They say Tinubu is a thief. That he drove bullion vans into his compound. I ask them whose money did he steal? I ask them whose money is missing, they go mute.
They say Tinubu is a criminal. I ask them which crime he committed and which court in the land convicted him of the crime, they all go mute.
They tell me Tinubu is godfather of Lagos and he is very bad for democracy. I say alright. Wisdom is judged by what it can achieve. Using all known indices of good governance and prosperity, is there any state in Nigeria that can rival Lagos? They cannot tell me. They go mute.
I ask them, don’t we all want to be Lagos? They say yes, so I ask them, if Tinubu is the brain behind this Lagos, then why can’t we replicate his genius all over the country? They mumble what I can’t hear.
They say Tinubu is a Muslim and that is the problem. I ask how? Tinubu’s wife is a pastor in a big Pentecostal church. So I ask, how many of them who are Christians have Muslim wives? They can’t answer.
I ask again, does Tinubu relate with anybody in Nigeria based on religious belief? They know the answer but they will rather prefer to keep mute.
They say Tinubu is greedy. I say OK. So which of them will be able to elevate their own subordinates to the zenith like Tinubu has done without feeling diminished? They can’t tell me.
They say Tinubu is the problem. I say how? Has the man held any position since he left office in 2007? They know the answer but they just can’t say.
I ask them, is their any Nigerian alive not holding a government position as influential as Tinubu today? They can’t answer.
And so I tell them, there is something this man is doing, there are principles that he is following, there are values that he holds strong that you can’t just put down.
There is something about Tinubu. So why not just let him unleash his genius for the benefit of Nigeria?
When I say that, they look at me bewildered. But that is where I stand. And I stand here not because of any other pers