Tinubu and Shettima: Two of the same

On April 13, 1997, the Sunday edition of ThisDay published an interview (question and answer) it had with Bola Ahmed Tinubu on page 9. The interview, conducted by Ayo Arowolo, was titled “I Don’t Believe in One Nigeria”. It was conducted in Tinubu’s house in London.

The title of the interview is a summary of Tinubu’s view about Nigeria, which he now says leading, as President, would be in satisfaction of a “life ambition”. That suggests that his candidacy is not exactly about patriotism but in pursuance of a personal ambition, which would put his name on the book as ‘been there too’.

On January 4, 2022, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State (the same platform on which Tinubu intends to achieve his “life ambition”), Saleh Mandung Zazzaga, called on Tinubu to apologize to Nigerians for saying he does not believe in one Nigeria if indeed he was serious about achieving his life ambition.

Zazzaga said: “In ThisDay publication of April 13, 1997, Tinubu granted an interview in which he was quoted as saying, “I don’t believe in one Nigeria”. And that interview has resurfaced since his presidential ambition declaration; people began to raise eyebrows, asking damaging questions. So many people have been calling and mocking us, saying if he does not believe in One Nigeria, how come he wants to contest for the presidency of a nation he did not believe in?

“Therefore, the most honourable thing for Tinubu to do is to come out and apologise to Nigerians on the comments, which he made before this democratic dispensation, which began in 1999, and he should as well explain the rationale of the interview to Nigerians and point out if he was misquoted or not.

“Whatever his explanation would be, at least it will calm people’s nerves and save the party from being projected in a bad light. That will not only project him as a true leader of the party or as a presidential aspirant but it will prove that he is a man of honour and dignity and someone who will take responsibility for his words, deeds and actions.”

Zazzaga made the call in January 2022. This is the month of August. Clearly, several days and weeks and months have passed and Tinubu has ignored the call with the same level of disdain he ignored reasonable advice against the same-faith ticket. By refusing to apologize, Tinubu effectively admits both content and title of the interview. It is, therefore, not impossible that he does not think that Nigerians deserve an apology for what presents itself as an insult to Nigeria’s diversity and nationhood.

In refusing to heed good counsel, he has put himself forward as a man lacking honour and deficient in dignity. These negatives blight whatever credentials he presents as a presidential candidate of the ruling party and makes his capacity to take responsibility for “his words, deeds and actions”, suspect. That seems too much of a gamble for Nigeria.

By saying that he does not believe in one Nigeria, Tinubu openly professes his hatred for a united Nigeria. That questions his patriotism and cast doubts on his capacity to keep the country united. Is it impossible, therefore, that his dedicated fixation on the same-faith ticket is a demonstration of his aversion for a united country? Perhaps, too, that was why he picked Kashim Shettima, a man who had also openly stated his aversion towards fixing the errors, both of structure and leadership, which had stunted Nigeria’s growth.

Shettima had in a video that had gone viral on social media stated his aversion to restructuring, thus shutting the door to reasonable discourse on the subject matter. He has dismissed the issue of restructuring saying, “…Ufortunately, the topic and issue in Nigeria is restructuring. Restructuring my foot! To hell with restructuring. Let’s improve on the quality of governance, let us invest in education. Let us create jobs and all this madness will evaporate”.

Shettima made this comment in reference to his comment on the plans by Elon Musk to innovate new ways that could reduce travel time.

With those comments, Shettima, Tinubu’s running mate, presents himself as bereft of proper understanding of what restructuring actually entails.

He also presents himself as being very comfortable with the governmental system that stifles growth and development and refuses to see the need to unbundle a system that makes it practically impossible for states of the federation to develop and innovate ways to make life more meaningful like Elon Musk, as he said, is doing.

Shettima was governor over Borno State for eight years. He is unable to show how the ‘good governance’ he expressed in that state improved the quality of education or created jobs.

The last time I checked, Borno is still on the list of educationally disadvantaged states with 45 points as the ceiling for admission into unity schools while a state like Imo has a ceiling of 138 points. Shettima ought to state how this discriminatory cut-off mark would make Borno kids think and innovate like Elon Musk.

Further, by refusing to accept the reality of the need for a restructured country, Shettima clearly shows a lack of belief in the future of Nigeria. He must be told that Nigeria’s future rests so much on restructuring aspects of its life.

Shettima is comfortably at home with the structural dysfunction of the police, for instance. He sees no need to decentralize to make the police more effective and responsive to the needs of the times. He sees no need for the equality of states. He finds no need for fiscal federalism. And he sees no need to devolve more powers to the states, for instance.

That is the mindset that wants to succeed Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN. That, to my mind, is a clear demonstration that the Tinubu-Shettima ticket is one that is certain to take Nigeria further back in time; for while Tinubu will be pressured by old age to spend more time between Paris and London, Shettima will lack the mental capacity and competence to articulate issues that could make Nigeria’s children walk the same road like Elon Musk.

The danger ahead, therefore, is about having two persons who do not actually believe in Nigeria pilot it into the next decade. While Tinubu does not believe in a united Nigeria in which diversity must be positively harnessed for functional impact, growth and development, Shettima does not believe that a restructured Nigeria is necessary to actualize its potential.

Therefore, a tragic future awaits the country with the duo. For now, they are foreseen and avoidable consequences of Nigeria’s democratic journey.