By Bala Ibrahim.
“I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, do solemnly swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, that as President of the Federal …”
It’s all done and dusted and today, May 29, 2023, stands out as a day with a difference, for reasons that are numerous. However, because of time and space, I can not deeply underpin the significance of the day, except to buttress one aspect that puts it beyond the conventional democracy day. In doing that, I would bring forward the bizarre behaviour of Nigeria’s brand new President, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the 16th sworn in President of the country.
What we know as normal about Chief Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu, GCFR, is that he is a Nigerian accountant and politician that served as governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and Senator for Lagos West during the brief third Republic. Those who want to be fair also refer to him as a generous and lavish person, that is ever compassionate. Yes, that is the normal Tinubu. But there is the bizarre Bola, which some people, mostly mischief makers, who pretend to be social critics, deliberately avoid addressing, and this article would try to advance.
It was Marcus T. Cicero, the Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher and writer, that said, “critics condemn what they do not understand”. In the business of criticism, some people engage in mischief making, by often expressing unfavourable opinions about some people. Bizarre Bola has for long been a victim of such shenanigans. The most shattering and shocking step that shamed them all came on the first of March, 2023, when the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, declared him the winner of the Presidential election of 25th February, 2023.
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, polled a total votes of 8,794,726, to defeat his closest rival, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, who scored 6,984,520 votes, while Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour party, LP, polled 6,101,533 votes, to take a distant third.
Before the March victory, pursuant to which he was inaugurated as Nigeria’s President today, Tinubu has been playing host to too many mischiefs and unusual encounters, ranging from the geography of his birth to the history of his education and wealth. Almost every day, something sad and strange is sold out to the gullible public, about the life of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. At every opportunity, opportunists take time to traduce him, but because of his humility, he never go hostile with them. And precisely, it is this calmness, that makes his coming as a commander completely captivating, and his calling to the office characteristically charismatic.
In the build up to the election, one of his traducers alleged that he is physically and mentally unfit, saying that if you talk of green, he’ll reply with red. But today, the world is seeing the reverse of that allegation, in the very man they verily vilified. Indeed many have been critical of Tinubu, but some went recklessly overboard, to even claim that he is suffering from dementia. But Tinubu remained unperturbed.
In an interview with the press, this critic said and I quote “Asiwaju that I sat with for two hours, he slept most of the time, it was Bisi Akande that I was really talking to. Most importantly, he is not only physically unfit, he is mentally unfit. When you talk of leadership of over two hundred million people you know that if you remove tribal sentiments, you know that he is incapable, those that will rule are those around him. This is the reality. He is mentally deranged. When you talk of green, he will give you an answer of red, he can’t even decipher, he has very serious dementia, I believe he has Alzheimer’s because he cannot even hold a cup of tea”
This particular critic may be firmly holding a cup of tea today, but is compulsorily compelled to watch, perhaps through the Television, the dignified, solemn and ceremonious coronation of the same man, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whom they accused of being incapacitated. Tinubu has deciphered, and taken the oath of office with patriotic zeal, while those of them, who were claiming to decipher, can only watch in anger, because God had since withdrawn from them, the power to discern. That is the simple repercussion of incurring the wrath of God, or the natural response for belittling the holiness of Allah, because he gave you the tongue to talk.
Today, unperturbed Tinubu’s worth is upgraded to that of the captivating and charismatic commander in chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, while his critics are downgraded to worthless clowns or jesters.
The day seems to humbled a lot of the arrogant, whose status was hitherto exaggerated, but now look unquestioningly subservient, as power shifts from them to a new Commander. Even the siren heralding the arrival of Tinubu to the Eagle Square sounded the loudest. Yes, anyone who says power and positions aren’t transient, needs to see a psychiatrist.
Someone wrote and I quote:
“In less than 24hrs, Appeal Court fined ex-presidential candidate, Chief Ambrose Albert Owuru N40 Million. Supreme Court fined PDP/Atiku Abubakar N2 Million for filing double nomination case against Shettima. Federal High Court fined “Concerned Nigerians” 15 million for seeking to stop Asiwaju Tinubu’s inauguration. Asiwaju Tinubu’s Presidency has generated 57 million revenue in less than 24 hrs before his Inauguration. What God has approved, no man or woman can nullify”.
Congratulations for the fulfilment of a life long ambition, President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
