SUN NEWS ONLINE
The make-believe being enacted by Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the Presidency has all the trappings of impressionism. It is sketchy, hurriedly concocted and has no clear-cut story behind it. It is also tentative and ad hoc. But whereas the Impressionists may not have set out to impress, or to suspend judgment, Bola Tinubu’s 28-day Presidency is a magic lantern show. He is telling a tedious and rigorous story in a forceful way. But the plot, in whatever way it is being manipulated, remains a maze destined for a blind alley. So far, what we have before us is appearance, not reality.
Tinubu’s frenetic struggle with impressionism is understandable. His presidency is strewn with rough edges. He came into office in a way and manner that defies propriety or decency. But as a long-standing street actor, he will not betray his private reservations. He has to seize the stage by putting up a bold face. He will not leave anyone with the impression that he suffers any disability, especially one bordering on legitimacy. But no matter how hard he tries, we know that he is fighting a duel with legitimacy. He is ill at ease with the process that brought him into office even though he may have asked for it. Perhaps, what he did not factor in was the challenge and backlash that have trailed it.
In fact, there is no doubt that both Tinubu and those who arranged the presidency for him are having a hell of time trying to walk tall. Apparently spurred into action by our previous experiences as a country, Tinubu and his collaborators may have imagined that the infractions of February 25 would dissipate into thin air in a matter of days or weeks. They were expecting a business-as-usual kind of scenario. But that is not what we have on our hands. The plot of yesterday does not and cannot fit into the reality of today.
Mahmood Yakubu, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who worked closely with Tinubu to berth the hydra-headed situation we are faced with, may not have imagined or contemplated the outrage that has trailed his indiscretion. He must have bitten off more than he could chew. That is why he has been unable to talk. Those who are wondering why he has gone to sleep should look in this direction. He is no longer the INEC chairman who was given to giving Nigerians assurances about his ability and readiness to deliver credible elections. Having disappointed Nigerians and his inner conscience, the man is now somewhat incapacitated, morally and emotionally, at least. Whatever the hangups may be, he has delivered on his assignment to those who misled him. That is why he cannot be as desperate as Tinubu.
This scenario leaves us, basically, with Tinubu and his presidency and whatever he may be doing with it. So far, he have seen a Tinubu who is out to rewrite history. He seems determined to divert attention from the real issues of the moment. Some will say he is playing to the gallery. That may explain his furious injection of disruptive sacks and appointments into the system. His first casualty, as we all know, was Godwin Emefiele, then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). While the campaigns were going on, Tinubu’s campaign train had a brush with Emefiele. The man who had the country’s treasury in his kitty did what many considered unthinkable. He made moves to run for the presidency.
It can be deduced, from hindsight, that Tinubu was scared stiff of anybody who could deploy any means, especially a state-sponsored one, to upstage him at the presidential primary of his party. Emefiele, it would appear, had the chances to pull the strings. Consequently, Tinubu had to step up his game. The Emefiele challenge, even though it did not go full circle, must have been one of Tinubu’s biggest nightmares in his quest for the presidency. Now that Tinubu has had his way, it is time to teach Emefiele a bitter lesson. His emasculation and incarceration have since begun. Tinubu has just remarked in Paris, contrary to the charges that have been slammed on Emefiele by the Department of State Services, that he sacked the former CBN governor because Nigeria’s financial system under him was rotten. He pointed specifically to the multiple exchange rates, which he said made it impossible for members of his audience in Paris to bring money back to Nigeria. This reason, I believe, was designed for the foreign audience. Back home in Nigeria, we have been told that Emefiele’s crime borders on terrorism financing and economic crimes. But these strange tales have a purpose. They are designed to keep us away from the facts of the matter.
But Emefiele was not the only one who threatened Tinubu’s burning ambition to be Nigeria’s number one citizen. Abdulrasheed Bawa, erstwhile chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), did as well. While he held sway, Bawa, on a number of occasions, dropped hints that Tinubu was being investigated. But we never got to know why the investigation never ended or, if it did, why its outcome was never made public. Whatever transpired in this regard was best known between Tinubu and Bawa. Both know the undercurrents. And so when the Tinubu order removed him from office, citing weighty allegations of abuse of office, we can imagine or guess what the real issues may have been. Tinubu remembers and he is not ready to romanticize any issue or situation that could expose his delicate underbelly if not properly handled. Bawa, for whatever reason, is being investigated by the authorities.
Emefiele and Bawa may have constituted an open threat, which Tinubu is obviously not ready to stomach. But as a student of power, he has to look beyond these guys. To go far, the man who grabbed power as forcefully as he can has to go for an all-round protection. This is where the removal of the service chiefs, including the Inspector-General of Police, and their replacement come in. The new man on the block has to protect his territory with those he can trust. That is political brinkmanship at play. But the impression sold to the public was that the President wanted to shore up the security architecture of the country and possibly stem the tide of insecurity sweeping through the land.
Far from giving Nigeria a new order that will work, Tinubu is simply feathering his own nest. What many think are reformist actions or policies are mere film tricks. They are not what they appear to be. Only the wise will survive this era of pretentious outpouring of powerful deceptions.
