By Bayo Adenekan,
While everyone was unsure of who and where a worthy successor capable of continuing with the template of development already on the ground and who could carry on with the implementation of a development master plan having set the centre of excellence on the path of steady growth and development, Asiwaju with his party brought Babatunde Raaji Fashola against all expectations and odds. The achievements of Fashola in Lagos state earned him the appointment into the federal cabinet as the first minister to combine three key ministries of power, works and housing in the first term of President Buhari and later as minister of works and housing. His achievements in the cabinet of the Federal Government are there for all to see. Furthermore, in the run off to the 2015 presidential election, the choice of a running mate to the presidential candidate of APC Muhammadu Buhari was becoming a difficult nut to crack when Asiwaju led other key stakeholders to present a law professor and his former attorney general, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, who has given and continues to give a good account of himself and shown his quality for all to see and stands out as a star boy of the current administration. Also, In the last three years, Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila has redefined quality representation and what the function of a lawmaker should be as one of the products of Asiwaju school of politics. These are few amongst many others I can count endlessly. Asiwaju did not stop at bringing people from diverse areas together but has also been able to build many people and bring out the leadership potentials in them. Little wonder when he called out to hundreds for the support of his ambition to lead the nation, hundreds of thousands answered him and remain a huge puzzle for his detractors who cannot understand the level of popularity and support he enjoys across divides. According to Asiwaju Tinubu and I quote "No leader is successful, no matter how many bricks and mortar; or steel and metal; how much concrete you put around; if you don't build a successful generation of leaders that would follow you, you have failed. And that is what you must send, what you must drive, what you must communicate to the current generation of leaders”.
Asiwaju is a man of many first, a trail blazer setting pace across sectors; see the judicial reforms and established Office of Public Defender in the Justice sector, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA),Lagos State Municipal Transport Authority (LASTMA), creation of Local Government Development Areas, 37 in numbers to make up total 57 LG & LCDAs, a cynosure of all eyes as imbibed in other states given Supreme Court ruling. mixed breed of technocrats, professionals in his cabinet, the first of its kind at the sub-nationals. The 25 year Master plan, a top notch development manual that speaks to the future of Lagos State. See the reality in today’s Lagos as the state with the highest internally generated revenue year-on-year since 1999 and most viable economy in Nigeria. Lagos state could be compared to a sleeping giant by all indices of development before the administration of Asiwaju who was able to think out of the box with some financial ingenuity and engineering ranking the State as the 5th largest economy in Africa. This man blazed the trail, a State now compared to leading African nations in terms of GDP. Can we then say Lagos is a nation within a nation indeed. This is a state from a paltry 600 million monthly IGR, the revenue of the nation's commercial nerve centre was pushed up to more than 6 billion monthly by the Asiwaju Tinubu administration and currently stands at over 50 billion naira per month. Various agencies with reforms were established to help achieve the goals of transformation of Lagos from a backwater state to a modern one and a force to be reckoned with amongst the comity of states the world over. He had left power since 2007 and yet some of the laudable big idea have come to fruition, among them is the Eko Atlantic city project, the Dangote Refinery; the biggest in Africa, which shall help mitigate supply shortage in energy needs, the bar beach flood control amongst many others are conceived by the Jagaban.
These achievements ranked him head and shoulder above the candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar, whose only achievement is louding what his administration achieved if any but without any singular infrastructure project but fails to acknowledge their shortfalls, especially the held funds of Lagos State by Obasanjo-Atiku regime. The Lagos people will never forget, he sold the Nation's assets and collective patrimony to cronies and friends and does not shy away from affirming the same at any for a, emphasised in one of his recent campaign events at ridiculous amounts (see Ajaokuta steel company et al). His own very principal, Obasanjo never forgives him till today. Can we trace any infrastructure project to Obi as former Governor whom successive governments have so denied as no significant achievements to him is traceable rather invested State’s monies in his own banks and retail businesses, lest we forget, the Panama papers tax haven.
This election will be judged by what each of the candidates have achieved in the past when electorates compare Lagos to Adamawa to Anambra in GNP, per capital income, human index, IGR, infrastructure, successive leadership indexes, the 3 C's of Capacity, Competence and Capability amongst others. Asiwaju Tinubu stands tallest among the trio with facts and incontrovertible evidence. The people will speak, come 25th February, so strongly whether to move an astronomical increase from what APC & Buhari have built in almost 8 years (2015-2023) or God forbid! move back to Egypt (1999-2015).
Finally, Asiwaju Tinubu's WIN is guaranteed. The trajectory of Asiwaju and APC except he allowed disruption in the ruling party, too late though giving recent full backing of all APC Governors, no division within their ranks against such experience in 2015 wherein it was so glaring opposition will take over except the election was rigged by then PDP. The same feeling is not what we are seeing now, even worsened with opposition PDP with the G5 Governors led by Governor Wike of Rivers, who did not move away but remain within involuntarily to favour ruling APC and Asiwaju Tinubu.
For the avoidance of doubt the below States will determine outright win for Asiwaju Presidency;
SW; Lagos, Ogun, NW; Kano, Kaduna, Katsina, NE; Borno, Yobe, SS; Rivers, NC; Niger, Kogi, Nassarawa. Others includes; Yobe, Oyo, Sokoto & Gombe.
Bayo Adenekan , Member Public Affairs Directorate of Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, PCC
