As a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I strive as much as possible to promote my party in my own little way at every level.
Therefore when I recently assessed the prospect of some of our leading candidates for the presidential ticket in a Facebook mini-series articles, a few inboxed me to say that I was biased for endorsing the national leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
How wrong were they and I told them so.
First of all, there is no crime or breach of ethics of the profession in expressing my opinion on any subject of national interest, including appraising politicians.
Even in the United States where we copied our system of democracy, politicians are endorsed not only by individual journalists, but even at editorial level. It is only the broadcast media that are required by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to give airtime for right of reply to any cadidate refrenced.
Most of those who reached out to me to complain were in the camp of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who this morning formally declared his interest to run.
It does not really come as a surprise, because the signs have been there from the onset (2015) by his unusual political hyperactivity that had been clearly aimed at outshining his principal and endear himelf to Nigerians for 2023.
It is he, who steals the limelight whenever there is national tragedy or any emergency activity which naturally depicts him as a more caring and better administrator than the President.
How many times have we seen him rush to all nooks and corners of this country to condole, console and deliver aid to victims and assure them that the Government cared for them, while the President is distracted or more appropriately, deliberately scheduled to attend events or activities that are politically less impactful.
In the end, President Buhari is taking the brunt of the anger of Nigerians for the situation the country finds itself now, while the Vice President is seen as a more compassionate and the peoples hero that will solve the nation’s problem if he takes over.
This is evident when you reflect on his occasional tenure as the acting President; dramatic activities usually happen; from the sacking of DSS DG, Daura, to launching of poverty alleviation programmes and visiting market women to distribute intervention handouts.
Despite the effort of President Muhammadu Buhari in rebuilding the nation’s collapsed infrastructure, improving rail transportation and other laudable work done, he is seen as doing less, travelling more, even in the face calamitous disasters as a result of insecurity, while his number two man enjoys the moment and big numbers in opinion polls as well as in the court of public opinion as a super administrator.
To this day I fail to fathom how the President’s men will schedule his attendance of book launches, birthdays colloquium and other less important events, but would schedule Prof. Osinbajo to visit and grieve with victims of insecurity.
Nigerians have already started reacting to the Vice President’s 2023 presidential declaration with many calling it a stab in the back of his political god-father, Bola Tinubu.
For me, the backstabbing is by the Party. It is the Party’s making. The fact that the critical stakeholders were able to convince the President to back Sen. Adamu Abdullahi to stand for the chairmanship unopposed and he did so, they would have done the same for Tinubu by advising the Vice President not to contest against his benefactor.
I will assume that today’s declaration by Prof. Osinbajo is, yet, the best news to ever happen to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), since it’s ouster in 2015. Many of them see his declaration as an endorsement of his candidacy by the President – a prospect they have been yearning for; an easy walkover at the polls, because there is bound to be protest votes going their way. Mega votes, for that matter!
- Iyawa is Nigeria’s former Ambassador to Mexico
