2023: Why Osinbajo is not a traitor, APC chieftain, Fashakin, others reply Tinubu’s loyalists

*Party man advises politician’s media houses to face pure journalism

*As Ojudu undaunted over Osinbajo project

By KEMI KASUMU

Critics of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who have dominated the media space condemning him for daring to show interest when he knows that his former boss, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is running, have been replied to think the other way.

The critics have put Osinbajo off as a traitor by so doing with some of them claiming Tinubu made him and so can only be seen as a betrayal if he has decided, like he has done, to run against him.

Although the question of whether Tinubu made Osinbajo or he is his benefactor or father has been cleared with many straight chieftains of the party schooling the critics on why Tinubu cannot be said to have made a man that has become a substantive professor of law and had been Special Assistant to Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice during the over six years in office of Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), long before becoming Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State under Tinubu.

A source that spoke to The DEFENDER argued that, if a world court judge and globally recognised former boss like Prince Bola Ajibola had not tried to cage Osinbajo, with whom he achieved the only Law Reforms ever done so far by Nigeria, it should not be the place of Tinubu to exploit the fact that he worked with him as Commissioner to want to relegate him to irrelevance.

He added that President Muhammadu Buhari would not have accepted the Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s grandson-in-law, if first, he did not find him an independent, brilliant achiever extraordinary of long standing and as true man of God, if more than a million of Tinubu had nominated him. “The President, who has history of wanting to work with pastors with himself a Muslim personality, knew what he saw in Osinbajo. Remember Pastor Tunde Bakare was before.”

However, we gathered, neither President Buhari nor Osinbajo has ever shown disrespect to the former Governor of Lagos State and they continue to give their high regards for the man fondly referred to as garrison commander of Lagos politics and, by extension, the Lion of Bourdillon.

In a newspaper report, another chieftain of the ruling APC and former National Publicity Secretary of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Engr. Rotimi Fashakin, said anyone accusing the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, of betrayal for coming out to contest the 2023 presidential election should be ignored.

Fashakin, another strong member of the Abuja Boys and loyalist of the sitting President of Nigeria, spoke in a report published by Daily Independent on Sunday.

While vouching for Osinbajo’s loyalty and integrity, Fashakin said Osinbajo sought the support and got the blessings of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu before announcing his declaration last week Monday April 11, 2022.

Fashakin may have been discovered the need to lecture the loyalists of Tinubu, who likened Osinbajo to Judas who betrayed Jesus Christ, while others called him the ‘modern-day Akintola who betrayed Awolowo’ in reference to the 1962 crisis, which was a result of the struggle for power between two political leaders of the Western Region and Action Group (AG), Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola.

However, the Ondo State born fine politician said such conversation should not be taking place among serious Nigerians as what should be paramount now is electing a leader with the capacity to make the country better and secure for all.

“That conversation has been going on in certain quarters and I don’t think that is something anybody should countenance or advance. I believe, the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has gone to Asiwaju himself to seek his blessing and support to contest the 2023 presidential election. That for me ends it all”.

“Having done that, he has decided to throw his hat into the ring bearing in mind also that Asiwaju too is contesting on the same platform. In doing so, he has not denied the leadership of Asiwaju and how he gave him the opportunity to serve as his Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice which was very vital for him and the government of Lagos state. He really proved his mettle and it was because of his pedigree that he was identified in the first place”.

“So, anyone describing him as a betrayer should just be ignored. That shouldn’t be a serious conversation that we should be having at this point in time. What we should be concerned about at this point in time is, who has the capacity and ability to transform Nigeria”.

Among top APC chieftains and government officers that have backed Osinbajo is Senator Babafemi Ojudu, currently Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matter.

Although Ojudu has had his own batching from Tinubu’s loyalists, who called him unprintable names for standing what he believes is right, the Ado Ekiti born former Senator, Journalist and exemplary political strategist and many other Nigerians across regions have continued to move on.

In the meantime, Tinubu’s newspaper has been warned to steer clear of the current political game play as its current negative propaganda against Osinbajo can be capable of deleting it from the group of trusted media in near future if not careful and stick to ethics of the journalism profession.

“Fine, Tinubu owns you, he should be able to enjoy the publicity that a newspaper owner should enjoy at this critical time. What cannot be acceptable to commonsense is for you try to destroy others like you are doing to Osinbajo simply because you want your owner to succeed. No.

“Where did that paper see what it headlined and made widely circulated on the internet as ‘Osinbajo asked to step down’ and another one ‘Osinbajo may have shot himself in the foot’? You don’t kill journalism because you have a publisher that is contesting, else, you may end like newspapers of the old formed mainly to do publish and then died later throwing many journalists into unemployment,” he warned.