Babatunde Fashola, Nigeria’s minister for works and housing, asserts that the controversy surrounding the past life of their “president-elect,” Bola Tinubu, has no longer affected Nigerians and that leadership is not about being a saint.
Fashola responded to the controversies surrounding Tinubu during his appearance on a Channels TV program on Sunday.
The most recent debate centers on popular images of Tinubu’s purported Guinean passport, which suggests that the “president-elect” has dual citizenship.
For instance, investigative reporter David Hundeyin shared a picture of a Guinean passport on his Twitter account on Saturday, claiming it belonged to Tinubu.
He charged the president-elect with perjury and lying under oath.
He said that under the constitution of Nigeria, he (Tinubu) is not qualified to become or contest for presidency on that ground.
Indeed, section 137 (1)(a) of the Nigerian Constitution says a person will not be qualified to be president if “he has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a country other than Nigeria.”
On the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Form EC9, under the personal particulars of Part B, Tinubu answered ‘No’ to a question asking if he had voluntarily changed nationality. In No 11, he was asked again: “Have you voluntarily acquired citizenship of any other country? If yes, which country?”
He ticked ‘No’, according to the INEC document posted by Hundeyin.
Another question reads, “Have you made any a declaration of allegiance to that or any other country? If yes, specify the country.” Tinubu again answered ‘No’.
There had been controversies surrounding Tinubu’s age, name, educational background, health status, businesses, hometown and past links with drug trafficking, all of which have not been cleared.
Answering a question regarding the controversies surrounding the ‘president-elect’, Fashola said, “I think that makes it more interesting and I think those issues have been ventilated sufficiently. You know what the Nigerian people have decided, those issues don’t matter. That is what they have said by these votes.
“And in making that choice, the only thing I can say to you is that every time it got more difficult, what I used to tell people is that this was the path to success. There is no easy day for him, the more difficult it gets, then you can be assured Asiwaju… And I think for somebody who has faced all of these obstacles I keep referring to when he was, I remember when he wanted to be governor, you may or you may not recall that for three days after the primary, we couldn’t find the state party chairman, the returning officer for the election and Lagos was in suspense for three days until they found the returning officer and that is Asiwaju’s story.”
Asked specifically if Tinubu has dual citizenship, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said, “Though, that is Asiwaju story and the more difficult it gets, the more it brings out the best in him and for me, I think that now all of these hurdles have been surmounted maybe there is a divine purpose.
“Maybe perhaps, this is where Nigeria begins to turn in the most positive way forever because sometimes it is just what it is.”
The former Lagos State governor noted that “governance is not about sainthood,” insisting that “it is about efficiency, it is about performance, it is about delivery. So, Bola Tinubu is not a saint? I am not and you too.”
On whether someone who should be Nigeria’s president shouldn’t lack character, Fashola said, “Character is important, character is relevant. You know I tell people when you read the story about Abraham Lincoln and how he got the bill that ended slavery passed, if you read the process, you will not take the result. Go and read it. It was about doing good at the time and I am not saying anything, so nobody should read other meaning to what I am saying.”
He added, “All I am trying to say is that governance is about getting the results. The process can be important; let me put it that way, but sometimes the people you will impact, and there is a level of integrity beyond which you should never compromise anyway. So those are issues that have been settled because they are value issues societies are built on them.
“I shouldn’t be misunderstood but again you must understand that we must not be looking for a saint. So, all the accusations that have been levelled against him have been either unproven or there was no evidence offered in support of them but they have run along for a while. I know one of them; they said that he owned Oriental Hotel.”
When asked if Tinubu indeed owns the hotel, Fashola replied, “He doesn’t.”