TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI

Some Nigerians believe he is the right man to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. For some stakeholders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), having understudied the president since May 29, 2015 when they first assumed office, he is the most qualified to continue with the current administration’s Next Level agenda. They also believed that he is not ambitious of succeeding his principal and has always carried out his task with tact and great sense whenever he was given the opportunity to step in in acting capacity.

The youths identify with him because he speaks their language. On social media platforms , they fondly refer to him as ‘Star Boy’. For a man who just clocked 65 years few days ago, those who are fed up with the old order of Nigeria being administered by gerontocrats also consider him a worthy successor in 2023.

To the intellectuals, if Nigeria truly wants an articulate leader, who is bold, charismatic and resourceful, a wordsmith who has the gift of the gab like Martin Luther King Jnr, Barack Obama, J.F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and the likes, then he is the right man for the job. To religious fanatics, his being a Christian is a plus as it will be unjust for the APC to field another Muslim when President Buhari who is completing eight years is also a Muslim.

On the other hand, there are some moralists who felt he should not even dare contemplate joining the 2023 presidential race. Some leaders in his region have pointedly told him to decline the offer even if the president chooses him as his anointed candidate. Reason? His benefactor and former boss, the man who nominated him for his current position as the number two man in Africa’s most populous nation is also vying for the number one political office in 2023 under the same political party. Contesting against him will amount to an act of betrayal which may haunt him for the rest of his political life.

The above scenario captures the dilemma of Nigeria’s Vice- President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. With the national convention of the party over, the stage is now set for the emergence of the presidential flagbearer of the APC for the election slated for February 25, 2023. Already, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state under whom Osinbajo served as eight years as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice has already declared interest in the running for the presidency. The APC national leader who said becoming the president of Nigeria has been his ‘lifelong ambition’ has also informed President Buhari of his ambition and has also embarked on massive consultations across the country

For Osinbajo, the issue of whether he will run or not is still based in the realm of conjectures and speculations. Many of his supporters have sworn that he will run in 2023. There are also many support groups spread across the country who are mobilising support for him. The VP on his part has not told them to desist from campaigning for him, fueling rumours that he is okay with their activities.

South-West APC leaders are waiting for Osinbajo’s next moves. They have vowed to ostracise him if he decides to run against Tinubu. Some of his loyalists who have publicly identified with his aspiration have been branded as traitors while some of them were even threatened. A prominent case is that Senator Babafemi Ojudu, Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, says he has been receiving threat messages from “irritants” for declaring that he won’t support Tinubu’s presidential ambition.

Ojudu, who works in the Office of the Vice President said his refusal to support the presidential aspiration of the former Lagos State governor should not portray him as a betrayer.

According to the statement titled, ‘Principled Political Choices are not Betrayal’, the presidential aide said though he had benefited from Tinubu’s kindness in the past, he was not made by the APC leader.

Ojudu wrote, “The idea that everyone who has related with Tinubu and disagrees with him on this Presidential bid is a traitor and a betrayal is puerile. Many of us, his associates, were not made by him as you also want the world to believe.

“We were already made before meeting him and in the cause of relating we gave one another a helping hand… So, on this matter of 2023 I wish him (Tinubu) well but I cannot in good conscience give him my support or cast my vote for him in the coming primary. It is my right. I am above 60 years of age for God sake. I almost died seeking this inalienable democratic rights, held up in detention and severally tortured. Your god is not my god”.

“Let no one think he can browbeat or blackmail me to do what does not go with my conscience or my ideals. Enough of your phone threats and embarrassment of my family members.”

“For the irritants who have been sending threat messages to me and members of my family or calling to abuse me for not supporting Tinubu, do know that is not democracy. It is something else. I spent my youth years fighting autocracy and intolerance of the military and I am still willing and ready, even now, to stand up for what I believe, even if it will cost me my life. Enough said,” he added.

