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By Sunday Ani
Member representing Oshodi/Isolo constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Jude Idimogu has disagreed with those who accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of using surrogates to interface with the people, particularly when he appeared in Chatham House, London, insisting that he was demonstrating the team spirit in him.
In this interview, the lawmaker spoke on Tinubu’s chances of winning the February 25, 2023 presidential election, even as he urged his Igbo brothers and sisters to vote for the APC candidate during the election.
The APC presidential candidate’s recent outing to Chatham House in London has remained a talking point. In your honest assessment, what is your take in the matter?
My principal Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done well for the coming 2023 presidential election. For me, he has also improved a lot in terms of answering questions at Chatham House, compared to what he has been doing before. I have heard a lot of side comments that he is using surrogates to interface with the people, but that is not true. For me, and those that have known him before now, I will say that Asiwaju is a team player. Even as a governor, have you asked yourself how he even improved the state’s internally generated revenue that we are all talking about. He formed a team of professionals with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and tabled the problem before them. That has always been his legacy. Till tomorrow, people will still remember that he has helped so and so persons from different ethnic groups, different professions and different states. That is his style of leadership. He believes that he alone doesn’t know it all. His style is that if he sees any best hand and believes he can work with the person, he carries such a person along. That does mean that he cannot answer all those questions well. He just felt that his team was there with him, and wanted to show the whole world that he has a team he could rely on; a team of professionals who are also good in their own respect. He just wanted to show that in a country like Nigeria, one person alone cannot do it, no matter how you look at it. It cannot work and that is why when I see people criticising him, I laugh. The idea is that all he needs is the brain and the capacity; he will give the directives. He is not going there to carry a block or nail and hammer or whatever, he is there to tell us there is a new way of doing things. We are used to a situation where one person comes and speaks continually but here is a man, who has brought a new idea and people are now criticising him. He has gone and showed the whole world a new idea. Look, I am a team player who can work with others and these people are working with me, and I can also give them responsibility. After all, he has not won an election, when he gets there, these are the people that he may work with, or he may even decide not to work with them. He may decide that if he wants to do it well for his nation, he has guys who can add one or two things, and if that is the case, why not go with them?
So, if they ask me a question I say okay, you are better in that aspect, answer it. It does not mean that he cannot answer; I call it division of labour no matter how people look at it. Nothing is static. Is it conventional that you must be the only one to answer the questions? It is not written anywhere that only you must answer the questions. No, it depends on my style, I might decide and say come my guy, let’s go together because I want you to answer some questions, that does not mean I am not capable. I am just giving you an opportunity. As a team, we form a bond and anybody that wants to succeed in Nigeria must toe that line. Probably that is why all our previous leaders have been failing, because they feel arrogant; they feel they know it all. It is not in Tinubu’s character to claim monopoly of knowledge.
Let me give you an example of what is happening in Lagos State. When you talk about the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC), you can see what he is doing. The same thing applies in Lagos, I have witnessed where he is chairing a meeting and what he does is allow everybody to contribute and he then summarises at the end; that is leadership. He is somebody who believes that he alone cannot do it; he allows you to express yourself. I don’t see anything wrong with that.
Among the four strong contenders like Mr. Peter Obi of Labour Party (LP), Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian Peoples Party (NNPP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and himself, all the others have at one time or the other shared platforms; it is only your party’s candidate that has refused to share platforms with others since the commencement of the electioneering campaigns. Don’t you think it gives him out as somebody who is not going to be accountable to Nigerians if elected president?
No, it is not true. I will also give you an instance when Peter Obi went to the Diaspora and Nigerians rose to condemn him for going to consult with Nigerians outside just as they are complaining about Tinubu now. So, probably he has had his appointment in Chatham House before the date that other candidates appeared in a town hall meeting, because as I speak to you, APC’s timetable is ready and they want to follow those timetables religiously. Besides, we have not come to the end of the campaign. A lot of media houses abound. If I don’t do it today, it does not mean I won’t partake tomorrow, so what is the big deal about it? We still have more than 70 days from today to go before the main election on February 25, 2023. There are plenty and many opportunities for him to engage the media. He might even decide to call the media he wants to call; must he do a town hall meeting for one media house? He might decide to go to media house A, B or C. There is still time and lots of things ahead, so people should not see it as if he is running away from such platforms. If he is, why will he present himself that he wants to rule the country? All of us here know the antecedents of Asiwaju during the military era; was he not on the streets? All those presidential candidates contending with him, how many of them were on the streets to their lives fighting for this democracy? He and some others fought for this. They even escaped being hurt at some points, the same man after all the sacrifices now said okay, give me an opportunity to rule the nation and people are criticising him as if it is a bad thing to say he wants to rule. It behooves you the audience to say okay we will give you or we will not give you. It is not like he is going to take it by force but there is nothing like me presenting myself for what I want. I don’t see anything wrong with that. The same way you can come and say this is what you want. So, he has his right to contest the way he believes best because at the end of the day, what matters is winning the election, any other thing you are saying is by the way.
His party, his mind and his world might be different just like my strategy might be different from your own. My strategy is for me to win; you have your own strategy. And talking about the Nigerian audience, not all of them are listening to TV town hall meetings. If they are not listening to the town hall meeting of TV A, they can listen to the town hall meeting of TV B. The radio is also there, so there are a lot of other avenues.
It is not late. This man has not come out to say no, I will not attend Nigerian interviews or stuff like that. The issue for me is that when the opportunity came, he had another appointment he needed to keep; that is it. There are other opportunities in front of me. All they do in the town hall meeting is just to ask questions from the candidates individually, and that for me, is a token for Asiwaju. There is nothing serious there.
