By KEMI KASUMU
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu may not be finding his usual Lagos politics easy as it now comes to playing same outside of it in other parts of the country being “father of the nation”.
This is as the style of politics that he plays, which for 24 years has made him political godfather and purportedly garrison commander of Lagos politics where he handpicks who becomes or gets what amidst cries of Lagos State indigenes against takeover of their state power by non-indigenes mainly from other states of South West he leads in the act and against marginalisation and deprivations of the rightful owners of the state.
But this is now causing him image crisis as he is being resisted from spreading the Lagos style of politics across other states of the federation as president of Nigeria.
Currently the North of the country believes Tinubu is behind the judicial manipulations that have seen the region erupt in crisis following judgment scandals that are now obvious in Kano and being alleged in Zamfara and Plateau states.
Some groups in the region of great Sardauna Ahmadu Bello of the old said Tinubu was using that judiciary manipulation method as political tool to capture the North and weaken its leaders so that in 2027 they would have been so battered not to be able to stop his second term hence the judiciary show of shame that happened in Kano and which he is strongly being warned against.
This,, many claimed, is similar to the judicial process that saw Chief Bode George being jailed also by an out-of-power Tinubu over a purported Federal offense of Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) contract splitting until the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Nigeria, respectively, upturned the judicial process he was alleged in several quarters to have used the administration of his successor, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), to manipulate as Governor of Lagos State.
His interventions in Rivers and Ondo states political crises currently have, rather than leading to solution, merely succeeded in adding fuel to an already kindled fire as he is believed to be taking sides, in Rivers, with Nyesom Wike, the self-acclaimed Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s untouchable political warrior that he used to kill his own All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, while also giving a directive, in Ondo State’s avoidable crisis, which has solved no problem but puts an addition.
To this end, President Bola Tinubu has been cautioned by a former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Hon. Yekini Nabena, against taking sides in the political crisis in Rivers and Ondo states.
Nabena told president without muncing words that he must not play politics with the two states. He must show that he is a democrat and not a dictator.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the former Deputy spokesman of the APC said the president and the ruling party must respect the Constitution with regards to political developments in the two states.
He cautioned that the President, as a father of the nation, must not play politics in Ondo politics.
Nabena said, “President Bola Tinubu must not play politics with the two states. He must show that he is a democrat and not a dictator.
“President Tinubu who believes in the political or social equality of all people and practice the principle of equality of rights must not play politics with River and Ondo states.
“The Constitution of our nation must be recognised and respected at this time in Rivers and Ondo states.
“The All Progressives Congress (APC) should also look into the party Constitution carefully, bearing in mind that the National Working Committee of our party does not have powers to dissolve an elected chairman and his executive in Rivers.
“We are democrats and not dictators in APC, so we should be mindful of our actions. The implications of this action in River State might be dangerous for our party in the near future if the right thing is not done quickly now. If not, what happened before in 2019 will happen again with litigations here and there.”
