By Remi Oyeyemi
“Even among thieves, there is honour.” –
Professor Wole Soyinka
“Though, force can protect in emergency, only
justice, fairness and cooperation can finally
lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
“No matter who or what you support, I
believe in supporting fairness first.” –
Jennette McCurdy
•Tinubu: the man they want to crucify
In recent weeks, I have been watching the
way and manner that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola
Tinubu is being tossed around by his
beneficiaries. I have been watching in
consternation, though not surprisingly, how
he is being schemed out of the House of
Mohammadu Buhari that he has toiled to
help build. I am watching how suddenly he is
the leper that everyone must run away from
now that the food is cooked. I am aghast at
the ingratitude of politicians and their cruelty.
I am appalled at the crass opportunism
pervading the air.
Yes, people often have tried to divorce
integrity and honour from politics. People
have tried to create a gulf between morality
and politics. People have always tried to
excuse treachery and perfidy as inseparable
concomitants of politics. People have justified
dishonor and shamelessness as ingredients
of politics. There have been efforts since the
days of yore to justify immorality, lack of
honour, dishonesty, unreliability, subversion
as fundamental tenets of politics. I believe all
the above are just means to excuse
irresponsibility on the part of politics and
those who practice the trade. It is why
people believe and say that “Politics is a dirty
game.”
Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian diplomat
during the Renaissance era gave intellectual
wings to this anomaly with his book The
Prince published in 1532. He had espoused
the obnoxious idea in which political
expediency is placed above morality. He had
noxiously advocated the use of craft and
deceit to maintain authority. In short
Machiavellianism is “the employment of
cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in
general conduct.”
But the Great Chief Obafemi Awolowo
fervently disagrees with this heinous school
of thought about politics. He posited that
politics is not dirty a game, it is those who
play politics that make it dirty. In a lecture
given on January 27, 1961 titled “Politics and
Religion” in Ilishan Remo, the Great Awo
contended “the description of politics as a
game is a felicitous one,” and insisted that
“any game at all, other than a game of
chance, is good. But the manner of playing it
may be clean or dirty, all depending on
whether or not the players observe the rules
for playing the game which mankind has laid
down in conformity with universally accepted
standards of decency and ethics.”
The above postulation by the Great Awo
underscored why he was the type of
politician that he was and why he was
enormously successful as well as why
History has held him up as primus inter
pares.Buhari and his handlers would be well
advised to scout through history and see
how any government that adopted
Machiavellianism as opposed to Awoism has
ever ended. They should educate themselves
and make up their minds which of the two
philosophies of politics they want to adopt.
Obeying the rules of the game such as
politics as Great Awo posited is functionally
related to “honour” that Professor Soyinka
apotheosized on an occasion at the Great
Oduduwa Hall, in Great Ife in 1982, as being
fundamental “even among thieves.” Thus, I
am assuming that Buhari is an “honourable
man.” I am also assuming that his handlers
are decent and ethical. It is based on these
assumptions that I know it is inescapable for
Buhari and his handlers not to give adequate
and commensurate space to Tinubu’s
influence in this administration. Not to give
Tinubu his dues would amount to perfidy and
a betrayal of the highest order. It would
amount to dishonor among the “thieves” in
the APC. It would also suggest that Buhari
and his men are indecent, unethical and
treacherous.
I find it weird that suddenly, Tinubu “is too
controlling.” “He wants to impose all of the
time.” “He is too ambitious.” “He is not good
for Buhari’s Presidency.” “Buhari will do well
to stay away from him.” “Tinubu must be
neutralized.” “Tinubu is corrupt.” ”Tinubu is
selfish.” “Is Tinubu the only one in the APC?”
“Why must he seek to exert influence in
Buhari’s Administration?” “Tinubu is too
powerful.” “Tinubu should leave Buhari
alone.” “Tinubu is not the only one who
contributed to Buhari’s success.” Tinubu this,
Tinubu that!
Well, Tinubu may not be the only one who
contributed to Buhari’s success, but he is the
ACE. He was and still is the most important
variable in the success of Buhari in the last
election. Remove Tinubu from the equation,
Buhari’s last effort would have been more
woeful than the previous efforts. How come
people have such a short memory? Have
some people been in Russia not to know
what transpired? Or they are just being in
denial because they lack the capacity to be
fair to Tinubu? Do we have to like Tinubu to
be fair to him? As Jennette McCurdy insisted
above, “no matter who or what” anyone of us
supports, “supporting fairness first” should be
the first order of business.
