By TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI
Some Nigerians believe he is the right man to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. For some stakeholders in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), having understudied the president since May 29, 2015 when they first assumed office, he is the most qualified to continue with the current administration’s Next Level agenda. They also believed that he is not ambitious of succeeding his principal and has always carried out his task with tact and great sense whenever he was given the opportunity to step in in acting capacity.
The youths identify with him because he speaks their language. On social media platforms , they fondly refer to him as ‘Star Boy’. For a man who just clocked 65 years few days ago, those who are fed up with the old order of Nigeria being administered by gerontocrats also consider him a worthy successor in 2023.
To the intellectuals, if Nigeria truly wants an articulate leader, who is bold, charismatic and resourceful, a wordsmith who has the gift of the gab like Martin Luther King Jnr, Barack Obama, J.F. Kennedy, Nelson Mandela and the likes, then he is the right man for the job. To religious fanatics, his being a Christian is a plus as it will be unjust for the APC to field another Muslim when President Buhari who is completing eight years is also a Muslim.
On the other hand, there are some moralists who felt he should not even dare contemplate joining the 2023 presidential race. Some leaders in his region have pointedly told him to decline the offer even if the president chooses him as his anointed candidate. Reason? His benefactor and former boss, the man who nominated him for his current position as the number two man in Africa’s most populous nation is also vying for the number one political office in 2023 under the same political party. Contesting against him will amount to an act of betrayal which may haunt him for the rest of his political life.
The above scenario captures the dilemma of Nigeria’s Vice- President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. With the national convention of the party over, the stage is now set for the emergence of the presidential flagbearer of the APC for the election slated for February 25, 2023. Already, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, former governor of Lagos state under whom Osinbajo served as eight years as Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice has already declared interest in the running for the presidency. The APC national leader who said becoming the president of Nigeria has been his ‘lifelong ambition’ has also informed President Buhari of his ambition and has also embarked on massive consultations across the country
For Osinbajo, the issue of whether he will run…
