The stage is set, the curtain raised. The game begins and the dogged fighter must never be cowed into nail-biting submission.
The battle for the apex seat of our national politics, lighted by presidential declarations of various hues, has commenced with the usual brickbats and mudsling.
While one man ran around a stadium to demonstrate presidential “competence”, the other screamed “give me the ticket give me the ticket”.
An already crowded presidential field was being ignited in trickles and sparkles. But with the entry of the Vice President, the horse-trading has come full circle.
Unlike majority of other aspirants, his declaration took a different approach. A short, precise video clip was followed by a well-coordinated media publicity.
He has nothing to hide: He wants to be Nigeria’s president. I have served my boss dutifully for over seven years, he says. Therefore, I believe I am well equipped to run a nation as complex and diverse as Nigeria.
His presidential declaration signaled his first victory. Prior to this, the intimidation had been suffocating. From social media warriors to political jobbers, the admonition was rabid, almost threatening: Don’t run don’t run!
When asked why. They stutter and mutter nothing. Except jaded refrains of betrayal and treachery.
The Vice-President was a product of the masters school of politics they claim, hence he should give way for the master.
To them, a professor of Law, former Attorney general of a state and a Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria cannot run. Simply put, he was still too short and too young to run. Even if he had spent more time in government than his principal, or understood the dynamics of Nigerian politics from his ringside experience, he still doesn’t qualify.
Despite the plethoric experiences garnered from heading strategic programs and learning the mechanism of governance, they still held on to the betrayal hurrah, claiming that the master’ benevolence should be paid back, with a step down from the race.
When the betrayal sing-song went shallow, they whipped up religious sentiments. He has influenced the church they claimed. A directorate of politics in the house of God? What sacrilege! This man should never run. He is parochial, bigoted and sympathetic to the plight of the church, and most especially his Pentecostal denomination.
But what has precluded the church from national politics? The church is the body of Christ, which is at first, the body of the nation. An average Nigerian church comprises men, women and children from different parts of the country. They live Nigeria. Breathe Nigeria. They have their businesses, families and legacies all spread across the nooks and crannies of the country. Without Nigeria, they are nothing. Hence, they hold every legitimate right to take active part in the political affairs of their country.
At this point of national morass, our politics must transcend the sinews of blind loyalty. Since the berth of the present democratic dawn, Nigerians have complained of the paucity, if not outright unavailability of high educated, cerebral, well-tested and trusted presidential materials.
Yemi Osinbajo, as professor and vice president fits the bill. The delicate nature of politics must never be reduced to the whims and interests of a human monolith. Politics is about interests, ossified by a personal, intricate belief in one’s leadership competence.
The Vice President has declared. That does not preclude his erstwhile benefactors and rivals from declaring. The crowded field offers diverse perspectives and alternatives. The more, they say, the merrier.
The official declaration of the Vice President is a welcome development. It should never be shrouded by puerile agitations for his non-declaration based on allegations of treachery. His official declaration affords all and sundry the opportunity to investigate his stint in government.
He has promised to continue in the strides of his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari. Debates around the 2023 presidential elections would afford us all a pristine opportunity to investigate his performance. What have you done on National security? How do we trust you to handle our nation for another four years?
What are your specific contributions to the policy thrusts of the present government? What are the proofs you will keep specific promises on tackling insecurity, boosting economy and rejuvenating infrastructure? Without an Osinbajo declaration, it might never be possible to have a referendum on the Buhari presidency.
A Yemi Osinbajo shot at the presidential seat promises a vantage referendum on the Buhari performance or non-performance.
The hoarse noise of treachery and backstabbing is needless, banal and contrary to our avowed national commitment to engendering a political space that allows minnows grow to titans. It reeks of trivia.
Run, Osinbajo run!
Judah Bamigboye writes from Lagos
