Osinbajo’s big task without Buhari’s nod, By Kunle Awosiyan

No doubt, APC governors are divided between their National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

It was gathered that 10 out of 22 governors invited to Osinbajo’s dinner showed up on Sunday evening and on Monday 14 governors met with Tinubu. The arithmetic may mean nothing but the loyalty is divided for now.

This is a clear indication that the real power brokers are the governors but can they stand their grounds if President Muhammadu Buhari draws a line to either stand with one of these two aspirants or be neutral?

The recent crisis over the party leadership shows that the governors have great respect for Buhari and may have to wait for him to take a stance on the present scenario.

This may be the most powerful joker the Osinbajo’s camp is waiting for, “Buhari’s endorsement” without which his other strategies will fail. The vice president will need the backing of Buhari to make the governors to fall in line behind him.

It is easy for both Tinubu and Osinbajo’s sides to get the attention and the mind of Buhari but the time to get such endorsement remains the most valuable factor because President Buhari can easily be convinced and confused at the same time.

It is a big challenge for Buhari to choose between a man who helped him to get the job, Tinubu and the one who is helping him to do the work, Osinbajo.

Tinubu is like butter between two slices of bread that both Osinbajo and Buhari have enjoyed when they needed him. Just as it happened before the party settled for Senator Abdullahi Adamu as its national chairman, Buhari is away again on his usual but political trip.

Soon, the power brokers will begin to visit abroad to get Buhari’s blessing and endorsement but will it work this time around? At this juncture, the stake is higher and it is going to be more of what the politicians stand to gain in the next administration than who the president loves to succeed him.

I do not see Buhari as a troublemaker that will want to dictate to his successor, however he has a bigger role to play now by endorsing a successor based on competence instead of emotion.

Having tasted the sweetness of the office, it is clear that Osinbajo wants the seat but his video declaration is a low blow. He spoke through the window instead of the door. Is he afraid?

I have read some stories that Osinbajo had used technology. Real technology is in its making not in its usage. My little girl can record her own video and post online. I wish him good luck but I’m sure that Tinubu’s strategies will dwarf Osinbajo’s without Buhari’s endorsement.

I watched again yesterday Senator Sola Adeyeye’s interview on Channels TV YouTube where he endorsed Osinbajo but he was quick to add that Tinubu was a hardworker and the best political strategist of this dispensation, which means that our VP has a lot of job to do outwit the man who brought him to mainstream politics.

Osinbajo will have to do more than “secondary school debate” gesture while delivering his speech, he must meet people in the palaces and on the streets to convince them why and how he is better than Jagaban of Borgu whose tentacles had cut across all political and social divides. This is not tradermoney.

Osinbajo:s foot soldiers must not only be swift, they must be men and women that believe in him and ready to work for him free. This is what Tinubu has built over the years that will naturally work for him now.

Foot soldiers will rise across the country to work for Tinubu without necessary waiting for his money. He has made money both in business and politics and had invested it back into it, building bridges that were made of men.

During Tinubu’s 70th birthday anniversary, which he stopped abruptly due to Kaduna train attack, former Lagos State Governor and the current Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola reminded BAT that the class of 1999, the class of 2003, the class of 2007, the class of 2011, the class of 2015, the class of 2019 will not forget the role that Tinubu played in their lives.

These classes are human beings, a few of them have strayed, they will come back home after 2023. Before then, we are waiting for president Buhari’s endorsement and watching closely his body language.