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Quadri Yahya
A former Spokesperson for the Atiku Campaign Organisation in 2019 election and the chieftian of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ogun state,, Segun Showunmi has described the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as the replicate of Nigerian nationalities.
Showunmi, a PDP governorship hopeful in Ogun state in his tribute on the celebration of 70th birthday of Tinubu said Tinubu is a replicate of the prominent Nigerian nationalities such as late Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the late business mogul and politician, Kashimawo-Moshood Abiola, who had made immense impacts in the history of the country.
Showunmi said this on Monday, in his birthday wish to the former Lagos State Governor, Tinubu as he clocks 70 years old.
The statement read “I would like to share on this occasion of your 70th birthday my thoughts of you as I think it is a good time.
“You are undoubtedly, the successor of Obafemi Awolowo for the Yorubas, you have done more, contributed more, and raised more Yoruba leaders in our recent history.
“You are no doubt the successor to MKO Abiola for you have invested more,7 shown more generosity to more, built more alliances, and contributed more money to the political cause of our people, especially in their quest to participate in governance.”
PLATFORM TIMES reports that Showunmi reminisced on the timeline he has been observing Tinubu, and following his path.
He said: “From the moment I met you in 1994 during the exile days at the Hilton London Metropole hotel, I have studied you like a philosophical subject, with a focus on the epistemological aspect of your activities. I can say unequivocally that you are true to your beliefs.
“I recall wondering how much the struggle for democracy had cost you as of then?
“I followed your activities from a distance all through the years, as I did not want proximity to distort my study.
“You have been stable politically, and I sometimes wonder how you do it in the light of others who cannot stick to a particular political lineage, in your case all that has happened is a change of names, you have resisted the urge to jump about chasing shadows.”
He added: “I was particularly impressed with how you7 remained when all AD governors lost their states in 2003 leaving just you in Lagos, the hallmark of who you are, was how you slowly but gradually helped the progressive move from just one state to the present; where your political lineage now governs 5 of the states in the south-west save for Oyo, which took a major cross political parties collaboration for the opposition to win in 2019.
“I held my breath when in 2015 you joined others to bring about the Presidency of Muhammadu Buhari, for with trepidation you have enthroned a government that has done the most disservice to Nigerians and you as a person in terms of disintegration and general failure of state as a nation.
“I wondered how you came to that decision then, knowing the President’s history and rigidity, bordering towards the archaic and retrogression. I also observed that despite ill-treatment & disrespect meted out to you, when all others left him, you stood by him in the 2019 election cycle and I had to say to myself that Bola Tinubu is made of stellar material, for you cemented my respect for you as a reliable, consistent, forbearing builder.”
The Ogun-based politician also acknowledged the efforts by the APC chieftain to ensure progress and unity in Lagos state and in the country as a whole.
He submitted “I watched your activities around governance and the social order, the one I disagree with is the elevation of street urchins to royalty status, that, cannot be right, society must not encourage that type of growth for humans, Education, Enlightenment, and Orientation toward human capital development should be the hallmark of human self-development.”
PLATFORM TIMES reports further that Showunmi lauded Tinubu, who has shown his ambition to run for the presidency in 2023.
He said “This needs to be fixed; a reversal of this tendency will do everyone a great good.
“You have made your intentions known to be president of our dear country, Nigeria.
He said: “It is the inalienable right of all humans to aspire, I am somewhat wondering about a few things, the first being; can your physical well-being and wellness carry the arduous task? in the light of walls that have broken down and bridges that have to be built in building trust in governance again by the populace.
“I know you have the mental capacities for the job, I am concerned about your wellbeing, this question can only be answered by yourself alone, for one can only be true to himself/herself on the state of one’s wellness.”
