•Not respecting zoning will count against Atiku
•How INEC will be Peter Obi’s problem
•Kwakwanso still a regional champion
By Ishola Balogun
In his usual style of remonstrating against opposing idea, the Director, Muslim Rights Concern
(MURIC) and Professor of Islamic Studies, Department of Religions and Peace Studies, Lagos
State University (LASU), Ishaq Lakin Akintola has said history will not be kind to the Afenifere leader, Pa Adebanjo for his hard position on the All Progressive Congress, APC Presidential candidate, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu unless he retraces his footsteps. How can a man who claims to be a Yoruba leader leave a widely accepted Presidential candidate to embrace someone else from another region”, he says. In this interview with Saturday Vanguard, the Muslim rights activist urges the Afenifere leadership to put its house in order. He also speaks on Kola Abiola, son of the undeclared winner of June 12 1993, MKO Abiola. Excerpts:
Kindly share your candid expectation on the forthcoming 2023 General
Elections?
Expectations? No, I don’t want to talk about expectations. Tomorrow belongs to Allah. Homo sapiens can only speculate. That’s why the Arabs say ‘An-naasu fii tafkiir wa Allahu fii tadbiir’. Roughly translated, it means ‘Men engage in speculations but Allah decides what actually happens.’ That’s one of the reasons Islamic scholars don’t make predictions. I personally hate prognostications.
Unfortunately also, I am not a political analyst. At least, I don’t see myself as one. I can only advise Nigerians to be true to their convictions, to ensure that they collect their PVCs and to use the latter wisely and boldly.
In spite of all the hullabaloo, the Muslim-Muslim ticket is going to be the game changer. The names of Tinubu and Shettima are on everyone’s lip in the North. The South West has caught the Jagaban fever. The last time I checked, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar was counting his losses to Peter Obi in the South East. Yet the latter is feverishly searching for a foothold in the Arewa kingdom. He is yet to find one. Ceteris paribus, the Muslim-Muslim ticket is a fait accompli.
But I will appeal to Tinubu’s supporters not to be too complacent. There is still a lot of work to be done. Exempli gratia, there are fences to be mended. The divine factor is also very important. We need to pray. We need to put everything in the hands of Allah.
We must not forget what happened to the June 12 1993 election. It was criminally annulled by enemies of democracy. Nigerians voted massively for Chief M. K. O. Abiola. We wanted him to be the president. But Allah decided otherwise. This time around we must make Allah the numero uno among our consultants. I call on Asiwaju’s supporters to pray, pray and pray. Ora et labora, i.e. work and pray.
What is your take on the direction taken so far by the major presidential flag-bearers such as Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu of APC, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar (PDP), Mr. Peter Obi (LP), Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankanso (NNPP) and Prince Adewole Adebayo (SDP)?
Alhaji Atiku Abubakar is someone for whom I have a lot of respect. But he stayed away in Dubai for too long. His second miscalculation is his refusal to respect his party’s zoning formula. Whereas twelve Northern governors willingly surrendered the APC mandate to a Southerner, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar dared the South by insisting on contesting. The result is the higgledy-piggledy which has characterized the political fortune of the PDP to date.
Peter Obi has already won the presidential election in social media. His problem is INEC because I am not sure that INEC will accept social media popularity as a standard yardstick. PO scored the highest mark in reeling out the other version of truth to Nigerians. His statistical inexactitude is also legendary. I know that intelligent people are not going to forget that.
Kwankwaso is still reveling in the euphoria of kwankwasiyah. A regional phenomenon has been mistaken for a national movement. NNPP may not even scratch the surface. Without being dismissive or immodest, the average Nigerian may need to be educated about the identity of Prince Adewole Adebayo of the SDP.
Only the APC presidential candidate appears to have done a lot of homework. He has been to virtually all parts of Nigeria. His party has members and agents spread over all the nooks and crannies of this country. In terms of consultations, he has consulted widely: political circle, traditional rulers, the business sector, students, name it. He is the only candidate who can confidently tell Nigerians, ‘Vini, vidi, vici’, i.e. I came, I saw, I conquered, even at this stage.
Why do you think Asiwaju towers above other frontliners?
Is it not self-evident? Even the blind can see it. We are talking about pedigree here. Asiwaju’s political curriculum vitae is not only impressive, it is intimidating. It is primus inter pareil. He was already a senator when some of those contesting against him today had not even given politics a single thought. He has mentored countless numbers of men and women. Asiwaju can point at Lagos today and beat his chest.
Where are the achievements of those who are challenging him? His roadmap is still being used in Lagos. Fashola used it and Nigerians poured encomiums on him. Sanwo-Olu is using it to the admiration of all. Lagos leads while other states follow. But it is because of the solid foundation laid down by Tinubu.
LASTMA was introduced by him. He introduced free education at secondary school level in Lagos State. You can call that a followup to Chief Awolowo’s free education policy at primary school level. ‘Jigi Bola’, a free eyeglasses project liberated thousands of elderly people from partial blindness as medicated eyeglasses were distributed pro bono in Tinubu’s Lagos. His ‘firsts’ are just too many to mention here.
What, in reality, does this anticipated Tinubu/Shettima presidency signal to you and Nigeria as a whole?
It portends purposeful leadership. Tinubu is a pragmatic political leader. He is always thinking and working on solutions to problems facing his society. Nigerians are fortunate that this human computer did not remain permanently in the United States but decided to return to Nigeria in order to benefit his country.
