Dr Bosun Tijani, President Tinubu’s Ministerial nominee of the Labour Party persuasion, has owned up to being wrong in not holding his own head up straight, while many young Nigerians were losing their heads in the guise of criticising the government, while denigrating Nigeria and somewhat denting democracy, during the 2023 Electioneering season.
Unbiased critics of government and government processes, are good and desirable for national development. Rabidly partisan critics are however, exactly like destruction-minded terrorists when criticising governments. They, particularly the unrepentant ones among them, are the worst type of destructive critics that all governments must avoid. Luckily, unfolding events are now showing that Dr Bosun Tijani is not one of such verminous critics governments must avoid.
Many who are close to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu will readily confirm that like Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Asiwaju Tinubu luxuriates and enjoys banters only in pools of ideas. He warmly welcomes criticism of even himself, not just policies of the government he is involved in formulating. As governor of Lagos State, he reputedly openly surprised workers who behind his back, called him “Oju’yobo” in mockery of the seeming bulge in his penetrative eyes, by announcing his presence saying “Oju y’obo nki yin ọ ni bi o” roughly translating to “Here is bulgy eyes greeting you all.” The Executive Council Meetings he chaired as governor of Lagos State, were usually very robustly engaging, because of the span of contrary views the meeting welcomed. Those holding divergent views only need to be able to back their opinions with well-reasoned arguments and proffer workable alternatives to what they are criticising.
Such tolerance of criticisms and divergent opinions by President Tinubu is one good reason why there should be no too serious wondering why Lagos led under Asiwaju Tinubu and still leads in creative governance in today’s Nigeria, 16 long years after Tinubu left his imprints in governance there. It should therefore not be surprising that a now seemingly contrite, acerbic and almost poisonous critic of the Presidential candidate Bola Tinubu, is also now one of his Ministerial nominees after a resounding victory over the candidates promoted by the nominee.
In this matter, three lessons stand out. All three are good lessons for younger Nigerians. The three lessons are also critical for national development. A first lesson is that because good and conscientious leaders will always seek to harness all available good and promising hands for national development, every citizen should try to maximise the value they can add to themselves from which they will in turn be able to add value to the nation when called upon like Dr Bosun Tijani has been called upon to.
A second lesson is for supporters of political parties in power to never be just Yes Men and Women in support of every thing the government does, in the hope of an appointment or some other frills of government. Doing so may be supporting the party in power to move from one failure to bigger failures, which further support will not extricate such failing ruling party from. Such blind support led to the crushing defeat of President Jonathan in 2015. Even if being a Yes man is to help bag a role in government, the failure of the bad government such person supports will not exclusively keep the person in government, after the bad government has been removed.
A third, but possibly most important lesson from this matter, is to never support the denigration or destruction of your country in the guise of criticism. Constructive criticism of governments and their policies are very desirable for good governance. But criticisms fueled by extreme partisan selfish, political, religious or ethnic biases, may actually guarantee the wiping out of any possibility of a future when such a critic may still be able to contribute to the development of the country like Dr Tijani is being called upon to do now.
While I accept Dr Tijani’s apology which like I hinted above is luckily still acceptable because the nation has not been destroyed while negative passions were being inflamed, I however believe that more than any Minister when approved, it is the same very critical but gifted Dr Tijani who will now deploy as much skills as he can, to begin selling and reselling the rebuilding and repurposing of Nigeria for greatness, to millions of younger Nigerians normally prone to act more on their emotion and passion like he too once did, than on good reasoning and experience that builds solid foundations for national growth and development.