Speaking on the issue, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe, a former Minister of Works and APC chieftain says Osinbajo cannot be said to betray Tinubu if he decides to aspire for the presidency in 2023.

“That is irrelevant and anti-democratic. Getting power in democracy requires struggle. Nobody can tell me because he has assisted me in the past, maybe 20 years ago, then I cannot compete with you. Saying that is anti-democratic. In democracy, you have to exhibit your skills and show people what you have to offer. Yes, Osinbajo served Tinubu years ago when he was governor but he cannot be subservient to him for life. He has to move on someday”.

“If Osinbajo can bear the brunt and withstand the rigours of contesting for the presidency, nobody should stop him. Let him go out and campaign. Let him and other aspirants, including Asiwaju come out to the field to test their popularity. The race is for the fittest, brightest and the cleverest person. Nobody should beg or threaten anybody not to contest. That is not democracy. Let all qualified aspirants go out and collect the forms. Whoever the party picks, that is our candidate and we will all work for his victory”.

Also,a public affairs analyst, Babatunde Obele wrote “One thing that is clear is that the choice of the presidential flag bearer of the ruling party, — the APC— seems to be narrowing down to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. Considering Tinubu’s long years of active political participation and sacrifices, from the early 1990s, when he contested as one of the senators representing Lagos in the upper legislative chamber and won in the botched “third republic”, his days in NADECO, up until the “fourth republic”, when he emerged as the governor of Lagos State, moving on to the formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a party he played a key role in its formation, which eventually made history by becoming the first political party to defeat a ruling party in a national election, one would better understand why he described his intention to run for the office of the president as his “lifelong ambition.”

“The above, perhaps, explains why many, especially among his political beneficiaries, are trying to canonise him as the most qualified democrat from the South-West, within the APC, who should succeed Muhammadu Buhari as the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

In fairness to him, his undying and professed love for democracy, his personality as a master strategist and his unique capacity to raise leaders all call for the verdict of greatness and genius. But one fact— one undeniable fact— which is known by all and sundry— is the fact that no one can predict what he can do with Presidential power, especially when one considers how he has personalised state power in Lagos State till date”.

“To help you understand the gravity of this concern, just consider the fact that no young man or woman who is desirous of contesting for any political office in Katsina State requires to come and pay any special homage to President Muhammadu Buhari before he or she can win any election. Such aspirant’s fate is determined by the electorate. Can anyone — in good conscience — say the same about Tinubu’s Lagos? When one further considers the fact that Nigeria is a plural society with diverse set of people, well-regarded traditional and religious institutions and multi-ethnic nationalities, one would better appreciate why informed citizens are concerned about Tinubu’s quest for presidential power. He is highly esteemed— no doubt— but the apprehension runs skin deep. That also explains why the call for Osinbajo to run is gaining momentum”.

“The man, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, is no less a child of providence. Wielding power with alluring humility and exemplary focus, he has demonstrated with his life’s trajectory, that spirituality—finding expression through law and politics— fundamentally transforms the human condition for good. Till date, he evidently maintains this unique philosophy and poise. His unwavering sense of loyalty and duty, rigorous erudition and professionalism, stern discipline, proven integrity and almost a child-like faith in God has activated those principles that guide human progress to his advantage”.

“With a burden of trust tied to his integrity, one can’t but pray that God grants him the spiritual courage that is required; not only to choose between loyalty to Tinubu and the progress of the nation, but also to understand that he cannot sacrifice the destiny of a nation on the altar of political allegiance. Prof. Osinbajo owes it to his conscience and to our nation to answer this same question; where do we go from here; status-quo or progress? In the final analysis, neither loyalty nor political allegiance should make him — or anyone—to say no to the call of Destiny”.
So will Osinbajo defer to Tinubu or listen to the clariion calls by millions of Nigerians asking him to run for the presidency in 2023?. Time will tell.
https://independent.ng/osinbajo-torn-between-loyalty-to-tinubu-and-nigeria/

Osinbajo owes a lot to Tinubu but this might be his chance to lead Nigeria

Osinbajo is waiting for directives from Baba-go-slow. If he decides he wants him as successor, he will bone Tinubu and declare

He still owe Nigerians apology for the audio promises he and Bubu promised Nigerians.