How can people forget so soon that Buhari
has been running for President for 12 years
and has been failing very woefully until
Tinubu comes to his rescue? Where were all
those making noises about Tinubu wanting to
exert influence? What is wrong in expecting
to reap the fruit of your labour as Tinubu is
seeking to do by having some of his
supporters and men in the Buhari House that
he was the architect of?
Those blaming Tinubu, if they are not
ingrates and hypocrites, didn’t they know
that Tinubu was corrupt when he was toiling
to put the coalition together? Didn’t they
know that he was always imposing
candidates when they were all running after
him to help them install Buhari as the
President? Didn’t they know that he always
wanted to put his own supporters in position
of power when he was sweating to make
Buhari successful? How come it is now that
they are just realizing that Tinubu is an
undesirable element?
Now, all these ingrates and hypocrites are
shouting the names of Babatunde Fashola,
Kayode Fayemi and the rest of them. Have
they forgotten that there would not have
been any of them on the political stage if not
for Tinubu? Give it to Tinubu, he knows how
to put square pegs in square holes. Or has
everyone forgotten that the tragedy of
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was foisted on
Nigeria by Mattew Aremu Okikiola Olusegun
Obasanjo-Onyejekwe? How come Tinubu is
suddenly bad and has to be ostracized from
the Buhari House that would not and could
not have stood if not for Tinubu?
I am not a politician. But I am seriously
interested in politics because it affects me on
daily basis. I am not a supporter of Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu school of politics. I am
not fond of his political philosophy. I have
criticized him several times in the public
space. I have a lot of beef with him with the
way he has conducted a lot of things. All this
has not blinded and would not blind me to
the fact that he is entitled to the fruit of his
labour. There is just no other way to slice it.
Though, Tinubu put himself in this
predicament because he did not heed the
warnings given to him regarding a lot of
things by some elders in Yoruba land. He
believed he saw something that some of us
did not see. He was committed beyond
commitment. He was dedicated, determined
and focused. He put everything he had into
making Buhari successful. He hurt a lot of his
own people as a result. He made enemies
out of his “extended family members.” He
gave everything. To deny him now what is
due to him would be utterly unfair. What is
fair is just fair. What is right is just right.
It is true that Mohammadu Buhari is now the
president. Now he has the power. But he
would be advised to be cautious on the way
and manner he treats Tinubu, regardless of
his (Tinubu’s) imperfections. Tinubu may not
be one hundred percent accepted in Yoruba
land. Chief M. K.O Abiola was not either.
Same goes with Great Awo. But it would be
a very terrible mistake to judge him based on
that. Buhari would be well advised that it
would be in his best interest and the interest
of Nigeria not to ostracize Tinubu. Not at
this time or anytime in the life of this
administration. Buhari’s failure to hearken to
this advice would have a lot of ramifications
for the fortunes and future of this country.
It is my hope that Buhari and his handlers
would not make the same mistake that
Ibrahim Babangida made with Chief M. K. O.
Abiola. I hope Buhari would not repeat the
mistake of his good friend in General Sani
Abacha. It is my hope that they would not
miscalculate and take decisions that would
put this country in jeopardy. It is my hope
that Buhari and his handlers would not be
ungrateful. It is my hope that Tinubu would
not be denied his fair share of influence in
this administration. If there is anything that
the Yoruba man hates, it is unfairness, even
against strangers or detractors, not to talk of
one of their own, regardless how recalcitrant
s/he is.
It is too late in the day to just realize that
Tinubu is not good. It is too late in the day
to want to discard him and undercut him. It
is too late in the day to look for excuses to
ostracize him after he has helped put the
government in power. Regardless of the way
it is sliced, without Tinubu, there could never
have been any Buhari presidency. Not Alhaji
Abubakar Atiku, and certainly not Senator
Bukola Saraki or any of the crass
opportunists circling around Buhari presently
could have made it happen.
As Jennette McCurdy preached, no matter
who or what you support, “supporting
fairness first” is the best way forward.
Expecting a modicum of decency and ethics
in the conduct of our politicians regardless of
their imperfections is nothing too much to
expect. Even, among thieves, there should be
honour a la Professor Wole Soyinka.
“In the long history of the world, only a few
generations have been granted the role of
defending freedom in its hour of maximum
danger. I do not shrink from this
responsibility – I welcome it.”
– John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961.
naugural Address January 20, 1961
“Even among thieves, there is honour.” –
Professor Wole Soyinka
“Though, force can protect in emergency, only
justice, fairness and cooperation can finally
lead men to the dawn of eternal peace.”
