Distinguished Readers; This week, in our usual political cum social analysis, Mr ugochimere chinedu’s edition caught the attention of our editorial team,
However mr chinedu periscopic lenses caught the attention of our nation’s number two citizen, that is in the case he’s undoubtedly so.
judging by the
annihilation, debasement, and calculated campaigns
of utter demystification of his essence, and attempt
at hanging him out to dry in the quest to wrestle
powers and dominate the political spectrum of the
country, by a clique known for their domineering
tendencies and evil grip on power and its
appurtenances.The present travails of the “Vice President
Academics” in the words of the Director General,
Media and Communications, in the Kano State
Government, Salihu Yakasai, Professor Yemi
Osinbajo is reminiscent of Anezi Okoro’s 1972
classical novel One Week, One Trouble. The highly
revered author and Professor wherever he is will be
amazed by the unintended similarities between his
protagonist William Tagbo and the country’s second
citizen. While Tagbo was always at run-ins with the
school authorities, Osibanjo is allegedly in some
deep soup with his leaders, associates and a group
that have been identified as the Fulani cabals.Some persons have insisted that there is nothing
out of the usual happening in our dormitory of
power as it is merely a storm in a cup of tea. But
as the Igbo will say, “obere nsi na eme bi ike”, (it is
the small excreta that soils the buttocks). How
small this matter may be will be seen in the
coming weeks and even years. It is the prayer of
every good Nigerian, and human, that the grasses
should not be made to bear the brunt of the fight
amongst the elephants, as the people and their
good should always be the utmost consideration,
where power is used as it ought.
Keen readers, it would be insightful and interesting
to take a look at some of the supposed sins of the
Vice President as speculated, and create the dots
where it seems fitting to do so. As an aside, the
man and the beginning of his supposed end will be
noticed as we try to picture the basis of the present
moonlight tales, a script that’s obviously playing out
gradually, which its original writer is yet to be
unveiled, yet the actors are already on stage test
running the moonlight folklores, albeit clandestinely.Professor Yemi Osinbajo, is a law teacher and a
sound advocate to the core, assuming I am still
with the right application of tenses to elucidate on
his social cum academic attainment.Howbeit in the
political circle, he has always been seen as Tinubu’s
boy until his emergence as the Vice Presidential
candidate of the All Progressives Congress, wouldn’t
know for sure if he is totally seized to be then after.First impressions, as they say, matter. Osibanjo did
not take this lightly as he came across as the
opposite of Namadi Sambo, as he was both visible
and heard, though Sambo was unassuming yet
pragmatic. Almost everyone will agree with me that
VP Osinbajo’s presidential acts from 2015 to the
end of their first term were worthwhile and
heartwarming, particularly felt during the heat of the
medical tourism of the President, Muhammadu
Buhari, as during his absence due to illness,
Osinbajo made some very dexterous and articulative
political moves that garnered some goodwill to him
by way of soaring his political clout.However, since after the full recovery and return to
power of Buhari, there is this seemingly tactical
sidelining of Osinbajo from the power sharing and
wielding circle, more like being systematically
stripped of his bearings as it connotes the elevated
office of the VP that he occupies; is the tale since
their second inauguration a good one, or at least
something closer to that? No one can gainsay the
undisputed fact that the man is continually losing
face and unlike the happenings in the first term, the
Vice President is now and then in the news for the
wrong reasons.To better appreciate this assertion,
let us take a stroll through the happenings, most of
which are seen as half truths or as blatant lies by
the aides of the Vice President and even the man
himself.Amongst his Yoruba kinsmen, the joke about the
man is: “May Osinbajo never visit you and your
household.” The reasoning is because the Vice
President is easily dispatched by the President and
his cronies, just like any errand boy would, to
console and commiserate with families who are the
latest victims of the bloodletting marauding Fulani
herdsmen. His visits are in the wake of disasters
and according to his tribesmen do not portend any
good. Is this not too much for one man?
What then is the grouse of the cabals? Some have
stated, and reasonably no doubt, that they are trying
to get their pound of flesh over the many sins of
the VP which were mostly perpetrated when he was
in office as the Acting President. Most auspicious
of these “sins” were the roles played by the Vice-
President by ensuring the emergence of Walter
Onnoghen as the substantive Chief Justice of the
Federation and the removal of Lawal Daura as the
Director-General of the Department of State Services
on August 7, 2018.
Buhari had on November 10, 2016 sworn in
Onnoghen in acting capacity despite the
recommendation of the National Judicial Council,
which stated that he should be appointed as Chief
Justice of Nigeria being the most senior justice of
the Supreme Court. Since the President did not
forward Onnoghen’s name to the Senate for
consideration despite public outcry. It was Osinbajo,
who while acting as President, that forwarded
Onnoghen’s name to the Senate on February 7,
2017 and swore him in on March 7, 2017.The
cabals insisted in running the then CJN down
especially as the elections approached and
consequently the Federal Government on January
15, 2019 arraigned the ex-CJN before the Code of
Conduct Tribunal, fulling which he was suspended
even before the CCT made a decision, after which
he resigned and was replaced by a Muslim Fulani.
