Bola Tinubu: The Last Man Standing -By Folorunso Fatai Adisa

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” —Aristotle

Everyone who follows the political peripatetics of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the former Governor of Lagos State, would know him for the commitment, diligence and excellence he would always bring into whatever he does. Consequently, when the delightful news that he would be contesting for the president of Nigeria surfaced online, my first impulse was to congratulate the Nigeria on its fortune of having such a prodigious politician as a contestant for its most powerful seat— based on his attitude of excellence— every promise of taking Nigeria to its altitude is achievable.

Significantly, there are several traits of character which appear to define Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. Anyone who has studied him would be awed and captivated by his startling level of intellectual richness, selflessness, administrative prowess, and integrity. He is a stickler for principles and dares to stick to his convictions. 

Without being fulsome, here, Tinubu is a man of sterling principles, questing spirit, and razor-blade intellect. To paraphrase Rosalyn Carter, Tinubu is not just a leader who takes people to where they want to go, he is a great leader who takes people to where they don’t necessarily want to go, but ought to be. 

For example, when all AD governors lost their spaces and places in 2003, he was the only AD governor who returned, THE LAST MAN STANDING. Again, in 2003, Tinubu created 37 LCDAs from the 20 local government areas, after conducting a referendum and getting the endorsement of the House of Assembly, which signed it into law. Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the president, saw this action as an affront. 

Resultantly, Obasanjo withheld statutory funds for all the local councils in the state. Even when the supreme court declared Obasanjo’s action illegal, he still refused to release the funds to the state. TINUBU neither failed nor faltered because of the unreleased fund rather, he soldiered on and still made Lagos the cynosure of all eyes. He raised the state’s IGR from #600m  monthly to #45bn, a financial and administrative colossus.

Selfless with flair and intellectual aura, He is a dynamo behind any cause that concerns the uplift of humanity. His excellence and presence for private benevolence and public good have been significantly felt by both the old and the young, especially in Lagos and in the political sphere where he has positively touched many lives. A political gladiator and encyclopedia of Nigeria politics and geography.

Again, today, at the colloquium organized to celebrate his birthday, he displayed emotional intelligence and his regard for human lives by canceling the ceremony to honor the unfortunate incident of the Abuja-Kaduna train hijack. He submitted, “Because of the activities of my birthday and early prayers today, I have not been following the news. The incident of bomb attack on the train yesterday night was brought to my attention not long ago. I just received a very sad incident this morning about travellers in train that were killed by suspected bandits, I hereby call off the celebration and we shall continue to pray for the repose of those who lost their lives and those at the hospital. “That this is happening in Nigeria calls for sober reflection for me. Dancing, eating and drinking here when our sisters and brothers have been killed  doesn’t befit an elder stateman like me and a senior citizen. As a result of what happened, I have decided to call off this event. The Christian cleric and Muslim are here, they should continue to pray for our dear nation. “I pray God to comfort those who lost their lives in the tragic incident and I pray to God to set Nigeria on the right path and return peace to our land.”

Visibly, ASIWAJU parades excellent political and leadership credentials to lead  W/Africa (if combined) hence asking him to be the President of Nigeria is a task he is more than equal to, like asking a good graduate to prepare students for WAEC in a subject he had won laurels in. 

Finally, while I wish him many happy returns of the day, I also pray his dreams materialize and he is able to take Nigeria to its Canaan. 

Folorunso Fatai Adisa, a Communications Specialist, and Public Affairs Analyst, writes from Abeokuta.

Folorunsofatai03@gmail.com

08168380837