A pacesetter, lover of peace, a man of the people and for the people, two-term Lagos state governor and a former senator, APC national leader, the Asiwaju of Lagos, Bola Ahmed Tinubu – the most talked about aspirant, stands tall with the best résumé, no exaggeration intended.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) is a Nigerian political El Generalissimo and visionary leader who has been at the fore of ensuing credible governance in Nigeria and Africa at large.
For over three decades, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been pivotal in shaping the politicking of our nation, while establishing his kind as an embodied concept, through his reinvigorating political enthusiasm and staunch passion for good governance. However, in apposite similitude to the defining nature of every concept, there is a propensity for the culmination of controversies that are hinged on effects, consequences, and influences.
However, it is highly understandable to the extent that attacks in the guises of a campaign of calumny, name-calling, and other nefarious accusations are instigated by different political opponents and their supporters to disparage the nobility and credibility of BAT as the “Moses” of our time.
Interestingly, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has not held any political position since 2007 when he served as the Governor of Lagos State between 1999-2007, yet he is the most abused and demeaned politician, including those who have gulped themselves with the drowning ocean of power and huge wealth since 1999.
The rhetoric question here is, if Bola Tinubu has not been proven guilty of corruption of any sort since he left the governorship seat about 15 years ago, why is the system bent on scuttling his lifelong ambition to steer the wheel of Nigeria to the promised land as our next president?
Following the 2007, landslide victory of the then ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Tinubu reputed as a visionary leader, swung into the action of negotiations to bring together fragmented opposition parties to form a chimera of a mega-party, which was able to match PDP in power tussle, hence leading to the breakdown of PDP’s influence in the country.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a man of timber and caliber and refined taste, a man of integrity, unwavering in his convictions, and unapologetic in his pursuits. Fame, money, and power became his, with seeds of impact and contributions. Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s noble presidential ambition unlike others can be traced to the innate desire to bring about the much-needed change in Nigeria, to touch lives, rather than a pact to prove something.
• Illustrious son of the soil
• Finance expert
• Pro democrat
• Political juggernaut
• Visionary
• trueborn leader
• Illustrious Son Of The Soil
Born on March 29, 1952, Bola Ahmed Tinubu had shown great promise, right from his childhood. His thirst for knowledge led him to further his education in the United States in 1975 where he made the honor list of Richard Daley College. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the Chicago State University, Illinois.
- Finance Expert
Way before Tinubu established himself as a pillar in the Nigerian political world; he racked up high accolades in the international and national corporate world, kicking off his professional career at the American-based Arthur Anderson, Deloitte Haskins and Sell, and GTE Service Corporation. In different capacities, he engaged in auditing and management consultancy services of General Motors, First National Bank of Chicago, Procter and Gamble, International Harvester, GEC, and other Fortune 500 firms.
- Pro Democrat
Bola Ahmed Tinubu is reputed as a pillar, an icon of democracy, and a master political strategist who gave his all in the fight for human rights, freedom, and justice, forcing the military to succumb and hand over power in 1999. His journey into politics began in 1992, under the auspices of the Social Democratic Party of Nigeria (SDP). Tinubu was elected a member of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to represent Lagos West Senatorial District (1993), where he served as Chairman of the Appropriation, Finance, and Banking committee. Following the annulment of June 12, 1993, presidential election by military president, Ibrahim Babangida, Tinubu’s alliance with other pro-democratic politicians founded the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which for years boldly battled against corruption and the subjugation of democracy, demanding its complete restoration and the validation of the June 12 election results.
In 1998, the foremost democrat yielded the call and joined the National Reconciliation and Development. A year later, he was elected Executive Governor of Lagos State on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
- Political juggernaut
Tinubu is a political juggernaut, with the masterstroke for accurate and precise permutations, formed a behemoth political party that wrestled against the PDP in 2013. The merger of the three biggest opposition parties, which include the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), the All Nigeria’s People’s Party (ANPP), a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA), and some aggrieved members of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), into the All Progressive Congress (APC) became a reality.
It was Tinubu’s adroit political calculation and his wizardry in envisaging the next-four moves ahead that enabled General Muhammadu Buhari to emerge victorious as a merger candidate under the APC in the 2015 presidential election. It brought the boast of ruling PDP for the next 50 years to an abrupt end.
- Visionary
A visionary with a gift of foresight and audacious drive, Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s tenure as governor can be summed up in two words – progressive leadership. Armed with a plethora of great, radical, innovative transformation ideas, which set the blueprint for modernization at the federal and state levels. His intuitive leadership prowess enabled a national development, proof of which is well reflected across various spheres, thereby ushering in a myriad of changes across several sectors of nation-building; education, urbanization, constructions, transportation, health, civil service reformation (LASTMA, LAWMA, LAMATA, LASAA), among other initiatives.
“Father of modern Lagos State”
Tinubu’s excellent performance as two-term Executive Governor of Lagos State of Nigeria (1999 – 2007), brought about innovative ideas and legacies as clearly reflected in the modern-day Nigerian progressives, as it still shines on brightly today.
Decades’ worth of impactful, effective leadership, Jagaban’s influence also indisputably cuts across party politics, particularly the South-west. He formed the Alliance for Democracy (AD), one of the three main political parties at the time, which he later proceeded to form the Action Congress (AC), with a successive progression to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and now the All Progressives Congress (APC).
- Trueborn leader
Magnanimous with a large heart, he is reputed for his inclusive leadership, one swift look around and we find his worthy salutary efforts, countless proof of his generosity, raising, mentoring, and empowering an army of distinguished leaders to key positions of leadership through wisdom and foresight at various levels. Tinubu is for all, including the oppressed and the underprivileged.
Notable amongst Tinubu’s protégé in politics are Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), who Tinubu cemented his emergence as the APC Vice-presidential Candidate in the build-up to the 2015 General Elections, former governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), who was chief of Staff during Tinubu’s Second-term as Lagos State Governor and the Ekiti state governor, Kayode Fayemi. Others include Osun State Governor Gboyega Oyetola, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora, and Engr. Rauf Aregbesola, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Sunday Dare etc.
Did you know?
Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) is:
The only Nigerian politician with a logo
The only Nigerian politician with an anthem
The only Nigerian politician with an ingenious leadership dexterity
The only Nigerian politician who had a legal battle with a sitting present and won in court
Arguably the only Nigerian politician who is not a bigot
The only selfless Nigerian politician who has supported others’ goals in positions he has not occupied
The only Nigerian political leader with the best cabinet since 1999
The first and only Nigerian leader that devised ways of surviving, by deploying new strategies for internally generated revenue (IGR), that he used to fund several Lagos State projects, at the time he was at loggerheads with the Federal Government over allocations, due to the creation of L.C.D.As.
Tinubu is a serial entrepreneur, who has honed his entrepreneurial acumen in different sectors; it is noteworthy that the business mogul has contributed immensely to the GDP of Nigeria, with myriad empowerment programs to enable the sustainable well-being of Nigerians.
Nothing beats achieving a goal, and Senator Bola Tinubu will now relish the fact that his party, the APC, has broken the jinx by becoming the first party to hold both the federal and Lagos state governments.
Indeed, Nigeria’s political history will be incomplete without acknowledging Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s contributions
