The recent comments made by APC presidential aspirant, Bola Ahmed Tinubu that without him, Buhari wouldn’t have become President have angered northerners, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal has said.
Prompt News recalls that Tinubu made the claim while addressing Ogun state delegates on Thursday in Abeokuta, ahead of the APC presidential primary holding on Monday.
“If not for me that stood behind Buhari, he wouldn’t have become the President. He tried the first time, he failed.
“The second time, he failed. The third, he failed.
“He even wept on national television and vowed never to contest again but I went to meet him in Kaduna and told him he will run again, I will stand by you and you will win, but you must not joke with Yorubas and he agreed,” Tinubu had claimed.
But, Babachir Lawal, who along with Hon. Faleke bought the APC presidential nomination forms for Tinubu while away in Saudi Arabia for Lesser Hajj, cautioned him, saying the comments could spoil his chances of clinching the APC presidential ticket.
In a statement sent to VANGUARD, the former SGF states:
“Now all these comments about Bola’s Yoruba presidency and his support of Buhari without which Buhari would not have been president is totally out of place.
“Sometimes it is very difficult to support a Yoruba person in national politics if you are not one.
“They have a way of making you regret your support because they eventually make you seem like a trap to your own people. Now all these comments about Bola’s Yoruba presidency and his support of Buhari without which Buhari would not have been president is bulshit.
“He wasn’t the only one whose support made a difference. There were many others from all around the country and they are not bragging about it.
“You may wish to know that all of us Buhari supporters are shocked and pissed off by Bola’s speech on this occasion. It is unlike him.
“And this speech is massively trending in the North and being given a negative connotation as you can well imagine. I first read it this morning on an Adamawa group platform and the anger is palpable and all round.
“You would think Yorubas will resist the temptation of joining in the northerners-bashing game at this very critical time – the primary election is only three days away, but it unfortunately that Bola himself chose to join in this bashing game – choosing to speak in the Yoruba language and in Yoruba land in a manner that seems to denigrate Buhari. I could vividly imagine the discomfort of all the northerners sitting beside him on that podium.
“This appears to be the Abiola saga being replayed. Abiola won the election with a majority of Northern votes but they took the brunt of the post-election protests that followed.
“Just survey all the people that are doing more meaningful practical things to enthroned Bola as president and you will find that almost all are northerners while his kinsmen engage themselves in social media activism and Northern bashing.
“When Yorubas vilify the North like this, our sense of fear and insecurity under a Yoruba presidency gets heightened and in the end, pushes us to rethink our support for not only Bola but any Yoruba as president for that matter.
“Please, do not join our opponents to destroy our chances of clinching Monday’s primary elections.”
