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By Falolu Ogidan
“Anyone who has no ambition is not fit to lead. I can not follow anyone that has no plan for himself. That means he can never have plans for me.”
--- Professor J.A.A. Ayoade, mni, Emeritus Professor of Political Science
University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Nigeria
“Aim high.” --- Motto, Osogbo Grammar School, Osogbo, Osun State. Nigeria.
“They want Asiwaju Tinubu to build the party but not lead it. That is Yoruba
insanity………. We’re all afflicted by it,”
--- Afis Odidere, Public Affairs Commentator
There are some elements in Yorubaland who have been and are still very upset with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. They are very angry with him. They are so livid with him that the mention of his name would give them instant stomach ache. They can not stand him. They really hate his guts. They do despise him. They are so consumed with hatred for him that they are not willing to hide their feelings. In all their utterances, their actions and occasionally in their commentaries at all forums and through several media, they have not mince words in expressing how and what they feel about Asiwaju Tinubu.
In this category of my Yoruba brothers and sisters are some politicians, commentators, observers and onlookers. There are also some traditional rulers in this category. This category of Yoruba brothers and sisters would first of all accept a less deserving “outsider” before they would give Asiwaju Tinubu another look. If and when they do give him another look, it would be a sort of look imbued with venom and malevolence. It would be a look laced with carnivorous instinct that could spell doom for the target if acted upon.
To this group of Yoruba people, there was and still is nothing that the Asiwaju has ever done that is worthy of praise or attention. To them, he is up to “no good” and he is “dangerous.” He is a “trickster” who has been “lucky” enough to be where he is presently. To them, he is not to be “trusted.” He is too much a “troublemaker” and a “rabble rouser” of a politician. In fact the title “Asiwaju” annoys them and aggravates them catatonically. If one uses such prefix in their presence in mentioning Tinubu, instantly, they become physiologically agitated and verbally aggressive.
They have countless “sins” that Asiwaju Tinubu has committed. It is a very long list. As far as these detractors are concerned Asiwaju Tinubu “is too ambitious,” he contributed to the “negative image” of Olusegun Obasanjo by fighting him throughout his tenure as president and he is “too young” to have that title of Asiwaju. On this charge that he “is too ambitious,” one finds this very trivial and of no substance. It seemed this charge was a product of envy and jealousy on the part of this category of people. The fact that Tinubu has been able to define his political goals and desire adequately and showed remarkable ability to follow through with such ought not to be a sin. It is a kind of example that those who think that they have something to offer should emulate. And if one may ask: who is he that is not ambitious?
If there is such a person, such a person would not only be a drag to his family but a minus to his community and his people. A person without an ambition would not even be good enough to be footnotes to history. Such elements would be deserving of consignment to the back burner if not the garbage can of history where there would be no cause for them to be remembered for the burden they had been to themselves and the community that produced them.
The good thing about Asiwaju Tinubu is not just to have shown great ambition and pursue such with determination regardless of the odds against him, but his ability to contextualize such ambitions in the realm of the aspirations of his people. Such ambition often is helped to fruition by the generality of the people who happens to have the last say in this matter. Rather than be seen as an enemy of the people, he is perceived and accepted as a partner to and of the people. The people gravitate towards him and follow his lead. Thus in working to achieve his ambition, he is helping to realize the aspirations of his people.
This is what is riling his detractors who seemed unable to understand his methodology. To his detractors, despite all the fireworks aimed at bringing him down, he seemed to be blossoming. He is growing bigger by the day. His base seemed in continuous expansion. He is being accepted more and more by the cross sections of the critical mass. It seemed to his detractors that as much as they are trying to bring him down, he seemed to be a star on the rise.
