No aspirant from the South can stand against the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the contest for the presidency ahead of 2023, a chieftain of the ruling party, Senator Abu Ibrahim, has said.
Senator Ibrahim, who is a close confidant of both President Muhammadu Buhari and the Asiwaju, told Daily Trust on Sunday in an exclusive interview that all those being taunted for the presidency in the South-West were protégés of the former Lagos governor and would not compete against him…
Asked if the reported presidential ambitions of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State would not affect the chances of Tinubu, Ibrahim said, “It is normal, but the issue is: Can they stand Tinubu in the South-West? They can see what is coming up. I don’t want to start discussing this issue; it is a different topic.
“Fayemi, for example, knows very well that he is Tinubu’s boy. He was living in Ghana when Tinubu brought him. I once slept in his house in Accra.
“Tinubu brought Fayemi back to Nigeria. Above other leading contenders, he picked him to be the governor of Ekiti State. When we met at Bourdillon (Tinubu’s residence), he told me to thank my friend for him. He said Asiwaju even mobilised fund for him after nominating him to be governor.
“He won the election, but in the second tenure, he failed to even win his ward, and he was made a minister. When he wanted to go for this present tenure, I went to the president and I said Fayemi may not be able to win without Tinubu, so he called Asiwaju and gave him the responsibility to deliver Ekiti for him.”
And on Osinbajo, he said, “The vice president was his commissioner for justice. He never lobbied for the office; he just picked and gave him that position. I have discussed with the vice president many times. I went to his house and office and we discussed the party and everything, including his relationship with Asiwaju. I know how he felt or how he feels about their relationship. He respects Tinubu so much that I feel he may not be able to contest against him.”
Asked whether the president would support Tinubu to actualise his dream of becoming president, Ibrahim, who said President Buhari was his house captain at secondary school in Katsina State, said he had no doubt on that because the former Lagos governor was instrumental to the emergence of Buhari in 2015 when he brought South-West votes to add to Buhari’s 12million in the North that culminated in victory after many trials.
“If we don’t support Tinubu, North-West politicians will suffer in the future as nobody will trust us again. So we have to make sure that this understanding is for our future politics,” he said.
What role did you play in the formation of the APC?
That’s a long history and story. I remember that in 2010 I was a senator on the platform of the Congress for progressive Change (CPC), very close to President Buhari. When we were in secondary school, he was the house captain. He was in his final year while I was in my first year.
As for Tinubu, when I was in the Senate during the time of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) under Babangida, he was also a senator. He was in the SDP while I was in the NRC. We were very compatible, so we decided to become friends in that Senate. That friendship continued to blossom.
When Buhari contested elections he was failing despite all his huge support. I went to him and I said, “Excuse me sir, for you to be president of Nigeria you will need a southern input.” He asked what I meant by southern input and I said he needed a constitutional spread; and to get that he needed somebody strong in the South who would back him. He asked if I had an idea and I said yes. He said okay, let’s discuss it, but I said let me go and talk to the person.
I flew to Lagos, and when I met Asiwaju, he too was concerned; that was how we started the discussion. We reflected on our relationship and decided to explore it. I said I wanted to introduce Buhari to him and he said let’s see how it would go. Fortunately, Fashola came in too and he gave an idea and support.
I went back to Kaduna, and luckily, there was the launch of the Sardauna Foundation and I invited Tinubu. He said we should have lunch with Buhari after the launch. That was in 2010.
We went to Buhari’s house for lunch and I told everybody around – Sarki Abba, the customs comptroller-general, Hammed Ali and others to excuse them for private discussions. They discussed for almost three hours, after which I accompanied Tinubu to the airport.
On our way, he said Buhari was a good man and I knew we could work together and explore the possibility of bringing the desired changes to the country.
When I returned from the airport, Buhari praised Tinubu. He said the election was approaching but let’s see what would happen. He said he wanted Tinubu.
That was the idea, not merger or alliance. There was a CPC and Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) alliance, but you know that a presidential system alliance doesn’t make sense.
We were looking to see how the CPC could produce the president while the vice president would come from the ACN. That was what we were talking about, but somehow, because of lack of time it didn’t go through and Buhari failed to get the 25 per cent in the required states. That was the 2011 elections.
I told him that we could start early, and reminded him that we could not win because he could not get the required spread. He said I should go ahead with my arrangement; and from there I started the second leg.
The first leg failed because of alliance, so in the second leg we started talking of merger from the onset. Then we brought the parties to come in. At that time, Buhari insisted on only the CPC and the ACN; but Tinubu said we had to bring the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), a breakaway from the PDP, then the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP).
At that time, there was this seeming understanding that Buhari should be the presidential candidate, after that, it would be Tinubu; that was subject to my understanding.
Don’t you think this is the right time for Tinubu to call his people and coalesce into a force?
I know that when he came back from London he called the vice president. I was there when the vice president came to the house for discussion. I didn’t participate in the discussion but I know that Tinubu is insisting they work together for the South-West.
Is it like a gang-up against Tinubu?
It is normal, any time. Look at the gang up I got in my constituency as a simple senator.
If you say APC, you say Tinubu. That means they are admitting he is far ahead of everybody because the 12million voters who supported Buhari liked Tinubu. After all, they believe Tinubu gave Buhari the opportunity to become president.
So he has this sympathy. All the 12million voters of Buhari were sympathetic to Tinubu, and that is a very big lead. Nobody in the APC has that kind of sympathy with Buhari’s supporters like Tinubu.
Do you mean the APC would be defeated without Tinubu flying the party’s ticket?
For two reasons, I think if the APC is wise they should give Tinubu the presidential ticket. I told you already that he has the sympathy of the 12million voters of Buhari. I am a beneficiary of that; they call me Baba Merger and because of that, I won all my 117 wards in 2015.
So, with this feeling of Buhari’s supporters, Tinubu has already won their sympathy, a place in their hearts, almost all of them.
There is this claim that a certain group within the presidency doesn’t want Tinubu, do you think so?
It is a normal thing with a certain group. I have been in the inner kitchen of Buhari and we relate very well.
Let me tell you that if the APC doesn’t give Tinubu the ticket, the 12 million supporters may not like it, and they may become disgruntled and may not come out to vote.
Secondly, the understanding between Tinubu and Buhari is very important to the North-West because there is an understanding that if we don’t support Tinubu, politicians from this region will suffer in the future as nobody will trust them again. So it is our duty to make sure that this understanding is for our future politics.
Is it beyond Buhari and Tinubu?
It is beyond Buhari and Tinubu. And if we don’t do it, the North-West will be isolated.
If Tinubu is unable to pick the party’s ticket, do you see him breaking the table?
Tinubu is not such a man; he believes in God. We were discussing recently and he said that as a businessman he would go and continue his business. But I said he should not even talk about it because if he doesn’t win, the party won’t win.
What you people are not aware of is that I am not just following Tinubu, I call him every day to ask about the issue of my constituency, security, economy, poverty. We discuss all these things and he told me what the solutions are. And I think they are doable solutions. I am not going to be the one to mention them; it is going to be his manifestos.
–Daily Trust