BY: AMB. STEVE NNADI
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is arguably Nigeria’s most successful political godfather alive. Over the past 16 years, the Jagaban has successfully installed his preferred candidates as governors of Lagos State. Beyond installing governors, he has also installed 85% of all political office holders in Lagos State. His political influence extends beyond Lagos, as he could boast of taking over the entire Southwest politics and also having some influence in the election of a few lawmakers outside the Southwest. In 2015, he established his place as Nigeria’s Number One kingmaker by seeing to the takeover of power by the APC at the federal level.
Obviously, Tinubu had some misunderstanding with some of his boys, but people who want to learn how to remain relevant after installing people in power must learn one of Tinubu’s key strategies; GIVE THEM SPACE. In this article, I am going to make generous references to Tinubu’s leadership style in discussing what I feel are key secrets to retaining your structure and relevance after handing over power to your preferred successor and or after assisting someone to political power.
1. YOU CAN’T GIVE SOMEONE POWER AND EXPECT THEM NOT TO BE POWERFUL: Even if you raise a goat from your barn today and make him governor of a State, you would be mistaken to expect that he wouldn’t become powerful. It is wrong to think that the person you made governor would always defer to you, and it is worse when you expect them to remain the subordinate they were before you empowered them. For instance, if you help someone become a governor, the only way you can be politically more powerful than him is if you become President. Even if you become the Vice-president, a good student of power who wants to assert himself would still do so, especially, if they succeed in securing the confidence of the President or if the President is the type that respects democratic ethos. You should allow them to exercise the powers of their office without undue interference, and those of them with good conscience would still accord you your due respect.
2. GIVE THEM SPACE: One of the reasons President Tinubu succeeded in all his years without holding any political office in Nigeria, yet, remained powerful in Lagos is because he stayed off the day to day running of government, or made it look like he did. He wasn’t overbearing, at least openly. You would be discomforting your mentee in power if you are always trying to breath down his throat. Even your own child would rebel if you become too present in his life. Nobody likes to be told every day that you made him and nobody likes to be treated like a toy. Not someone who has power.
3. GROOM THEM, THEN ALLOW THEM TO BE BETTER: Don’t make the mistake of bringing an outsider and handing over power to them. Groom them on the basics of power and watch to know that they understand your principles of power and leadership, but don’t expect them to be a kind of lower body double to you. They must show their independence and they can do things differently, yet remain loyal. If you bring in someone who doesn’t know power and its principles and hand them power on the belief that being novice in politics, they would be easier to control, then, you would be making a grievous mistake, because those without basic training in power are the quickest in trying to demonstrate how powerful they are.
4. GIVE POWER TO QUALIFIED INDIVIDUALS: Some political leaders, in trying to guarantee their total grip on power, may install an incompetent person in power so they could become their puppets. This hardly works, because a timid person cannot handle power. When you give a timid person power, it is easy for outsiders and family members who were nowhere when the conspiracy to install him was hatched to incite him against you. It is also possible that in trying to please you, he will lose grip of the constituency and allow, unwittingly, your opponents to take over the constituency.
5. PROXY CONTROL: Tinubu’s Governance Advisory Council in Lagos is his hit team for unseating any governor that derails from his political agenda. He doesn’t need to come out in person to exchange words or fight with any of his political products, but he operates through the GAC to reassert his authority. It was the GAC that insisted on stopping Ambode’s second term as governor. Even though Tinubu might have orchestrated it from behind, he did not make it very obvious and seemingly allowed “the leaders” to decide, while he played along. Wike would have the sympathy of more people than he is enjoying today, if it had been made to look that Fubara had lost the support of key leaders of the Wike political family, but Fubara’s biggest advantage in this is establishing that his fight is directly with Wike rather than anyone else.
Let Good Judgement Prevail.