Opposition And Candidate Bola Tinubu, By Kazeem Akintunde
Aides to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu seem not to be comfortable with the way and manner the 2027 presidential campaign is heading. Rather than holding big rallies in State capitals, with politicians mobilizing their supporters and rented crowds to the venue – through which the popularity of the candidates are accessed – they are holding town hall meetings, giving press statements, and posting on social media. It doesn’t help that most of their social media propaganda is used to attack their opponents rather than telling voters how they intend to better the lot of Nigerians.
Although some of the messages have been on their plans for Nigerians – particularly the fuel subsidy debate brought to the front burner of national discourse by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar – some of their messages are draped in foul language, innuendos, and sometimes, wears the costume of the downright ridiculous.
The Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, started the ‘game’ when he consistently addressed President Tinubu by his first name ‘Bola’.
Although, Atiku is older than the President and has every right to call him by his first name, many in the media team of President Tinubu frowned at it and called on Atiku to show some respect for the President’s office. Fair enough, considering that Atiku, having been Vice President of the country, should know better. In addition, the Yoruba, if not all Nigerians are known for their reverence for respect, with some, making it their lifeline to be addressed by every title they have acquired in various spheres of life.
In Africa, we are known to show the utmost respect to our elders, elected and appointed leaders, traditional title-holders, high-ranking office-holders, uniformed personnel, and basically, high achievers in the land. In my culture amongst the Yoruba, we are taught to respect our elders – even by just a few hours or days – as soon as we are able to comprehend. While such deference may not be general to all ethnicities, it is a well-known fact that Africans are some of the most respectful and respected people. To Atiku, President Bola Tinubu is simply another presidential candidate seeking another four-year mandate to rule Nigeria. By separating the man from the office he occupies, Atiku has demonstrated a gross disregard for the highest political offices of the nation. He might want to think about this precedent as a forerunner for the same office and going by the popular saying that we should treat others the way we would want to be treated.
While Atiku has the right to criticize President Tinubu and challenge his policies, and question his decisions while making the case that he would govern differently, it strikes a raw nerve to be calling a sitting President simply “Bola” repeatedly, particularly in a formal national address.
Nobody expects otherwise from the leader of the opposition. But it is another matter.
As Vice President for eight years, we expect Atiku to know that when you address the President of Nigeria, you are not merely addressing the politician or the individual, but addressing the representative of an entire country that has been constitutionally entrusted with the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. – an office that represents Nigeria’s leadership.
So, without apology, Atiku’s lame double-down excuse that “Bola is the President’s name” misses the point. Protocol exists precisely because public office is bigger than the individual occupying it. You can disagree with the president without stripping away the institutional dignity attached to his office.
Interestingly, Akin Osuntokun, a former presidential spokesman and former Director-general of Peter Obi’s 2023 campaign, made essentially the same argument in an article recently. He said Atiku was entitled to criticize President Tinubu but objected to his repeated decision to call him “Bola”, describing it as a needless display of disrespect and an affront to the office.
Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Dele Alake, and Sunday Dare, all aides to Mr. President have come out to condemn what they term as disrespect to the office of the President and argued that Atiku should know better, being a former Vice President of the country. They promised not to descend into the same ring with him by according him the much-needed respect as a former number two citizen of the country as well as a presidential candidate.
“Without any regard to his personal choice to disrespect the office he is aspiring to occupy, the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council has implored all party leaders, spokespersons, party members, and support groups to accord all the respect, courtesies and regard due to Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as former Vice President of Nigeria and a presidential candidate. As a party grounded in progressive ideals and African traditional values of respect, our campaign council will not follow Alhaji Atiku’s path. Our campaign will focus on issues important to Nigerians. We will sell our party programmes, President Bola Tinubu’s achievements in office, and how the administration is moving Nigeria from reforms to prosperity as the President seeks a second-term mandate from Nigerians.”
The furore generated by that first-name calling was yet to die down when Atiku, again, issued a statement with a title linking the President’s first name, Bola, to the recent Ebola outbreak in the country, and questioning how the Presidential Task Force spent the N10 billion approved for the emergency. The statement was titled: ‘Bola And Ebola: Where Did The N10 billion Go?’
Again, media aides to President Tinubu were angry with the way Atiku coined his words. “We believe linking and rhyming President Bola Tinubu’s name to Ebola only risks turning a serious health concern into a vehicle to ridicule the President of the Federal Republic.” Again, the APC-PCC promised not to toe the same line with Atiku.
