"The high is when I survived as the only
governor and one man standing on the
platform of the AD in the South West after
the 2003 governorship election. In leadership
and political battles, you must be able to
recognize the talent of your opponent. Don't
ever underestimate your opponent
particularly a personality like former Presi
dent Obasanjo. First, he is not just an Army
General for nothing; they call their overall
fatigue uniform, camouflage. What does that
mean? Deception! They are trained in
strategy, deception and tactics to defeat the
enemy. If you underestimate them, you do
that at your own peril…"
That was a quote from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
the national leader of the ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC interview with the Sun Newspaper
recently held at Bourdillion, Ikoyi, Lagos residence.
Undoubtedly, he is an enigma when it comes to
Nigerian politics. In this interview, Tinubu revealed the
secrets of his various successes recorded politically,
even as he was not brought up as a politician. Read
full excerpt Bellow.
"My role as a politician is the determination to de
mocratize my country, indivisible commitment to
democratic values.
I am not a thoroughbred politician
having come from a corporate background. But I be
lieve in strategy; and strategy to win is that of every
politician. We can be politically sensitive and come up
with the fact that you want to be a good politician but
no boxer steps into the ring to lose. No investor would
want to invest to lose; otherwise, you can carry your
money and throw it to the Lagoon.
You are there to
win. How do you plan that strategy to win and to come
on top? That is where I always like to specialize. Then,
there are elements of diabolical perversion in the
political process particularly in the maintenance of
status quo. Mine is to challenge the status quo if it is
perverted. How do I challenge it?",
Going down memory lane on how he fought several
political battles, Tinubu said his first litmus test was
the 1999 governorship election in Lagos when he had
to contend with a lot of forces to emerge governor of
the nation's economic capital.
According to him
"When we came back in 1999 and the political space
was opened, we had our political party, the Alliance for
Democracy (AD), the platform where I contested. The
perversion started with the so-called delegates'
election. How can I want a free and fair election if I
subscribe to the delegates' election where you buy
people like chickens and apples and you pay them off?
I said let the Lagos people determine through the
political party structure who and who they wanted. I
created a process to eliminate that delegates' election
system and we won. We won the debate and we now
have direct primaries in all the local governments.
Those who have followed politics here know that it
was a tough battle between Funsho Williams of
blessed memory and myself.
I won 17 local l
governments out of 20 and in two of them, there were
no elections. They chewed the results in my local
government, Ikeja. Lagos Mainland was the stronghold
of late Funsho Williams and Ikorodu too with
Ogunlewe and co. But we challenged the status quo
because it was evident that I won that election no
matter whatever story anybody tells you. I still have
that record. It is there. Then I was determined to form
a government that is professionally and intellectually
balanced to be a model for other states. It is very easy
for people to forget."
Speaking on some of the highpoints of his political
struggle, the APC leader said he would never forget
what happened in 2003 when he survived, as the only
South West governor, an intricate political assault
launched by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
His words;
"The high is when I survived as the only governor and
one man standing on the platform of the AD in the
South West after the 2003 governorship election. In
leadership and political battles, you must be able to
recognize the talent of your opponent. Don't ever
underestimate your opponent particularly a personality
like former President Obasanjo. First, he is not just an
Army General for nothing; they call their overall fatigue
uniform, camouflage. What does that mean?
Deception! They are trained in strategy, deception and
tactics to defeat the enemy.
If you underestimate
them, you do that at your own peril. If you now
recognize that quality in them, you know how to play
the game with them. There are some aspects of it that
I cannot discuss here; they are my own weapons
tomorrow. When I started a journey of a tree that can
make a forest, the game is first of all, survive. I made it
clear that everybody should know that this friendship
is laced with poison. I kept the warning to everybody
very loud. How can you trust a man whose uniform is
camouflage? How can I believe that he is my political
friend when I am in the opposition? No, draw the battle
line."
He however conceded that ousting an incumbent
President in the 2015 general elections was his most
difficult battle ever.
"President Jonathan's battle was the toughest. When
you are fighting the incumbent, it is tough. You had the
challenge of terrorism; you had a class that is divided
and a nation that was almost moving from its focus of
religious tolerance and diversity to religious division.
You had a system that had been corrupted beyond any
body's imagination. People were being bombarded
with money in Lagos. But you have to forget personal
temptation", he stated. He added that engaging former
President Obasanjo on the political field was equally
another herculean task for him. "Obasanjo, during his
time disobeyed court order on the disbursement of
money for local governments in Lagos but you knew
where he was coming from; you just had to be careful.
That period was also a bit challenging. There are
different situations that you had to face with different
strategies. But to unseat an incumbent president in
Africa was the toughest battle. It was not easy", he
admitted.
While defending his role in Lagos politics as a political
godfather,
Tinubu said
"godfather is not negative but god lords are. They are
the mafias. Godfathers exist even in the church. If you
call me a godfather, it is alright. I have many children
everywhere." Explaining his position further, he said
"You are talking about imposition in a democracy. If
you are a strong adviser, you would get blackmailed;
you have seen great qualities in an individual and one
that has capacity to do good; you identify those you
believe can deliver on the evolution of good gov
ernance. I have a responsibility to recommend. My
party has a right to reject the person. When I identified
Babatunde Fashola, some people shouted imposition
but when he started to blossom like flowers in the
garden, Fashola now became their child. The umbilical
chord is buried and the baby has survived. In
democracy, sometimes, you have the sprinkle of
dictatorship too when you know that you are working
on the overall interest of the people. You have facts
that some people do not have; so you do not get
angry."
