Richard Akinnola

By Richard Akinnola

Sometime in 1986, in my Law column in Vanguard, l wrote a piece titled- DIS LOCUS STANDI SEF. And it was a reaction to various court rulings, particularly public interest cases, where cases were thrown out due to lack of locus standi.

It is in this regard that l decided to adapt that headline with this Tinubu one. In the present day Nigeria, no Nigerian politician is as popular as Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT). For every conceivable political plot, BAT name must be mentioned, to the extent that those who are unwittingly marketing the Tinubu brand are his traducers who are supposedly ardent supporters of PMB. They attribute every political plot, supposedly to undermine the president, to BAT. Interestingly, these people who make these conjectures based on hear say, don’t even know the ways of politicians.

The latest in the Tinubu bashing or his supposed loss of political relevance in the South West, is the outcome of the Ondo election. But it would be news to them if l tell them an average voter in that election had nothing to do with Tinubu but on a different dynamics. Of what use is a Tinubu or no Tinubu to an average market woman voter in Ijare or Oboto or Bolorunduro or Owena?

Bola Tinubu

From the little study of Tinubu that l have done, many people who write online about his supposed waning political relevance, don’t really know the man. I have never met him but am told by people close to him that he would tell you that the day people stop talking about you as a politician, then you need to reassess your relevance. That people keep talking of Tinubu this, Tinubu that, shows his relevance and he enjoys it.

When the PDP tsunami swept through the SW states in 2003, with the exception of Lagos, they said Tinubu was finished politically. But what happened after? The AC/ACN swept back to power in the SW through this man’s instrumentality. How many people followed the war of words between Oyinlola and Aregbesola/Tinubu on Osun state and Segun Oni v. Fayemi/Tinubu. Are they not all in the same party today? The same Tinubu who insisted that Fayemi must be returned as candidate of ACN in Ekiti to the anger of Opeyemi Bamidele, who then defected to the Labour party to contest but now back to Tinubu and APC. You don’t know the ways of politicians.

Those who are writing Tinubu off sure don’t know him. If Buhari was written off after three consecutive attempts at the presidency before he finally made it at the fourth attempt with the help of Tinubu, it would amount to political naivete to whimsically write off Tinubu because of your erroneous reading of the Ondo election.

Whether he stays with Buhari or not is his personal decision, as you and l were not there when he started forming alliance with Buhari. Politics is a matter of personal interests. No doubt, l have my issues with Tinubu and l hope one day l will have an opportunity of meeting him for the first time. And trust me, in my usual way, l will look into his eyes and tell him my mind.

But for those writing him off or attributing his supposed demystification over the Ondo election, including those who cannot win ordinary councilorship election in their local government but are social media political experts and analysts, this is what Ebino Topsy said about four years ago. In an interview with Tribune, Ebino, a PDP Chieftain said:”Though we belong to different parties but you underrate Tinubu at your peril…he is a master strategist”.