Nigeria’s Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) on Sunday argued that Nigeria does not need saints at the top echelon of government, but people who can deliver on developing the country.
Speaking on Channels Television Sunday night, the former Lagos governor maintained that many of the controversies surrounding the past of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, were still largely unproven.
Tinubu was recently declared the winner of the February 25 presidential election in the country and barring any last-minute development is expected to be sworn in on May 29 this year.
Fashola maintained that many issues concerning Tinubu’s past, including his age, education, state of origin, source of wealth were already overbeaten, hinting that Tinubu has always prevailed when those situations arose.
“I think that makes it the more interesting and I think those issues have been ventilated sufficiently and you know what the Nigerian people have decided, those issues don’t matter. That’s what they have said by this vote. The only thing is that any time it got more difficult, I used to tell people that this was his path to success.
“There’s no easy day for him. The more difficult it gets, you can be sure it’s Asiwaju’s. And I think for somebody who has faced these obstacles…and that’s the Asiwaju story…the more difficult it gets, the more it brings out the best in him.
“Now that these hurdles have been surmounted, maybe their is a divine purpose to it. Maybe perhaps, this is where Nigeria begins to turn in the most positive way forever. Governance is not about sainthood but about efficiency, performance and delivery.
On why Tinubu has so much controversy around him, he recalled the case of Abraham Lincoln and the process that ended global slavery, adding that governance is about getting results.
Stressing that he should not be misunderstood as supporting immorality in governance, the minister explained that all the allegations have either been unproven or there is no evidence to support them.
Fashola stated that the administration was already sending in performance reports to the transition planning committee, stressing that after 21 years at different levels of government, he (Fashola) needed peace and would want young hands in government. He stated that he became chief of staff at 39 and would be 60 soon.
Fashola refuted the imputation that the APC had a rigging plan insisting that Tinubu won the election fair and square. He stated that the APC trained 2,000 agents who went to train others , insisting that the party was fully prepared for the poll.
He added that the situation room already knew the results before the official release because it had all the information and data to make decisions. Fashola described election as big business , explaining that the APC knew this before time.
The minister said that although the party did not underrate any party, politics remain a game of numbers , pointing out that all the candidates of the opposition in the 2023 election were in the same party in 2019 and lost with over 4 million votes.
“Not only did they divide, they now subtracted with the G5 governors, so it was bad mathematics,” he stressed.
He faulted the public polls before the election, saying they were either badly conducted or were self-serving, unlike the APC which based its decision on data.
He argued that it wasn’t necessarily APC supporters that voted against Tinubu in Lagos, but that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) simply shifted to the Labour Party (LP).
The minister noted that the level of violence in Lagos paled into insignificance compared to what was witnessed in the past, stressing that isolated incidences should not be used to measure the credibility of the poll.
The senior lawyer contended that APC got the votes because it had performed credibly and therefore deserved to win.
“There’s identify politics now all over the world and nobody should try to hide behind the finger. So, people vote and are impacted with making a choice by so many items or stimulus. It may be my identity, my faith, how you cut your hair, how you wear your tie or how you talk. You can’t wish these away.
“You know my position on religion which is that it is a personal thing which should be kept out of public space. It’s your relationship with God. Let’s talk about policies and others,” he said.
However, he stated that while the ideal election should be based on ideas and intellectualism, it was a mix of colour and unsavoury reports in the last poll. He stated that he wasn’t in those places where the threats and negative reports happened and therefore couldn’t make comments first hand.
On whether he was worried about the profiling and violence that happened in Lagos, Fashola called for maturity, stressing that tempers were already cooling on the matter.
On the whereabouts of the president-elect, Fashola said he spoke with him last week and he was in France at the time, insisting that Tinubu is fine. He also explained that Tinubu would be back soon. He said Tinubu ran a gruelling campaign and therefore deserved the rest.
He further suggested that the president-elect could be networking and meeting with relevant stakeholders.
On whether he would be playing a role in Tinubu’s government, he said: “It’s unlikely. I don’t think so.”
According to him, it is reckless to pick those who will work with Tinubu on social media, describing it as ridiculous. He also described such persons on social media as rascals.
On his knowledge of Tinubu, Fashola stated that the president-elect works late into the night and micro manages those who work with , far more than President Muhammadu Buhari.
He compared Buhari to a football coach who prepares the team and then sit back to watch them play, unlike Tinubu who will ‘play the game’ with the players in the ilk of Jose Maurinho.
On Tinubu’s alleged dual citizenship, Fashola said that he was aware that Tinubu has a Nigerian passport, but argued that the constitution allows dual citizenship.
On the politics of the national assembly, he stated that the APC does not have zoning in its constitution, arguing that the Nigerian constitution which supports equity and fair representation should be used as a guide.
