‘Emi Lokan’: How Bola Ahmed Tinubu Got His Turn

You see, when a man makes a statement, like a god, he follows through to ensure that it comes to pass. The same is what Bola Ahmed Tinubu has done after the ‘Emi Lokan’ (it’s my turn) pronouncement.

Did he sit to wait for the position of President-elect to fall on him like anointing? NO!

Let us walk back a bit and see how he followed the ‘Emi Lokan’ proclamation and made sure it came to pass.

Indeed, after different parties merged to become the All progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, Bola Ahmed Tinubu had his eyes on the presidential position.

But at the time, it was not his turn, as there was a form of zoning to the north, with a bid to take the position out of the hands of the Peoples Democratic party (PDP).

In fact, it was only someone from the north that could defeat the then president, Goodluck Jonathan.

No other part of Nigeria enjoys the kind of unity that exists among northerners when it comes to politics.

The west could boast of it, but the number of states they have could put the odds against them when they come shoulder-to-shoulder with the north.

The Merger And The Plot

So, Tinubu, who was the champion of that union among political parties in 2013, accepted that Muhammadu Buhari should contest again, seeing that he had showed up several times before.

In marketing, there is a principle of mere exposure which works amazingly when it comes to selling. Show a person a thing over and over and he/she will begin to see the need to get that product.

Showing Buhari to Nigerians once again will be a good idea; so, he was picked. You could remember the marketing that followed, different images of Baba coming along as a young vibrant man.

That decision paid off and the APC took power from the PDP.

But before then, Bola Ahmed Tinubu had reached an agreement with party members that he would become the parties next Presidential candidate after Buhari.

On Buhari’s emergence, the 2023 presidential election winner, went home with so much conviction about 2023.

All he needed to do is make sure that the party stays together without much grievance that could tear it apart before the year of his dream.

After installing President Buhari, it became obvious to him he had a grip on the nation’s polity and he threw in everything necessary to prepare the ground for 2023.

Going forward, Tinubu began spreading his influence to different states, showing up in the election of most APC governors, State House Of Assembly and National Assembly members.

In few years, the man who was governor in Lagos for 8 years had a grip on many western states, few states in the north and middle belt.

APC Primaries Of 2022

That in-road opened up the stage for him in 2023.

Those victories were the major power holding the party together until his turn will come.

Having succeeded in holding the party together, the primaries of 2022 was an easy fry for him, with the ‘Emi Lokan’ slogan emphasising his grip on the political foundation of the APC.

He came tops and had the party’s flag to bear.

But many Nigerians had said that his money bought the primaries for him in a party that one can practically call his own.

Those statements resulted in lots of punishment for Nigerians, in days leading to the general election.

You know that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a politician to the core.

Also, you know that politics is a game right? That game involves showing you things you want to see just to give your the confidence that everything is working well.

So, because of accusations of vote buying, the current government played along, stopping Nigerians access to cash days before the election.

Everything about vote buying died down days before the election. In fact, several arrests were made of persons who had cash allegedly meant for vote buying.

Nigerians were happy that their votes will count.

This situation means no one will say someone bought votes on the day of election. Or was there vote buying in your polling unit?

BVAS Came For Free, Fair And Credible Election

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also introduced BVAS. It is a machine for collation of election results. This BVAS, which is new to many Nigerians became the praise of the town.

Many said it will give a free, fair and credible election. Many believed.

However, on election day, that machine worked magic, for the accreditation of voters.

One thing I kept asking was how do we know that this machine is working and recording figures in INEC’s portal?

After voting, many complaints came in, with observers claiming that INEC officials with BVAS refused to upload the election results on the portal, using the BVAS machine.

Collation of election results began across Nigeria.

In Abuja, at the collation centre, a member of the PDP demanded that INEC should use results posted on the portal for the announcements.

But INEC continued with the process it was using – returning officers reading the results at the collation centre.

BVAS is supposed to make collation of results easier and faster, reducing the number of days Nigeria would wait for result.

In fact, after a mock of the BVAS, INEC had said accreditation and electronic transmission of results would be done seamlessly during the elections.

However, how this turned out in the 2023 election is a question for INEC to answer.

Also Read: #NigeriaDecides2023: Massive Protest Hits Delta

Results came in in trickles instead of seamless and it took days for the final results to come in.

