2019 fever in Lagos as Tinubu desperately recruits old friends

The wind of change meaning that Nigerian politics will no longer be business as usual may have hit the politics of Lagos State as garrison commander of Eko politics, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who since 1999 has dominated the political space without stress is currently said to be working hard to save his stronghold.  One of the ways he is doing it is wooing and buying back some of his old friends whom he had parted ways with shortly after his success in the 1999 governorship election that took him to Alausa.  He is said to be going to them currently on individual basis mostly in the midnight and splashing huge amount of money on them.

Of recent is his surprise visit at exactly 1.30am on a particular night when the former Lagos State governor visited the home of a former Chairman of Lagos Island Local Government and spent one hour with him upstairs.  Although the visit was not a surprise to the former council chairman, it was to his supporters that kept vigil at his house without knowing why they were kept awake until Asiwaju arrived. “And when Bola came, I thought it was the governor because of the number of armed policemen that guarded him to the place,” a source privy to the visit told The DEFENDER.

Asiwaju, it was learned, through his boys, gave between N100,000 and N500,000 surprise gift to each of the supporters of the particular ex-council chief who had kept vigil along with him waiting for his visitor and further findings showed that the “garrison commander” gave N20 million to his chief host, whose predicament as chairman of Lagos Island Local Government at that time was said to have been masterminded by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu himself as governor.

The DEFENDER’s investigations revealed that the old friend now being bought back by Asiwaju was always about the only one standing to his face to the extent that it was rumoured he hit the table at a point before the governor (Tinubu) at that time.  His predicament started when on the excuse that he slapped a pregnant woman the council legislative arm, known at all times to be of the governor’s boys, arranged and impeached him as chairman.  After his impeachment, he was alleged to have misappropriated about N1.5 million and because of that was sent to two and a half years in prison.  So, this is the old friend that Asiwaju made enemy and destroyed politically but now has gone back to buy with N25 million – monies given to his supporters inclusive.

But why the desperation?

A political analyst and comrade, who chose to speak on strictly demanded condition of anonymity, told The DEFENDER that the fear of Abuja politicians is the cause of the desperation.  He added he is afraid of the impossible that will become possible by those Abuja politicians, who are very powerful and have the support of very strong Lagos leaders who may not be successful politicians but have their say and are unwaveringly with the Fashola group.  He said Asiwaju is currently in the fear of the unknown as many of even his own boys are warming up to face him in 2019.

Our findings revealed that some people who have been with Asiwaju Tinubu for the past 18 years, from 1999, and that apart from Rauf Aregbesola and Lai Mohammed who are still with him, there are very many powerful of them whom he is suspecting that may want to embark on political revolt against him and therefore face him in an election battle in Lagos State in 2019.

What Bola Tinubu is doing currently, therefore, is recruiting prominent politicians in Lagos whom he had disagreed with or who disagreed with him before although now PDP politicians.  And as he is doing it, it was further gathered, that the Oba of Lagos is also doing the same thing so that Ambode can come for second term.  Recall Oba of Lagos played a major role in the buildup to April 11, 2015 governorship election in Lagos State when he threatened the Igbo, who chose to vote against Akinwumi Ambode that he carried to the face as his own candidate, with a curse of being thrown into the Lagoon.  It would also be recalled that the Oba’s threat at that time greatly played a role in the success of Ambode as many Igbo did not come out to vote during the governorship election like they did in the presidential election where General Muhammadu Buhari had as high as 90 percent in Lagos State.

“That is just what it is,” comrade said, “Kabiyese too is doing his own underground work so that if you get to the palace you will see Obanikoro, you will see Bode George, though they have been friends, but when you keep such friendship especially when election is approaching, you begin to sense something.  You cannot say this is the particular way political leaders of Lagos are going to take.  Even some of the political leaders in all the parties, you cannot say this is where they are going except it may later affect people like Bode George because I think Kabiyesi is also playing his own politics.  From the kind of strange development I see in the palace; although he is a king, but what is happening there with the influx of those political leaders in the place has political undertone.”

On a separate ground, it was gathered that a Nigeria’s former Inspector General of Police (IGP) is part of the people that have fallen off from Bola Tinubu and that there are many other prominent Lagos leaders like him who are now more or less with Fashola group and that they stand by it.  People like JK Randle and they are strong Lagosians.  They may not be successful politicians but technocrats, yet they have their say.

