I want to tell you the story of two friends who started their political journey together.
Both learnt about politics from one man, were under the same movement and left both public and private life for full time politics virtually at the same time. After graduating from their apprenticeship, one horned his teeth in Lagos, the other became a boss in the now defunct Gongola state.
Let’s talk about the Minister ( Waziri) and the Warlord ( Jagaban).
Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar were both a protegee of the Shehu Musa Yaradua school of politics. Both men belonged to his PFN movement and after IBB lifted the ban on politics, PFN joined PSP and they formed the Social Democratic party.
While Tinubu contested and won a Senatorial seat in Lagos, Atiku was aiming for the Presidency.
At the SDP primary election held in 1992, Atiku was the favorite to emerge but the western caucus of the SDP begged Yaradua to beckon on Atiku to step down, he did and Abiola won the primary, promising to make Atiku his v.p candidate. The ever cunning Abiola turned around and picked Babagana Kingibe instead.
While Atiku was somehow low-key, Tinubu supported Abiola with everything he had. After IBB annulled the election, Tinubu was one of the few Politicians that followed Abiola to the Ijeshatedo declaration where Abiola pronounced himself President.
At the time when Abacha arrested Abiola, Tinubu was on the hitlist of Sergeant Rogers and he had to run away, leaving all his properties in the hand of his lawyer, Babatunde Fashola.
While in the UK, he funded Radio Kudirat, the propaganda arm of the NADECO movement, financed all NADECO activists in the UK, sponsored the families of comrades in prison and tutored over 300 children to university all by himself. After democracy returned in 1998, he became the governor of Lagos State in 1999.
While Tinubu was in the U.K, Atiku was becoming the godfather of Adamawa politics. He was elected the governor of Adamawa in 1998 but before he became governor Obasanjo tapped him to become his Vice Presidential candidate. That’s how Atiku became VP and Tinubu, a governor in 1999.
Atiku faced a lot of pressure with Obj because Atiku wanted to become President and Obj wants to become a godfather. The pressure was too much for Atiku, so in 2006, he left the PDP and called his friend In Lagos.
Tinubu in 2006 was the only person standing against the total annihilation of the political space by the PDP in the country. Tinubu welcomed his friend and gave him the presidential ticket of his new party, the Action Congress. Atiku ran against the younger brother of his former boss, Umaru Musa Yaradua of the PDP and a certain Muhammadu Buhari of the ANPP.
Yaradua won (worst election in the history of the country), Buhari second and Atiku third. Disappointed, Atiku left his friend in the AC and went back to the PDP. While Atiku returned to the ruling party, Tinubu stayed in opposition and fought for the progressive mantra in the South West. He formed the Action Congress of Nigeria and they became the strongest force in the South West and even in Edo state. But something happened to Tinubu.
For the first time, the two friends will face off in the greatest battle of their lifetime. Tinubu went for a Muslim Muslim Kanuri ticket, just like Abiola and Atiku is aligning with a South South candidate with a touch of Igbo ancestry. They learnt from the same master, they’re both very technical, tactical and like a wolf, once they smell blood, they go for the kill. While Atiku believes in the power of money, a pure capitalist, Tinubu is a firm believer in human capacity and character development. Campaign starts in August, may Atiku lose once again.
Since independence, the South West has always been in opposition. In 1960, the East and the North formed the government, and AG was in opposition. The same thing happened in 1979 when Shagari won Awolowo, but for South West to become have a national appeal, it must cross the Rubicon and allign with the North. So, in 2013 Tinubu met with Buhari, some leaders of APGA, breakaway faction of the ANPP and they formed the APC. Later on, Atiku led fellow PDP heavyweights, formed the nPDP, joined his friend again for the second time in the APC. Buhari won the presidential election and both friends were now members of the same party at the national level. For Atiku, it was dejavu but Tinubu was tasting national power for the very first time.
*Saheed Alawode*
