In March 1931, Nicholas Murray Butler who was the President of Columbia University in New York delivered a speech at Charter Day at the University of California. In his speech, Butler split human population into three sets, but noted that individuals could move from one set to another. According to him, the vast population of this earth and indeed nations themselves may readily be divided into three groups: There are few who make things happen, the many more who watch things happen, and the overwhelming majority who has no idea of what happens. Every human being is born into this third and largest group; it is for himself, his environment and his education to determine whether he shall rise to the second group or even the first.
I use Murray’s beautiful aphorism to introduce you to this piece where I intend to propose the introduction and adoption of the political strategy of Alhaji Asiwaju Bola Almed Tinubu into the curriculum of Nigerian education system. The outing or rather exercise will be presented in two phases. In the first phase, we shall give all the reasons why making such decision would be a step in the wrong direction, that is, why Tinubuism doesn’t deserve a place in hallowed Nigerian education curriculum. In the second phase, a counterargument will be presented and we shall make our case why we think studying Tinubu’s political strategy will be a plus to Nigerian education system.
A Case against Tinubuism Nigerian School System
Many Nigerians, including Tinubu’s former associates and closest friends have many cases, ranging from accusations of moral and political crimes against him. One of these cases is how Tinubu come about the stupendous wealth he enjoys today. The narrative usually is that Tinubu like every civil servant in Nigeria use to be poor, then he entered politics and suddenly rose to being one of the richest if not the richest man in Nigeria today. How did he make his wealth? This question has been asked several times both to Tinubu’s spokespersons and to Tinubu himself. None has answered this question satisfactorily. The retort each time the question comes up is that, it is a rumuor circulating on social media and that they do not intend to waste their rime dignifying rumours.
Affiliated to this question is the nagging issue about bullion vans seen on the eve of the 2019 presidential election entering Tinubu’s compound in Lagos. Many have wondered and asked what bullion vans would be doing on the eve of an election in the home of a private citizen. Calls have been made demanding that Tinubu should be investigated by the EFCC but this has not happened. The authorities in Nigeria seem to be aware of what the bullion vans were doing in Tinubu’s compound and everybody is letting the matter lie for now.
Apart from being unable to account for the source of his largesse, Tinubu is also accused of having imperial tendencies and have turned Lagos state into his private estate. Not only does Tinubu milk the state’s treasury, as he wants, he appoints stooges in the name of governors that help him to have a field day any day in the state. He is also accused of using thugs and hooligans to control Lagos political space, sometimes going as far as harassing, beating up or even assassinating those who disagree with him.
In fact, many of Tinubu’s former associates believe that Tinubu’s political linens are so dirty that even washing them in private would not make them less disgraceful. Many, including Pa Ayo Adebanjo and Bode George are threatening to leave Nigeria and go on self-exile should Tinubu be elected President of Nigeria. A person with this kind of dirty personality is certainly not the type of person to recommend, as a case study for schoolchildren, is he?
A Case for Tinubuism
Plato in the Republic banished poets from his ideal city-state. Plato’s reason for doing this was purely educational. He feels that these poets, especially Homer, pervert reality particularly when the present the gods and heroes as immoral. Plato believes that in doing this, poets corrupt the minds of the youths and destroys the moral fabric holding the society together. However, there was a type of poetry that Plato allows into the city-state; poetry that portrays the gods and heroes in good light and continually sings their praises.
Now, by proposing the adoption of Tinubu’s political strategy for study in Nigerian schools, we are not suggesting that the way he made his money be studied as the best economic strategy for country. We are not also saying that his imperial tendencies and the use of thugs to harass opponents be adopted. What we suggesting is doing what Plato did: adopting those aspects of Tinubu’s political strategies that would affect our education and politics positively.
Tinubu, the Political Phenomenon
Tinubu was not always as powerful as he is today. There was a time he was nobody, walking the barren and corrupt streets of Nigeria like every ordinary Nigerian. Thus, it requires almost a genius to move from where Tinubu originally was to become the governor of Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos. But that Tinubu came from nowhere to become the governor of Lagos was not my fascination about him.
Many people in Tinubu’s shoes when he became the governor of Lagos State would have stolen billions of Naira and retire to enjoy their lives but not Tinubu. He is a man with a vision and a mission. He fought over the control of South West and wrestled President Obasanjo to the ground. When he took over the South West and made many governors, he once again had the opportunity to loot billions and retire to enjoy his money but he didn’t; he had a bigger dream. When the opportunity for an alliance with Buhari’s CPC presented itself in 2015, Tinubu saw it and grabbed it thereby bringing about the political revolution that sent Goodluck Jonathan scampering back to Otuoke. That is some achievement man!
We can go on and on but let us leave that for another day. However, there are specific points that need to be emphasized about Tinubu’s political strategy.
- Tinubu’s visionary leadership: In a country where politicians are so myopic and money, oriented Tinubu was able to see beyond money, he has a vision and knows where he was going all the while.
- Tinubu’s ability to empower people and build human resources: Before Tinubu came, the South West was messed up by the PDP just the way the Southeast is today. Tinubu came and cleaned up the swamp. Most of the governors in the zone today are products of Tinubu’s ingenuity.
- Tinubu’s ability to negotiate, make concession and for alliance with opponents: Reaching agreement in a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country like Nigeria is one of the most difficult things to do. The British colonial masters left Nigeria in the chaotic state it is today because they could not get the multiple ethnic groups in the country to agree on what they want. However, what Europeans find difficult to achieve is what Asiwaju, the Jagaban of Lagos has achieved on several occasion. How he entered the alliance with Buhari’s CPC in 2015 still beats many today. Most importantly, after all the predictions that he would lose the APC presidential tickets, how Tinubu manages to convince those who stepped down and those who voted for him to do so is a mystery yet to be unraveled. Why Tinubu is not a saint, nobody is, I strongly believe that Nigerian education systems will gain a lot from studying his political strategy.
