By Bilyamin Abdulmumin
On Monday morning, Nigerians witnessed the much expected formal declaration of interest for the 2023 presidential race by Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. The declaration didn’t come to many as a surprise because there were handwritten all over the country pointing to the day.
The seven (7) minutes declaration speech was particularly exceptional as it is the only one of its kind in the country’s history, where a presidential candidate made a declaration without an audience in-person
Since the formal declaration, however, the APC already divided loyalty came to the fore. The VP head was called upon by a section of the party loyal to the APC national leader and former governor of Lagos State, they went on calling the VP all sorts of names such as traitor. The whines and groans of this faction are why Osinbajo would contest against his godfather. The man who made him attorney general and commissioner of justice during his tenure as the Lagos State governor single-handedly picked him as running mate in 2015 to the then APC presidential flag bearer. But no matter how hard one tries to make sense of their points, it always returns as what it is, a moral justification (at best) not a legal one, which is so myopic to contend with for the matter of the highest position of the country. On the contrary, this act of vilification is only fetching the VP sympathy from Nigerians
But why did the Tinubu camp become so sleepless, despite their boss’s fair advantage in APC, the support of some North and South governors, the network, the money? Perhaps it is the feeling that president Buhari’s weight is solidly behind the Vice President which anyone who read between the lines would have observed.
One reason why President Buhari could throw his support behind his VP is that he, the president, is an advocate for continuity. President Buhari, by his body language, believe that to bring a meaningful change, continuity could be the only option
For instance, after the historic 2015 general election, President Buhari went for months without ministers, but when he was pressed on the issue, he declared the ministers as mere noisemakers. Buhari’s subsequent reactions implied that ministers, who come in a short period, have fewer things up their sleeves to make any meaningful change compared to civil servants and technocrats who are there for a long time. According to the president: “The civil service provides continuity, the technocrat. And in any case, they are those that do most of the work.”
Similarly, after winning the second term in the 2019 general election, hell was let loose for the president Buhari to reshuffle the cabinet; the masses argued that the cabinet fail to help the president bring the change the APC government promised, so a reason for reshuffling, but contrary to the masses, Buhari believed the opposite is the case, the continuity, ao Buhari would be stuck with his gun, he would virtually maintain all the ministers and other important appointments such as that of INEC, CBN, even the armies were changed after the hues and cry reached a fever pitch.
President Buhari even gave hints on who his anointed is during the interview anchored by Arise TV. In the interview, one of his guests sought to know the president’s chosen successor. The president answered that he feared his chosen candidate would be put under fierce criticism if made known. This is a pointer to the VP’s anointment. The current smear campaign from various quarters against the VP has lent some credence to this point. the VP declaration speech has also sealed this point, the speech centered on continuity. And the VP made the public see the reason why President Buhari anointed him.
Going by the President’s antecedent and body language, it can be safe to conclude that the VP is the president’s chosen heir to provide continuity for long-term benefits. A welcome idea for some, but for some, it sends panic and jittery into their camp.
Dear Tinubu camp, exercise restraint, some decorum, stop playing amateur, an unethical game that only does more harm than good to your candidate.