Again, while that fire was still raging, the Presidential Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) and Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, threw another veiled jab in the direction of President Tinubu at a town hall meeting with APM members in Ondo State last week. Makinde said that he would make the 2027 campaign about energy and the ability of those who are angling to the rule the nation come 2027. He then jumped off the stage to make a point about physical fitness, thereby showing the energy required to lead Nigeria. Speaking to the crowd, Makinde said age would not be the central issue in his 2027 presidential campaign. Instead, he framed his pitch around stamina, staying power, and the capacity to deal with the country’s pressing problems.
Makinde said: “I will not make age an issue in this campaign, but I will make it about energy — having energy, being able to stay up late, and having the rigour to deal with the challenges in the country.”
For dramatic effect after delivering those words, the Governor leapt off the stage in front of the crowd, turning his words into a live demonstration. He followed his demonstration with what appeared to be a veiled challenge to President Bola Tinubu.
“So, when they bring their own presidential candidate, let him come here and also jump down. If they can do that, vote for them,” he said. While Makinde did not call out President Bola Tinubu by name, the remarks were widely read as a veiled jab at the incumbent, given that the question of a candidate’s physical condition and vitality has become a recurring theme in discussions about Nigeria’s political leadership ahead of the 2027 general elections.
At 58, Makinde is a relatively younger politician that should not be compared with a 74-year-old veteran in politics. Again, as Africans, we were taught to show deep respect to our elders. I would have taken Makinde seriously if his comic act has anything to do with good governance and delivering democratic dividends to the people of Nigeria.
Again, Makinde does not know what his health status would be like when he clocks 74, so mocking a man old enough to be his uncle about his health condition smacks of outright mischief and utter disrespect while not even considering the target’s political office and standing.
Despite the harsh undertones of these campaigns, I wish I could say that I have an iota of pity for President Tinubu. A much younger and agile Tinubu as the leader of the opposition in 2011 and 2015 did far worse to President Goodluck Jonathan.
In 2011, President Tinubu was a former Governor of Lagos State and leader of the then opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). During that year’s presidential campaign, Tinubu described a sitting President as a ‘drunk sailor fisherman whose boat is about to capsize’. Tinubu’s comments were a direct response to Jonathan, who had stated a need to rescue the South-West region from ‘rascals’. Tinubu hit back by claiming that the President’s speech sounded like it came from a ‘drunk sailor’. Former president Olusegun Obasanjo also joined the fray, and using the same phrase, accused the Tinubu’s government of borrowing money and spending it recklessly like ‘a drunken sailor’.
As opposition leader in the past, Tinubu coined derogative words to describe the PDP. Words such as ‘Poverty Development Party’ and ‘Peoples Deception Party’ were coined by President Tinubu as the former Governor of Lagos State to describe the ruling party at the time, the PDP. Tinubu frequently played on the acronym of the PDP to attack their governance record. He famously used the above variations to argue that the party brought economic hardship and false hope to Nigerians.
Biting words such as ‘political termites’ was once used by President Tinubu to describe the PDP. While on campaigns, he uttered phrases like: ‘Like locusts, they will devour everything’, ‘a sinking ship’, ‘coalition of confusion’, ‘it is a pleasure to witness the opposition in disarray’. Perhaps it is no surprise then, that the opposition are dishing it to him while he has now been slowed down with age, I think those handling his media communication team should cool down as their principal is quite enjoying the game.
Even before these presidential election campaigns, President Tinubu once described himself as the most abused politician in Nigeria, adding that he has developed thick skin to the abuses and denigration. Well, good for him.
To move forward however, it is imperative to restore decorum to electioneering campaigns by cleaning up the languages deployed by politicians. Their use of disrespectful language tends to heat up the polity and cluster the real messages Nigerians want to hear from them. How do they intend to improve our lot with such unhealthy rivalry and animosity? Like children stuck between two bitter, divorcing parents, Nigerians are subjected to needless drama between their leaders during electioneering campaigns. I think we deserve better than that given our donkey years of democratic rule since Independence. We are more interested in the economic policies that they are bringing to the table. That way, we know who amongst them have our interests at heart. It is when issues are debated that the people would be better equipped to make informed choices about the type of leaders they vote for. May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
See you next week.
