls of the previous administration, prominent among which was the comatose economy the Buhari/Osinbajo regime left behind. The economy today is in shambles. Too much money is chasing too few goods. Hunger is ubiquitous and inflation continues ballooning quotidian – hitting its highest in history. No thanks to the former handlers of the economy – the arrowhead of which was Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the ousted and embattled Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and his co-esurient and rapacious economic predators. Insecurity has worn a new terrible look with those behind such – whether politically motivated or not, testing the resolve of the new government.
Nigeria at the moment is at the crossroads, in dire need of a navigator, a sailor, a pilot, and a driver who can turn the tide of forlornness, hopelessness, and the cloudy catch-22 that envelopes the entire nation. She desires a man who can navigate her through her murky waters of uncertainties. A man with whom can guarantee quality life, good living standards, social justice, financial re-engineering for prosperity, and developmental governance. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, as the sitting president ticks all the relevant boxes that can turn around the country’s myriad of challenges. He is a pacesetter, a moving nation on his own, a living trailblazer, and a brain box that propels an idealistic movement. His mastery of the political legerdemain (of players) is a crackerjack. Somebody of his type comes once in a generation and he is here as the architect – to draw a new foundation for prosperity, the builder – to build a new Nigeria salubrious for quality living for all, and the ‘protector’ – providing adequate security for lives and properties.
Now that he is here, he must summon the courage, muster the requisite grits, guts, and bullheadedness sine qua non to rescuing Nigeria from the hands of hyenas and jackals who have continually held her down for decades, slowing down her progress and milking her patrimony to satiate their ostentatious lifestyles. He must be bodacious in determination, audacious in action, and intrepid in moves that will allow the poor to breathe. Now that President Tinubu has obeyed the call, let him live up to his words of reworking, retooling, and revamping Nigeria not for the benefit of a minuscule, an infinitesimal few, but the greater advantage of all and sundry as already alluded to by his humble self. The planned state of emergency on food security should be properly and evenly distributed to cushion the effect of hunger. This should not go the way of the palliatives given to state governors where many of them provided ‘audio’ palliatives. Let it not be that the food that will be released from the national silos will find its way into the hands of those who will hoard same and use it to further impoverish the masses.
God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
Omogbolahan L.A. BABAWALE Public Affairs Analyst Lead Resource Person The Think-Tinubu Initiative (3TI) [email protected], [email protected]