With the look of things, Asiwaju Tinubu does not know where the Abuja boys will come from to face him in 2019 hence the recruitment that he has started doing from now.  So, most of the PDP leaders that can stand him in the face and give him challenges, who have been his political enemies before, they are now becoming old friends again and Bola Tinubu is making the move for such realignment by himself as a leader, The DEFENDER had learned.  Politicians have no permanent friend, neither permanent enemy.  That is what is happening which is playing on in Lagos political space currently.

Another source, who confirmed a political realignment being currently initiated by Asiwaju, said, “But Tinubu has not got much of the movement of the people coming out to face him or maybe he knows it but he is hiding it and those people that he is afraid of their possibility of coming out to face him in 2019 are Abuja based but they are strong politicians in the APC who are warming up and are also set to take Lagos State from his grip.”

Asked why he thinks Asiwaju doesn’t want to lose Lagos, the source said, “Lagos is his pot of soup.  Most of the people who were with Bola in 1999 that were close and part of his success story in 1999 election can tell you how financially buoyant he was in 1999; today they can tell you how financially buoyant he is.  Bola Tinubu is not somebody you can call a billionaire, he is a multibillionaire and his business is scattered in all sectors of the economy presently.  So, how can he leave Lagos State for anybody?

“Take for instance to know how he was in 1999, the car he used to his (maiden) swearing as governor, Gbenga Daniel bought it.  Gbenga Daniel spent a lot on his 1999 election and so had three commissioners in his (Tinubu’s) cabinet.  So you can know how financially buoyant Bola was at that time.  Daniel was rich and he is still rich. Those were Asiwaju Tinubu’s pillars before they fell apart.  Anibaba was one of Daniel’s commissioners in his (Tinubu’s) cabinet, Augusto was one of them and there was one other and that happened because of Daniel’s financial contribution.  Bola threw all of them away when because of political differences.”

Asked if he thinks those people now being bought back to friendship and political realignment by Asiwaju would truly ever trust and be loyal to him again, replying, the source spoke a lot:

“There is nothing money cannot do.  Let me tell you, Asiwaju’s money is not just ordinary money.  He is one of the richest Nigerians we have so far.  I swear to God, he is one of the richest Nigerians so far.  So, if you are saying Aliko Dangote you better be talking of number two and that is Asiwaju and I am serious about this.  He is a multibillionaire.  Bola Tinubu is supposed to be addressed as a multibillionaire politician in Nigeria.  His politics is the engine room that is making him to look like successful in business.  Render his political influence irrelevant, you have killed his business.  You cannot call him a multibillionaire businessman, no.  Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a multibillionaire politician.  And because of the way he spends, I doubt if he will not be able to buy the conscience of those old friends he once threw away.”

Why?

“Because, he knows the game!  MKO Abiola too knew the game.  Before Abiola came to want to be President that he could beat Bashir Tofa in election in Kano, he had already spent his money to all the pressure groups in Nigeria.  Was it the military you want to talk about?  TY Danjuma said the first time he ever got one million naira cash it was Abiola that gave him in 1979 and that he had never touched one million naira cash ever in his life before then.  So, you can talk about the military sector.  Was it the civil servants of ministries where he was taking contracts?  The now late Akarigbo of Shagamu, Oba Shonariwo would tell you what Abiola could do if he wanted to get something from the ministry.  Those were civil servants.  Was it the traditional rulers? He sent them N1 million each all the times at a time when N1 million could be equivalent to N60 million of present day time. Was it the students?

“Where was MKO Abiola not given chieftaincy title all over Nigeria?  So, he had spent his money before winning that June 12, 1993 presidential election except that people did not know.  The Emir of Zaria coordinated the North for him assisted by the Emir of Kano.

“So, all of that have been on the ground and it is the same MKO Abiola’s style that Bola Tinubu is using.  He would go to any length to achieve his goal.  So, I doubt if anybody can win him except who has money and can spend money more than him.  Except he that wants to use the power of the land and that will be military.  But I tell you that it is where wealth ends that power starts.

“And Bola Tinubu is looking for that power presently just like Abiola did before he died and he has now been dragged to the centre just like they did to Abiola.  Let us wait for the result.  Dragging him to the centre and nailing him from there.  That is it.”