Source: The Sun Newspaper
governor and one man standing on the
platform of the AD in the South West after
the 2003 governorship election. In leadership
and political battles, you must be able to
recognize the talent of your opponent. Don't
ever underestimate your opponent
particularly a personality like former Presi
dent Obasanjo. First, he is not just an Army
General for nothing; they call their overall
fatigue uniform, camouflage. What does that
mean? Deception! They are trained in
strategy, deception and tactics to defeat the
enemy. If you underestimate them, you do
that at your own peril…"
That was a quote from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
the national leader of the ruling All Progressives
Congress, APC interview with the Sun Newspaper
recently held at Bourdillion, Ikoyi, Lagos residence.
Undoubtedly, he is an enigma when it comes to
Nigerian politics. In this interview, Tinubu revealed the
secrets of his various successes recorded politically,
even as he was not brought up as a politician. Read
full excerpt Bellow.
"My role as a politician is the determination to de
mocratize my country, indivisible commitment to
democratic values.
I am not a thoroughbred politician
having come from a corporate background. But I be
lieve in strategy; and strategy to win is that of every
politician. We can be politically sensitive and come up
with the fact that you want to be a good politician but
no boxer steps into the ring to lose. No investor would
want to invest to lose; otherwise, you can carry your
money and throw it to the Lagoon.
You are there to
win. How do you plan that strategy to win and to come
on top? That is where I always like to specialize. Then,
there are elements of diabolical perversion in the
political process particularly in the maintenance of
status quo. Mine is to challenge the status quo if it is
perverted. How do I challenge it?",
Going down memory lane on how he fought several
political battles, Tinubu said his first litmus test was
the 1999 governorship election in Lagos when he had
to contend with a lot of forces to emerge governor of
the nation's economic capital.
According to him
"When we came back in 1999 and the political space
was opened, we had our political party, the Alliance for
Democracy (AD), the platform where I contested. The
perversion started with the so-called delegates'
election. How can I want a free and fair election if I
subscribe to the delegates' election where you buy
people like chickens and apples and you pay them off?
I said let the Lagos people determine through the
political party structure who and who they wanted. I
created a process to eliminate that delegates' election
system and we won. We won the debate and we now
have direct primaries in all the local governments.
Those who have followed politics here know that it
was a tough battle between Funsho Williams of
blessed memory and myself.
I won 17 local l
governments out of 20 and in two of them, there were
no elections. They chewed the results in my local
government, Ikeja. Lagos Mainland was the stronghold
of late Funsho Williams and Ikorodu too with
Ogunlewe and co. But we challenged the status quo
because it was evident that I won that election no
matter whatever story anybody tells you. I still have
that record. It is there. Then I was determined to form
a government that is professionally and intellectually
balanced to be a model for other states. It is very easy
for people to forget."
Speaking on some of the highpoints of his political
struggle, the APC leader said he would never forget
what happened in 2003 when he survived, as the only
South West governor, an intricate political assault
launched by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
His words;
"The high is when I survived as the only governor and
one man standing on the platform of the AD in the
South West after the 2003 governorship election. In
leadership and political battles, you must be able to
recognize the talent of your opponent. Don't ever
underestimate your opponent particularly a personality
like former President Obasanjo. First, he is not just an
Army General for nothing; they call their overall fatigue
uniform, camouflage. What does that mean?
Deception! They are trained in strategy, deception and
tactics to defeat the enemy.
If you underestimate
them, you do that at your own peril. If you now
recognize that quality in them, you know how to play
the game with them. There are some aspects of it that
I cannot discuss here; they are my own weapons
tomorrow. When I started a journey of a tree that can
make a forest, the game is first of all, survive. I made it
clear that everybody should know that this friendship
is laced with poison. I kept the warning to everybody
very loud. How can you trust a man whose uniform is
camouflage? How can I believe that he is my political
friend when I am in the opposition? No, draw the battle
line."
He however conceded that ousting an incumbent
President in the 2015 general elections was his most
difficult battle ever.
"President Jonathan's battle was the toughest. When
you are fighting the incumbent, it is tough. You had the
challenge of terrorism; you had a class that is divided
and a nation that was almost moving from its focus of
religious tolerance and diversity to religious division.
You had a system that had been corrupted beyond any
body's imagination. People were being bombarded
with money in Lagos. But you have to forget personal
temptation", he stated. He added that engaging former
President Obasanjo on the political field was equally
another herculean task for him. "Obasanjo, during his
time disobeyed court order on the disbursement of
money for local governments in Lagos but you knew
where he was coming from; you just had to be careful.
That period was also a bit challenging. There are
different situations that you had to face with different
strategies. But to unseat an incumbent president in
Africa was the toughest battle. It was not easy", he
admitted.
While defending his role in Lagos politics as a political
godfather,
Tinubu said
"godfather is not negative but god lords are. They are
the mafias. Godfathers exist even in the church. If you
call me a godfather, it is alright. I have many children
everywhere." Explaining his position further, he said
"You are talking about imposition in a democracy. If
you are a strong adviser, you would get blackmailed;
you have seen great qualities in an individual and one
that has capacity to do good; you identify those you
believe can deliver on the evolution of good gov
ernance. I have a responsibility to recommend. My
party has a right to reject the person. When I identified
Babatunde Fashola, some people shouted imposition
but when he started to blossom like flowers in the
garden, Fashola now became their child. The umbilical
chord is buried and the baby has survived. In
democracy, sometimes, you have the sprinkle of
dictatorship too when you know that you are working
on the overall interest of the people. You have facts
that some people do not have; so you do not get
angry."
Source: The Sun Newspaper
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