Headline

2023: The Odds Against Tinubu

Published

4 years ago

November 19, 2022

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

The emergence of former two terms governor of Lagos State and National leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, came with more of backlogs rather than glamour. Much as his diehard supporters see victory in his quest to become the president of Nigeria, many Nigerians believe that the quest of the man, who is better known as Jagaban, was dead on arrival.

Addressed as the National Leader of the APC since its formation in 2013, the twelfth governor of Lagos State desperately wants to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in May 2023, amid excess load of inanities trailing his candidature, including severe ill-health that has become too difficult to hide in recent times..

Tinubu’s victory at the APC primaries was the beginning of his many problems at trying to win the general election. It is not hard to imagine that Tinubu has a hand full of bumpy path to navigate in this race. And the way it appears, bookmakers have already scored him failed mark.

The reasons for the dead on arrival status of the Tinubu-ambition is pictured in so many transparent loopholes that have made the average Nigerian wondered why someone, if anyone at all is supporting his election. These reasons are encapsulated as follows:

In the first instance, it must be noted that Tinubu was not the consensus candidate announced by the APC Chairman Senator Abdullahi Adamu, when the party decided to settle for a consensus candidate as supported by President Buhari. The party had settled for the president of the senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who comes from the Northeast. His adoption may not be unconnected to the fact that the party wished to compensate the region as they are yet to produce a leader since Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. Tinubu’s intrusion into the presidential race, and finally grabbing it is seen as an affront to the northern oligarchy, who by all intent and purpose, may not show an iota of interest in his bid. Tinubu and his supporters have followed up the grab with unapologetic campaigns.

It should not be taken for granted that the announcement of Lawan as consensus candidate is a signal that some leaders in APC recognized the suffering the North East has passed through, especially as regards the degree terrorism, which has decimated lives and economy of the region in a long stretch of time.

Again, and for those who kept a keen eye on Tinubu after emerging winner at the June 6 presidential primary, will understand that the former governor was never magnanimous in victory. This was captured in his acceptance speech, which showed no humility, but expressed in as many words that he was on a vengeance mission, having defied all odds to clinch the ticket. Tinubu had targeted and fired several humiliating and insulting shots at the president as if his “It’s my turn’ slogan suddenly changed to it’s my turn to revenge.

Consequently, to all those whose Tinubu’s emergence was a massive embarrassment to, especially the APC party chairman Senator Adamu, who had earlier announced a different person as the consensus candidate, and the party generally, and the Igbo contingent, who felt cheated at the way the mandate rested on the bosom of the highest bidder, there is basically nowhere for Tinubu to hide. To them, he is a misplacement of priority. Adamu himself knows that with a Tinubu presidency, his job as the chairman if the party will definitely come to an end. After all, he didn’t share the joy of victory with Tinubu as he fidgeted to lift the flag of the party on the night.

And with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, a son of the Northeast, and Adamawa State to be precise, it is unlikely the region will settle for a second in command in the person of Tinubu’s running mate, Hashim Shettima, in spite of the number one position. This is not only the theory of the northeast, but the entire Hausa/Fulani tribe that populates the north west and east of Nigeria

Another reason Tinubu’s candidature is dead on arrival, and a subject of failure, is the report by Fitch Solutions Country Risk and Industry Research, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, and an international credit rating organisation, which harped that a victory for Tinubu will destabilize the peace of the country.

The report said the social instability will be prompted by a chain reaction emanating from the party’s Muslim/Muslim presidential ticket. It is important to note that no Nigerian will want a more destabilised Nigeria, seeing the precarious position the country is presently in as a result of the unending insecurity that has plagued the very fabric of the nation as well as the harsh economic realities that have reduced over 133 million Nigerians to abject poverty.

The report reads:

“We maintain our view that the ruling party’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the candidate most likely to win the presidential election as a split opposition vote will favour the APC,” the report stated.

“Protests and social discontent are likely to ramp up in the aftermath of a Tinubu win since this would end the recent trend of the presidency alternating between Muslims and Christians.

“Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, there has been an informal agreement that resulted in the presidency alternating between northern and southern states, as well as between Christians and Muslims.

“A win for Tinubu would break with this unwritten tradition and likely fuel sentiment of perceived marginalisation among Christians,” the report revealed.

Other notable Nigerians, who have expressed the impossibility of Tinubu berthing in Aso Rock is the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, who warned that Nigeria will collapse completely if the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, is elected to govern the country.

Obaseki, who stated this in Benin, at the inauguration of Edo State Campaign Management Council of the Peoples Democratic Party, said that no administration had done the kind of damage the APC government had done to Nigeria, noting that the debt profile of the country under the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government has hit N60trn.

“God forbid APC comes into power, this country will break; this country will fail, it has already failed, because no government has ever done the kind of damage the APC has done to this country.