Until then, he shouldn't think about any presidential ambition.

They failed Nigeria!

Nobody should even be talking about Tinubu as president. The pains of the 2015 deadly political mistake are still with us and some selfish human beings are talking about one old creature as president.

what if he comes and correct the mistakes?

Xscape1993:
Nobody should even be talking about Tinubu as president. The pains of the 2015 deadly political mistake are still with us and some selfish human beings are talking about one old creature as president.

The only way Osibanjo can live peacefully without being haunted by his tribesmen is to remain silent and not contest. Sometimes the value of life matters more than all these need to be this and that.
I’ve served as someones vice and I know how difficult it is to watch things go wrong and you clearly can’t do anything than stay or resign.
He should save himself and quietly step out after his VP tenure.
He doesn’t have that popularity and weight to win the Presidency and he needs the south west(especially Lagos) to add to his vote which Tinubu controls. He should just save himself and his family and allow them fight dirty while pretending to support Tinubu even though he clearly may not want to(not sure because he’s a snake too).
I’m sure he certainly knows Tinubu is not what Nigeria needs as well.

8 years is enough as a VP

Modified: It’s everyone’s right to contest but Nigeria is not a place where ones right is respected and the gullible ones won’t understand his decision if he contests, it certainly will be a loss for him. It’s not a hard decision to just let it go and enjoy the loot he’s gathered for years.

He won’t dare play with the cobra's tail

Buhari failed so also Osinbajo
No two ways about it

hisexcellency34:
what if he comes and correct the mistakes?

what if he doesn't?

Buhari, Tinubu, Atiku, Osinbajo etc does not deserve the presidency. What Nigeria needs today is a total dissolution or fragmentation of this shithole and let all regions go development @ their own pace.

Whosoever still thinks that this contraption called a nation will ever work must be deceiving itself.

Everybody above sixty years will come out and tell us how he fought for democracy and military dictatorship. Yet, after getting the democracy, these same people are the ones that have played a big part in mortgaging the future of the young ones.

Haven said that, I can categorically tell you that Osinbajo will never be the president of Nigeria.

Nobody will spend sixteen years at a stretch in that aso rock.

He should go and enjoy his loots

Osinbajo? Loyalty to Nigeria?

Megabig:
The only way Osibanjo can live peacefully without being haunted by his tribesmen is to remain silent and not contest. Sometimes the value of life matters more than all these need to be this and that.
I’ve served as someones vice and I know how difficult it is to watch things go wrong and you clearly can’t do anything than stay or resign.
He should save himself and quietly step out after his VP tenure.
He doesn’t have that popularity and weight to win the Presidency and he needs the south west(especially Lagos) to add to his vote which Tinubu controls. He should just save himself and his family and allow them fight dirty while pretending to support Tinubu even though he clearly may not want to(not sure because he’s a snake too).
I’m sure he certainly knows Tinubu is not what Nigeria needs as well.

8 years is enough as a VP

Modified: It’s everyone’s right to contest but Nigeria is not a place where ones right is respected and the gullible ones won’t understand his decision if he contests, it certainly will be a loss for him. It’s not a hard decision to just let it go and enjoy the loot he’s gathered for years.

�. I wonder the kind of people who want him to challenge Tinubu. Do they understand that he would lose the trust and confidence of his immediate constituency (SW Politicians)? This is also a moral issue; Many Nigerians will not forgive anyone who they have 'pulled up' to challenge them later but they want Osinbajo to do it to someone else. I actually hoped that Jagaban would not contest but let us face it - No one is a guarantee to succeed as President. We are only hoping that Prof would succeed but Tinubu as a manager of resources is not incompetent either. He has shown the talent to pick the very best team devoid of nepotism so I think he will perform.

