THE PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRATION OF PROFESSOR YEMI OSINBAJO AND THE VALIDITY OF THE "BETRAYAL SYNDROME" NARRATIVE By Oki Al-Hassan V. (Ambidextrous)

echelon of the country under the All Progressives Congress (APC), as personally  confirmed by the esteemed don in a widely circulated video in the early hours of the 11th of April, 2022.

Following the open declaration of interest, I have keenly read -with dismay and perhaps a bit shock- several allegations, sophistries, concoctions and reactions that has trailed the ambition and personality of the cerebral figure. The chief among them which this article will attempt to dissect and subject to intellectual scrutiny, is the 'betrayal syndrome', unmistakenly made in perception of his affiliation and perceived loyalty to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu- a keen presidential aspirant and most importantly, the 'benefactor figure' who appointed Yemi Osinbajo as the  Commissioner of Justice, Lagos State, during his two-term gubernatorial service in the same State.

Well, while I will not taking a shot at Osinbajo's political trajectory which actually started in 1988 during which he served as the Legal Adviser to the then Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Bola Ajibola, I hold it fair and historically correct that it was Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who gave Osinbajo his first substantive shot at the political arena. In that wise, would it be intellectually correct to assert that Osinbajo betrayed Tinubu by declaring his intention towards the same position that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is aspiring to?

I doubt as much if a definite answer can be given to that question without knowing how far and how much they have rendered to each other respectively. Certainly, one reality staring at us in the face bares nothing but the fact that both were instrumental to each other in their respective political career. A clear case of mutual benefit.

While Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is often praised for successfully running Local Government Councils in Lagos State without Federal Government funds between 2003-2007, what you were perhaps not told was that it was Osinbajo who led a team of lawyers who fought tooth and nail in winning that landmark case at the Supreme Court, even if that court order was not obeyed until the late President Musa Yar'adua did the needful by ordering the then Accountant General of the Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Dankwambo, to immediately release the funds, totalling a sum of 10.8 billion naira on the 24th of July, 2007, barely two months after being sworn in as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Besides, it must stated in clear terms that Tinubu's contribution to Osinbajo's political elevation should not in anyway -as far as rationality and objectivity is concerned- constrain the latter to limit or erase his dreams and aspirations. Comm'on, we are talking of a man who attained a glowing career at a young age, being a Professor of Law at 33 - An impeccable epitome of precociousness. If you expect such a man to be perpetually shackled and eternally manacled by his service to Tinubu, I will, perhaps, advise you to see your doctor.

A lifelong ambition of Tinubu? That does not in any way make it a better ambition than others having the same ambition, with all due respect to the Jagaban of Africa. We all dream and even as I write this, I am sure Osinbajo is pursuing his and will continue to, even after 2023 general election. In that same vein, Tinubu should continue to thread on his path, and may God help him as much.

Is the fate of over 200 million Nigerians a befitting form of gratitude and gratification for the reciprocation of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's past and present goodwill? Well, the answer is yours to give.

 

May 2023 produce the best!

 

Oki Al-Hassan Victor, popularly known as Ambidextrous, is an undergraduate at the Faculty of Law, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba, Ondo State. He can be reached via okihassanvictor@gmail.com