As for Lawal Daura’s replacement, Matthew Seiyefa,
he was ultimately removed even before the man
could settle to say Jack Robinson, all these are
indicative of a not too healthy relationship that
exists between should we say the President, or the
cabal and VP Osinbajo. I think, for me there is
actually a trust issue in between, though being
downplayed, but altogether too visible to discerning
minds
Just some weeks back, the President Muhammadu
Buhari named an Economic Advisory Council (EAC)
which replaced the Economic Management Team
(EMT) which was led by the Vice President. There
were also reports of an order that the Vice President
must seek Buhari’s approval to run agencies
attached to his office, with the rumors that most of
his aides have been moved outside the Villa, unlike
it was before now, that they maintained offices
within the premises of the Aso Rock Villa.Timi Frank, a former APC Chieftain, recently stated
that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) gave
Yemi Osinbajo the sum of 90 billion naira to pursue
the 2019 elections, and of which he was unable to
account the manner in which the money was used.
How true is this assertion? Only time will tell. Yet,
the Vanguard Newspapers in it’s publications of
September 25th 2019 made a retraction and
rendered a formal apology to the VP. The
Newspaper Company stated that this retraction was
because it discovered that the story lacks factual
substance following a letter directed to the Editor of
Vanguard Newspapers, Mr. Eze Anaba, on 24th
September 2019.
In response to this aaccusation, the Vice President
is considering waiving his immunity to “clear his
name” and ensure that the fabricators of such
mischievous lies are brought to book. Whatever
may be the case, the Vice President on March 20,
2019 made the same unsubstantiated accusations
against the former President, Goodluck Jonathan
who he accused of sharing 150 million naira some
two weeks before the 2015 elections. What goes
around, as they wisely say, comes around. Karma,
of course, is a bitch serving each man a table full
of his own meal. Let the VP have a taste of his own
tasteless pudding; even as Timi Frank is undaunted
about the threat of the VP in suing him, as he boldly
proclaimed recently that he is actually waiting to
have his day in court with the VP, now who winks
first between the duo is what will be known within
some couple of days to come.Even more interesting are the speculations that
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Jagaban himself
and his supposed lieutenant Chief Bisi Akande are
behind some of these scandals. How true this may
be is better left to the imagination of any keen
reader and again for time to be the ultimate
exponent. Yet, history as any good teacher instructs
us better in the ways of men. Just some few
months back, Akinwunmi Ambode, the former
Governor of Lagos State was facing a worst case
scenario. The tales of Ambode’s time may not be in
all front with the present bickering, yet history
teaches only the discerning minds. The Jagaban
never forgets, and 2023 being the mother of all
elections is the time to enjoy the spoils of his
many conquest, Osinbajo must not stand in his way,
not even in Jagaban’s wildest dreams. Even though
the legendary Jagaban have denied and dismissed
ad baseless this, any keen mind will still beat fast
at these mere thoughts. Mere fiction, right? That is
how all political legends start. As fictitious as they
may seem and sound, it must be conceded that in
every lie there might be an atom of truth.For crying
out loud, this is politics, and in politics there are no
permanent friends or enemies, but permanent
interest as political pundits will posit.
As expected, the Vice President has denied these
allegations and as was released through his
Facebook handle, “have instructed the
commencement of legal actions against two
individuals, one Timi Frank and another Katch
Onunuju, who have put their names to these odious
falsehoods.” Even more striking is the fact that the
VP has undertaken to “waive his constitutional
immunity to enable the most robust adjudication of
these claims of libel and malicious falsehood. “
As interesting as the tale seem, and as reasonable
as the arguments in each side of the divide may
seem, one thing is sure: the VP is swimming an
unfamiliar water, and this is greatly unsettling him,
no matter how hard one may want to deny or
dismiss it with a wave of the hand. More than ever
before, we can feel the rug underneath him shifting
steadily, even when he wants to give us the calma
hush. The push is stampeding our number two to
the wall, and he seems oblivious of it. How well he
will act when push comes to shove is only a
question of time and event.Justice like most political
decisions, Osinbajo would be left to choose only
between the devil and the deep blue sea. A third
option seems unlikely. To choose the devil, he will
be made to play the pauper and serve like the good
errand boy they have always thought of him. To dive
into an uncertain but certainly deep blue sea is to
resign and face the music that may be his burden
to dance to. Only time will tell, even as those
playing the piper continue to expect to dictate the
tune.
But let us all be clear, whoever has the gun over the
Vice President’s head must shoot and kill too, for to
renege is to allow the man once in a hot soup to
regain balance, reach for the hostler and reach for
his gun. Who remembers the advice of Tuco, the
bad, in the epic movie “the Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly”? If you want to shoot, shoot; don’t talk!
Metaphorically speaking, to those currently chasing
the Vice President, if you want to get him down, get
him down, don’t just talk and clamour. For the sake
of advice though, Osinbajo may yet be their
unforgiving Tuco of tomorrow, no one should
underestimate him or downplay this fact, as most
often than not strength differs from person to
person, while humility isn’t cowardice, however
judging by the zone he hails from, this fight sure
has the potency to make or mar them.
Shalom+
Young-po Reporters 