How ‘Emi Lokan’ Bola Ahmed Tinubu Got His Turn

You see, people rumoured that President Buhari was not in support Tinubu. They claim his body language tells this story. The same body language that told the story of fight against corruption the moment he became president in 2015.

Nigerians now know better that politics is a game, with a shocker coming when Buhari lifted his ballot paper to show Nigerians who he voted for.

Some said that was vote buying instigated by sheer-loyalty.

After four days of wait, the chairman of INEC, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu winner of the 2023 Presidential election.

It was a keenly contested election, even though there were hitches that will show up in court when the case that usually follow such elections begins.

It will be easy to think that the north will unite and stand behind a northern candidate. But that did not happen, since two candidates came from the north to seek the throne.

A look at the map will show how much strong hold the People’s Democratic Party has on the norther part of Nigeria. But the entire map also reveals another thing.

Many said tribal sentiments played out in the election, with Peter Obi appearing to have broken into regions that were thought to be strongholds of the APC or PDP.

But you could see that people first gave it to the person from their tribe.

Will Nigeria ever move away from this tribal sentiments? 

The Game Of Numbers And Incumbency

One of the very things that Tinubu did was picking a vice from the north and from the north-east region.

Shettima could manage to deliver his state, Borno, which often have a large number of votes. That choice paid off. His presence in the poster would mean some votes for the ‘Emi Lokan’ proclaimer.

Politics is a strategic game and governor Nyesom Wike, had, after he lost the presidential bid to Atiku, decided to break the table.

He positioned himself as someone who is open to negotiation and could fall for the one who knows how to play the dog game – ‘a fall for me, a fall for you’.

Tinubu, needed to win a state in the south-south to make up for the impending loss of some states to the youth.

He saw it coming and he held a meeting with the ‘weak link’ in the region, Wike, which translated to him winning Rivers State.

Again, we see that the power of incumbency plays a role in Nigeria’s politics.

Tinubu knows this and he could take advantage of it, beating the imagination of most residents of the Niger delta region.

Naira Policy Advantage Bola Ahmed Tinubu Saw

After the Central Bank of Nigeria came with the new Naira note policy, Nigerians began to suffer the effect of poor policy implementation.

A nation without a working system and strong infrastructure suffers a lot with tight fiscal policies and it showed in the implementation of the Naira policy.

Well, for Tinubu this policy changed northing.

A man that knows politics, knows how to turn the hand of every policy to his favour. There was a loop hole in the process of the Naira change and anyone can take advantage of it.

The CBN did it in a hurry and that means there was poor information about the whole thing.

After the announcement of the end date for old naira, we saw several publications saying Tinubu is asking governors to continue the use of the old Naira. He came out to deny it, but Lagos State and other states, with governors that are his ally kept telling their people to still use the old notes.

There are claims that the old notes will return to circulation once Tinubu takes over.

Promises were made to poorly informed Nigerians who still have the old Naira in their homes to keep them because they will come back.

That promise came with a plea for vote for a man thought to have the power to bring it back.

Read How INEC Declared Tinubu Winner Of 2023 Presidential Election

All of those are in the past now. But what is ahead?

Days Of Court Cases Coming

Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been declared winner by INEC and what is left is for parties that do not accept the declaration to go to court.

Will the Supreme Court see things differently? Let us look at the last days of the Supreme Court before the election.

The issue of the old Naira notes that is before the Supreme Court could be a pointer to what is to come.

Most Nigerians say the Supreme court will continue to adjourn the case until the next president-elect takes over.

If that happens the chances of the money coming back could be high. It may nullify the policy in its next sitting on March 3 and tell the CBN to bring back the old Naira.

At that point, the presidency will comply, ending the perceived-disagreement between it and the governors.

The Supreme Court’s ruling may come that the old and new notes will be in use. That will keep the 2023 election in the minds of Nigerians forever.

With that, we will all use the old and new Naira notes together like we use old and new 100 Naira notes.

If not the money spent to make the new notes will become another issue.

At this point, Nigerians will see whose side the Supreme Court is on.

Politics is a game and those who know how to play it will be ahead of Nigerian youths who are clamouring for a younger leader that could understand their plights.

What is your take on all of this.