“As I speak today, the debt of this country is going to N60 trillion. When are we going to come out of it? Every day, every month, they are printing and printing money to pay salaries. When I cried out years ago, I never knew it was as bad as this. What will happen to the Naira? Only God will help us. They (APC) has destroyed the basis of this country. Electing Tinubu will lead to a total collapse of the country.

“APC is threatening the coexistence of this country, but by the grace of God, when we come into power, we will revive this country. We will make this country what it ought to be,” he said.

In the same vein, a veteran flutist, Omatshola Iseli aka Tee Mac, advised Nigerians against the choice of Bola Tinubu, to succeed Buhari.

The artiste, who claimed Tinubu is his in-law, explained that it was important for Nigerians to reflect deeply and consider their choice of next president.

The flutist alleged that the former Lagos State governor was not qualified to be Nigeria’s president, and argued that there was so much about Tinubu that was shrouded in secrecy.

Reacting in a comment section of a writer, Yemi Olakitan, on Facebook, who had declared his support for the APC presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu, the flutist said it was important for an “intelligent person” to interrogate Tinubu’s candidacy.

He said, “Dear Yemi. Anybody can choose any candidate, but an intelligent person will ask himself the question: do I choose rightly? Is the man qualified? Is he honest? Does he tell us the truth about his age, background, and how he made his money? Is this man healthy enough at 86 to take up the task of a totally run-down country…?

“I stopped supporting him and stopped family visits etc when he sold that Buhari to the nation in 2015. My advice to the nation is that this man is absolutely not qualified to become our next president. Respectfully Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli.”

Tee Mac’s fears about Tinubu bring back to mind how he stood like a rock, and sold Nigerians the candidacy of Buhari with a promise of a better Nigeria. However, the opposite is the case as Nigerians have in comatose as regards standard of living, and holds Tinubu responsible. It is even more disheartening that in most of his campaign speeches, Tinubu has pledged to continue the legacies of Buhari. And to the average Nigerian, Buhari’s legacy is continuous hardship, and no one will deliberately engage in voting a candidate that will further perpetrate hardship. Buhari’s almost eight years government is a thorough disadvantage to the desperation of Tinubu.

Another odd against the APC candidate is his mental health status in addition to his physical health, which has continually exposed him wherever the former governor finds himself. Tinubu has been known to speak incoherently in the public, unleashing one mumbojumbo after another, and holding his audience shamefaced. A lot of videos has trended and many have continued to trend on Tinubu’s misrepresentations in speech and utter verbalization of balderdash. These displays have him appear like someone in a trance or in a state of stupor. It is very unlikely that any Nigerian would want such an entity as their president, especially not after experiencing the presentations of the current president when it mattered most.

Tinubu has also been in and out of hospital over yet to be disclosed illness that has reduced to more like a vegetable in his physical outlook. Recall that it was impossible for the presidential candidate to hold up a flag shortly after he was declared winner of his party’s presidential primary. On many occasions afterwards, he has had to be helped to maintain balance while he walks. His total public exhibition smacks of a person, who is nursing a terrible ailment that does not require the stress that comes with presiding over about 250 million Nigerians.

Stakeholders have reasoned that should Tinubu emerge president, he will spend a greater part of his tenure transversing the length and breadth of European nations in search of medication, thereby abandoning governance to God knows who. The way Nigeria is today after almost eight years of Buhari rule, the country cannot afford an absentee president.

Yet another backlog of Tinubu’s candidacy is the fact that most of his educational and professional life are shrouded in secrecy. Most of the schools he claimed he attended have not come out clean to defend his claims, including academic institutions in Chicago, United States. In 2003, his current spokesperson, Mr. Festus Keyamo, challenged his academic status in court and state House of Assembly, saying that there are many things suspicious about his academic qualifications.

In addition to Tinubu’s academic and physical health challenges, the presidential candidate has dubious character backlog. He is alleged to have been involved in drug related deals. A certain document released by the United States confirmed that Tinubu once forfeited his money in some US banks to the US government when he entered a plea bargain to escape court processes, and risk going to jail. The document hinted that money forfeited were proceeds of drug deals.

Though his media handlers are trying as much as they could to defend his involvement as drug lord, it is common knowledge that anyone connected with drugs is not fit to be president of Nigeria, and so it is with Tinubu.

It is also worthy of mention that Tinubu every public outing where he may possibly field questions about his eligibility and programmmes before intellectuals and media personalities. Though there’s no law that compels any candidate to appear for debate, it is imperative that candidates present their programmmes before the people they wish to lead, and give spontenous commentaries on issues with a view to proving that they have full knowledge of the office for which they seek election. But Tinubu has shun all available debates only appearing on programmed town hall meetings where he read albeit incoherently, from prepared text. He was seen at a campaign rally reading from a paper.

Until date, the relationship between Tinubu and Afenifere has remained a no love lost affair with the pan Yoruba group roundly endorsing the candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, erupting a crisis of choice in the entire Yoruba land.

It is still left to see how the jagaban will surmount all this odds and backlogs as the election draws dangerously close to February, 2023.

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.