Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
Given Nigeria’s peculiar kind of democracy, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, should take serious heed about the possible negatives in the cacophony of voices asking him to run for the highest office in the land.
Son of man writes, mostly, based on observations of events, past and present. It is my firm belief that Tinubu should remain a godfather, and not follow the route of late Bashorun MKO Abiola and Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He should give the All Progressives Congress (APC) a successor to President Muhammadu Buhari from among the many brilliant young men and women he has helped to nurture.
My thesis is simple: No matter what anybody says today, he remains the ONLY Yoruba Leader at this crucial time. Should there be a crisis in Nigeria today, Tinubu is the ONLY Yoruba, who the average South-Westerner or persons of Yoruba descent will follow in deciding what should happen in this space given to us by Olodumare.
Flowing from the above, Nigeria’s peculiar democracy since independence, including the failed Second and Third Republics, has taught me a few things: A stupendously rich individual, who is also popular across board, may NEVER be allowed near The Presidency. He/she can only do so at the cost of his/her life. And, we do not want that for The Jagaban at this time.
Moving on, it is also my firm belief that Pastor Tunde Bakare spoke the TRUTH and nothing but the TRUTH in his assertion that those Yoruba Leaders casting aspersion at Tinubu because of his aspiration have no business doing so. His statement caused me to make a U-Turn about my assessment of Bakare’s person, because I’ve never respected him till now. He gives prophecies that have never come to pass. And, our God will NEVER make a mistake.
Son of man was a key figure in the camp of those who pilloried Tinubu in the days gone by about his ancestry. I remember late night meetings with late Engr. Funsho Williams along with some colleagues towards the 2003 general elections, when we got loads of documents, including Tinubu’s alleged first international passport and indictment materials for drug dealings in the US. It all came to nought, as he effectively took a firm hold of Lagos State, while his colleagues lost across the South-West.
Bakare is not different. He had also spoken severally about Tinubu’s alleged ill-gotten wealth among many other negative vibes. The Pastor’s recent objective disposition about Tinubu showed him as the man Ahithophel should have been. Ahithophel was a man of God. Not just that alone. He was the grandfather of Bathsheba, whose husband, Uriah, the King organised his death.
The self-righteous Ahithophel, who was King David’s most senior Counsellor, wanted justice for Uriah. He refused to forgive David, seeking punishment through death for the King at a time Absalom rebelled against his father and wanted to be King. David had initially believed it was finished, since Ahithophel was among the plotters. But the Holy Qur’an affirmed that God remains the best of plotters, and King David only had to seek refuge from the One, Who gave Ahithophel his gift of wisdom. “Lord, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness,” the King prayed.
Ahithophel gave the best of advice to Absalom on how David should be defeated. But as God used the donkey in the case of Balaam, it was a Counsellor junior in rank to Ahithophel, Hushai, that He used to change history and ensured that the impossible became possible despite David’s grievous sin of killing a man in order to take his wife. Ahithophel committed suicide, when his advice was not followed by Absalom.
A man, who has broken several unbreakable ceilings among your own should not be put down by Yoruba Leaders. With what was deployed against Tinubu towards the 2003 general elections and later, he should have become history. Instead, his political fortunes increased, while that of his foes within Yorubaland has been decreasing without any hope of ever going up, again. E je ebure. E lo so agbeje mo owo.
Even the usual Nigerian plot against a Big Man with almost limitless wealth not being allowed to rule the country might even fail in the case of Tinubu. Only God knows tomorrow, because this is a man who has risen severally from political ashes before. So, son of man could also be wrong in his assessment that he should not put his hat in the ring for The Presidency. Mine is to write, based on what I know. But God remains the only Al Alim (The All knowing), not son of man.
