Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has the decidedly non trivial distinction of mentoring and supporting able minds for political positions.  He has gone about this role un-intimidated because he believes that Nigeria’s problem is starkly a question of moral and political courage. He desires to see a smarter government. He wants us to have the kind of government that can steer the ship of state so that we can have an economy that works for everybody. Asiwaju simply wants the right type of people in governance that can lay the foundation for a broad based prosperity. That is why he supports the right kind of men.  He has been able to attract  all manners of men: ranging from the quiet, the tidy, the carefully curated, the meticulously tooled to the brash, the unpredictable and the uninhibited. That is the stuff great men are made of. And despite been the target of uncommon vitriol by the opposition party, he has constantly kept the faith.

     The special Adviser on Media to Asiwaju, Sunday Dare, disclosed that the men Tinubu has helped in their quest for public office such as Fashola, Fayemi, Aregbesola, Oshiohmole, Ajimobi, Amosun are not non-performing ‘yes men’. “They are all dynamic and outstanding performers in their own right. Each is different from the other and each state government excels in its own unique way. This means that Tinubu is not orchestrating them into some limited uniformity but stands out of the way for them to lead as they believe. No major politician in Nigeria has a track record as good as Tinubu’s when it comes to supporting able people for office then leaving them to perform as they believe. Nowhere in PDP does this happen.”

      It is a well known fact that Tinubu played a great role in helping to enthrone Aminu Waziri Tambuwal as the speaker of the House of Representative. This strategic involvement altered the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) zoning permutations for the distribution of positions in the House of Representatives. He achieved this by instructing all the Action Congress members (ACN) in the house to vote for Tambuwal. This led to the emergence of a speaker that is appealing to Nigerians.  He became a speaker that is not easily manipulated by the executive arm of government. Until his recent defection to the All Progressive Congress (APC), Tambuwal has remained steadfast and committed to the growth of democratic values. This humble man believes that going the way of the herd is not a particularly good strategy. Tambuwal has had the effect on the National Assembly that you would expect from an operations genius. History will not record his leadership achievement as fluke.

      According to his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Imam Imam, Tambuwal’s desire is to see Nigeria rise to greatness. “He has, at every available opportunity, remained his colleagues of the need to promote democracy and respect human rights. These ideas stem from his belief that strong democracies are more likely to secure peace, deter aggression, expand markets, promote development, combat terrorism and crime, uphold rights of workers, avoid humanitarian crises, protect and improve the global environment, and protect human health.”

   Tambuwal is really a good creation of Asiwaju. This goes to show that his interest is beyond partisan politics. Tinubu’s interest is to help create a strong and vibrant nation that we all can to proud of. He wants to create a framework that will make Nigeria relevant on the global scale.   Recently, Asiwaju made a statement that is worth quoting here; a statement that came out of the soul of a great man of our time: “No matter what anyone may say about me it is unlikely that I can be accused of supporting incompetent or morally light-weight individuals for important political positions. My philosophy is to put the best forward, men and women of competence and integrity, who can stand up to us politicians to challenge us and say no when necessary. Such men are not noisy or able to gain attention by being loud. I believe my role is to do all I can to project them.” There is much to commend him. Asiwaju is a phenomenal man; a warrior for quality, tolerance and peace.

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This article was published with permission from Sahara Reporters