Reading Shaka Momodu’s diatribe against former Lagos
Governor Bola Tinubu entitled ‘The Flawed Progressive’ in
a ThisDay opinion column recently, one must
extend the deepest sympathies to Momodu. The man’s soul
has vanished, yet he writes this shameless piece to announce
to the entire world that his soul has not died but that he
merely sold it. Good for him. I hope he received a hefty
payment. No matter the cost, the man lost something money
cannot buy.
Shaka’s piece is a classic case of a journalist who needs
urgent help. He writes like one on furlough from the
institution. No trained professional hand, cultivated and
lucid mind would have lent his name to such a puerile piece.
His analysis showcases his disdain for rigour. The rigmarole
in his arguments exposes the hollowness of the write up. His
piece on Bola Tinubu exposes him to be not what he claimed
to be; a journalist and writer. Bereft of what constitutes a
logical and commonsense analysis, Shaka exposed his hand
in a piece that is not only in bad taste but a sponsored
hatchet job, ill-timed, ill-motivated and ill-advised.
Of course, Shaka’s right to write whatever he feels like
writing cannot be begrudged. However, he must reckon with
the fact that there is a wide gulf between responsible
journalism and malicious fiction. Shaka has fallen into that
gulf and from what we can see, it appears he has allowed
himself to drown in it as well. His attempt to cast Tinubu as
something other than a progressive is like a man who had
bought the wrong size of shoes and was struggling to fit the
shoes in because he must wear it at all cost.
Let us look at how the World Wide Web defined the word
“Progressive”: ‘Favoring or promoting progress, advancing,
forward looking, and forward thinking. A person who favors
a political philosophy of progress and reform and the
protection of civil liberties.’
Looking at the definition above, Shaka Momodu knew he
was treading on thin ice. Yet, for lucre, he took on the ugly
assignment. He had been recruited to disparage the person
of Asiwaju. And he attacked the job like a hungry but
enfeebled hyena without any teeth. Thus, he made the hyena
noises but barely barked and for all the words, he never truly
showed any bite. He therefore tried to set up Tinubu by first
lavishing him with false praise. He asserted that the man is
held in high esteem and loved by many. Shaka, the hatchet
man, used his initial effusive praise to feign to be a balanced
columnist but his intention was clear; to attack the person of
Tinubu, not with hard facts but innuendo and claptrap.
Remember the saying; “A lie oft repeated tends to be taken
as the gospel truth by many.”
Continuing with his piece, Shaka went ahead to tell his
readers how Tinubu was liked and hated by many, but he
failed to tell us was how he arrived at his myopic conclusion.
Was any survey conducted to determine the level of love
and acceptability of the person of Asiwaju Tinubu, or
otherwise? What people like Shaka and his ilk do is to create
an impression, albeit a false one, that they are speaking as a
representative of the people. What they will not say,
however, is that they are sponsored by those in the ruling
party afraid of the growing stature of Asiwaju Tinubu in the
national space. That Tinubu is hated is true. What reformer
is not hated by the guardians of the status quo? Thus, in
trying too hard to prove his point, Shaka refuted it. The issue
is not whether Tinubu is hated but by whom and for what
reason. Those who don’t want equality and change hate him.
Those who want it like him. Tinubu is one of the few
Nigerian politicians who can walk freely among the people
and also who likes to do so. Can the same be said of those
hiding behind the high walls of Aso Villa?
The truth is the PDP never gave the APC a chance to survive
as they wrongly assumed that key APC figures were like
them and would place personal ambitions above national
purpose. But now that the PDP have been caught unawares,
they are flailing like drowning minnows, sponsoring men
like Shaka, who, afflicted by the infamous Stockholm
syndrome, will for a morsel, write anything and tell any lie to
stay alive. Factuality and verification is not their concern,
rather their pocket determines what they do. At this time,
when Nigerians should be glad that we have a viable
opposition, some mercenary Nigerians will, for a little pay,
do anything to malign personalities for no reason but to taste
of the crumbs of the feast of the powerful and cruel.He
started to bare his fangs and showed his true intent when he
attacked Tinubu’s intellectual accomplishments and what
comes to my mind is, “Does Shaka have an ‘Intellectual
Meter’ to measure how intelligent Tinubu is?” For one, I
doubt if a mind that is less than cerebral can rise to become
the Chief Treasurer of any oil giant of Mobil’s size and
global reputation. But as earlier noted, Shaka just had to
throw in a lot of mud with the hope that some will stick.
Tinubu has never laid claim to being the present day
Awolowo. In fact, he is on record to have said, “I have read
Awolowo in several books, and he is our hero and mentor,
but I cannot but be Bola Tinubu. I can only tread the path of
Awolowo, without his shoes. I don’t know his size, I can’t
step into his shoes because they are either bigger or smaller,
and his image and legacy are bigger than me. I can only use
