Gbenro Adesina
Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on Monday 11, 2022, put to rest speculations and apprehension as to whether he would be bold to throw himself into the ring to battle for 2023 presidential ticket under the All Progressive Congress (APC) with the ex-Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, under whom he served as the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. Osinbajo, an in-law of the former Premier of the South West Region, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, an acclaimed best president Nigeria never had, this morning, while Tinubu was holding a meeting with 14 APC governors at the Kebbi State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja, declared his intention to succeed his boss, the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari. Though, expected, the declaration did not only shock some Nigerians, it makes the competition tougher.
Osinbajo’s declaration of intention rattled Tinubu, but was calm about it unlike how his two legs almost failed him when the former Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki edged him out in the scheming of the 8th Senate President to clinch the position. But Tinubu’s countenance complimented his spoken words denouncing the cordial relationship that once existed between him and his erstwhile chief law officer. Denying Osinbajo as a political son while fielding questions from the newsmen, Tinubu responded to a question wanting to know his feeling about the declaration of intention to run for presidency in 2023, “I have no son grown enough to declare.” No doubt, with the development, the next few weeks will experience a lot of political permutations, consultations, and declaration ahead of the ruling party’s primary election. So far, with Osinbajo entering into the contest, APC is currently having six presidential aspirants including, the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State; former Abia governor and serving senator, Orji Kalu and former Imo governor and senator, Rochas Okorocha. Expected to join the race are: Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State and the Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.
However, mixed reactions have continued to trail the declaration of Osinbajo to contest the forthcoming presidential election. The declaration has received both knocks and thumbs up. A veteran journalist, writer and activist, Richard Akinola was impressed at the oratory of the Vice President saying, “Osinbajo shows new world-class communication strategy !!!” His words, “Evidently, with Osinbajo, Nigeria is on the cusp of true change. All through our postcolonial history as a nation, our political class have tended to sleep and turn in the same direction. Osinbajo’s innovative declaration today marks a tectonic shift of the paradigm. One, as a loyal and arguably the most cerebral Vice President in Nigeria’s history, Osinbajo has been laser-focused on his job. For instance, if Nigeria exited the COVID-inflicted recession earlier than the bookmakers forecasted, it is largely due to the creative leadership Osinbajo provided the Economic Sustenance Programme (ESP) initiated by President Buhari.”
“Sure, long-suffering Nigerians are used to wasteful politicians renting a crowd of jobless youths to attend their declaration of political aspirations which often end up being characterised more by hollow singing and wild dancing with their written speeches completely drowned in the process. Osinbajo’s own declaration today is obviously far more creative, more effective. His message is cogent and the delivery most sagacious. I wager this is a foretaste of the sort of positive change to come under Osinbajo presidency! This is the kind of out-of-the-box thinking we have been advocating in our governance model. As immortal Albert Einstein said, and as further echoed by Myles Monroe, it is pure insanity to keep doing things the same old way and expect different outcome”, he concluded.
An anonymous Nigerian described Osinbajo’s declaration speech as watery and baseless, querying why he wants to run to “complete the task” that Buhari started.
The anonymous Nigerian said, “Buhari started extreme poverty and overwhelming security for Nigeria. Under Buhari, our country’s debt has grown from ₦12 trillion in 2015, to almost ₦50 trillion this year (if the new ₦6 trillion loan requests are granted. If Osinbajo is running to “complete” that, then he is running to completely destroy what is left of Nigeria! Osinbajo said he is running to “provide jobs for millions”. Those were his exact words. The fellow has been in charge of Nigeria’s economy for the last seven years, according to Buhari, who boasted that Osinbajo heads his economic management team. Yet, Nigerians have lost jobs created by other administrations. His job record is FAILURE! Nigeria has less jobs now, than in 2015, and our unemployment rate has increased from 12% in 2015, to 33% according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Osinbajo said he wants to “birth the expectations of greatness” for Nigeria. Under his leadership of Buhari’s economic management team, Nigeria became the world headquarters for extreme poverty. We do not need Osinbajo’s type of expectation.”
