Written by:
Olamilekan Hamat
A former governor of Lagos State, Senator Bola
Tinubu, is learning daily that politics in Abuja is
not the same as the one in his enclave, Lagos.
From Northern Elders’ yellow card, to the red
card by the elected senators on the platform of
the All Progressives Congress (APC) about two
weeks ago, he may be biting off more than he
can chew in his quest to play the godfather at
the centre.
Talk of a cat with nine lives since our return to
civil rule in 1999, the name Tinubu, the
Jagaban of Borgu, comes to mind. From being
picked as the gubernatorial candidate of the
Alliance for Democracy (AD) ahead of favourite
Funso Williams, to sending into political
archives, the leaders of Afenifere that ensured
his ascension, Jagaban has been a lucky man.
He outwitted two deputy governors, Kofo
Bucknor-Akerele and Femi Pedro, survived
many battles with then president, Olusegun
Obasanjo, and was the only governor that
survived the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
tsunami that swept through the South-West in
2003.
Out of office, Jagaban is one of the few political
leaders, whose political hegemony still
survives. Though, there are cracks here and
there, he still remains the kingmaker in Lagos
and some parts of the South-West.
Allegations of his domineering attitude almost
led to the division of the defunct Action
Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Lagos in 2007,
with the state governor Babatunde Fashola,
being pushed to join Labour Party by admirers
and associates. It took the intervention of who-
is-who Lagos to resolve the crisis.
Fashola’s failure in Politics 101; retreating after
advancing or looking back like Lot’s wife,
became the governor’s greatest undoing. For
the better part of his second term, Fashola was
a General without soldiers, so it was easy for
Jagaban to crush him during the 2014 APC
gubernatorial primaries in Lagos alleged, Supo
Shasore who was alleged to be Fashola’s
candidate, got only 121 votes out of 5,700,
while Jagaban’s candidate, Akinwunmi
Ambode, won with 3,735 votes, but that is a
story for another day.
Jagaban continues to thrive in Lagos and other
parts of the South-West Nigeria. In 2007, he
also survived the allegation by Abubakar Atiku,
the presidential candidate of ACN that ‘he
supported and funded the campaign of late
President Umaru Yar’adua, against his party’s
candidate. His confession that he betrayed his
own candidate, Nuhu Ribadu for Goodluck
Jonathan in the 2011 presidential contest,
earned him no reprimand. Save for failure in
Ondo and Ekiti states, he is comparatively still
the number one politician in the South-West.
His quest to replicate what he did in the South-
West at the national level was initially met with
stiff and near violent resistance. Former
Governor Ali Modu Sheriff, threatened a mortal
combat with him last year but for the
intervention of party leaders like President
Muhammad Buhari and Atiku. Sheriff later left
to join the PDP, while Jagaban’s candidates
John Odigie-Oyegun and Yemi Osinbajo
became party chairman and vice president,
respectively.
Not contented with these juicy positions,
Jagaban wants to become the Lion of Asokoro.
There are insinuations that he wishes to install
Ahmed Lawan as Senate President, Femi
Gbajabiamila, as Speaker of the House of
Representatives and Audu Ogbeh as Secretary
to the Government of the Federation.
He is also said to have lined up associates like
Wale Edun, Senator Olorunnimbe Mamora,
Chief Segun Oni, Rotimi Akeredolu and others
for ministerial appointments, while opposing
the appointment of aides that have fallen out
with him like Fashola and Dr Kayode Fayemi.
Piqued by allusions of Jagaban’s alleged
excessive demand, some Northern elders
began cautioning him against blackmailing
Buhari, arguing that the South-West
contributed just about 500,000 votes, an
insignificant number compared to what
Zamfara or Kano states delivered.
While the above argument may sound myopic,
considering that Jagaban’s contributions to
Buhari’s victory transcended votes, yet the Lion
of Bourdillon should note that his claws cannot
be as sharp in Abuja as they were in Lagos.
If
the yellow card from the Northern elders still
looks like an illusion of reality to Jagaban, the
red card APC Senators gave him at the retreat
for its senators is a clear signal that he needs
to pull over and start re-strategising.
The Senators, many of them strange
bedfellows, are ready to forget their differences
to back a candidate they believe will not be a
Jagaban stooge. The anti-Jagaban feeling was
so palpable that the 16 Senators loyal to him
had to stay away from the venue of the retreat.
They later addressed a press conference
claiming the party had endorsed Lawan and
Akume as the party’s choice for Senate
president and deputy Senate president, as if
Barnabas Gemade, who addressed the press, is
the party chairman or spokesperson.
Thirty-five out of the 59 senators, who
attended the retreat, made no secret of their
decision to back Bukola Saraki who they
believe will not only represent them well, but
will not be controlled by an interest group or a
godfather outside the Senate.
With the PDP Senate caucus, led by Andy Uba
and Godswill Akpabio, also rooting for Saraki,
one does not need to gaze into his crystal ball
to know that he already has more than the
required 55 senators he needs to become the
next Senate president.
With defeat staring him in the face, it is not too
late for Jagaban to beat a retreat and allow
members of the upper and lower House choose
their leaders. He should take a cue from Buhari,
who travelled to the United Kingdom to avoid
meddling in the politics of who becomes the
Senate president.
If the Jagaban-backed Lawan defeats Saraki to
win the race, it may not be news. But if Saraki
defeats Lawan, it will be one defeat too many,
as the Lion of Bourdillon’s claws would have
been cut off. It will be humiliating.
The embarrassment may mark the beginning of
his descent into political oblivion, not just at
the national level, but also in the South-West
and even Lagos. To be forewarned is to be
forearmed; being a cat with nine lives is not a
guarantee against accidents or becoming a
casualty.
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