It is no more news to not a few political enthusiasts and observers alike that the Niger Delta activist, AsariDokubo, in November 2022 revealed the reason he opted for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the then presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the 2023 presidential elections.
Dokubo, who spoke while featuring in Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, said the APC presidential candidate was miles ahead of other contenders for the country’s top job, and declared that he had threw his weight behind the former Lagos Governor because of his (Tinubu) track records.
“For the presidential election, I am with Tinubu because I saw what he did in Lagos State and the legacies he left behind”.
He further claimed that Tinubu was instrumental in the development of Lagos State and helped turn the fortunes of the former Nigerian capital.
The former Niger-Delta militant declared that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, AtikuAbubakar lacks leadership experience, saying the former vice president was a spare tire, and maintained that “Lagos has transformed from what it used to be like a big ghetto, a junkyard to a global centre and one of the biggest economies in the whole of Africa. Somebody kick-started it; somebody laid the foundation.”
According to him, those claiming otherwise should also know that even in the biggest cities across the world, there are people who are not okay with the government. This, he maintained, is expected in a place like Lagos where the APC flag bearer has succeeded in laying a good foundation.
While he said other contenders like the Labour Party’s Peter Obi and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) were former governors and in a similar league like Tinubu, he said AtikuAbubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) does not have such a credential.
“Atiku has actually never actually handled executive power. He was a spare tire. He was a vice president,” Dokubo said.
In a similar vein, it will be recalled in this context that fuji music icon, WasiuAyinde Marshal (K1), in December 2022 together with the Chairman of the Lagos State Parks and Garages (LASPG), AlhajiMusiliuAkinsanya(MC Oluomo), and some Nollywood stars launched a campaign platform, Connecting Grassroots Initiative (CGI), for the actualization of the ambition of the presidential candidate of the then All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Bola Tinubu and the re-election of the Lagos State governor, Mr.Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The launch, which held in Ikeja, the capital of Lagos State, featured the unveiling of dozens of vehicles for easy movement of the campaign train, even as the Director-General of CGI, Mr. EbunOloyede, bragged that the team, consisting of Nollywood stars had decided to forgo movie locations to embark on a campaign for Tinubu and Sanwo-Olu.
“We will be going from one local government to another till the date of the election. None of us will go to locations. Wherever the night meets us is where we will sleep and continue the next day,” Oloyede said.
Tinubu, he said, had done a lot for the movie industry, hence the decision to stand by him.
Just as it was rightly said by GuguMofokeng that “Nothing hurts more than being disappointed by the one person who you thought would never hurt you”, both Asari-Dokubo and WasiuAyinde Marshall (K1) have in different ways turned their back against Tinubu by talking bad about Tinubu, particularly as to his poor performance as Nigerian president.
For instance, in November 2023, AsariDokuboslammed President Bola Tinubu for not carrying him along in his government.
In a video on social media, Dokubo lamented that he and his followers have been abandoned after giving their support to the cause of Tinubu’s emergence as president, and also accused the president of making one-sided appointments, just like former President Muhammadu Buhari, who, according to him, had core supporters, which Tinubu does not have.
“President Bola Tinubu is traveling on a very dangerous path. And if he doesn’t change, even we, who are his hardcore supporters, will not be able to stand with him.
“It’s up to you if you feel comfortable now. They tell you that you can do whatever you like. You can do worse than what Buhari did.
“Buhari did one-sided appointments, and you feel you can do your own one-sided appointments. You are not Buhari; know that.
In a similar vein, WasiuAyinde Marshal, few days ago told President Bola Tinubu that Nigerians are suffering and angry with his government due to the current poor state of the economy. K1 said this in a video recording during one of his recent stage performances.
It will be recalled that before K1 resorted to bad mouthing the president’s performance that his daughter, DamiAyinde, lent her voice to the current economic situation, which she said wasn’t what the All Progressives Congress promised.
On her Instagram stories, the young lawyer said the APC was not delivering on what it promised Nigerians because the people are suffering.
Meanwhile, the Fuji legend, who is known to be a staunch supporter of the President, delivered his message in Yoruba Language while begging the President to find solutions to the multitude of challenges confronting the masses.
Still in a similar vein, Nigerians, particularly Lagosians, cannot forget in a hurry residents of Lagos Island as well as traders of the popular Idumota market on Friday, December 29, 2023, expressed their displeasure at President Bola Tinubu, yelling at the top of their voices in Yoruba “Ebinpawa o”, meaning “We are hungry,” as his large convoy drove by.
In a video on X, the traders were seen on both sides of the road as the over 20-vehicle convoy of the president passed through the ever busy market with heavy security presence.
Refusing to hail him as the normal tradition, the residents kept decrying their hardships and pains believed to have been caused by the government. They were heard complaining about the number of the president’s convoy amid the widespread hunger in the country.
The complaining voices in the video, who are believed to be residents, were heard saying the presidency had known the plans of the people which resulted in the heavy security. However, the alleged initial plan was not revealed.
The president, who was then in Lagos for the Christmas and New Year celebration, visited the Lagos Central Mosque in Lagos Island for Jumat Service on Friday.
Analyzed from a different perspective, it is paradoxical that Niger State where the then presidential aspirant had his campaign rally in December 2022, and reported to have drawn a crowd that gathered at the Trade Fair Complex in Minna to catch a glimpse of the former Lagos governor happens to be the state where residents of Minna were reported to have trooped out en masse to protest over the prevailing excruciating level of hardship which all Nigerians have been witnessing since the president was sworn to power on May 29, 2023.
ShehuSani, a former Kaduna Central Senator, in support of the protesters said the protest was within the ambit of the law, stressing that some European countries had protested against the high cost of living in their cities.
Posting on X, Sani wrote: “The protest in Minna, Niger State against the high cost of living falls within the ambit of the right to peaceful dissent. Protests against the cost of living were also done in other European cities experiencing economic pains.
