By Tunde Abatan
Since he joined partisan politics in the late 80s via the Primrose group founded by Chief Dapo Sarumi,the Chief Primrose and later a minister of the Federal republic,he has remain as constant as the Northern star.
Indeed,when he later joined the then Social Democratic Party,SDP, on which platform he emerged as a Senator representing Lagos West Senatorial district,he became a factor in Lagos politics.
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Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu not only became a top notcher of the National Democratic Coalition,NADECO, which fought for the de-annulement of the June 12 Presidential election won by the late Bashorun Moshood Abiola funding it’s struggles and later joined the list of exiles.
As fate will have it,he returned from exile in 1998 and capped his rise in Lagos politics as he not only became the elected governor in 1999,he has since then became a factor.
A factor which saw him being the only governor among the pack to look straight into the eyes of then President Olusegun Obasanjo who seized Lagos funds for two years.
He also emerged victorious having earlier survived the volcano which swept his five other contemporaries from office in 2003 in the ill thought alliance of the Alliance for Democracy,AD to ensure the success of Obasanjos second term bid.
The fighter in Tinubu withstood Obasanjos military styled dictatorship who not only stopped seventeen southern governors meeting but also frustrated every attempt to restructure the nations faulty foundation.
Tinubus battle which he won for Lagos through local government allocation having defeated federal government 21 times in various cases up to Supreme court level.
He also struggle and successfully midwife a hitherto elusive alliance in the All Progressives Congress,APC which rose from the ashes of Action Congress of Nigeria,ACN,Congress for Progressive Change,CPC ,new People’s Democratic Party,PDP and faction of the All Nigeria People’s Party,ANPP.
Struggling and fighting battle has been his life since he joined partisan politics.
Like the saying in Yoruba,”if you want to know your mother’s name and background,join politics”….bi o ba femo oruko mama re se oselu.”
Tinubu heared many discomfiting stories about his background,education and lineage but he waddled all through.
In Lagos.
He became a Joseph who thrived in Egypt,became a Prime minister for a post that was not in existence.
Tinubu became a kingmaker in cosmopolitan Lagos,shake traditional political tables,change established narratives as he brought Yoruba of all hues to serve in Lagos and also help to install governors in the Yoruba states lost to PDP.
He used instrument of law to win political and electoral battles.
Battle is his life!
He waded through,waited in the wings for sixteen years after leaving office and bidded for the Presidency.
He won.
He won not because he is Tinubu but because among all his contemporaries from different parts of the country,he remains even more relevant years after leaving office until he won the coveted prize last Saturday.
It was a double victory of sort for him as he got confirmed March 1 ,the month of his 71st birthday.
Tinubu fought a difficult battle in APC not only in getting the mandate through party primaries where he defeated his vice presidential nominee,Yemi Osinbajo, but also those Aso Rock cabals.
But unrelenting, the same cabals suffered the poor with I’ll thought currency redesign policy while attempting to punish and rubbish Tinubu,but contrary to their permutations, he got sympathy from the poor.
He was the target but the poor bared their chest, came out and outvoted the cabals in Aso rock.
For a second time in almost two decades, Obasanjo who had succeeded in bringing down two famous Yoruba,Obafemi Awolowo in 1979,Moshood Abiola his townsman in 1993 failed to hurt Abiola and his march to keep a date with destiny.
It is instructive that thirty years later,Tinubu tame the ego ridden and self conceited wings of Obasanjo and became the President -elect.
He defeated the conspiracy in Obasanjos latest letter which aimed at annuling his election like he did to Abiola in 1993.
Tinubu may also have consigned into history the life long ambition of ,Atiku Abubakar, former associate and vice president who contested and lost to him, a new comer for the first time.
Atikus fourth time lost may signal his retirement from partisan politics.
He became part of Tinubus battles and victories.
As Atiku and Peter Obi battles to reclaim their ‘strange win’..no two candidates can come first in any race or electoral contest,days and months ahead will be interesting.
Time will tell whether they can succeed in dethroning Tinubu whose election has received relief and complements from Nigerians across the board, local and World powers like United States, Britain,France and Ecowas community.
