The King Maker Became The King 👑

  Picture a tree, so mighty and strong .This tree was a shade for many other trees but its shade was not reaching the lowest trees , so it decided to spread it's hands to reach out to the trees at the grassroot level. The only way it can achieve this is to mount a high level . After being a backbone for so many aspirants in the political tussle. He decided to contest for election in 2023 and , he won. His name is President Bola Ahmed Tinubu popularly known as "Jagaban".

    President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the current president of Nigeria. He was reportedly born on March 29, 1952 in Lagos Nigeria. He was of yoruba ethnic group and a Muslim.Tinubu’s early life, education, work, and finances are unclear and, at times, challenged, but records has it that he relocated to U.S in the 1970s. He worked at a variety of jobs while he finished his college education. Transcripts show that Tinubu attended Southwest College (now Richard J. Daley College) in Chicago and then transferred to Chicago State University, where he bagged a B.S. in business and administration in 1979. Accounting has always been his major focus . He soon found work as an accountant with various U.S. consulting firms. In 1980 ,Tinubu returned to Nigeria and worked for Mobile Oil as an auditor. later rising in the ranks there. In 1987 he married his wife, Oluremi Tinubu. He is the father of six children.

  His political journey began when he was elected to the Lagos West senate seat in 1992 as part of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). He was after democratic government. During the country’s annulled presidential election in 1993 and Gen. Sani Abacha’s subsequent seizure of power later that year, Tinubu became active in a pro-democracy group, the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). He was jailed for his pro-democracy activities before fleeing in exile in 1994 . He returned back to Nigeria after the death of Abacha in 1998. In 1999 Tinubu became a part of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) party and was elected governor of Lagos state . He was reelected in 2003, making it two terms in office . During his two terms in office as the governor of Lagos state , he was credited with improving the state’s finances through better enforcement of tax collection and for enacting a public transportation project to address the considerable traffic gridlock in Lagos.

   He stepped down in 2007 , as the governor of Lagos state and became a reputable kingmaker . His influence and power grew that he became known by the moniker “political godfather” as he used his influence to support candidates for various political offices, including choosing his successors as governor. Also during this time, he helped to form a new political party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in 2013 and supported Muhammadu Buhari as the party’s presidential candidate in the country’s 2015 election. Buhari was successful, winning that year and again in 2019 for a second and final term.Tinubu is said to be one of the wealthiest politicians in Nigeria. He has the power to control and manipulate things in the political jargons and his tactics in selection of candidates is quite evident . One would think that was the peak of his thirst until he decided to mount the political horse sixteen years later. 

He was selected to be the party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 election. He was one of 18 candidates running for president; Tinubu, Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democracy Party (PDP), and Peter Obi of the Labour Party were considered the front-runners. Tinubu focused his campaign on the main concerns of Nigerians: the increasing insecurity in the country as well as economic issues such as inflation and unemployment. He also vowed to make much needed infrastructure improvements. Tinubu campaigned with the slogan “Emi lokan”—Yoruban for “It’s my turn”.

  Tinubu succeeds Muhammadu Buhari, who was ineligible to run again after two four-year terms that began in 2015. Both of them were a member of APC . During his party primary, when it looked as though Mr Tinubu's aspirations were flagging, he reminded Nigerians that he was largely responsible for installing Mr Buhari after the former military ruler had failed on several occasions to win the presidency. However he was able to win the hearts of many Nigerians to himself.

  In the early morning announcement broadcast on state-run National Television Authority, Nigeria's Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu the next president of Nigeria on May 29, 2023. INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu said Tinubu, the ruling All Progressives Congress party candidate, received almost 8.8 million votes to win the most hotly contested race since Nigeria became a democracy.

The question now is. Is the government fulfilling all that was written in it's manifestos?. It is not enough that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was once a Kingmaker. Now that he is the king , so much is expected of him to do.