Most great historical figures have been ambitious men. Those who have been able to impact history and our world are ambitious men. Our Obafemi Awolowo was an ambitious man. Our Herbert Macaulay was an ambitious man. Nnamdi Azikwe was an ambitious man. Osagyefo Kwameh Nkrumah was an ambitious man. All those who fought for independence of all the African countries were ambitious men and women. Those who made Europe what it is today are ambitious men. Those who built and are still building the USA are ambitious. Those who are building China today are ambitious men and women. Those who are trying to make Asia a competitive continent today are ambitious men and women.
Ambition, when all is said and done, is a necessary prerequisite for personal, communal and national progress. Ambition, in one’s estimation, is an obligation of a responsible citizen. You look at your situation and you are dissatisfied with it. You then make up your mind to change it for the better. That thought process at that moment of realizing that one has to do something is “ambition.” Taking practical steps towards its realization is what makes one “ambitious.” This is not to say that like all good things, it could not be exploited by the unscrupulous for a very selfish end. Examples of such also abound in history as in Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein and others of their ilk. But theirs is morbid.
Being ambitious, should not be a sin for Asiwaju Tinubu or anyone aspiring to lead. Rather it is a positive attribute that all well meaning Yoruba people nay, Nigerians should encourage and actively support. The most important variable of Asiwaju Tinubu’s ambition is that it is in consonance with the aspirations of his Yoruba people to be politically free from usurpers, be socially decontaminated from moral morass and be economically viable to be able to live “life abundant” as the great Awo would surmise.
This actually leads to his second “sin” of fighting President Olusegun Obasanjo to a standstill during his eight - year tenure as the Executive Governor of Lagos State. Olusegun Obasanjo claimed to be a Yoruba man just like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. It is not a secret that Olusegun Obasanjo has always been ambitious all his life. In fact, he boasted in his book “Not My Will” that he has been able to achieve with little or no effort what Chief Obafemi Awolowo “fought all his life” to achieve and was not able to achieve - ruling Nigeria.
But Obasanjo’s ambition is of another genre. To describe Obasanjo as a narcissist is to pay him a compliment like no other. His ambition was to serve only his personal ego. It has no relevance to the needs and aspirations of those he ruled. Thus it was not a surprise that after eight hellish years unleashed on Nigerians, Obasanjo has become more hated than when he first became the president. The difference between Obasanjo and Asiwaju Tinubu is that while the ambition of the latter is immersed in the aspirations of the Yoruba people, the ambition of the former is diametrically opposed to it. Since both ambitions were operating in the same milieu, it was only a matter of time before they clashed. To those who have an understanding of the basics of social and political sciences, it ought not to come as a surprise that in that clash, the Asiwaju prevailed. History would look back at the various battles that Asiwaju waged with Obasanjo as the beginning of the freedom for the Yoruba people from the bondage of slavery into which (he) Obasanjo tossed them.
The third charge against Asiwaju Tinubu is that he is “too young” to lead the Yoruba people. This would be laughable if not ridiculous. Asiwaju Tinubu is already 58 years old this year. How can anyone with a working mind consider such an age “too young?” Yakubu Gowon was 32 years old when he was asked to lead Nigeria. Obafemi Awolowo was 42 when he led Western Region in 1951. He was 51 years old in 1960 when Nigeria got its flag independence. Osagyefo Nkrumah was 45 years when he led Ghana to independence in 1957. Thomas Sankara was 36 when he assumed leadership of Burkina Faso, Murtala Mohammed was 38 when he became Head of State, Napoleon Bonaparte was 27 when he took over the French Revolution and gave it the needed direction. Martin Luther King was 34 when he gave leadership to the Civil Rights Movement. Barrqck Obama was 47 when he was elected the president of the U.S. John F. Kennedy was 43 when he assumed the mantle of leadership of the free world. One can go on and on and on.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu certainly is not a “saint.” Neither has he claimed to be so. He is a man with many flaws. Those who know him very closely would attest to this. He is not a perfect man. And neither has he presented himself as such. Show me a leader in any part of the world or in History who is perfect and has no fault. Even, the Pope who is supposedly the most “saintly” human being living is not perfect. As Genoveva Kanu once posited while countering the critics of Kwameh Nkrumah, “Any man without fault is a still picture.” But despite the Asiwaju’s shortcomings, he is a true son of his father. A true son of Oodua, who loves his people and is trying to do his best for them despite the challenges of the present, Asiwaju’s efforts have been lent more credence to by the contrasting performance of Obasanjo who has relentlessly pummeled his own people, impoverished, humiliated and debased them.
