By Steve Osuji
…As Nigeria Installs A Lame-duck President
Nigeria is going down in world’s political history as the first country to ‘elect’ and install an evidently lame-duck president. As Mr. Bola Tinubu steps into Aso Rock as Nigeria’s 16th President on Monday, May 29, 2023, he comes literally on the limp.
Ordinarily, an outgoing president is often referred to as lame duck as his powers and authority wanes in the last days and are transmitted into the incoming. But the reverse seems to be the case here. Tinubu comes with an impaired presidential persona ab initio. Hardly any edifying virtues seem to commend this president to the people or even the world community at large. Here are some reasons:
Stolen Mandate/Illegitimate President: It is largely believed across the populace that Bola Tinubu massively rigged the February 2023 presidential election. Though the matter is in court, prima facie evidence are overwhelming and the people are not rejoicing at the prospect of having a new president or a new beginning. It is generally believed that Mr. Peter Obi, the Labour Party candidate won the presidential election outright. Considering a groundswell of support for Obi, which soon morphed into a movement, Nigerians had apparently voted for a new beginning, away from the failed ruling APC and the corrupt politicians of the old order.
It therefore stands to reason that a stolen mandate can only usher an illegitimate president who has an impaired presidential aura and who can neither inspire nor motivate the citizenry to higher patriotic calls.
Withered Moral Authority: It may have been pardonable if it were only a questionable election process, but the situation is far more depressing. Mr Tinubu is possessed of the most odious personal records and personality traits of any human who had ever sought the high and pristine office of the presidency of a country.
Tinubu has no proof of family pedigree. No records of his birth, age, parentage, childhood, early education up to secondary school and no childhood friends or school mates. All these vital biometrics have been subjects of debate and endless, on-going speculations. The abiding puzzle is, how on earth did a man without a personal history – perhaps an alien from Mars – become the president of one of the largest democracies in the world?
Surely, he has perjured himself concerning his identity several times using different records for different elections since 1991. He has held elective offices as a senator of the Federal Republic, Governor of Lagos State and now President!
Impaired Health And Surrogate Presidency: Not only that the election was massively rigged, or that Mr Tinubu might well be a ghost, but his health is poor and physical condition frail. He is much needing of intensive medical care that he’s been to hospital in France about three times since after the polls in February.
What this means is that like outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari, we are in for another surrogate presidency. Recall that during the campaign, Tinubu never granted any serious press interviews; he declined any form of debate with fellow candidates. At the only semblance of media interaction at Chatham House, London, he farmed out questions to aides to answer on his behalf. Evidently aging and ailing (he claims to be 71 but some evidence point at 81), the presidency shall be mostly run by proxy because like Buhari, Tinubu will be away even for longer periods on medical grounds after he’s sworn in.
For instance, at his presidential Inauguration Lecture, yesterday, Tinubu was inexplicably absent, leaving the VP-elect Shettima, to stand in for him. It’s morning yet!
Fantabulously Corrupt…Plus The Small Matter Of Drug: That Tinubu is a cold, corrupt politician is known and understood by even kindergartens in Nigeria. He has managed to hold Lagos State by the scrotum since 1999 after he governed it for eight years. He has an unhindered access to Lagos treasury. He simply determines who gets what. Of course, he helps himself a little as he cannot explain the source of his stupendous wealth. One recent example: A couple of weeks ago, Forbes exposed how Mr. Tinubu’s son, Seyi (36) bought up an $11m mansion in London (cash).
The property itself is a subject of litigation and investigation by the Federal Government of Nigeria that is trying to determine whether it was a proceed of money laundering by officials of the Goodluck Jonathan administration. The Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami knows a bit about this high crime against the state, but he keeps a dubious silence since the story broke. Where did Tinubu’s son raise such cash to buy off a criminally encumbered property?
On the small matter of Tinubu’s drug dealings, he was convicted in the US and has been sighted in a tiny West Africa country and drug hub, Guinea Bissau in unflattering and explicit situation.
Of Lame Duck And Governance: Even at the best of time, Mr. Tinubu is neither a patriot nor a transcendental leader. Neither an Abe Lincoln nor FDR. He’s neither an intellectual nor a philosopher. He cannot pull Nigeria out of the mire in which Mr. Buhari and APC have dumped her. Tinubu is simply a power-monger, he will gather his small-minded gang and they will swoop on Abuja and strip whatever assets the outgoing gang missed.
In The Final Analysis: Most Nigerians are probably living a nightmare, not sure whether what is playing out before them is real. Many wonder if the transition will hold… and if it does and this charade is sustained, they fear that the Buhari era would be a child’s play in terms of absenteeism, corruption, ineptitude, and poor performance. Nigeria beatifies a lame duck.
…Steve Osuji is a renowned senior Journalist and a cerebral columnist. He is also a former Editor of New Age and the Guardian newspapers and an ex-media Adviser to two former governors of Imo State. Osuji is a public affairs analyst and a respected member of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE).
