By Bolaji O. Akinyemi.
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It was the gathering of our political gladiators at the table of our Chief Chef, Baker and Divider of the Nigeria cake, 27 of them were seating Governors out of 36, along with leadership of the Nation's Assembly led by the Senate President, His Execllency, Godswill Akpabio and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajudeen Abass.
Some former Governors weren't missing in action, it was a visit to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos.
This damage control started in December during the Christmas visit to the President while the Plateau was on fire in Bokkos, Mangu and Barkin Ladi, their Governor was wining and dining with his political class at the President's table.
Things are never really as they appear. Any one who is worth his/her salt in strategic communication will easily detect the unease around the leadership of the country.
The beast they invited to help them win election by hook or crook has refused to go back to the jungle from politics till the next season, it is walking the street and demonizing what was meant for mere political advantage, and making them our reality!
This leadership is threatened by division!
The religion card that won the game has to be constantly kept on the table.
The North and South gap got widened by the philosophy of Emilokan which inevitably is viewed by the North as "awon lokan"; a Yoruba political agenda against the North. The South East is wallowing in reckless abandonment, not a single Governor from a region where all their Governors are Christians can serve the need of religious appeal!
Emphasis in communication is the indicator for what the problem is!
The President had barely sat when the imaginary shadow of Yari walked through the audience. A scream exuded from his mouth like what seemed to be a thinking aloud; where is Yari?
But who is Yari?
Yari is worth more than all the Guests at the President's table for the purpose of the gathering. Yari was elected a Governor on the platform of ANPP on the 26th of April 2011, he was Governor from May 2011 to May 2019. He became a member of APC by the political expediency of power that laid down strange fellows on the bed of affliction that APC has become to governance!
Yari got his branding for Senate Presidency right! His desire was to lead a firm, transparent National Assembly that would have served the interest of Nigerians, that's according to him.
Awolowo remains the best President Nigeria never had. So a politician you have never given a chance will forever be better that those you had. Buhari would have died a hero of the masses. But not anymore. The more reason we need to change leader as often as possible.
Politics is about dreams, ambitions and their aspirations. Northern politics is about feudal consensus!
The New Yoruba politics philosophy represented by Bola Ahmed Tinubu is about "Baba sope" ask a "what's up" Lagosian for its meaning.
It was Baba sope that got Akpabio ahead of Yari. But the dust hasn't settled!
In the history of Senate elections in Nigeria, no individual has come close to humiliating government backed candidate as Yari did Akpabio at the last Senate Presidency election!
Yari is like a fire whose smoke is already choking the house. It is better to help it happen, than let it happen by itself. It may prove to be costly and may not stop at Akpabio!
Please, don't forget what I stated earlier; "in strategic communication, emphasis points you to what the problems are!
”This gathering cuts across ethnic, religious, and political lines. Here, we have Pastor Eno of Akwa Ibom and Father Hyacinth Alia of Benue", remarked the Vice President. The faith taunted before the last election has become the currency of credibility to trade this leadership to Nigerians!
"Pastor Eno and Father Alia"! Beautiful brides of an enstranged husband finding his way back to the heart of Christian faithfuls!
Who is at the table for the sumptuous meal of Mr President and who is not there is not the challenge of Nigerians. Both Muslim and Christians plus traditional religion worshipers are united in hunger supervised by the Tinubu led administration and, they now know better!
Both MURIC and CAN are lost to the reality of the need and demand of Nigerians for good governance. While MURIC is busy playing the religious card for a Muslim Leadership Governor come 2027.
Hint from the Christian Association of Nigeria through their recent appeal to the Government to do something about the over a 100 Chibok Girls who are yet to be released out of the 274 or 276 close to 10 years in captivity! What a teaser on what to expect on the 10th anniversary celebration of Chibok capture; the possibility of the reunion of the remaining Chibok Girls with their parents and community. But will that change the perception of the masses under which even food sellers are hungry?
After 10 years in captivity, beautiful Christian girls taken in their teens are expected as girls, from randy sex monster hiding behind religion to perpetrate the unthinkable? Those who were 13 then should be 23 now. The shame of a nation is about to get exposed; 100 girls kept within a sovereign state for 10 years, a year under Jonathan, 8, under Buhari and 1, under BAT may get released through the skills of negotiations that saw Kaduna 300 freed and dressed back to town in "Aso-ebi"!
The message from the feast in Lagos shows clearly what the issue are with the government of the day; "Let’s unite to make Nigeria greater, Tinubu tells Governors and national assembly leaders" read an headline.
President Bola Tinubu has called for unity of purpose and more collaborations between the federal government, state governors, and members of the National Assembly to achieve national development goals.
The President made the appeal while receiving state governors and the leadership of the National Assembly in Lagos on Friday the 12th of April 2024.
Led by Vice-President Kashim Shettima, the delegation included Senate President Godswill Akpabio; the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas; Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara State and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum, among others.
Speaking on behalf of the President, Vice-President Shettima expressed optimism about Nigeria’s economic resurgence and called for collective efforts to propel the nation forward.
He urged unity and collaborations among all stakeholders to achieve shared prosperity and promised a brighter future for the nation under President Tinubu’s guidance.
“Let us unite, rally around our leader, and catapult this nation to a greater pedestal!
By December, I hope we will have cause to celebrate. Let us coalesce to take the nation to a greater pedestal,” Vice-President Shettima said.
Emphasizing President Tinubu’s role as a unifying leader transcending ethnic and religious lines, the Vice-President noted that the gathering of 27 governors in Lagos, along with the leadership of the National Assembly and some former governors, bears the testimony of a detribalized leader who has embraced all.
