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!

Sunday Dare is the special Adviser on Media to Bola Ahmed Tinubu

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