By Fattykolly Ibn Alimi
Laolu Akande has finally said what many of us knew but few had the courage to confirm. According to the former spokesperson to Vice President Osinbajo, there was a cabal in Buhari’s government that did everything to kill Tinubu’s ambition. They rejected his ministerial nominees. They mocked his dream. They anointed Lawan. They wanted to bury the man who built the APC with his own sweat and blood.
And yet, Tinubu never insulted Buhari.
That one line should be taught in every school of politics in Africa.
Let us imagine the pain. You build a house. You carry blocks. You fund the labourers. You buy the cement. Then when it is time to enter the house, some tenants who came last year lock the door against you. They say you cannot enter. What would you do? Most of us would burn the house down.
Tinubu did not.
He was denied ministers. He was ignored. He was told, in clear language, that the Presidency was not for him. The cabal wanted Lawan. The cabal wanted anyone but Tinubu. They moved against him in the primary. They starved Lagos of federal presence. They humiliated his men.
Yet Tinubu never came out to attack Buhari. He never granted an interview abusing the government he helped create. He never went on Arise TV to call Buhari a failure. He never sponsored youths to insult the President on social media. He swallowed the betrayal. He absorbed the pain. He kept his eyes on the ball.
That is the hallmark of a great politician. A man who knows his onion. A man who understands that loyalty, even when it is not reciprocated, is strength.
He waited. He persevered. He strategized. He went to Abeokuta and said with calm confidence — _Emi lo kan._ It was not arrogance. It was a statement of destiny from a man who had been battered but not broken. And in the end, with focus and perseverance, he made it. He became President of Nigeria.
Now, contrast this with Atiku Abubakar.
What is Atiku’s story? 30 years of running. 30 years of wanting to be President. From 1993 to 2023, the same ambition, the same desperation, but without a compass.
Atiku left PDP for AC. He left AC for PDP. He left PDP for APC. He left APC back to PDP. Today he is romancing ADC, SDP, LP, any party that will give him a ticket. This is not perseverance. This is political nomadism. This is directionlessness.
Tinubu was betrayed and he stayed loyal. Atiku was accommodated and he kept betraying.
When Obasanjo betrayed Atiku, Atiku abused Obasanjo publicly for years. When Jonathan defeated him, Atiku abused Jonathan and left the party. When Buhari defeated him, Atiku abused Buhari and left the party. When Tinubu defeated him, he is now abusing Tinubu and looking for another party. Atiku cannot stay. He cannot build. He cannot endure.
That is why Atiku is still on the street looking to be President after 30 years.
Because the Presidency is not given to men who run from one party to another whenever they lose. It is given to men who stay, who build, who endure betrayal, who forgive, who focus.
Laolu Akande has exposed the cabal, but he has also exposed the character gap between Tinubu and Atiku.
Tinubu was frustrated, but he remained. Atiku was merely contested, and he ran away.
Tinubu was rejected, but he did not reject the party. Atiku was given a platform, and he rejected the party five times.
One man knows perseverance. The other man knows only ambition without direction.
That is why one is in Aso Rock today, writing history, and the other is on the street, still looking for a party that will give him a ticket to chase the same dream he has chased since many of us were in primary school.
Nigeria does not need a man who will run away when things get tough. Nigeria needs a man who will stay when he is even betrayed.
That man is Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
© Fattykolly Ibn Alimi
Fattykolly can be reached at fattykolly@yahoo.com
This article was inspired by Laolu Akande’s revelations. Laolu Akande was the senior special assistant to President Buhari’s Vice.