A famous American political philosopher and former President, Abraham Lincoln, once said that “you can fool all people some of the time and some people all the time. But you can never fool all people all the time.”
This evergreen statement of fact is apt as a pointer to the current wave of conflictual situation in Nigeria, where the integrity and academic credibility of the President of the largest Black Democracy is in grave doubt globally.
The litany of unforced errors and avoidable lies about the persona and educational credentials of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, PBAT, leaves a sour taste in the mouths of patriotic Nigerians. Infact, parading a leader with questionable biodata and identity deficit is worse than eating a rotten egg. This situation has turned our country into a butt of jokes, far worse than the many gaffes of incomprehensive Balabu doled out by the APC Presidential during his electioneering campaign.
Infact, it is still mysterious or a sheer act of societal web of corruption, for one man without primary and secondary schools certificate to have claimed to being a graduate from the prestigious Chicago State University in USA.
To be candid, a man who seems criminality personified may always be sneaky and evasive. But Nemesis keeps lurking in the corners.
No matter the game of hide and seek, however long it takes to unravel his criminal tendencies and activities, there will come a time when the iron claws of the law will catch up with him. Karma beckons.
This is the sordid tale of the fate of Nigeria and Nigerians under the gl hegemony of a ‘ghostly leader.’
Here’s a man whose teal name, schools and certificates are hard to come by. Yet, like a phantom, he rose meteorically to some of the highest offices in the land, papering over shady pasts.
For a guy without chequered history of elementary and college education, to claim to have worked at the highest management level of an elitist International oil company, Mobil, with unverified academic resume, still beats one hollow.
How did BAT skip the hurdle of screening without anyone batting an eyelid?
The sharp guy was also lucky to foray into politics successfully and survived the brickbats of identity questions from his caustic opponents.
He subsequently won a seat in the Senate of Nigeria with massive questionable records and documents. He successfully deceived the people of Lagos Central Senatorial that he represented.
Furthermore, he grabbed and ran away with
the gubernatorial ticket to become Lagos State Governor; won and was in the saddle for eight years without anything to show for it.
Available records showed that while in the office as Governor of Lagos State , apart from milking dry the abundant resources and patrimony of the State with his so called fantastic team and gangs , he was also only able to construct two roads, one in Ikotun now known as Governors Road, the second was Lawanson road in Surulere area of Lagos.
He also built and completed two Millennium schools, one at Ogba area and the other at Ojo in Lagos, at an inflated cost of 5 billion naira at the time.
All these , with same fraudulent records and unimpressive narratives of a brilliant mind and a man who has done well for himself, he was also lucky to escape .
With this erroneous confidence of an infamous man with criminal, fraudulent and questionable background, he jumped into the arena to contest for the office of President of Nigeria. An ambition he claimed was a life long task for him.
Somehow, he forgot that he was able to escape in those dark analogue days.
However, twilight is fast approaching before sunset for him.
Perhaps, out of arrogance laced with ignorance, it never crossed his mind that a time like this will come, when technology will be the order of the day. Kudos to the Digital Age of accountability. Our world is now a Global Village.
For a man hitherto believed to be so brutally smart and clever, and perhaps visionary should have invested time and resources to genuinely acquire the minimum educational requirements for any political office, let alone that of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Tinubu was confident, he thought he could always get away with any crime, political or otherwise.
But governing Nigeria is more complex than ruling a geograpjocally limited Lagos State.
A president of any country is like a golden fish that has no hiding place.
Tinubu claimed he has brilliant minds arround him , all these revelations of his fraudulent activities however suggest otherwise. Those around him are neither entire smart nor brilliant.
There is no doubt that the American government has full details of his criminal records all along, but was waiting on the sideline for a competent person with locus standi to literall put fingers on the trigger, to demand for justice at all cost.
The man with sterling pedigeree to tackle PBAT, is Nigeria’s foremost Defender of Democracy and for Vice President (1999-2007) HE Atiku Abubakar.
Atiku is well known as an exponent of fundamental rights and freedom of speech. His commitment to transparency, credibility, accountability and integrity of elections are second to none.
Atiku the dogged fighter, unlike Tinubu, years ago added a Masters Degree from UK to his excellent educational records, without being prompted by anyone.
This is the ideal type of leader befitting for Nigeria. Always ahead for the best reasons, on how to make Nigeria better and great again, not ahead In criminality, deceit, perjury , fakism and fraud; Atiku’s head is fit for the cap.
Nigerians have a duty to demand for transparency and justice on Bola Tinubu; the Judiciary must step in strongly to ensure that justice is seen to be served at the Supreme Court.
This is the minimum they can do for Nigeria.
A further self assessment of the integrity of Nigeria judiciary is being called to question, it doesn’t matter whose ox is gored, it must be about Nigeria, it must be about the people that have been so relegated and oppressed by the ruling class
Nigeria needs a rebirth to stand tall in the Commonwealth.
For justice to be done and seen to have been served, all Bola Tinubu’s established criminalities from his acclaimed days at Mobil to date and other offences must not go unpunished , there must be judgment on every count and must be sentenced accordingly.
This is just me chorusing the song by the ordinary Nigerian. Nigeria must survive to thrive.
*Oladimeji Fabiyi writes in from Lagos*