and share the vision. He went away with his shoes and his
cap but he left a legacy, a vision.”
Here is one thing that is unassailable. When the PDP used
hook, crook, ladder, hammer and nail to monopolize the
South-West, Tinubu and Lagos stood as the lone survivor of
these machinations. Had Tinubu fallen, the PDP would have
swept the South West in its entirety and would have made a
substantial down payment toward its objective for a One-
Party State. However, Tinubu did not crumble. Not only did
he hold ground, he used that foothold to claim more space
for progressive politicians. From Ekiti, Osun, Edo, Oyo and
Ogun came into the progressive camp. Would Shaka dare
say that governors Fashola, Aregbesola, Fayemi,
Oshiomhole, Ajimobi, Amosun are not progressives? In
politics, as in other things, the fruit falls not far from the
tree. Since these fruits are progressive, then the tree from
which they appear must be likewise for a mango cannot be
grown of an orange tree or a cashew of a lemon tree.
Tinubu has the ability to fight any battle he believes in.
When the South West crumbled to the garrison politics of
the PDP, Tinubu was the only man standing and that
eventually made him a rallying point for the Progressives
across the country.
Even ThisDay Newspapers, Shaka’s original employers,
recognized Tinubu as their “Man of the Year, 2013″ and
ascribed to him the “Man who re-built the Nigerian
opposition.” I trust that the judgement of your paper was a
sound and timely one and it was fully independent.
Tinubu has earned his place of honor in Nigerian history. He
is the single person most responsible for preventing the
creation of a one-party state and thus the person most
responsible for salvaging Nigeria’s democracy from the PDP
dictatorial inclinations. No other politician can boast of such
a progressive achievement, particularly none in the PDP.
The trajectory of his leadership skills is well documented.
As Governor of Lagos, despite being starved of legitimate
funds by the Obasanjo government, Tinubu dug deep and as
a result of his resourcefulness and due to his shrewdness,
Lagos state was the only state in Nigeria that could and can
survive and even thrive without federal allocation. If that is
not an achievement,
then one must change the definition of the word.He ensured
that Lagos became financially buoyant because he achieved
a massive increase in the states internally generated
revenue. Few men in politics can compare to Tinubu’s depth
and expert use of words, certainly not the current President.
Tinubu has mastered and understands the power of words
and ideas. Meanwhile Shaka and those who pay him have no
idea what an idea is.
Another oft used but tired accusation used to accuse the
Asiwaju and his party is that it lacks internal democracy.
There are no hard and fast rules as to how candidates can
emerge in a political party. Consensus, the last time I
checked, has been a way by which parties in Nigeria chose
candidates so as to limit acrimony and other negative fallout
of primary elections. The PDP uses it a lot in picking their
candidates and come out to conduct phony primaries but to
appear democratic. Shaka will do well to follow the Ekiti
gubernatorial elections currently in the pipeline. The PDP
has tried very hard to arrive at a consensus candidate and I
fail to see how that is a problem. Accusing Tinubu of
handpicking candidates is lowly hypocrisy. Was Oluremi
Tinubu duly qualified to run for the Senate? Should being
the wife of the biggest opposition figure in the country deny
her of her constitutional right? Why is Bill Clinton’s head
not on the chopper because his wife first became a Senator,
later a Presidential candidate and later US Secretary of
State? Because in America, your right as a citizen cannot be
mortgaged because of your association by marriage, religion
or other non-violent persuasions. I dare say that Oluremi
Tinubu is doing a better job in her constitutional duties as a
senator than Patience Jonathan is doing making a mockery
of her unconstitutional role as first lady.Tinubu did not get
to where he is today by accident. Here is a man, who at great
risk to his life, withstood the brutal Abacha and his goons
and ultimately was forced into exile to avoid certain death.
He is not without flaws, as only God is flawless. But as a
man, his achievements are numerous and for all to see. When
Tinubu became the governor of Lagos State, the state was
internationally known as the dirtiest city in the world. Lagos
has been improved, cleaned and made better. Take a drive
round Lagos metropolis today and judge for yourself. At the
end of his two terms, while the PDP gave Nigerians
Yar’Adua, then Jonathan, Tinubu gifted Lagosians with one
of the best administrators in Babatunde Fashola.
Tinubu has done excellently. The people of the Southwest
recognize that but for his astuteness, courage, presence of
mind and commitment to a better society the Southwest
would have been overrun by the destructive and negative
force called the PDP and other reactionary elements. These
are days when most journalists are pliable, so the likes of
Shaka come a dime in a dozen. Shaka’s piece is one fit for
the trash. Tinubu has earned his accolade and his work
speaks for him. Any wonder that anytime he talks, the entire
PDP machinery starts to fall apart? Shaka, better go get a
broom. You’ll need it!

