By DADA AYOKHAI
A compendium of articles on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress, APC, Presidential Candidate, will soon be presented to the public at an unveiling ceremony in Lagos which will likely attract the cream de la cream of the society.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, BAT, as he is fondly addressed by admirers, is one of the leading contenders for the February 2023 presidential election whose aspiration has drawn mixed reactions from a cross-section of the people.
The compendium titled, “Bola Ahmed Tinubu in The Eyes of Nigerians”, treats the Tinubu phenomenon from a balanced and refreshing perspective to enable the reader to make a reasonable judgment devoid of bias.
The authors of the book, Messrs Comrade Wajeed Obomeghie and Dan Amor both seasoned journalists and writers, went”digging deep” to bring to the fore fresh insights on the “Jagaban of Nigerian politics”.
Mr Obomeghie famously addressed as Cultural Ambassador, is a multiple Award winning author on series of books which focus on cultural history of Nigeria communities. While Dan Amor an astute political editorial writer, analyst and critics of several decades in Nigeria.
Interestingly, a former Chairman, Editorial Board, Daily Independent Newspapers, Prof Mike Ikhariale wrote the Foreword while the former Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Emeritus Prof Ayo Banjo, CON wrote the Introduction to the book.
Both authors are adherents of the Tinubu school of politics. This much can be gleaned from their being active members of the Asiwaju Transformation Movement, ATM, a group of rabid followers and supporters who believed in the populist political ethos of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The book portrays BAT, Jagaban, or the City Boy, depending on who is speaking, in the most positive light and also rates him as a “first-class political juggernaut” who has survived the turmoils and uncertainties prevalent in Nigeria’s political system.
And to the credit of Asiwaju Tinubu, the “political iroko” of our time, is the fact that he succeeded in building an incredibly efficient and intimidating political structure with an almost cult followership across the country, over the years. Added to the myth surrounding his person is how he has managed to survive the topsy-turvy associated with the Nigerian political system, at a time most of the members of his 1999 class have either gone into political extinction or become relics.
From the perspectives of the authors, Asiwaju Tinubu is a “born leader” who has so far managed to attract and retain all shades of people the same way the nectar of a flower attracts the bees for cross-pollination.
Indeed, the book is expected to break barriers because the authors approached their task scientifically and painstakingly thereby reducing to the bearest minimum any trace of pandering to stereotypes and prejudices in their presentations on the person of the Asiwaju.
