Let me begin this piece by thanking those I simply refer to as the 'Young North'. The arrowhead of which is the petite honcho of Kaduna State, Gov (Mallam) Nasir El-Rufai, a man so bodacious, so audacious such that he tells it to their face regardless of whose ox is gored. Mallam El-Rufai's intrepidity can be likened to the ancient Umar bin Khattab of the old Arabian empire who feared no one but was dreaded in return. His courage, guts and grit to challenge the status quo without a thought of the aftermath of his actions and inaction was what stood him out and has remained a reference point till date. The verisimilitude of such character and traits can be found in Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the ebullient and performing Governor of Kaduna State. El-Rufai has found to himself, allies and/or compadres from the North. These compatriots in the persons of Governors Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State and Yahya Adoza Bello of Kogi State are equally younger in age, fresher in thoughts and pragmatic in actions.
When the old 'Kaduna Mafia' which overtime has transmuted into what's today known as 'cabal' decided to further entrench its hold onto power and is now working assiduously (based on their initial plot of yesteryear) surreptitiously and making clandestine moves akin to the Biblical parlance of the voice of Jacob but the hands of Essau to retain power in the North, these three musketeers from the Northern hemisphere have decided to break away from the decades-long credo of Northern hegemony. Perhaps, they understand the dynamics and nuances of time and saw the danger, like a Nostradamus, that lies ahead should the unspoken rotational arrangement (of North/South presidency) of the All Progressives Congress (APC) be tampered with.
People, nay, a handful have come up with many conspiracy theories and have engaged in several name-droppings. But none, or rather let me say very infinitesimal has been able to read through history to decipher that what is playing out at the moment is beyond what one nondescript Tunde Sabiu Yusuf can pull. He's a mere pawn in the game if at all he is part. If any, he is a tool to further consolidate on their nefarious plan. Many seem to have forgotten a statement credited to Alhaji Mamman Daura, the octogenarian nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari and who's been labelled severally as the head of the Aso Rock cabal.
Beyond the humongous #AtikuGate where one Michael Achimugu, a former aide and Media Director to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate, exposed Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and had said Alhaji Atiku's only reason for coming out was to further pillage Nigeria's economy and peculate our common patrimony, it is not impossible that Alhaji Atiku may have 'snatched' the ticket of the opposition PDP through the back-stabbing of Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State by his beneficiary, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and against the rotational arrangement of North/South presidency as entrenched in the PDP's constitution.
Permit me to refresh our memories by repeating the infamous statement credited to elderstateman Mamman Daura in late July 2020 wherein he said in one of his interviews on BBC Hausa that come 2023, the turn-by-turn presidency, North-South rotational presidency should be dead. He said affirmatively that such arrangement would be dead by 2023 and that it would be based on 'competence'. His definition of competence as a man of letters remains a subject of critical analysis. Albeit, President Muhammadu Buhari came out to debunk such statement and described same as the personal opinion of the speaker, we all know who Mamman Daura is. He is known to be reticent, not given to too much words. As a matter of fact, he is not flippant with words and whatever he says, he speaks the mind of the Kaduna Mafia. So, when Hon. Alwan Hassan from Kano State said Mamman Daura's choice was Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu because he (Alwan) had taken Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN to him for support before the APC primaries and the man said Asiwaju was the preferred choice, some of us with discerning minds knew such statement was political than from the mind out. If Asiwaju was the candidate as alluded to by Mamman Daura, who was it that instructed Governor Abubakar Badaru of Jigawa State to obtain APC Presidential Nomination Form from The Villa? When that seemed a failure, who from The Villa again told the APC National Chairman, Senator Abdullåhi Adamu that Mr. President's preferred presidential candidate was the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan when in actual sense, Buhari did not make such pronouncement? If not for the wisdom of people like Mallam El-Rufai, the story would have been different today.
This is why kudos must be given to Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for daring to challenge the powers that be during his famous interviews on TVC and AriseTV recently. He alongside his colleagues, especially younger Northern political class are the emerging leaders from the North who are in tune with the dynamics of the 21st century 'Naija Politics'. Let it be known to these plotters that there's no stopping a man whose time has come. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has a destiny with the poll and no amount of underhand dealings, shenanigans, legerdemain, stratagem and artifice can pooh-pooh such celestial kismet. If they like, let them plot to throw Nigeria into blackout from now till the election day, what will be will definitely be. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's mandate is celestial and divine. It will be efforts in fecklessness trying to alter destiny.
God bless the three musketeers - they are the real MVPs
I am *OMOGBOLAHAN L.A. BABAWALE*
Convener, The Think-Tinubu Initiative (3TI)
_*Member, Policy, Research & Strategy C'ttee*_
_*APC Presidential Campaign Council (PCC)*_
#AsiwajuIsComing
#OC
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