– Dwight D. Eisenhower
“No matter who or what you support, I
believe in supporting fairness first.” –
Jennette McCurdy
•Tinubu: the man they want to crucify
In recent weeks, I have been watching the
way and manner that Asiwaju Ahmed Bola
Tinubu is being tossed around by his
beneficiaries. I have been watching in
consternation, though not surprisingly, how
he is being schemed out of the House of
Mohammadu Buhari that he has toiled to
help build. I am watching how suddenly he is
the leper that everyone must run away from
now that the food is cooked. I am aghast at
the ingratitude of politicians and their cruelty.
I am appalled at the crass opportunism
pervading the air.
Yes, people often have tried to divorce
integrity and honour from politics. People
have tried to create a gulf between morality
and politics. People have always tried to
excuse treachery and perfidy as inseparable
concomitants of politics. People have justified
dishonor and shamelessness as ingredients
of politics. There have been efforts since the
days of yore to justify immorality, lack of
honour, dishonesty, unreliability, subversion
as fundamental tenets of politics. I believe all
the above are just means to excuse
irresponsibility on the part of politics and
those who practice the trade. It is why
people believe and say that “Politics is a dirty
game.”
Niccolo Machiavelli, the Italian diplomat
during the Renaissance era gave intellectual
wings to this anomaly with his book The
Prince published in 1532. He had espoused
the obnoxious idea in which political
expediency is placed above morality. He had
noxiously advocated the use of craft and
deceit to maintain authority. In short
Machiavellianism is “the employment of
cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in
general conduct.”
But the Great Chief Obafemi Awolowo
fervently disagrees with this heinous school
of thought about politics. He posited that
politics is not dirty a game, it is those who
play politics that make it dirty. In a lecture
given on January 27, 1961 titled “Politics and
Religion” in Ilishan Remo, the Great Awo
contended “the description of politics as a
game is a felicitous one,” and insisted that
“any game at all, other than a game of
chance, is good. But the manner of playing it
may be clean or dirty, all depending on
whether or not the players observe the rules
for playing the game which mankind has laid
down in conformity with universally accepted
standards of decency and ethics.”
The above postulation by the Great Awo
underscored why he was the type of
politician that he was and why he was
enormously successful as well as why
History has held him up as primus inter
pares.Buhari and his handlers would be well
advised to scout through history and see
how any government that adopted
Machiavellianism as opposed to Awoism has
ever ended. They should educate themselves
and make up their minds which of the two
philosophies of politics they want to adopt.
Obeying the rules of the game such as
politics as Great Awo posited is functionally
related to “honour” that Professor Soyinka
apotheosized on an occasion at the Great
Oduduwa Hall, in Great Ife in 1982, as being
fundamental “even among thieves.” Thus, I
am assuming that Buhari is an “honourable
man.” I am also assuming that his handlers
are decent and ethical. It is based on these
assumptions that I know it is inescapable for
Buhari and his handlers not to give adequate
and commensurate space to Tinubu’s
influence in this administration. Not to give
Tinubu his dues would amount to perfidy and
a betrayal of the highest order. It would
amount to dishonor among the “thieves” in
the APC. It would also suggest that Buhari
and his men are indecent, unethical and
treacherous.
I find it weird that suddenly, Tinubu “is too
controlling.” “He wants to impose all of the
time.” “He is too ambitious.” “He is not good
for Buhari’s Presidency.” “Buhari will do well
to stay away from him.” “Tinubu must be
neutralized.” “Tinubu is corrupt.” ”Tinubu is
selfish.” “Is Tinubu the only one in the APC?”
“Why must he seek to exert influence in
Buhari’s Administration?” “Tinubu is too
powerful.” “Tinubu should leave Buhari
alone.” “Tinubu is not the only one who
contributed to Buhari’s success.” Tinubu this,
Tinubu that!
Well, Tinubu may not be the only one who
contributed to Buhari’s success, but he is the
ACE. He was and still is the most important
variable in the success of Buhari in the last
election. Remove Tinubu from the equation,
Buhari’s last effort would have been more
woeful than the previous efforts. How come
people have such a short memory? Have
some people been in Russia not to know
what transpired? Or they are just being in
denial because they lack the capacity to be
fair to Tinubu? Do we have to like Tinubu to
be fair to him? As Jennette McCurdy insisted
above, “no matter who or what” anyone of us
supports, “supporting fairness first” should be
the first order of business.
