Jagaban Never Dies

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria's President-elect.

I am an Obedient to the core. Outside of Nigeria, you may not understand what it means to be an Obidient. But in the heart of it, people know it refers to men and women who are fervent about the presidential ambition of Peter “Obi,” one of the men wishing to become Nigeria’s President in 2023. Today, though, I pay homage to Ahmed Jagaban Bola Tinubu who emerged victorious despite endless man-made hurdles in his way. 

 

 “The road to righteousness is narrow and difficult,” says the Holy Bible. If there is a man who dragged this message to the core of my heart, it is the Jagaban. President Mohammadu Buhari attempted to become president three times. After the third defeat, he was about quit. It was Bola Ahmed Tinubu who went to him and preached that deserters never win and winners never desert. He listened and won the next election. There’s something to learn here: Tinubu is an unbowed politician. 

 

By the time the authorities pulled the curtains open for political activities in 2022, it seemed that clandestine forces within the All Progressive Congress (APC), an amalgam of two old parties, wanted to backstab; Jagaban had supported Buhari on the condition that he would be the next. He fought his enemies within the party and, in the end, rose to the top of the mountain and hoisted a flag of victory! 

 

If you are a Nigerian who frequently logs into Twitter, Tik Tok, Facebook and similar sites, you will recall how Tinubu once noted that he has stopped login into his social media handles because of mudslinging volleys against his character. There are versions of a video of a politician who needed people as braces in order to walk and attend political rallies. There are photos of him snoozing while visiting a native king to solicit support. He was alleged to be sleeping while the king gave his speech of approval. There were videos of him praising a political party he referred to as PD-APC. He was almost praising a rival party, the PDP when he realized it. The worst is one of him dishing out syllables of a word that isn’t in any dictionary on this planet. When asked questions at Chatham House, he referred the questions to some selected members of his team. It was, in the minds of detractors, a goof. It became one of their shells against him. 

 

As politicking built energy, the Nigerian Central Bank declared it was redesigning the Nigerian currency, the Naira. It said that a curious chunk of the total cash that should be in the vaults of commercial banks had gone missing. It believed corrupt politicians had withdrawn the money in small paltry portions to avoid snooping eyes and are planning to use the money in deals for votes. An ugly trend of vote-buying had played during the party primaries. This inspired a compilation of a list of politicians based on their financial worth, with the wealthiest topmost. If you place this list side by side with the list of contestants of primaries by votes, the two lists are carbon copies and proof of the suspicion of vote-buying. So, in a bid to frustrate vote-buying and usher in an era of transparent voting, the Central Bank decided to redesign the currency. Jagaban proved it is not all about money but about brains as well.

 

While the political campaigns lasted, we, the Obidients, thought we were going to win. We were the most heard on social media and had well-wishers everywhere under the sun. We were among the most urbane and globally trendy. We felt Obi would give an elegance we badly wished for our country. But we failed to accept that there are a lot of ignorant Nigerians who aren’t on social media and as such the surveys that built our convictions weren’t a true reflection of the acceptance of the men. We saw it, albeit at dusk. 

 

The feeling of losing a presidential election is worse than the feeling of losing someone you love dearly. It is painful to the Obedients because, within any visible range, there doesn’t seem to be one with the magic that sold Peter Obi to millions, one who was going to lead a shared dream to victory. 

 

I am looking for words to comfort Peter Obi, the Obidients and the Igbo nation. But I know that four years is not far away. At least now, we have the structure our detractors often referred to. To the Igbo nation, we love you and your presence in Nigeria is a source of pride to all of us. Stay hopeful.