Tinubu at Chatham House: A Nigerian tragedy ~ by Bayo Oluwasanmi

As we move precariously closer to 2023, just try to imagine Nigeria as madmen islands and kingdoms of fools. Instead of a possible president like Tinubu, let the monkeys govern Nigeria, at least they will steal only bananas!

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Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate who adamantly refused to take part in town hall meetings and one-on-one interviews at home in Nigeria was more than eager to talk to the Brits at Chatham House, London, UK.

The question-and-answer session during his address at Chatham House was an opportunity for Tinubu to finally debunk that he’s not suffering from any form of dementia or hallucination as a result of his pre-existing health conditions. His many nauseating gaffes, snafus, unintelligible mumbo jumbo and meaningless balabulu bulubala at campaign trails in Nigeria are serious concerns for voters. Rather, he blew the opportunity. He confirmed the fears of many Nigerians. He was asked questions as a candidate seeking the highest office in the land. But to the surprise of the whole world, he farmed out questions to his “team” that traveled with him. The so-called “teamwork” was more like a dirty trick to dodge questions than a strategy.

One particular instance stood out. He was asked who is Tinubu? He didn’t remember his name, his age. He didn’t know who Tinubu is until a note was surreptitiously passed to him by his “team.” He read his name, date of his birth, and his parents’ names by looking at the paper intermittently. What a disgrace! How could a job applicant for Aso Rock distribute questions that he was supposed to answer to the so-called “team”? It has never happened anywhere in the world for a presidential candidate to delegate questions to proxies. For demonstrating such crass shamelessness, foolishness, ignorance, absurdities, lies, deceit, and incompetence on the world stage, Tinubu is a Nigerian tragedy.

Tinubu has no regard for the basic norms of human conduct. He lacks any self-awareness or self-scrutiny. He seems beyond embarrassment. The only moral and social compass he follows is his own false and fraudulent ideas about what is appropriate and inappropriate, shameful or deceitful. “Shame and justice,” Plato argued, “are needed for people to live (together) in cities.” Tinubu as a shameless politician reflects a shameless Nigerian society. His team and other interpreters of Tinubu’s maladies celebrated the deceptive strategy of delegating questions to surrogates who are not running for president as a hallmark of teamwork. They ascribed the crap strategy to Tinubu’s success in Lagos.

There will be no cost for Tinubu behaving badly. In fact, behaving shamelessly actually endears him to his cult-like followers and disciples. Shame gives Tinubu a boost! Tinubu is a symptom of Nigeria’s societal problems. He is a reflection, a mirror held up to Nigerian society. What we see is terrifying. The Nigerian system rewards lunatics instead of punishing them. The loudest-mouth liars dominate Nigerian politics. It has become the norm for Tinubu and his apologists to make outrageous claims, fabricate narratives and lie endlessly. Tinubu’s inflated prestige and achievements have been the campaign slogan of these liars, hypocrites, and sycophants.

What adjective can we use for Nigerians who are consistently fooled and recurrently deceived by Tinubu? Brainless? Yes, that’s the very adjective. Nigerians are slaves to sentiments, inclinations, religion, avarice, and greed. Nigerians have become suckers for Tinubu’s adulation, flattery, false claims, cheating, and all manners of folly. Nigerians are victims of Tinubu and his APC’s superstitions and collective illusions.

As we move precariously closer to 2023, just try to imagine Nigeria as madmen islands and kingdoms of fools. Instead of a possible president like Tinubu, let the monkeys govern Nigeria, at least they will steal only bananas!

Bayo Oluwasanmi; bjuoluwasanmi@gmail.com