By evading the questions thrown at him in Chatham House and assigning them to surrogates, Tinubu has unwittingly confessed his lack of capacity and preparation for the presidency.
By Emeka Alex Duru
You would notice that the speech delivered by the presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, (Chatham House), London, on December 5, has been drowned by criticisms trailing his outsourcing the question-and-answer section to his cronies. That is not surprising. It falls into our position here, some time ago, on the need for the flag bearers to assume their offices and speak directly to Nigerians on their agenda for the nation and how they intend to go about them, rather than abdicating such to aides.
Our observation then was that the presidential candidates carry on their shoulders the burden of marketing themselves and their political organisations. In other words, they are the faces of their parties; their poster boys. That is why being the standard-bearer of a political party, is a big deal. It is a contest for serious minds, given what is at stake. Former US President, Gerald R. Ford captured it that the presidency is not a prize to be won, but a duty to be done.
It is the hardest job in the world, says John Dickerson, an American essayist, in his piece on the White House. According to Dickerson, when the national fabric rends, the president will administer needle and thread, or at least reach for the sewing box of unity.
You can then appreciate the advice by Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the United States, that ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’. It indicates that if one is unable to cope with the pressure of a certain office, he should leave it to someone else who can handle it. The presidency, all over the world, demands a lot of energy and physical exertions.
Chatham House provided Tinubu the opportunity to tell the world that he was ready for the job; to sell himself and his programmes to the international community. It gave him the chance to address nagging questions on his health, his past, his academic attainments and his real identity – issues that his opponents have serially feasted on in mocking him. Such windows do not come frequently and when they come, they are grabbed with both hands. But Tinubu did not. Rather, he ducked and pushed the questions to his stooges.
The London episode was not the first time Tinubu would be running away from critical engagements. He has done so severally in the country, dodging television debates and town hall meetings where other contestants featured. Perhaps unknown to him, each time he evades such outings, he ends up demonstrating poor knowledge and demands of the office he is aspiring for.
A presidential candidate is like a glass house in a market square which everyone likes to know its contents. He is seconds away from power. If he is elected president, he becomes the repository of the nation’s sovereignty. In boxing, he is the one in the ring. Others are spectators who at most, are limited to the ring sides. Supporters of a candidate deserve to know who they are electing and what he is capable of doing. There is therefore, no hiding place for him.
By evading the questions thrown at him in Chatham House and assigning them to surrogates, Tinubu has unwittingly confessed his lack of capacity and preparation for the presidency. What he has done is nothing other than mockery of leadership aspiration. By that poor outing, he has simply demonstrated that he is merely interested in satiating his ego of being the president without the readiness to assume the corresponding responsibilities. How, for instance, would the Women Leader of a party be the one to explain to Nigerians and the international community the candidate’s agenda for health, if elected?
Any Nigerian that does not feel sufficiently horrified by the Tinubu charade at Chatham House, deserves pity. Even the people with him – the governors, ex-governors who fawned and clapped while he goofed, do not mean well for the country. There is need for the APC flag bearer to come clean on his thoughts and intentions for Nigeria. He has to explain if he intends to run a communal presidency without precise obligations to the electorate or govern as an executive president with defined duties and privileges. That assumption of entitlement that he earlier advertised in his absurd “Emi l’okan” (it is my turn) mantra, must give way for addressing the real task ahead. The Nigerian presidency is not a relay race or retirement home.