There are emerging indications that the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was compelled to cancel the 13th colloquium marking his 70th birthday on Tuesday when he realized that President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN, President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan, APC national chairman, Abdulahi Adamu, had shunned the event and did not honour his invitation. This was insinuated to be the main reason for the cancellation of the event on Tuesday contrary to the reported sympathy for bandits’ attack on a train conveying passengers from Abuja to Kaduna.
It was reported that Tinubu had already arrived the venue of the colloquium only to find that the expected guests who will give colour to the colloquium were not present, while only two governors from the Southwest – Governor Babatunde Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and Governor Gboyega Oyetola of Osun State, being joined by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State, were present. The rest APC governors were absent; no minister attended the event either.
Vice President Osinbajo had earlier on Tuesday shunned the celebration and traveled to Kaduna over the Monday attack on the public train by bandits.
However, the President and others could only send fanciful messages and wishes in their absence. None explained reasons for boycotting or not honouring Tinubu’s invitation to the colloquium.
The colloquium was scheduled about three days after the APC national convention in Abuja on Saturday.
Invariably, the APC national leader was perceived to have used the Abuja-Kaduna train attack by bandits to cover up the true picture of what played out, after he arrived at the venue and the President, the vice and other high profile party members and allies were not there. Some have argued that if the Kaduna train attacked by bandits was the main reason for the cancellation, Tinubu did not need to go to the venue first before making the decision since the incident happened on Monday, some hours before the event.
Tinubu had on arrival at the Eko Hotels and Towers, Victoria Island, Lagos, venue of the 13th Bola Ahmed Tinubu Colloquium, on the theme – “Pivoting Nigeria Into The New Order” – picked the microphone to announce: “Today is supposed to be a very joyful 70th birthday of my living on earth. I give thanks to God Almighty for being able to survive to this age.
“I have just been informed of a very sad incident in our country, very sad indeed, that over 60 people and many more were killed and bombed on a train between Kaduna and Abuja just last night. That is a very serious incident about the security of lives in this country and it calls for a very serious sober reflection.
“For me to be here celebrating, dancing, and enjoying myself doesn’t show enough concern for a statesman and a senior citizen of this country.
“This event should not be held. I have consulted with the people you see around me here and they’ve agreed with me and being a very highly committed democrat, I have given myself to their suggestion that they agree that this event be cancelled.”
There were, however, the insinuation that the absence of the President and other principal officers in government and in the leadership of the APC, was a strong message to the APC national leader on the trend to the presidential primary of the ruling party. Some even conjectured that the state actors may have rejected Tinubu for the APC presidential ticket.