He added, “Osinbajo in his declaration speech said he “remained focused on securing the country”. That is an insult to the intelligence of Nigerians. Under Osinbajo and Buhari, Nigeria became the 3rd most insecure nation on Earth. Only Iraq and Afghanistan are worse than us. We just witnessed a train bombing and the abduction of over a hundred Nigerians who are still with terrorists. Over 700 of our soldiers have been killed in the last 18 months. If that is what Osinbajo’s focus produces, then we don’t need it! For years, Osinbajo has been posing as an intellectual. So, at the very least, we expected his declaration speech to be filled with his achievements in office. But it was instead filled with promises. Empty promises. Because he and Buhari have no achievements to show for their wasted seven years! Osinbajo fooled us with his empty promises in 2015. Now, he is making new promises. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Don’t forget how he was doing Trader Moni during the last elections. Did he not abandon it after he and Buhari rigged themselves to a second term? In summary, Osinbajo’s declaration speech was as short as him, because he has no achievements, no plans, no priorities. The only thing he has are promises. And let us not forget that this was the same man who promised to create 3 million jobs annually. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. And Osinbajo’s past betrays him as an echo of Buhari’s cluelessness!”
In the same direction, a Nigerian-American professor, Farooq Adamu Kperogi, pointed out that Osinbajo’s underwhelming, grammatically error-ridden, self-sabotaging presidential declaration speech contains two barefaced lies.
“The first major lie is his claim that he has “been to practically all local governments in Nigeria.” The lie is too self-evident to need further elucidation from me. But the second major lie, which concerns me more than the first, is his claim that he wants a Nigeria “where the man from Nnewi sees the man in Gusau as his brother, where the woman in Warri sees the woman in Jalingo as her sister, where the love of our nation burns alike in the hearts of boys and girls from Gboko to Yenogoa. Where everywhere in this land is home for everyone, where our diversities, tribes [sic] and faiths unite, rather than divide us”, he highlighted.
For Etim Etim, “Prof Yemi Osinbajo’s declaration speech released early Monday morning is one of the most inspiring messages from a Nigerian leader in recent memory, and it reflects the depth of his thoughts, preparedness to lead and the scope of his experience in the Buhari administration. Nigerians have come to admire the Vice President for his erudition and elocution, but his seven-minute broadcast this morning put him in a class away from the crowd. I commend the VP for answering to the call from millions of Nigerians to step forward and lead. But really, this is his own call.”
He said, “Obviously, the VP plans to run on the theme of continuity, banking on his deep experience and expecting to extend the scope of the achievements of the government he has served so passionately in the last seven years. He opened his speech with an unmistakable expression of admiration for his boss and approval of the work they have done together. ”For the past seven years, I have served as Vice President under a true Nigerian patriot, a servant of the nation in war and peace, and a man of integrity, President Muhammadu Buhari. We have, together, worked through some of the most difficult times in the history of our nation, but we have remained focused on securing the country, providing infrastructure and growing our economy”, the VP said. Acknowledging your boss is one of the cardinal principles in leadership. You ignore it; you pay for it. In 2000, Al Gore, the US Vice President under President Bill Clinton, lost that year’s election to George W. Bush partly because the VP had distanced himself from the Clinton legacy despite the huge achievements of the administration. Al Gore had erroneously assumed that the Lewinsky scandal that engulfed the Clinton presidency in its last days would mar his electoral chances if he did not step away. He turned out to be wrong. Americans were willing to forgive Clinton because he did so well in office.”
