Who Made Prof. Yemi Osinbajo Buhari's Running Mate: My Take On Vanguard Newspaper Report - Kola Adepoju

Kola Adepoju

THE Vanguard newspaper's report attached herewith on how Prof Yemi Osinbajo emerged as Sai Baba's running mate  is a reflection of a narrative that is most likely to have been scooped from an impeccable source.

However, without prejudice, moreso that I'm not a partisan politician because every man is a political animal as the saying goes, I agree and disagree with the following assertions as pin-pointed in the piece aforementioned:

1. I agree that God used the instrumentality of the selection committee set up to come up with Sai Baba's running mate and other individuals that are favourably disposed to Prof. Osinbajo's nomination as running mate.

2. However, in as much as I'm not a fan of any of the presidential hopefuls, particularly the frontliners who are the real contenders and not political jobbers who are pretenders, and as such revelling in the double standard of "abracadabraism'  of the more you look the less you see 'mumuism'.

I vehemently disagree with the assertion that it is erroneous  to attribute the making of Prof. Osinbajo to Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu's making after the unrivalled and much needed God factor.

As a matter of fact, this narrative is crystal clear enough of vital and crucial deference to Tinubu as a deciding factor of Osinbajo's nomination, moreso that scheming, permutations, postulations and considerations revolve around the centrality of a Tinubu who must be appeased and compensated for succumbing to heated persuasion to shed the toga of a presidential running mate ambition.

How?

For one, Sai Baba himself, I mean in his gracious self as presidential candidate personally visited Tinubu to persuade and persuaded him to nominate his candidate.

The one million probing question here is why didn't Sai Baba visit other political gladiators other than Tinubu? Why not Baba Akande, Bukola Saraki, Rauf Aregbesola, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun, Adams Oshiomole, among others.

In the same vein, why did the highly respected SIA Ibikunle Amosun, Baba Akande, Rauf Aregbesola and Oshiomole joined Sai Baba in persuading Tinubu to at least pick a candidate as Buhari's running mate.

The indisputable import here is that Tinubu did not only transmute to a strong force that must be reckon with in selecting a Vice-presidential candidate for APC at the time,he already carved immutable niche as a deciding factor, if this narrative which most seemingly stemmed from a reliable source is anything to go by.

It doesn't matter whether you like the face or style of Jagaban 'politricking' or not, it is glaring that Osinbajo rode on the crest of Tinubu's ambition and the attendant horse trading to become running mate and ultimately Vice-President.

Having averred, more importantly, we should not allow Tinubu's political muscle and strong drive cum influence as eyeing the running mate ticket then  to becloud the reasoning that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo is a divine candidate, irrespective of who did what to facilitate it or whose ox of unbridled curiosity is gored.

As a political reporter during my haying days in sunshine, experience is always refreshing me of the fact that in some cases circumstances and happenstances which are deeply rooted in divine intervention often spurred the emergence of God's anointed candidates in the political firmament if elevation to power of incumbency and patronage.

Osinbajo is a huge beneficiary of divine elevation. Daddy G.O Enoch Adeboye who is well pleased in him as a faithful and obedient servant in God's Vineyard of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) extraction must have been praying for him;

And if God says YES to Adeboye/Osinbajo inner caucus prayer ticket; Beloved one billions of Sai Baba, Tinubu, Amosun, Baba Akande, Aregbesola and co. cannot say no because the Almighty is unstoppable, LET SOMEBODY SHOUT HALLELUYAH... THE LORD IS GOOD.... ALL THE TIME!

But thank God they all said YES and the YES HAVE IT Gbaaam Mr. Speaker!

Fellow Nigerians.

God has not written off our dear nation.

We must always be mindful of the fact that age has not altered the popular saying in Yoruba land, Southwest, Nigeria that posits 'TI ILU BA NG RO ARO JU, O SE TAN ATI FAYA NI, interpreted as when the sound of a beating drum is booming beyond its capacity, it is on the verge of being torn into shreds.

The height of social, economic, and political challenges that we are facing in our dear country is the pinnacle or zenith of navigation to a lasting solution.

God works in mysterious ways and in His ways nobody knows; in fact, He said that He's using the foolishness of the world to confound the wisdom of the wise.

Let's not lose hope. Don't say voters and votes won't count in 2023. Enough of your apathy towards elections. Go out there and participate fully in the political process. God will count in 2023 and make aspirants and candidates who are pretenders to start running, keep running as they have started running now to run to the abyss of the dust bin of history in Jesus' name and Insha Allah. SHALOM!

Kola Adepoju, a multiple awards winning journalist, is the former Chairman, Correspondents' Chapel, NUJ, Ogun State Council, and now Ambassador of Journalists, NUJ, Ogun State Council.