As campaigns for next year’s general elections are about to begin, political parties are already warming up to hit the ground running. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), seems to be leading in setting the pace. This can be gleaned from a 30-minute documentary that profiles his private and public engagements and why he stands tall among other contenders for the exalted office. Assistant Editor EMMANUEL BADEJO reports
The campaigns are almost here. The political turf in the country is getting heated up. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is one of the frontline contenders for the job whose candidature has introduced a new paradigm into the nation’s political climate. His person and performance in private and political life appear to be generating intense interest across political divides.
From the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) record, 16 parties will be fielding candidates for the presidential election scheduled to hold on February 25, 2023. The 16 parties in the saddle include Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), the African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Party (ADC), the Allied Peoples Movement (APM), the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Boot Party (BP). Others are the Young Progressive Party (YPP), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), National Rescue Movement (NRM), Social Democratic Party (SDP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP), and Nigeria New Peoples Party (NNPP).
Among the parties, it is generally believed that three are strong contenders. The three are the APC, the PDP, and the LP. While the PDP is embroiled in internal squabbles between its presidential candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and some leaders of the party on one side;the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, alongside some chieftains in the party, is also locked in a battle, which may affect the fortune of the main opposition party.
The LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has been using social media to connect with Nigerians. However, many political pundits have dismissed Obi style, saying elections are not won or lost based on social media. Interestingly, Tinubu has been using the period to consolidate by reaching out to political juggernauts within and outside his party. Also, he became the first to have a documentary chronicling his educational attainment and his service to humanity both in private and public service.
At least, two eminent Nigerians also testified to Tinubu’s exploits as a student of accountancy at the Chicago State University (CSU) and an auditor with Mobil Oil Producing Company.
According to the documentary, which described Tinubu as a ‘Pathfinder of New Lagos,” described how the APC presidential candidate spent his early life in Southwestern Nigeria. He was said to have later moved to the United States where he studied Accountancy at Chicago State University. He returned to Nigeria in the early 1980s and was employed by Mobil Nigeria as an accountant, before entering politics as a Lagos West senatorial candidate in 1992 under the banner of the Social Democratic Party.
His political journey was, however, truncated after the former Head of State, late Gen. Sani Abacha, dissolved the Senate in 1993. Thereafter, Tinubu became activist campaigning for the return of democracy as a part of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) movement. Although he was forced into exile in 1994, Tinubu returned after Abacha’s 1998 death triggered the beginning of the transition to the Fourth Republic.
Prior to his foray into politics, Tinubu was said to have performed excellently as a student of the CSU where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. This was confirmed by one of his old associates in the prestigious university. Pa Kunle Adedayo, a fellow alumnus, Chicago State University, United States, and a Co-founder, of Tastee Fried Chicken, attested to the educational attainment of Tinubu while he was a student in the prestigious university. According to him, Tinubu was a distinguished student, who did not only perform creditably well, but also became a tutor to his classmates and other students in the university.
“Asiwaju is friend of my youth, a brother and a jolly good fellow. Bola and I were fortunate to have attended the same Chicago State University (CSU), United States, but I was a year ahead of him. Bola studied Accountancy and many can attest to the fact that he was an exceptional student so much so that he was a tutor and an academic mentor to his classmates and other students. Bola is a genius. It was not surprising that he eventually graduated with distinction from the prestige university.”
After the completion of his studies, the documentary revealed, Tinubu worked for the American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, Haskins, & Sells, GTE Services Corporation, P&G and GEC. In 1983, Tinubu returned to Nigeria and he joined Mobil Oil Nigeria, where he later became an executive of the company.
Speaking on his outstanding record while in Mobil as an auditor, Pa Pius Akinyelure described Tinubu as a very active, proactive individual who he also possesses the quality to think ahead his peers. Akinyelure, a former Director with Mobil, attested to the fact that Tinubu’s track record while in the employ of the company endeared him to the management so much that the company was not willing to let him go when he decided to resign from private practice to serve the public.
“When Bola Tinubu came to us in late 1983 to attend an interview for the position of an auditor in our audit department, he did the interview excellently well and we had no choice but to offer him the job. He came in and his performances were great and excellent. He is an individual who is very active, proactive and thinks ahead of his time. We appreciated him and loved him.
“But in 1992 when he came to us that he wanted to go into politics, we were surprised because he was doing very well with us. We also told him that he was one of the people tipped to take over the post of finance director. But, he was adamant. Then, we had to release him. However, due to his sterling performance, we said to him to return to his job in the event that he loses (the election). He left and the remaining is history that we all know today.”
The Nation