The guy is just being careful, what if he contest and lose? He will be referred to as a betrayer for life, and for what

I can't vote Osinbajo never he and Buhari are failure if that man becomes president he will not do more than current administration.

Abeg e, nobody dey call pastor for Nigeria job. All dat one na hype wen pesin wen close to pastor dey sponsor. Wen diz government finish for 2023, pastor go start to dey form Obama dey copy Jona Jona dey give speech from Mombasa to Timbuktu

If osinbande has contributed immensely to this comatose and rot since 2015 then he should just go back to his pastor job, pastors ,imams , elders and everybody involved failed the young generation by selecting terrorists in 2015, nigeria has been taken backwards to 30yrs, no electricity, fuel 250, desiel 750, lpg 800, and gullible and wicked people still sing praises that the current government has done well, gej that was crucified by same wicked pastors , imam, and elites left fuel at 89, desiel at 250, lpg 300, dollar 200, may generations of those that brought this terrorists on nigerians never know peace in Jesus name AMEN

Megabig:
The only way Osibanjo can live peacefully without being haunted by his tribesmen is to remain silent and not contest. Sometimes the value of life matters more than all these need to be this and that.
I’ve served as someones vice and I know how difficult it is to watch things go wrong and you clearly can’t do anything than stay or resign.
He should save himself and quietly step out after his VP tenure.
He doesn’t have that popularity and weight to win the Presidency and he needs the south west(especially Lagos) to add to his vote which Tinubu controls. He should just save himself and his family and allow them fight dirty while pretending to support Tinubu even though he clearly may not want to(not sure because he’s a snake too).
I’m sure he certainly knows Tinubu is not what Nigeria needs as well.

8 years is enough as a VP

Modified: It’s everyone’s right to contest but Nigeria is not a place where ones right is respected and the gullible ones won’t understand his decision if he contests, it certainly will be a loss for him. It’s not a hard decision to just let it go and enjoy the loot he’s gathered for years.

Mr COWARD

A brilliant article by the writer, Temidayo Akinsuyi.
His final words describe my take also.. "Time will tell"!

see pastor that leaves US to come and become Oba of Ogbomoso

osinbanjoisaliar:
Abeg e, nobody dey call pastor for Nigeria job. All dat one na hype wen pesin wen close to pastor dey sponsor. Wen diz government finish for 2023, pastor go start to dey form Obama dey copy Jona Jona dey give speech from Mombasa to Timbuktu

In truth, the guy did well as acting president. That's why many people are rooting for him in 2023

Jlow2:
If osinbande has contributed immensely to this comatose and rot since 2015 then he should just go back to his pastor job, pastors ,imams , elders and everybody involved failed the young generation by selecting terrorists in 2015, nigeria has been taken backwards to 30yrs, no electricity, fuel 250, desiel 750, lpg 800, and gullible and wicked people still sing praises that the current government has done well, gej that was crucified by same wicked pastors , imam, and elites left fuel at 89, desiel at 250, lpg 300, dollar 200, may generations of those that brought this terrorists on nigerians never know peace in Jesus name AMEN

Yes many Nigerians are asking him to run in 2023. Let's see what he has to offer

LibertyRep:
Osinbajo? Loyalty to Nigeria?

To be candid, VP PYO is generally accepted by Nigerians even some opposition party members.

Nigerians are just waiting for him to declare. He hasn't declare and the atmosphere is already lit

.

If we give Osinbajo a chance, Nigeria will be better

hisexcellency34:
what if he comes and correct the mistakes?

We don't old creature as president. We need competent and dedicated president.

is Osinbajo an old creature?

Xscape1993:
We don't old creature as president. We need competent and dedicated president.

bennybuhari:
is Osinbajo an old creature?

No dear. He is a good product.