“This morning Osinbajo presented President Buhari as one of the most successful leaders of our nation. It is notable that Osinbajo would not only be flaunting the achievements of the Buhari Presidency of which he is an integral part, but he’d also be ready to explain its shortcomings and offer plans to make amends. That’s the hallmark of true leadership. The tone of his message was assuring, uplifting and reassuring. He said “have been to practically all local governments in Nigeria. I have been in markets, factories, schools, and farms. I have been in agricultural, mining and oil-producing communities in the Delta, in Kebbi, Enugu, Borno; Rivers, Plateau and Ondo; and in all other States of the federation, listening to the diverse experiences and yearnings of our people. I have visited our gallant troops in the North East and our brothers and sisters in the IDP camps. I have felt the pain and anguish of victims of violent conflicts, terrorist attacks, flooding, fire and other disasters. I have been in the homes of many ordinary Nigerians in various parts of the country. I have sat with our techprenuers in Lagos, Edo, and Kaduna, with our Nollywood and Kannywood actors; with our musicians from Lagos, Onitsha and Kano. And I have spoken to small and large businesses”. None of the other aspirants, not even Atiku Abubarkar who was also a Vice President for two terms, has this type of credentials.
“Many Nigerians would be glad to note that under the Osinbajo administration, there would be no abandoned projects as he will focus on completing ”what we have started, radically transforming our security and intelligence architecture; completing the reform of our justice system focusing on adequate remuneration and welfare of judicial personnel, ensuring justice for all and the observance of rule of law, rapidly advancing our infrastructure development, especially power, roads, railways and broadband connectivity. Providing an excellent environment for businesses to thrive; taking the agriculture revolution to the next level especially mechanization and developing the farm to table value chain”.
“He noted that he would transform the government and ensure that the government, its agencies and regulators serve the business community, creating a tech economy that will provide jobs for millions, enhancing our Social Investment Programmes to a full-scale social welfare scheme, completing the promise of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within this decade. In addition, his administration would complete the task of ensuring that all Nigerians, male and female, attend school, reforming our educational system for relevance to the challenges of this century, completing the task of universal health coverage for all and strengthening the capacity of States and Local Governments to deliver on their respective mandates. I am stunned that no other aspirant from the two parties has talked of lifting our people from poverty and sending our kids to school. Do they not know what is important in today’s world?
“One of the fascinating aspects of Osinbajo’s declaration is his use of ICT to convey his message. Releasing his recorded video simultaneously on all platforms makes it the first time a Nigerian politician has taken to social media to launch his campaign. Recall that the VP is also the first Nigerian public official to use teleprompter regularly to make his speeches. His style is in tune with modern democratic practices around the world. In the last seven years, he has deepened the use of ICT in government. President Obama, Joe Biden and indeed many Western leaders declared through video messages. Donald Trump took it a notch higher in 2015 by declaring while riding down the escalator at Trump Towers. Packing people into a football stadium during this pandemic is not a very wise way to make a declaration speech, especially in a world where the social media connects us with lightning speed. The result has been outstandingly splendid. Four hours after the video was posted, it received over 450,000 hits and views across all channels. No stadium has the capacity for even half of that number. The VP’s style is cost effective, more efficient and a smarter way to communicate in this modern age. In any case, the VP has to be very effective in the way he runs his campaigns because he has not stashed away huge sums of money like others.
“I understand that millions of tech savvy Nigerian youths are already sharing and posting Prof Osinbajo’s video across all platforms. Nigerians in Diaspora are also excited in sharing the video. Had the event been held in a stadium, they would have missed out on it. Again, I salute Prof Osinbajo for the clarity of his message, the modernity of his method and the hope of his coming. This is a man for this moment.”
Many Nigerians slammed Osinbajo for declaring his intention on twitter, saying that it was wrong for him to declare his intention on twitter that his government banned.
@NaikeyOnuegbu said, “On this same Twitter that they banned, they’re all coming to declare to run for (the) office of (the) President…The irony!”
In the same vein, @Krisdangis, “On this same @Twitter you banned last year…???”
Disagreeing with the antagonists of Osinbajo, @falomojoy hailed the VP for declaring his intention to vie for the exalted seat, calling him “the most loved personality in every part of the country.”
“Nobody can deny the fact that you are the most loved personality in every part of the country. You are so connected to the masses and that is the type of a leader Nigeria need(s). We are with you on these sir”, she added.
Whatever position Nigerians take on the 2023 presidential aspirants, the quality of the intending successors of Buhari will make the forthcoming presidential race robust, interesting and toughly competitive.
