By Kolawole Ojebisi
A former governor of Ogun State, Olusegun Osoba, has revealed how President Bola Tinubu became a force to reckon with in Nigerian politics.
Osoba said it was a collective decision by some notable politicans of South-Western extraction to give Tinubu national prominence following his eight-year tenure as governor of Lagos State.
The former governor stressed that Tinubu presidency is a collective rooted in Yoruba leadership.
Osoba said this on Monday at the All Progressives Congress (APC) South West Zone Assembly meeting in Lagos,
He said Tinubu deserves the unalloyed support of Yoruba and the entire nation despite any perceived shortcomings.
“Now that Bola Tinubu is there, I want to plead with all of you to accept his shortcomings. He will do better. After his first four-year term, he will serve another four years as a Yoruba son,” he stated.
“The South West Assembly’s message is clear – the Yoruba leadership stands united behind Tinubu’s presidency and remains confident in his ability to deliver on his promises during his tenure,” he added.
Osoba also drove home his point by taking a walk down memory to explain how they exploited the political dynamics in the country to favour someone from the Southwest after years of thwarted ambitions by politicans from the region.
“Bola didn’t make himself the president of Nigeria; we did,” Osoba stated.
He elaborated, “Seventeen years ago, in 2007, after his tenure as the governor of Lagos State, we gathered at a luncheon organised by Alhaji Hamsa, our leader in the South West at that time.
“It was at that meeting we collectively decided that Bola should move from Lagos politics to the national stage, to represent the interests of the Yoruba people at the topmost level of Nigerian politics.”
Osoba also remarked that, “Many of us here today worked tirelessly to support the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s quest for the presidency, but he wasn’t allowed to get there.”
“Similarly, we rallied behind the late MKO Abiola’s presidential ambition, but we lost him, and with him, the opportunity. They killed many of us because of our mission to make this country better. But we thank God that some of us are still alive to witness Bola Tinubu’s success.”
Osoba, a veteran journalist, served as governor of Ogun State from 1999-2003 on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD).
His second term bid fell through following his defeat at the poll by Gbenga Daniel of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Osoba was one of the victims of the gale that swept away all governorship candidates of the Alliance for Democracy in the southwest region in 2003 and prevented them from returning to power.
The gale is believed to be orchestrated by Olusegun Obasanjo to achieve his second term ambition on the platform of PDP
Tinubu, who was then the governor of Lagos State, was the only governor that survived the gale and achieved his second term dream.
