Echoes of the 2023 presidential elections reverberated Tuesday at the launch of a book written on events around Bola Ahmed Tinubu campaign for Nigeria’s presidency, with Vice President Kashim Shettima describing the elections as the most divisive in the nation’s history.
Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, defeated the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the polls.
The book, titled “BEATING ALL ODDS: Diaries and Essays on How Bola Tinubu Became President,” was written by Sam Omatseye, celebrated columnist and Chairman, Editorial Board of The Nation newspapers.
Speaking during the book’s presentation at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre Abuja, Vice President Shettima said at the end of the contest, whose litigation ran up to Supreme Court, the Nigerian candidate defeated the religious candidate in the Christian state of Benue, just as the “regional candidate” beat the Nigerian candidate in Sokoto .
He said: “The last election certainly was the most divisive in the history of this country. All the ethno-religious fault lines that divide this nation were deliberately manipulated for political ends. But it is interesting to note that the most Christian of northern states is Benue state. A Nigerian candidate defeated a religious candidate in Benue state. The most northern of northern states is Sokoto. A Nigerian candidate lost to the regional candidate by mere 5000 votes and the APC went on to win two Senate seats, the…..and the majority of House of Representatives seat.”
Continuing, the VP said: “And the most Christian of the South South state is Rivers. A Nigerian candidate defeated a religious candidate in Rivers. So, there is cause for celebration. One thing I believe is that what binds us to together supercede whatever divides us.
“Some of the journalists in this room, I don’t want to mention their names to avoid embarrassing their person, they are of the Christian faith but they were the most vociferous proponents of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’ candidature. They are men and women of integrity who stood for what is right.
“Be rest assured that the president has Nigeria in his mind. Yes, we are having challenges, we are not denying that. And we are not here to apportion blame. Leadership is about accepting responsibility and finding solutions to national challenges.
“The president is a man of courage and conviction. In the first one week in office, he took far reaching decisions. The oil subsidy has been an albatross around the neck of the Nigerian economy and the Nigerian nation. He took the bull by the horn and withdrew the fuel subsidy from day one. He was able to collapse the multiple exchange rate regime that gave room for a lot of hanky-panky. Be rest assured that in the fullness of time, history would be kind to him.”
On the book, he said: “In the second part of the book, Mr. Omatseye took us to the beginning of the misadventures that preceded the formation of the All Progressives Congress. The year 2013 provides an interesting window to examine the chain of events that gave birth to the APC, leading to the emergence of former President Buhari and then President Tinubu.
“This context serves as a remedy for the oversimplification of those who have succumbed to nostalgia, those who have refused to accept that we aren’t where we are by accident.
“Our recourse to facts in this climate of propaganda and lies would disinfect the minds of the impressionable, and this book does justice to the subject of President Tinubu’s ascent up the ladder of glories as the recipient of the nation’s highest honour—the office of the President. I believe this book is an interaction with time, a record of the science and miracle of our journey to this height.”
…Osoba
Speaking at the occasion, former Ogun state Governor, Aremo Olusegun Osoba, who chaired the event, used a Yoruba analogy of the elephant and the creepers, to describe Tinubu’s ascension to power.
Osoba, the reporter as he loves being called, said: “I am wrapping my speech around the elephant because Yoruba people say…..This is the case of the aspirant Bola Tinubu meaning that the creepers that want to disturb the elephant in walking to the stream would of course end up in the stream with the elephant. This is the story of the aspirant Bola Tinubu contesting and going into primaries. Of course, he won with the creepers all through the stream.
“The other side of the elephant is that in Yoruba it is said…..it means in climbing the hill to Aso Rock, he was kicking plants and everything on his way. Again he turned them into cobwebs until he now got to the villa. That is the story of the book that we are launching today.
“The book largely chronicles the interventions of Sam Omatseye on the 2023 presidential race, the thrills and the trials, tribulations and the triumph. As a book on an important process in the life of our country, this is a welcoming read.
“As a book on candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu who eventually emerged as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Commander-in-Chief of its Armed Forces, it provides an excellent insight into the vision, character, methods, and strategies of an unusual politician.”
…The presentation
While launching the book in the sum of N25million, Sir Kensington Adebutu, who is the chief presenter, said: “The book would invariably turn out to be a veritable resource material for anyone who desires to achieve what others feel is unattainable.”
While taking his turn at the book launch with the sum of N10million, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, in a message to the event, said: “This narrative serves not only as a historical account but as a source of inspiration for every Nigerian, affirming that no obstacle is insurmountable but with dedication and hard work we would overcome.
“Today, as we celebrate this launch of the book let us also celebrate the spirit of our people and the resilience as a nation. Let this book be a reminder of where we have been, the battles we have fought and the victories we have achieved.”
…Author’s remarks
In his remarks, the author, Mr Omatseye, said the book was put together to set the records straight on the 2023 general elections.
Omatseye said: “This book is in two parts. I started writing diaries when the campaign started. I didn’t know what I was going to do with the diaries, but I was taking them week after week, following everything. Whether it was the tempest over the Muslim Muslim ticket and the battle between the then Rivers governor and Atiku, then we went to the time when there was a storm.
“Even there was a time when they said the Vice President does not know how to dress well that he wore sneakers over suit, it was all there. When people came out and started showing all over social media, icons of culture who were dressed like to counter them, it was all there. And then there was the fight the naira, fuel, whether the election was going to hold and of course Emilokan. It is all there.
“I also tracked the second part, some of my essays that tracked the plot to stop Asiwaju Bola Tinubu from the time Adams Oshiomhole was unseated as party chairman and all the plots until it got to the primaries, including when somebody called somebody that it would be better off selling ice cream.
“It was an interesting thing to do and after going through the story, I thought I should gather all those together and tell the story because many people started fighting that the elections delegitimised and so on and so forth.
“It was a way of trying to put in context all the things that happened. People forget that even very early in the campaigns, Babatunde Raji Fashola appeared on TV and laid bare long before, the mathematics of the election. He said how can one be divided into four and fight one. He said it didn’t make sense. I didn’t really listen at that time, maybe they should have come together and coalesced, but you know what they say about destiny is that you cannot stop it.”
The event had in attendance Senate President Godswill Akpabio, represented by Nwodo Onyekachi, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, Abia state Governor Alex Otti, represented by his deputy, Ikechukwu Emetu, former Ekiti state Governor Niyi Adebayo, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former Lagos state Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN), former Minister of State for Health Adeleke Mamora, former Delta state Governor Chief James Ibori, and Managing Director of the NDDC Samuel Ogbuku.
Also in attendance were Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, Vice Chancellor Lagos State University (LASU) Professor Ibiyemi Tunji-Bello, Prince Kassim Afegbua, Bolaji Adebiyi, and Mr Kayode Komolafe among others.