fijiano202: Wow,this a wonderful and well written article....as the writer aformentioned Only God is flawless,Tinubu is human with many flaws.i understand people accuse him of embezzlement without evidence but what they all fail to appreciate is how he turned Lagos state to a self-sustaining state.Americans call it an Independent State..i have never voted or rallied for anyone but tinubu record has been outstanding and i will always respect him for leading the whole SouthWest into a new phase of Transformation and creating an even-field in Politics..Imagine how disguisting it would have been if PDP was ruling all states in SouthWest and Nigeria as a whole...Mimiko may be a governor from Labour Party but tinubu power struggle/Face-off with PDP made that possible...Change can only happen when is power-share,dialogue and compromise...Hate it or Love it Tinubu created his own legacy so wake up and stop eating remant from greedy politicians and create ur own Legacy...You may be the change Nigeria needs

Okiki_Oluwa: I think APC is still a little bit fair on Nigerians than PDP.
Just talking from what I saw in the South West.
Last Bullet
Tinubu has his flaws. But PDP & their hyenas are animalistic with their in human acts of mis-ruling Nigeria since 1999.

caseless: What a gagarntuan piece from an intelectually rich nigerian!!
All these pdp-tilted journalists who are intelectually arid but take delight in hatchet job at the progressives are getting their share advalorem. The milieu of progressives is guaged with like minds who are equipped to raze down asinines like aribisala and momodu down in proportionality. These intemperate numskulls who are given token to write their crass piece about our progressive leader will be swept into the hypabyssal soon as our political orogenesis begins.
And as for their lobster-like e-worriors like phockphockman, sincere9igerian, and others...u've enjoyed our fluffy altruism for too long. Just be on the lookout for our invasion.
Well to the APC , the hub of mental magnitude and supracrustal consangnuity.

tinuolababy:


God bless you

I dare say
that Oluremi
Tinubu is doing a better job in her
constitutional duties as a
senator than Patience Jonathan is doing
making a mockery
of her unconstitutional role as first
lady

olubukato:

Amen

Truckpusher: The guy dey vibrate scarrer