TAMBUWAL, THE MAN WHO WILL (NOT) BE PRESIDENT?

Icheoku says it is now official that the machinery put in place to crown yet another scion of the Uthman Dan Fodio dynasty, as another head of Nigerian government, has cranked full throttle. But unfortunately, Nigerians in unison are saying not this time and may be, never again; as the Northwestern Nigerians do not own Nigeria, neither do they have limitless right above and beyond every other people in Nigeria, nor do they have unfettered entitlement to the highest office of the land. Icheoku says their exuberant arrogance is beginning to weigh heavily on the rest of the country and resentment as well as resistance has somewhat set in. Speaker Tambuwal's collection of expression of interest form to vie for the presidency of Nigeria confirms rumors of this past years, that the House of Fodio are relentless in their scheme to take back "their" power? They groomed him, they prepared him and they sprung him on Nigerians as a speaker from the blues and now they want to also make him the president of Nigeria? 

Icheoku asks why must Nigerians feverishly, always defer to and accept the dictates of this people on who governs or rules them? Now using the arrowheads of Olusegun Obasanjo and Ibrahim Babangida, they want to once again impose their will of Tambuwal on the rest of the people as their president? Reliable sources informs Icheoku that Tambuwal was rather a compromise option as the two military men cum power brokers and power facilitators in Nigeria, Obasanjo and Babangida, would neither stand an Atiku's presidency nor tolerate a Buhari's coming back to power. Both men are deathly afraid that their past would be resurrected in a Buhari or Atiku's presidency and come back to hunt them and would rather not risk such a nightmare. 

So with both Buhari and Atiku now technically disqualified, an option was found in Tambuwal. It was also this bickering between the two army men over the choices which Buhari and Atiku presented, that stalled and delayed Tambuwal's defection until the very last minute. According to sources in the know, Tambuwal wanted an assured commitment of securing the APC presidential ticket first, before jumping off the PDP ship. Continuing the insider posited that Tambuwal could not see himself toying with the number four position in the country as a PDP's elected speaker without a safe and secured landing at APC as their presidential candidate. The same source also confirmed to Icheoku that Obasanjo is but a mole in the PDP, gathering strategic insights and would soon formally defect to APC and publicly throw his support for Tambuwal?

Icheoku had written sometime ago around July 2014 an article titled: "Tambuwal, the man who will be president.' This was following Ibrahim Babangida's urge of the then speaker to "try something higher  by aspiring for a higher office."  Icheoku thereafter reasoned that nothing else, including senate president or governor would meet and qualify or fit Babangida's understanding of a higher office, than the president of the country? Icheoku then so titled the article thinking that Speaker Tambuwal was rather being groomed for a post-Jonathan presidency, when the presidency would have naturally shifted back to the North. 

But unbeknownst to Icheoku, the Hausa/Fulani power bloc was already in overdrive, again trying to upset the applecart  and peradventure make other Nigerians mad by hurriedly plotting to force one of its own back in power. Icheoku says whatever impetus that drives this people is rather too audacious and completely and totally detached and disinterested in the feelings of other Nigerians. Icheoku heretofore calls on Nigerians to resist this born to rule mentality, a selfish aggrandizement of the few and their feeling of entitlement to everything belonging to the North if not the entire Nigeria as a whole? Query, assuming the North is deserving of a shot at power this 2015, why must it be the same Northwestern Nigeria that produced Shagari, Buhari, Babangida, Abacha, Abudulsalam that now wants to also secure power in 2015? What about the other Northerners from Northeast and North-central; and what is wrong in fielding a Christian Northerner after all Abiola, a Southern Muslim got power? But that is for the North to sort themselves out on when their time comes post 2019; so now back to the forensic examination of the merits of a Tambuwal's run.

Icheoku must as a prelude say that we admire and even love Tambuwal a lot and have also written extensively in the past about him and favorably too. At least he comes very well educated, young and vibrant, some experience, good public and presidential personality/image and has no known baggage, at least not any that is putrefying? But then why did he not wait for his turn and the right time to jump in, since the office or ticket would have been rightfully his when the North's time to comes? Icheoku says this is the cruel fate which will haunt Tambuwal presidential aspiration and for a long time if not forever as Nigerians, given the chance, do not take kindly to green snakes in green grass.  Icheoku says Nigerians will remember for Tambuwal that while he was speaker, he schemed and planned and connived and contrived with opposition forces to sabotage and undercut a government and a party that he was part of and supposedly represents as their elected speaker just for his selfish goal. 

Icheoku reiterates that treachery of any kind, including political one, is abominable. Speaker Aminu Tambuwal, by his action, is now a treacherous person and cannot and should never ever be trusted again. Icheoku says any person in the speaker's exalted position, who could so shamelessly and surreptitiously conspire with the opposition against his own party and president, while simultaneously guised and pretending fake loyalty and allegiance to both his party and president, lacks requisite candor and is therefore not a fit and proper person for the presidency of Nigeria. For this reason therefore, Icheoku have reframed the title of this article to read "Tambuwal, the man who will not be president;" and we stand corrected or ready to be proved wrong by developments. 

It also does not matter whether Muslim Fulani Tambuwal runs with Christian Edo State Governor Oshiomhole as his vice presidential candidate, as the Southsouth cannot pawn their presidency for the glorified office of vice presidency. Icheoku maintains that Speaker Aminu Tambuwal by so scheming, has just become another self-destruct politician in the garb of Lagos State Governor  Fashola, who similarly self-inflicted irrecoverable political wound on himself with his ill-advised deportation of fellow citizens from their own country. But hey, blame the constellations which dictate the affairs of men as Tambuwal has now also fallen victim to their unforgiving mockery of men by disemboweling on their political  sword. Fie with Tambuwal, away with political treachery; and such a Brutus stab as Tambuwal's is making Icheoku wonder if Nigerians ever ask themselves soul searching questions and make informed decisions accordingly?