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By Sunday Ani
Otunba Adejare Adegbenro, is an Abeokuta, Ogun State High Chief. He is a security expert, an international businessman and successful entrepreneur.
In this interactive session, Adegbenro took the media on a journey along his relationship with the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his belief in him that he would perform.
Why this media session?
This media interaction is about the President-elect who is like a father to me. I am like his son. He is someone I have known since when I was 16. He is like my grandfather’s son and they worked together at the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) before my grandfather, Pa Alfred Rewane was assassinated for fighting for democracy. A lot of people, especially the young ones do not know what our President-elect has been doing since and what he has gone through in his quest to return the country to the elite democratic nation. They don’t know what NADECO stood for; that the blood of my grandfather was shed for democracy.
What is your relationship with Senator Bola Tinubu that became President-elect on February 25, 2023?
Remember I said earlier that he is like a father to me. He was all along with my maternal grandfather, Pa Alfred Rewane. So, I have known our President-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as someone who is fond of helping people and fighting for the cause of democracy for Nigeria. It saddens me when I hear many stories being narrated about him. But he is very humble, the reason he doesn’t react. Lagos is the third biggest cosmopolitan city. Lagos accommodates every single tribe, religion and culture. But in politics, we shouldn’t hold unto these sentiments of culture, religion and so on. Rather, we should focus on the main issue. The main issue is harmony.
There are always winners and losers in any contest and the aggrieved know where to go to seek redress. The courts are there. The affected groups or individuals should go there instead of overheating the polity of Nigeria. We have already done the election. The election results have already been announced. Winners have already been declared and given the certificates of return. Tinubu was given the certificate of return as the President-elect to be sworn in on May 29.
How did you feel when someone who recently in the newspaper claimed to be a member of NADECO abroad started discrediting election of the President-elect?
That is part of reasons for this interactive session. If you look at it, there are a lot of stories going around. There was this gentleman impostor that said he was part of NADECO. He called himself Lloyd Ukwu or something claiming to be Executive Director of NADECO, United States (US) chapter. I disregard him because I never know him and I am a member of NADECO family. We should not waste our time brooding on a nonentity.
What was your reaction when your ‘father,’ Tinubu became President-elect based on the February 25 election?
I felt great and happy for Nigeria my father’s land. I felt satisfied that, eventually, Nigeria has elected someone who knows the road to political stability, economic revival, wealth creation and financial growth. Tinubu, a known talent hunter and builder of the youth will bring all the people he has built across the globe on board to turn the country around politically, economically and financially across all the country’s economic sectors.
He would also bring the new hands on board to join the old hands to make sure things work out well. I can tell you that for free. Nigerians, let us do this thing with him for the welfare of the generality of the people and the generation unborn. We know what is going on. Don’t let us overheat the situation.
Are you comfortable with reactions of some foreign commentators on our general election?
I am very ashamed of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC), for allowing foreigners like the European Union (EU) to be coming to talk about our presidency or our elections. Can we do that as Nigerians in their own elections? Or can we go and make disparaging comments on their radio, television or their newspapers over their own affairs?
We have to change our mind Nigerians! We are Nigerians and we have to keep our affairs to ourselves. We don’t need to believe in them, the CNN or whoever. Who the hell are they?! I am sorry but who the hell are they? My grandfather, Pa Alfred Rewane was assassinated by Abacha regime; did any of them, EU or America try him? People forget easily because of democracy. No, no, this thing I am telling you, we need to rethink drastically and put on patriotism cap that you are a Nigerian. I am a Nigerian and I am very proud of it. I don’t belong to any other countries which don’t care about us.
The whole world has become a global village where nations interact freely and….?
(Cuts in) But do we interfere in how they do their election? Do we know about it? Common Nigerians, anything about us, NBC should not allow them there. Anything about Nigeria, they should keep to their countries to talk about it. They should not be allowed to come here and say it. NBC has a challenge; the Foreign Affairs Ministry has a challenge. The Minister of Foreign Affairs has a challenge too. We should not say any bad thing about other countries. Nigerians should wake up and follow the man that knows the road. And that man is our President-elect, Senator Ahmed Bola Tinubu.
