Tinubu/Adamu Feud: A Fictional Fabrication For Political Fun

By Bala Ibrahim

Nigeria’s political pitch is an arena full of fun, with some players playing on purpose, to suit the rules of comedy. Yes comedy, because certain things are doctored and released into the media space for political fun only. A colleague used to call such acts, movie phooey in the garment of politics. It’s now an open secret to those following political issues in Nigeria, that there is a feud between Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Presidential flag bearer of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, and Sen. Abdullahi Adamu, the national chairman of the party. Well, as James Hadley said, If you believe that, you’ll believe anything. The feud is a fictional fabrication for political fun, and to prove that, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, along with some members of the presidential campaign team, took time to visit the party headquarters in Abuja yesterday, Wednesday, 07/09/22, for the purpose of debunking and discrediting the garbage.

While addressing the members of the National working committee of the party, NWC, TInubu said he came to the party secretariat for a number of reasons, one of which is to thank them for the good work they are doing, and another is to familiarize himself with the place, which looks evidently cosy. The ambience of the conference hall speaks volumes of the progressive nature of the party, and a sign of victory come 2023, but most importantly he said, he came to quash the dross, which has been circulating in the media, to the effect that there is a feud between him and the chairman of the party.

Asiwaju said and I quote, “I’ve been reading and hearing rumours of a rift between the party chairman and I, but that is rubbish. The relationship between me and the chairman of our great party dates back a long time, very long time. We were governors together and again, God has brought us together on this project. Those planting stories in the media of a feud between us are just ignorant, very ignorant, because they don’t know what’s between us and who the chairman is. We are only allowing and enjoying the play of the masquerade in the market place, but when the masquerade is unveiled, many would be shocked”.

In encomiums, Asiwaju eulogized the chairman as a battle hero that is admired for his courage, outstanding achievements and noble political qualities. He said the party stands to benefit from Sen. Abdullahi Adamu’s tenacity and determination, which would certainly take them to victory next year.

The media space has been filled with spurious stories that are suggestive of distrust between Asiwaju Tinubu and Turaki Abdullahi Adamu, the situation of which is leading to a silent but strong scepticism. Some are even saying that there is a scheme, championed by those supporting Tinubu, to remove Abdullahi Adamu from office before the commencement of the presidential campaign later this month. Well, Tinubu was at the party headquarters in person, to deal a deadly blow to those lies, which buttressed the point that the feud is a fictional fabrication for political fun.

The mischief makers are also trying to create another rift that may mare the confidence built on the power shift agreement, with the circulation of such shenanigans like, attempts by some northerners to kill Tinubu before, or shortly after the elections, so that his running mate, Sen. Shetima can take over. Tokunbo  Awolowo-Dosunmu, is amongst the people engaged in such pranks. According to her, there is a plot to get rid of Tinubu and install his running mate, Kashim Shettima as president, and that the plot may be perfected immediately after the 2023 swearing-in, by taking advantage of Tinubu’s medical condition.

Although Tinubu did not mention anything about that, but from the way he spoke, and the confidence he was showing on his running mate, who was in the entourage, there is nothing to suggest that he believes, or is willing to believe the razzmatazz of Dosunmu and her cohorts. This again buttresses the point that the feud is a fictional fabrication for political fun.

The fabricated rift with Sen. Abdullahi Adamu is not the first in the set out shenanigans to scuttle the success of Tinubu, the script was first played against the President, in the countdown to the convention. It may be recalled that just before the convention, Tinubu’s comment at a talk with some party supporters in the south west, which were made in colloquial Yoruba language, were twisted, to say that he said, if not for him, Muhammadu Buhari would not have been the President of Nigeria, because he deployed his political machinery to make the General become the president of the country in 2015. The aim of course was to create a rift between him and the President. And because both sides handled the issue with political maturity, the kind of political maturity Sen. Abdullahi Adamu is displaying, the mischief misfired.

The beauty of the whole thing is that Tinubu is very much familiar with such dirty political campaigns, and he has mentioned in several fora that, he would not allow such distractions to prevent him from concentrating on his mission to salvage Nigeria.