While the Peoples Democratic Party administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan lasted, I did not see the national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, inside the Villa. I cannot say as a matter of finality that he did not come. This is because experience has taught me that reporters can only see those authorities want them to see. They can decide to receive visitors who do not want to attract media attention at ungodly hours, which is always the time of nocturnal meetings or meet such people in locations in the Villa that are strictly out of bounds to journalists.
Since his party man, President Muhammadu Buhari, came on board, it was taken for granted that the former governor of Lagos State would be a regular face in the seat of power. But it has never been so. The situation further fuelled speculations that he and the President had fallen apart shortly after the March presidential election.
When news filtered in that the President would be breaking his Ramadan fast on Wednesday with some APC chiefs and that Asiwaju, popularly known as the Lion of Bourdillon, was among the expected guests, journalists decided to stay back in case the former governor turned up.
At about 6pm, the President’s guests started arriving. Many of those who were part of the first set of guests to arrive were not known faces. At a point, former governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, arrived. A former member of the National Assembly, Senator Olorunimbe Mamora and some others also arrived. Not long after, we saw Asiwaju from afar while he was scaling through the last security check. Behind him was the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, and a few others.
Venue of the event was the new Banquet Hall. Some guests who had arrived earlier were standing at the lobby, armed with fruits or cups of water or juice provided by the stewards. Some others went to the mosque near the President’s office to offer prayers before breaking their fast.
By the time Tinubu stepped into the lobby, the atmosphere changed. Almost all the politicians standing there wanted to greet and pose for photographs with him. With the exchange of pleasantries over, the guests were led into the main hall. The former Lagos State governor and Amaechi joined Buhari on the same table with another two elderly men.
There was no room for wasting of time. Immediately the opening prayer was said, it was time to eat. While others were asked to walk to any of the two serving points to help themselves with any of the food available, those on the President’s table were asked to remain seated as stewards would serve them. Rice, pap, salad, tuwo, moin moin, dodo, vegetable, fish pepper soup, fresh fish, snail and assorted meats featured prominently on the menu. There were enough to eat.
With the “stomach infrastructure” session over, Tinubu was asked to speak on behalf of the group. He thanked the President for hosting them and promised continued support for his administration. He had words for those accusing Buhari of being too slow. He said the President could not clear PDP’s 16-year mess in 30 days.
Buhari also thanked his guests for joining him at the event. He appreciated their contributions to his success at the poll while tracing the history of the merger that gave birth to the APC.
His address marked the end of the event. Tinubu was again asked to lead other guests out to the lobby where they shook hands and posed for photographs with the President one after the other. With that arrangement, Tinubu was the first person to step out of the building after shaking hands with Buhari. He stepped into the waiting hands of reporters who had laid ambush for him with their cameras.
The former governor was visibly reluctant to speak with journalists, especially on the crisis rocking his party as a result of the leadership crisis in the National Assembly. He had not spoken publicly on the matter but it seemed we succeeded in boxing him into a corner. He had to talk and he decided to choose his words carefully.
“That (the leadership crisis in the National Assembly) is an area where I am very cautious of my position and utterances. I still want to keep my side of interpretation or analysis to me to be able to achieve a resolution of the matter as quickly as possible. I am backing all the President has carefully enumerated and articulated to the party. The party is supreme. The party must have disciplined leadership and followers. The party’s process must be respected because that is the confidence and the trust of the people,’ he went on and on as the tape kept rolling.
Tinubu also used the opportunity of his first interview with State House correspondents to dispel rumours that he and Buhari are no longer on the same page because of some demands he was alleged to have made. “I have no demand on the party. If you understand what party politics and leadership are all about, they are about loyalty and commitment to the values that leadership believes in. I believe in what the President believes in. I respect him and I stand firmly loyal to his cause. You can go to any length of speculation that you might want. I have not responded to all of that because I understand the President and the President understands me clearly,” he said.
By the time the interview was going on, many APC chiefs such as Chief Audu Ogbeh and others joined Tinubu. One of his aides who joined him midway quickly started using his smartphone to record the interview for reasons best known to him. It was the same man who quickly said “thank you gentlemen” when his boss finished answering the third question, a clever way of stopping the interview.
At the end of the short interaction, APC chiefs still milled around Tinubu as he made his way out of the premises.
Buhari and the PDP governors
Those who think that state governors elected on the platform of the PDP may not be having the listening ears of the President may have a rethink soon. I can say authoritatively that apart from when he met all the 36 state governors and later met with APC governors, most of those who have been having one-on-one meetings with Buhari are PDP governors.
Last week, Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State met with Buhari. This week, two PDP governors met separately with the President. Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi met him on Wednesday while it was the turn of Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State on Thursday.
The three of them agreed that elections were over and there was the need for all political gladiators to come together with a common goal of improving the living conditions of those who voted them into office.
All of them were however smart enough to quickly explain in their encounters with State House correspondents that their meetings with the President were not indications of any plan to defect from the PDP to the ruling party.
Barka de Sallah.
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The King of the Jungle. The Lion of Bourdillon