He was the poster boy of efficiency, commitment, honesty and loyalty. The exemplary and humble lifestyle of the star boy of the team was well spoken of. It was almost as if he had no stain since he joined the murky waters of politics.
But all that changed with a 6-minute, 54-second video released on April 11 on the social media by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, announcing his intention to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
His declaration ended months of speculation over his interest in the presidential race, thereby putting him in direct confrontation with his former boss in Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who declared his intention earlier in the year.
He has been likened to Judas Iscariot, the biblical character who betrayed his master, Jesus Christ. The depreciation of the Naira, inflation and other economic woes of the Buhari administration have been laid on him as the chairman of the National Economic Council.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, where Osinbajo was once regarded as one of its leaders by virtue of his office as a former attorney-general of the state and vice president of the country, described the professor of law as a pawn on the chessboard, who is incapable of winning his polling unit.
“At a time, l thought I was listening to a dirge until I realised that it was a political declaration in a living room. Nigerians will have something to say about the scorecard in the fullness of time. The last time I checked, the vice president was in charge of the economy,” commented Seye Oladejo, the spokesperson of the APC in Lagos on the declaration by Osinbajo.
By now, Osinbajo must have learnt that his major hurdles to the presidency will come from his erstwhile political family built by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Little wonder, he relocated his political base to Ogun State.
Except by providence, picking the ticket of the party will be a herculean task, especially if the pastor-turned politician is unable to wash off some of the mud targeted at him.
Did Osinbajo betray Tinubu by his declaration to run for the office of the president? Is he a traitor? The answer varies, depending on who you ask. But to most supporters and followers of Tinubu, the vice president is guilty of the abominable act of betrayal. They expected him to have shelved his ambition in honour of the man they claimed made him by first appointing him as a commissioner in 1999 and then nominating him as vice president during the 2015 elections.
Tinubu also denounced the vice president as a political godson, noting that he had no son old enough to challenge him for the APC presidential ticket.
However, the handlers of Osinbajo have maintained that the former university lecturer didn’t betray Tinubu, stressing that he heeded the calls of Nigerians.
Amid claims of betraying his alleged godfather, Osinbajo, at a political meeting in his home state, Ogun, said he owed no single individual any allegiance outside his oath of office and the allegiance he swore to Nigerians in 2015.
“After all I have learnt, if called upon to serve the nation, should I say no? I have decided that I will run for office.
“I have sworn an oath to the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It is an oath to our people, our children, and the future of Nigeria. I owe nobody else any allegiance outside the oath,” he said
Since he took office in 2015, President Buhari has had to fight back accusations of bias in his appointments, but in recent times, Prof Osinbajo has come under the spotlight amid allegations of bias against Muslims.
Leading the argument is a Nigerian-American professor…
