Bola Tinubu @ 65: Who Are The Last Disciples By Goke Butika

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu

In actual fact, many human beings are not human persons, because their platforms do not graduate from one development to another, especially some people are retarded when it comes to intellectual trip which exudes the intrinsic value of man. If there is one man in Nigeria of today that is fulfilled, at least to a reasonable mileage, I think it is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for he sees all sides of life: he knew what it is to be poor, he ran in search of greener pasture abroad, and found out why the pasture was not green anyway; he became successful after a long struggle as a staff oil company; he used the wealth acquired to buy a ladder in political steps, and learnt the game of power in the trenches, before he became the governor of the richest state in Nigeria-Lagos; he brought his ingenuity of his financial background to turn around the fortune of the state; raising so many leaders in the process, and empowered tens of others in different spheres. Today, Tinubu is a man of influence, wealth and power. But are those indices count for fulfillment of a leader? The answer would be examined below:

Human being as a social construct is created to fulfill some purposes ranging from being part of the society and possibly draws his relevance in the society; his fulfillment would be determined by the degree of relevance which is attached to his ego or superego with a “firewall” that could not be easily penetrated for deflation of such ego.

Meanwhile, human being as a biological conception is a combination of morphological
Concepts that constitute the body, and this can be explained by Physiologist who would give the details of how our neurons are firing within the body system, and when a man is sick, a malfunction of neurons would be located and possibly fixed if repairable, and if it is not, it becomes, acquired immune deficiency syndrome now called AIDS.

The two concepts of human being as related above are drawn from the lens of Scientists who understand the world through everything physical, but I am of opinion that there is more to the world than physical-what about spiritual, ethical, what about well being, what about mental development and others. So, the Ethicist believes human being remains human being by virtue of his or her biological construct, until he or she passes through the spiritual, ethical, mental and sociological developments before he is seen as human person.

That said, the kernel of this piece is that many of the men of power today are forming a cycle of influence around Tinubu, not because he is the most handsome man in Nigeria, or because he has fleet of degrees like the Senate clown called Dino Melaye wants us to believe that it is eight degrees that makes a Senator or the wealthiest man in the continent like Aliko Dangote, but because while he was in power, he invested in human capital; turned out different leaders as long as you can work with him, so I heard.

At his 65th birthday, Tinubu felt like a father of successful children not a lord of manor, because he knows within him that the Vice President, and second most powerful man in the country, is his by-product in leadership cadre; he knows that most of the governors are his beneficiaries of investment on human capital, and he knows that some of the Captains of industries who were present are those who were empowered by his administration in Lagos. What else does a man want in life?

Unfortunately, a proper analysis would certainly show that Tinubu is not a fulfilled man, because if he is alone, he would reflect on the calibre of men who benefited so largely from him, but must be the last disciples certainly, for they have refused to invest in human capital around them. Most of the governors who drew funds and influence from Tinubu’s benevolence today have turned the sycophants around them to emergency millionaires as obtained during the inglorious era of the embattled Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the expense of the ordinary people who had thought abinitio that their lots would be better in their respective states. Certainly, those beneficiaries of Tinubu do not plan for long celebration of the man, because the people who ought to celebrate the great leader are now ticking time for their “predators”. Let it be known that i chose the governors advisedly, because Tinubu was the governor of Lagos state when he laid foundation for his greatness of today. Some are still paying homage to the great leader, others are pretentious. Ditto for some who have turned themselves his adversaries

If I were Tinubu, I would at 65 assume the driver seat of the Yoruba nation as suggested by late Pa. General Adeyinka Adebayo, who had the premonition of his depature, and wrote a long open letter to Tinubu, with a view to reminding him of his prime position as a Yoruba leader, de jure or de facto. And i would have rallied round the governors in the South West region by bringing them to the table to discuss opportunities the administrative boundaries have denied the region, and ask them to work together for real like what obtained in European union; I would have driven them to concrete collective feat, instead of computer generated integration being championed by one organization called DAWN which refuses to communicate with people, but the governors who are not ready to buy their stuff.

I think, the colloquium designed to celebrate Tinubu should be institutionalized and be taken to different states instead of Lagos. Yes, it was celebrated in Abuja last year, but Lagos and Abuja alone is not Nigeria, and I think it would worth its salt if Tinubu now begins to reach out to people in other states, particularly in the South West. I am not talking about the Government Houses, but the leaders of the commoners just the way Chief Obafemi Awolowo did; that is when his message will come to the people directly or else, he would be seen Lagos leader as his adversaries want him labeled.

Tinubu is a leader, because he chose to spread the nest of empowerment for his people, created leaders of tomorrow, and supports people he thinks has a mission to better the lots of their people, unlike what obtains with some of his protégés who had taken power, crippled the system in order to make it revolve around them, and allowed their ego massagers to acquire the wealth that could have been spread to tens of others. Unfortunately, for them such little-minded sycophants lack electoral value or political mileage they crave for, and it is certain that their future is now. The implication of this is that such disciples do not have a long celebration for the man who made them, because if teachers fail to produce new teachers, knowledge would be estranged.

Most of the beneficiaries of Tinubu are selfish and greedy. They are wealthy, but refuse to spread the opportunities; they are powerful, but are using the power to service the gluttonous sycophants; they are made, but fail to make people; they flaunted Tinubu’s feat, but refuse to replicate for future reference; Tinubu was generous to them, but they are wicked to their people. It is pathetic that Tinubu is ascending the flight of political prophets, but his disciples are waning continuously; his mission is attractive, but the messengers are delivering poorly; his heart is pure, but his foot soldiers are fluke. And I am afraid those who proclaim their loyalty today are political scavengers who want to cut from a piece of dead elephant.

Comrade Ola Oni argues: “suffering and success are organically linked. If you suffer, you will succeed, but if you succeed without suffering, some might have suffered for you, and if you suffer without success, somebody will draw the success, but most times, if you suffer, you will succeed”. Yes, I cannot affirm the induction he alluded to, but it has a semblance of truth with marginal error of inductive leap. Tinubu just ilke the late sage, Awolowo has done and still doing his bit, but who are the disciples who will hold the banner? Certainly, the answer is in the wind.
Wishing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu happy birthday.

Goke Butika