Nigerians are still reacting to the controversy behind the declaration of the self-styled national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
While many thing that Tinubu has all the chances to win the 2023 presidential election, other think he should concentrate on his failing health and give chance to Other aspirants more suitable for steering the nation forward.
Below are a few from concerned Nigerians:
Anonymous said:
“Can Tinubu win 2023 Presidency?
Can Bola Tinubu win the Presidency? Yes
Can Bola Tinubu win with a Northern Christian VP candidate? Yes
Can Bola Tinubu win with a Northern Muslim VP candidate? Yes
Why?
He will outspend everyone.
It’s Bola Tinubu that elected Buhari, funded the campaign.
If you don’t like Bola Tinubu, present your candidate and fund him
“I don’t want any noise this time around.”
Mebele Okugbo replied:
“It’s not Bola Tinubu that elected Buhari. This is a myth that has been sold in the media, but it is not true at all! If Bola Tinubu could elect anyone, he would have done it in 2011 with Atiku.
Buhari was elected because the NewPDP block broke out of PDP in 2014 and effectively rendered the party defeated. If the newPDP block had not broke (sic) away, along with the North vowing to return to power by all means necessary, a thousand Bola Tinubus would never have been able to elect Buhari.
The internal betrayal of GEJ was so bad that even Muazu, his own chairman, was working against him and this was down to one thing; the North wanted to return to power.
Bola Tinubu was a sectional leader in 2013/2014, whose only influence was in the SW. He had no national spread or appeal. He couldn’t have elected a president in Nigeria. Not even with a thousand bullion vans. OBJ, Abdusalam, Atiku, Saraki, and all the other major players, who broke away from PDP in 2014, practically killed it at the time.
That was why this same group, took over the legislative arm in 2015 and Tinubu was left in the cold. Tinubu’s ability to elect a president on his own is one of those myths that many have bought that is quite laughable.
The only reason the North doesn’t bother to debunk this false narrative is because they are smart enough to realize that the alternative narrative is that they betrayed GEJ and they don’t want that narrative out there in the open.
They prefer to have the Tinubu narrative and allow him bask in his self-delusion. Nobody really sends Tinubu outside of Lagos. If the APC presents Tinubu and the PDP presents a northern candidate, the PDP will win easily. The North don’t vote for party. They vote for their interest.
Tinubu is grossly overrated by the media hype. The last time Tinubu put this his self-delusional hype to test, he sent a recorded video message to Edo State indigenes to support Ize Iyamu for the governorship election. What was the result of that move? It cost Ize Iyamu the election in which he lost woefully.
It was so bad that it created a winning slogan for Obaseki, “Edo no be Lagos!”. Tinubu’s influence on Nigeria’s election is a myth. Even Tinubu’s influence on Lagos elections is also a myth. If it were not a myth, he wouldn’t require the use of thugs during Lagos elections.
In the last presidential elections, thugs had to go around disrupting elections in perceived PDP strongholds. A man who has Lagos support like he claims won’t require that to win elections. Most elections in Lagos are won by slim margins. Buhari won GEJ in Lagos in 2015 by a slim margin, even after all the manipulations and thuggery.
“Also, nobody has the means or ability to bribe the whole of Nigeria to win a presidential election. That is another myth. Nigeria presidential elections are not determined by money but by religious, tribal and sectional sentiments.”
Churchill Umoren wrote:
“Everyday I hear “Igbo presidency” and some SE folks blame everyone for the zone’s inability to produce one. If you say 2019 let’s zone presidency to SE despite all the 5star brains they have, the zone will never agree on anyone I swear, hehehehehehe.
Okorocha v Ekweremadu v Arthue Eze v Kalu v Ohaneze v IPOB, etc. fight go start (sic).
Emulate how the north play the game, they don’t have blocs all they want is “our son” gets it.
“Unite first biko hehehehehehe.”
Agunze Azuka Onwuka replied:
“Chairman Churchill Umoren,
This is a false narrative that has been peddled over the years to stereotype the Igbos and make them believe that they never agree on anything.
No ethnic group or zone agrees on any political issue in Nigeria. There has never been any time any part of Nigeria agreed to allow only one of them to contest for the presidency.
Let me not list the intra ethnic crises of the First Republic or the intra-zonal coups and killings that dot our history.
