Heavyweight Bola Tinubu in the spotlight

April 29, 2015 Nigeria’s political landscape continues to generate attention, and one of the figures coming very conspicuously to the spotlight is former Lagos State Governor and political heavyweight Bola Tinubu.

The support of this opposition alliance leader for General Muhammadu Buhari was seen as a key factor in the latter’s win against President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election.

With policies to be decided in the next few weeks and cabinet selections to be made, it is expected that ‘The Jagaban’, might have much input in who goes where.

He said

“There is a blue print, there is a manifesto of the party. It is not about the individual. When I was the governor ofLagos state, this is the poorest state I inherited, today it is the richest. I left a great legacy. I am a talent hunter, I put talents in office, I help them to do that, so it will be reflected at the Federal level,”

Ebun Adegboruwa, a political analyst based in Lagos says of Tinubu

“He is like a demi-god to his followers because of the way in which he has opened his hands to all of them, to say you go and do that project, you go and do this project. Just perform, I don’t know how you perform just ensure that there is result, you know and in that way he has been able to build like an empire around himself,”

However, not everyone is excited about his obvious power and influence

Businessman, Johnson Douglas said

“For me, I think politics should be something that you should allow the people to decide who they want, and let it just flow. But imposing… sometimes people don’t really like it, people will just agree. Like I know if you take a personal view of a lot of people here, within them there are certain things they don’t like, really, if things are being imposed, someone is imposed, you know, but if it is a politics where people are allowed to make their choices, if you have like four people in his party and they tell everybody come and choose, that would have been something better, really,”

And Lagos resident Osas says “The table might turn any time, that is how I see it. You could have power now, and in the next four years it goes to someone else, that is what I think,”

Tinubu has defended his methods, saying Nigerians need leaders who are able to proffer solutions when faced with dire circumstances.

According to Adegboruwa

“The whole of the APC, there is only one person who determines who gets what, there is only one person who says what goes where. Democratization of power should be a priority for Tinubu now, otherwise in sometime to come…Nigerians study people, we have taken enough of this imposition. It may not work like that in 2019, it may not work like this forever. So I begin…..I think from now, having now spread democracy close to twenty states of the federation through the APC, he should now remove his hands from the tight grip that he has put upon the parties and allow a lot of flexibility. Having raised trusted people for the past sixteen years, he should put them in positions of trust and withdraw to the background,”