How can people forget so soon that Buhari
has been running for President for 12 years
and has been failing very woefully until
Tinubu comes to his rescue? Where were all
those making noises about Tinubu wanting to
exert influence? What is wrong in expecting
to reap the fruit of your labour as Tinubu is
seeking to do by having some of his
supporters and men in the Buhari House that
he was the architect of?
Those blaming Tinubu, if they are not
ingrates and hypocrites, didn’t they know
that Tinubu was corrupt when he was toiling
to put the coalition together? Didn’t they
know that he was always imposing
candidates when they were all running after
him to help them install Buhari as the
President? Didn’t they know that he always
wanted to put his own supporters in position
of power when he was sweating to make
Buhari successful? How come it is now that
they are just realizing that Tinubu is an
undesirable element?
Now, all these ingrates and hypocrites are
shouting the names of Babatunde Fashola,
Kayode Fayemi and the rest of them. Have
they forgotten that there would not have
been any of them on the political stage if not
for Tinubu? Give it to Tinubu, he knows how
to put square pegs in square holes. Or has
everyone forgotten that the tragedy of
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan was foisted on
Nigeria by Mattew Aremu Okikiola Olusegun
Obasanjo-Onyejekwe? How come Tinubu is
suddenly bad and has to be ostracized from
the Buhari House that would not and could
not have stood if not for Tinubu?
I am not a politician. But I am seriously
interested in politics because it affects me on
daily basis. I am not a supporter of Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu school of politics. I am
not fond of his political philosophy. I have
criticized him several times in the public
space. I have a lot of beef with him with the
way he has conducted a lot of things. All this
has not blinded and would not blind me to
the fact that he is entitled to the fruit of his
labour. There is just no other way to slice it.
Though, Tinubu put himself in this
predicament because he did not heed the
warnings given to him regarding a lot of
things by some elders in Yoruba land. He
believed he saw something that some of us
did not see. He was committed beyond
commitment. He was dedicated, determined
and focused. He put everything he had into
making Buhari successful. He hurt a lot of his
own people as a result. He made enemies
out of his “extended family members.” He
gave everything. To deny him now what is
due to him would be utterly unfair. What is
fair is just fair. What is right is just right.
It is true that Mohammadu Buhari is now the
president. Now he has the power. But he
would be advised to be cautious on the way
and manner he treats Tinubu, regardless of
his (Tinubu’s) imperfections. Tinubu may not
be one hundred percent accepted in Yoruba
land. Chief M. K.O Abiola was not either.
Same goes with Great Awo. But it would be
a very terrible mistake to judge him based on
that. Buhari would be well advised that it
would be in his best interest and the interest
of Nigeria not to ostracize Tinubu. Not at
this time or anytime in the life of this
administration. Buhari’s failure to hearken to
this advice would have a lot of ramifications
for the fortunes and future of this country.
It is my hope that Buhari and his handlers
would not make the same mistake that
Ibrahim Babangida made with Chief M. K. O.
Abiola. I hope Buhari would not repeat the
mistake of his good friend in General Sani
Abacha. It is my hope that they would not
miscalculate and take decisions that would
put this country in jeopardy. It is my hope
that Buhari and his handlers would not be
ungrateful. It is my hope that Tinubu would
not be denied his fair share of influence in
this administration. If there is anything that
the Yoruba man hates, it is unfairness, even
against strangers or detractors, not to talk of
one of their own, regardless how recalcitrant
s/he is.
It is too late in the day to just realize that
Tinubu is not good. It is too late in the day
to want to discard him and undercut him. It
is too late in the day to look for excuses to
ostracize him after he has helped put the
government in power. Regardless of the way
it is sliced, without Tinubu, there could never
have been any Buhari presidency. Not Alhaji
Abubakar Atiku, and certainly not Senator
Bukola Saraki or any of the crass
opportunists circling around Buhari presently
could have made it happen.
As Jennette McCurdy preached, no matter
who or what you support, “supporting
fairness first” is the best way forward.
Expecting a modicum of decency and ethics
in the conduct of our politicians regardless of
their imperfections is nothing too much to
expect. Even, among thieves, there should be
honour a la Professor Wole Soyinka.
“In the long history of the world, only a few
generations have been granted the role of
defending freedom in its hour of maximum
danger. I do not shrink from this
responsibility – I welcome it.”
– John F. Kennedy, in his Inaugural Address
January 20, 1961.
naugural Address January 20, 1961
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