”This gathering cuts across ethnic, religious, and political lines. Here, we have Pastor Eno of Akwa Ibom and Father Hyacinth Alia of Benue, and as the President was seated, he was asking, ‘Where is Wammako, where is Yari’? That is the hallmark of true leadership. What binds us together supercedes whatever it is that may divide us.
”The future of the black man rests on Nigeria to make or mar. Our economy has turned the corner. By the coming months, the economy will roar back to glory,” the Vice-President said.
Senate President Akpabio commended the state governors for emulating President Tinubu’s leadership style, characterized by listening to diverse voices and consulting widely with the people, irrespective of political affiliations.
“The governors are doing well. I can say so because I have been there before,” Senator Akpabio said.
Expressing confidence in President Tinubu’s leadership, Akpabio noted that the President enjoys the broad support of Nigerians across political divides.
“As you coast home to victory for a second term, may all the governors seated here also coast home to a second term victory in their states,” Senate President Akpabio prayed.
In his remarks, Governor AbdulRazaq expressed support for the 700km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, describing it as a huge project that will have a significant impact on the nation when completed.
He commended the President’s efforts in stabilizing the economy and improving living conditions, highlighting the positive developments in the country, which include the stabilization of the exchange rate and decreasing food prices.
He attributed these improvements to the President’s initiatives and also lauded the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s funding for 8,800 primary healthcare centres.
“We commend your efforts because the ship is gradually turning. We have seen how the exchange rate of the naira against the dollar is coming down. The cost of food is coming down. The dry season harvest is commencing soon. Things are getting better, and there is light at the end of the tunnel,” the Governor said.
He urged President Tinubu to persevere in his efforts towards achieving economic stability.
The governor also expressed gratitude for the support provided by the Federal Government to states, particularly in distributing grains to alleviate food shortages.
”We are here to support you, and we also thank you for the support that you are giving to the sub-nationals.
Trucks are wheeling up across the nation, distributing grains. I have received, and most of the states have too
.
”Because of what you are doing, those who are hoarding food items are releasing them, and that is why the prices of food are coming down,” he said.
Governor AbdulRazaq reiterated the governors’ commitment to supporting the President’s initiatives and pledged to continue complementing the efforts of the federal government in driving progress and prosperity across the nation".
The meeting was nothing more than a jamboree of political propagandists!
Are these people not united? How was the padding of the budget achieved successfully by the National Assembly while the Executive looked the other way?
How I wished His Excellency Alex Chioma Otti, beyond telling Nigerians to be patient with the Tinubu led administration after their meeting, would share with this administration the need to work and leave the public to appraise their performance.
Sir, when I offered to echo your good works in Abia to the Nation and the world at large, you declined, let me quote your exact words; "I’m still thinking about this and I’m not convinced it is NECESSARY. ALL WE ARE DOING IS IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN". (Emphasised words in cap are mine).
But at the feast on Boudilon, the President was being thanked on our behalf for the 700km coastal road from Lagos to Calabar, an issue already over-flogged in the media. The Chairman of Governors Forum and Governor of Kwara State, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, told us of the coming dry season harvest and the nose diving of prices of food and commodities at the market, but refused to tell us the location of his imaginary market!
Lagosians should know better, Tinubu is a good customer when it comes to propaganda. Lagos is probably the best state in the world through systemic engineering propaganda from 1999 till date!
Ordinary resurfacing of 3rd mainland bridge got celebrated in the media more than its actual construction by Babangida!
We have been driven through the fourth mainland bridge during the last three elections 2015, 2019 and 2023 to Igbogbo in Ikorodu, and the "rainbow rail", blue, red and green in Lagos was long completed in the media and our propaganda city, but manifesting in meters!
Someone needs to tell these loud mouths to stop talking and get to work. We want to see their work speaking, not their mouths!
On my one 'Kobo advice' to Tinubu is that Jesus was betrayed at a feasting table. He needs to query the heart of men who spoke for him at the table. His trusted Matawalle should be up on the beat of Hakeem Baba Ahmed and the Northern Elders Forum.
This is no time for any of his men to sit on the fence. He should ask himself, where was El-Rufai while they were dinning? Could he have been at Shettima's Borno State on the invitation of Gov. Babagana Zulum speaking to senior government officials in the state?
If he doesn't know what Hakeem Baba Ahmed is capable of, he should ask those who know, he is probably more dangerous than Mazi Nnamdi Kanu at heating up the polity!
If Matawalle won't get off the fence for Tinubu to engage the NEF, the President should take it from me, he is with Shettima and Hakeem Baba Ahmed working together on the Northern agenda!
How well that will serve Tinubu’s interest, I leave to His Excellency to ruminate upon.
He should note this; there is an ongoing high stakes game between the North and South!
The President and his handlers are making numerous grave errors most noticeably is the continued detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu!
It is obvious to any intelligent observer that the Igbos are not interested in fighting Tinubu and his government... even with all its deficiencies and baggages!
Eyi ni ifa ti mo da fun Tinubu Omo Abibatu! Get to work!! Propaganda has no impact on Northern politics. They don't listen to the media but their leaders. How many of their leaders are honestly with you?
This is what my IFA Discerner foretells Akanbi TINUBU, Omo Abibatu Mogaji.
May you not make your enemies your friends and your friends, your enemies!
Ase oo!!!
Dr Bolaji O. Akinyemi is an Apostle and Nation Builder. He's also President Voice of His Word Ministries and Convener Apostolic Round Table.
email:[email protected]
Facebook: Bolaji Akinyemi.
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Instagram: bolajioakinyemi.
Phone: +2348033041236
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