The war to liberate the Yoruba people from the Obasanjo bondage has been fought on many fronts, the most important of which has been the ballot box. Asiwaju’s determination to liberate Yorubaland from the yokes of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) could not be doubted. His ability to withstand the onslaught of Obasanjo in 2003 has provided the template for the liberations of the other states in Yorubaland that we are all witnessing today.
Asiwajus’s foot soldiers are now all over Yorubaland and yonder. They are educating, mobilizing and organizing. They are getting ready for the battles ahead, and these foot soldiers need not be convinced or be bought over to believe in the task at hand. They are fighting because they believe in the battles. They are fighting because the battles are for their own freedom and emancipation. They are fighting because the future of their children is tied to the battles. They are fighting because enmeshed in their victory, is the ultimate consignment to the dustbin of history, those who chose to sell short their fathers and brothers as well as mothers and sisters.
To the chagrin of his detractors, Asiwaju Tinubu has made himself into the moral contrast of the prevailing political decadence in our land. He has been able to position himself as de facto political leader in Yorubaland and the one to be reckoned with by those who hope to seek the political favor of the children of Oodua. As our fathers would say, “Egan o pe k’oyin ma dun,” meaning “Derision can never degrade the sweetness of honey.” Single handedly, Asiwaju Tinubu is turning the Action Congress of Nigeria into a very viable alternative in Nigeria’s political firmament. He is doing it gradually but doggedly, definitely and diligently.
But his detractors are not done. He is either “too ambitious” or he is “too young.” He ought not to have fought the renegade Olusegun Obasanjo or he should not lead the ACN or have a say in who leads it. In doing this, these detractors have no concern for the political well being of the Yoruba people and their place in the scheme of things. They are trying so hard to belittle his efforts and achievements so far. “If it is Tinubu, it must be unacceptable,” so goes their mantra. They are blinded by their dislike of Asiwaju Tinubu just as the blind dislike for Obafemi Awolowo has led Nigeria to where it is today.
This writer is in no way comparing Asiwaju Tinubu with the great sage, but it is important we all have to overcome our likes or dislikes and look at the broader picture of the Yoruba interest. As Afis Odidere contended, there are some of our “Yoruba brothers” who are miffed that Asiwaju Tinubu is trying to lead a Party he has worked and is still working so hard to build. Odidere wrote inter alia:
“They want Asiwaju Tinubu to build the party but not lead it. That is Yoruba insanity… We’re all afflicted by it, we go around seeking partnerships that never exist, ... mentioning … (those) who never helped to build the ACN. These Yoruba brothers meant well but they are trekking on political minefields without looking back at our past, they are trying to make mistakes that our forefathers had made while these past leaders were trying to put the concerns of others before ours…” (parenthesis mine).
Fortunately for the Yoruba Nation, these elements are in the minority. The majority of the Yoruba people are wizening up. They are standing up and are following the lead of Asiwaju Tinubu to liberate them. It is hoped that all well meaning Yoruba leaders would rally around this son of Oodua and work in concert for the interest of the Yoruba people. It is important that Yoruba land is socially and economically sanitized as well as politically cleansed of all renegades. The need to wrestle the political control from the hands of the renegades has never been more imperative. Asiwaju Tinubu should be appreciated for what he has done so far. With political control, the Yoruba people would be able to control their own social and economic destiny. Like Osagyefo Nkrumah once said, “Ask ye for the political kingdom and all other things shall be added unto thee...”
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