Asiwaju Bola Tinubu — in defense of Tope Fasua

Tope Fasua wrote an article and found himself on the other side of fame. He became a target and I must say has received more missiles than Tinubu himself in the last 48 hours.

Someone even called him a mongrel and it was at this point that I decided to step in and attempt to herd the raging bulls away from Tope and push them into the deep sea with the hope that they will be consumed

Anybody who attempts to make Asiwaju Tinubu a pariah within the Nigerian political context as presently constituted today is nothing but a naive political ‘eaglet’.

Like or hate him, Asiwaju is the main issue in today’s politics. If you have been following the trends in the last six months you will see that he has shown more seriousness than any other candidate.

He has not only shown boldness, hunger, and aggression, he has built an enviable structure that puts him in good stead to win the elections if they are held this weekend.

We all await the APC Convention to see just how that will pan out.

You may not like his politics, his shadowy background, and all the flies that surround his ‘shit’ you will not ignore him if you are a serious student or follower of Nigerian politics.

My senior colleague Shaka Momodu writes some very brilliant pieces which colours Tinubu in some ‘odiferous’ garbage and although Tinubu and his camp have not been able to respond responsibly which makes the rest of us begin to see Shaka as a more credible opposition than whatever APC can throw at him shows very clearly that the Tinubu train is rampaging towards a determined goal.

So my brother Tope being invited and coming out to write a love letter although watery in its assertions and very ‘unlike Tope’ should not make us send him to the guillotine to be beheaded.

Politics is dynamic, especially the Nigerian variant. It moves in ways even the players themselves can’t understand at times.

Even Akpabio jumped, Amaechi jumped and Jonathan is being rumored, so is it our brother Tope that will not jump over a quiet session with the man himself?

From Tope’s meeting and his write-up, my own assertion is that he was ‘starstruck’. He sat there in front of the ‘great’ man and listened intently and was convinced that this was the way forward.

Truth is that how many of us won’t turn to Tinubu’s ADC if they had the same intimacy Tope just had.

When I met with Chief Ibori, one person blocked me from what’s app claiming that he thought I was a man of integrity and that it was sad that I was using my ‘strong intellectual prowess to hobnob with those who have killed Nigeria’.

Many more abused me but mine was Category 1 compared to Tope Fasua’s full Category 5 tsunami.

However, in that 30 minutes I spent with Chief Ibori I learned more about Nigerian politics than I did six years of studying it, first in a first-degree session at the famed University of Ibadan and in a Masters degree at the University of Lagos.

So when paper tigers and people with no cognate experience in the rough and murky practical nature of Nigerian politics jump up on their social media pulpits to throw darts at people like Tope it makes me laugh

Tope is no Shaka. Shaka has depth and a front-row seat in Nigeria’s political milieu you listen and respect. If this was Shaka maybe he will deserve being called worse than a mongrel

Tope has always been moderate. Tope has entered the trenches and built a structure that covered the nation. Tope understands the need for alliances and Tope can see seriousness on the ground as a result of his practical experience

I think we should cut him some slack and begin to watch his positioning a little bit closer. Instead of hurling abuse at him and calling him all sorts of names, can we look a little bit closer and see what is happening on the ground, just maybe we will understand why Tope did what he did.

I am also still surprised at his positioning, judging by his pedigree, his works, and his outlook. This is just so not Tope but then again, I am also pragmatic enough to understand the shifting grounds that is Nigeria’s political terrain

Stop calling him a mongrel. Please…