In 1983, six politicians contested the presidential election: Three from the North, two from the Southwest, one from the Southeast.
North – (Aminu Kano of PRP, Waziri Ibrahim of GNPP, and Shehu Shagari of the NPN).
Southwest – (Obafemi Awolowo from the UPN and Tunji Braithwaite from the NAP).
Southeast – (Nnamdi Azikiwe from the NPP).
Aminu Kano controlled Kano, Ibrahim controlled Borno. Both of them contested against their fellow Northerner Shagari both in 1979 and 1983 despite the risk of splitting the Northern vote and making Shagari lose. None of them stepped down for Shagari on both occasions.
Imagine if that was done by three Igbo politicians!
In 1999, Bola Ige and Olu Falae contested the AD ticket from the Southwest. None of them stepped down for the other. When Falae was chosen, it saddened Ige so much that it led to a division in both the AD and Afenifere.
Ogbonnaya Onu of the APP (ANPP) stepped down for Falae, but neither Falae nor Obasanjo (both from the Southwest stepped down for each other in the presidential election). Obasanjo was declared the winner of the election. Falae did not accept the result. He went to court. Yet nobody used this against the Southwest as lacking in unity.
Imagine if Ige, Falae and Obasanjo were Igbos!
Meanwhile in the PDP primaries, Obasanjo defeated Ekwueme. Because Jim Nwobodo contested in the primaries and got a few votes that could not have made any difference if added to Ekwueme’s votes, it has been used as a story to vilify the Igbos as lacking in unity.
Meanwhile, while Ige was not happy that Falae was chosen as AD candidate over him, and while Falae was angry that Obasanjo was declared the winner, Ekwueme who was not Obasanjo’s kinsman congratulated Obasanjo after the PDP primaries and went with him to campaign in the Southeast, raising Obasanjo’s hand in different campaign grounds in the Southeast.
In 2007, Muhammadu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar, and Umaru Musa Yar’Adua all contested the presidential election. None of these 3 Northerners stepped down for the other. When Yar’Adua was declared the winner, the others went to court.
In 2011, Nuhu Ribadu, Ibrahim Shekarau and Muhammadu Buhari contested against Goodluck Jonathan in spite of the risk that their votes might be split and give Jonathan an advantage. Three of them lost to Jonathan. Maybe the result would have been different if they joined forces.
Imagine if these three were Igbo politicians!
In 2014/2015, some of the fiercest opponents of Jonathan were from the Southsouth led by Rotimi Amaechi.
Today the strongest opposition of Buhari is from the North: Buba Galadima, Junaid Mohammed, Atiku Abubakar, Kwankwaso, Tambuwal, Makarfi, Dankwambo.
Imagine if these were Igbos opposing the presidency of their kinsman!
Some people would have used it to wax an award-winning song. All comedians would have used it on every show. Every post on Facebook or Twitter and article in the newspapers would have referred to “Igbos being their worst enemies.”
Some gubernatorial elections had been held in recent time. In Bayelsa State, about 20 people were killed because of a contest between kinsmen. In Edo, the opposition went to court after the result was announced. In Ekiti, the opposition went to court too.
But in Anambra, not only was there was no report of violence, all the top contestants congratulated Obiano and vowed not to contest the result in court despite their misgivings about the conduct of the election. Yet, the narrative is that “Igbos don’t speak with one voice”, “Igbos hate themselves” (the correct expression should actually be “Igbos don’t love one another.”)
But interestingly when the Igbos speak with the so-called one voice by voting for one candidate, the music changes to: “Igbos put their eggs in one basket;” “Igbos are clannish.”
The bottom line is that something must always be said to maintain the narrative that there is something wrong with the Igbos. If it is not that the Igbos are disunited, it is that they are politically unwise, or don’t go to school, or can’t survive in their land, or love money more than Lucifer, etc.
Some Igbos have even ignorantly bought this narrative. But only Igbos who don’t understand the reason behind this narrative believe it or join in spreading it.
Let me repeat: Based on the facts available, no ethnic group or zone speaks with the so-called one voice in Nigeria. In every society, there are individuals who disagree with others. There is never a time everybody agrees on a thing. That is how life is. Let people stop this singling out of the Igbos for all these narratives that are not backed by any statistics.”
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