Some wondered why the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai should be the one to answer questions on security whereas his state still grapples with insecurity, despite housing nearly all the military apparatus in Nigeria. Kaduna is under fire even as we speak, why was it so, and we are calling it a team?
It also means from your question that El-Rufai might even have better experience, because like you mentioned, his state is under fire, so he might be able to do well in that area. The fact remains that even the insecurity we are battling with today did not start overnight; sometimes we forget where the water started beating us. We only complain when we get to a level. This thing did not start today. It started even right from the previous administration, so at times when I look at Nigeria I say come what is happening? All we are seeing today is an accumulation of what has been happening for a long time ago, which was not addressed on time. The issue is that when things have gone bad, for you to amend it takes a while. Today, the APC government led by President Mohammadu Buhari is doing well in the area of security unlike before. Yes, if we can compare it to what was happening before; assuming he has used this pace since a year ago, I think by now, it should have been a thing of the past. And let me tell you, government is a continuum, no government can come and solve all the problems. Even as you are solving one problem, another problem is coming up; that is the way it is. My concern is that sometimes people claim to be holier than thou. The most important problem with us is not the leaders but the followers because we don’t even hold our leaders accountable. I like what is happening now because people are now talking and asking questions. Assuming all these questions were asked before now, say 10 years ago, maybe we would have progressed.
In my Igbo language, it is said the day you wake up is your beginning, so I believe that my leader, Tinubu is the best candidate as of today among those running for the presidency in 2023. That is my opinion and I believe we will win.
Back to Chatham House, your principal was busy assigning questions to his team, if we agreed that Nigerians are the employer and he is one of the applicants applying for a job and he came for a job interview and a question was thrown at him and he is asking his brother, sister or friend to answer it for him, don’t you see that as cheating, malpractice?
No, like I have said earlier, there are different styles of leadership. From the antecedents of Asiwaju, he had always been like that. If some of us can tell ourselves the truth, those that have been following him from the outset know his attitude. He is a splendid administrator. Prior to his emergence as governor, he is that kind of person who does not believe he knows it all; he believes in team work.
As an applicant will he get the job?
Look, there are many people who will decide his fate. You may not like it, but I like it and other people may like it as well; so at the end of the day, it is the majority that will decide his fate.
This is more like a policy related question and among all the four contenders, Asiwaju is the only one that is yet to come out with his clear plans on how to tackle some salient issues of governance if he eventually becomes the president. Why are we not having the when and how from Asiwaju?
As far as I am concerned, that is not the true position of things. I have also been listening to the things he has been saying and our manifesto is there but manifesto alone cannot do it. You need human beings to come and implement it. He had been giving how to go about it and when, maybe you are not paying attention. In fact, he has been giving answers to questions, solutions, and ideas more than the other three candidates. Before he travelled for the Chatham House encounter, he has been giving the how and when; he was in Delta, and Bayelsa states where he met the creek boys.
Slippery statements from Asiwaju are like a child who was asked a question in one field of study and he is answering from another, as a father, will you tolerate such?
Many of us have slip of tongues at some point in life. For instance, Daniel Bwalla PDP’s spokesman made the same mistake, likewise Senator Dino Melaye. Sometimes, I do slip intending to say he and I will say she, so what is the big deal there? We make such slips over time, so when such happens, you correct it and move forward. So, you cannot use that one to judge him. Is he an encyclopaedia? So, let us not be looking at things that do not matter; let’s dwell on substance. See, Nigerians should leave all those minute considerations. Personally, I don’t know why most Nigerians just hate this man. Is it because of his success or popularity, or maybe, because of what he has achieved in life, because I cannot really fathom why the criticism is this much. Tomorrow, if I have the means I can say I want to be President of Nigeria. Today, I know what people say on social media because I am supporting Asiwaju. The kinds of calls I am receiving but that will not deter me, this is my own choice. He has his choice, he is presenting himself before Nigerians and they have the choice to choose him or somebody else, but as far as I am concerned, and for a lot of people, he is our presidential candidate. By the grace of God, I will not sleep until he wins.
If Asiwaju is not on the ballot as one of the candidates contesting for the presidency, who will you prefer among the other three contenders?
Nobody but Asiwaju; my message to Lagosians and my Igbo brothers is that in Lagos, it is an expressway. Go on straight to Alausa for Sanwo-Olu and all other candidates; there is no rival. We have no opposition at his own level; the only one where we have such is at the presidency. For Sanwo-Olu, I would say go on straight. I always say that good products have buyers and those buyers are the Igbo like us, and we will vote for him and when we do, Sanwo-Olu will win For our dear President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I am saying to my Igbo brothers, and Lagosians that naturally this is Asiwjau’s home base, so for that fact, he has already taken 50 percent of the voters in Lagos State whether we like it or not. Now, the remaining 50 percent is what I now beg the non indigenes, especially my Igbo brothers and sisters to ensure that he grabs it because (Ebe onye bi ka o nawachi) meaning, where one lives is where he protects. Let’s not be sentimental. If I want the best where I am living I will support the land owners, I cannot be fighting my landlords. Even when it appears that you have won, you will discover that you’ve lost a lot, but if you join hands with the owners of the land to work with the government, whatever you want the government will give to you. That is the way I look at it. I am appealing to my Igbo brothers and sisters that they should please vote Asiwaju Tinubu to become the president of this great country in 2023, and also to vote for Sanwo-Olu as the governor of Lagos State for a second term.
