BRIDGE-BUILDER!

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HOW TINUBU BROKE NORTHERN JINX TO PICK APC TICKET

By Lanre Olaleye

Prior to the just concluded All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary election, tales, conjectures and suppositions were heavily stacked against Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's chances of picking the party's presidential ticket.

This hinderance was tied to the mythical 'Northern Agenda' which has been a stumbling block to the dream of many past and present Southern politicians of realizing their dream of becoming their party's presidential flagbearers. 

Stories were told of how President Muhamadu Buhari does not trust Asiwaju because of his percieved arrogance even as they claim Tinubu's presidency would go against the Northern interest. But the APC National Leader's sagacity, competence and wide political network has seen him rise above adversities to become the APC presidential flagbearer in the 2023 General Elections.

The Snoop has gathered exclusively that Asiwaju's victory came as a result of long time strategic and careful planning which has endeared him to many Northern political gladiators.

Tinubu's sterling role in bringing together five political parties to form the All Progressives Congress and the eventual victory of President Muhamadu Buhari in the 2015 presidential election had given him a veritable opportunity of not only meeting top Northern politicians but also understand their sensibilities.

To this end, Tinubu verily deployed his philanthropy and kindness at the disposal of some of his political associates despite the tribal divide. Sen. Ahmed Lawan soon became one of Tinubu's accolytes in the North when the former Lagos State Governor facilitated his emergence as Senate President by providing financial war chest and mobilizing South-west senators to vote for him.

That singular effort became the launch pad for Tinubu to make his forage into Northern politics. Since then, sources say Tinubu had become quite popular among Northern senators and governors many of whom he assisted with financial assistance to win elections.

One of such benefactors is Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State who is eternally grateful to Asiwaju for his support in becoming governor despite stiff opposition from top notchers in the state. In return, Ganduje has offered himself as Tinubu's chief campaigner in Kano and beyond.

A close source told The Snoop that through Ganduje's support, Tinubu was able to reach out to many of the state governors in the North to support Asiwaju's presidential ambition.

Perhaps, Tinubu's lucky break in his ambition to ride the tide in the North came early this year when he cancelled his birthday colloquium to honour victims of the Kaduna train attack which claimed 66 lives. He travelled to Kaduna same day to commiserate with Gov. Nasir El-Rufai and the people of Kaduna over the dastardly act. He thereafter donated N50m to the victims of the train attack. 

El-Rufai, an avid critic of Tinubu was grossly surprised and taken aback by the concern shown by the former Lagos Governor. But surprisingly,  whatever reservations the Kaduna governor may have had for him got melted under Tinubu's kindness and benevolence as he promptly pledged his loyalty and support to Asiwaju's cause.

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To demonstrate his support, El-Rufai promised to put all the 130 delegates from Kaduna State at Asiwaju's disposal in the presidential primary. He promptly fulfilled his promise by taking the delegates to Kano in the care of Ganduje a week before the primary to avoid being circumvented by other aspirants.

To erase any doubt, the duo of Ganduje and El-Rufai led the coalition of Northern governors who threw their weight behind a Southern candidate. The support for a Southern candidate, according to dependable sources was ostensibly designed to favour Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as delegate votes from the 13 states of the North might just be enough to guarantee Tinubu victory. 

To say both Ganduje and El-Rufai were pivotal in Asiwaju's victory is to say the least. They were the Chief Executioners of the plot. According to investigation, in order not to create acrimony with fellow governor and Chairman of Nigerian Governors Forum, Gov. Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State who incidentally was one of the aspirants from South-west, the two took it upon themselves to plead with Fayemi to step down for Asiwaju few hours to the primary election. 

But the Ekiti governor, insisted he would only step down only on President Muhamadu Buhari's directive.There and then, they  sought assurance from Fayemi to drop his ambition to support Tinubu when he hears from the president of which he affirmed. Both Ganduje and El-Rufai, who has remained a close ally of the president reportedly requested the president to speak with Fayemi before he announced his withdrawal to support Asiwaju.

On his own, Asiwaju has continued to build bridges across many political divides in the South-east and South-south which has paved the way for the withdrawal of other aspirants from both region. 

Speaking on Asiwaju's victory, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje described him as a bridge builder.

"Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s landslide victory in the just-concluded presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) shows his high degree of acceptability in the north, as a bridge-builder,” he said.

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