Osinbajo: What Happened? By Chris Adetayo
He has it all. A brainy academic with pastoral charisma. Over 7 years as VeePee. Talks a good game and clearly has so much to offer the nation. When he acted as President for a few months, he brought calm and a sense of purpose to the role. Yet, on the night when his party came together to choose a flagbearer for the next elections, he came up woefully short. How did this happen?
The short answer is politics. He was outmaneuvered by people who are masters of the game, people who are adept at playing party politics where horse trading and favour-calling are the currencies of transaction. With no major horses to trade and precious few favours to call in, he could not deal in the political market. Even worse, he came up against hard-nosed politicians who look out for themselves first and foremost.
But beyond the politics, Osinbajo has to answer some relevant questions. It was clear to me that his campaign was hinged on the endorsement of President Buhari – though folks in his campaign deny this was so. But since his other principal, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, was also in the race, he had to have a major backer to give him the confidence to proceed and there’s no one with such clout in the APC outside of Buhari. Given this reality, what assurances did he have from the President? As far as I know, he did not formally inform the President of his intent to run until a few days before he publicly declared (late March / early April). Knowing that the President was key, why leave it so late?
Going on, why did Osinbajo expect Buhari to support his candidacy? A review of his role in Govt in the past 3 years shows a figure that’s peripheral in the scheme of things. All the major functions he led in the administration’s first term (2015-2019) were taken away from him – especially the social intervention programmes. He became largely jobless – supervising nothing and leading nothing.
Furthermore, Buhari stopped formally handing over to him when traveling for his regular medical checks (something he did a lot in the first few years). All these tell of a breakdown in trust. So if the man you rely on to support your candidacy can’t trust you with the Presidency for a couple of weeks, why did he think the President will back him for the same role full time?
Despite the outcome, we must celebrate the efforts and courage of the VeePee. Osinbajo is a well meaning man, the type we need in many critical sectors of our country, especially the Presidency. There’s nothing wrong with aiming for the stars and coming up short. He aimed high, came up short yet left us with memories of what is possible. He has my respect.
