The attention of the Renewed Hope Consolidation Mandate 2027 has been drawn to a statement purportedly credited to the former Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Babachir Lawal about what can at best be described as his imagination, however twisted, that the North is seriously considering forcing President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to step down before the 2027 presidential election.
As a known clown in the political space, it wouldn’t have been necessary to respond to Mr. Lawal if his statement was identified as wearing only the clownish apparel. But we have also noticed that aside from the senselessness of the statement it reeks of bitterness. It, therefore, behooves us to point the former SGF in the direction of rationality if he must comment on issues of national importance in his quest for relevance.
A self-respecting public personality like Mr. Lawal should have qualified the statement as his personal wish and not hide behind a North that has now acquired different personalities for effect.
It beggars belief that Mr. Lawal would utter such inanity that any geopolitical entity in the Nigerian political space has the power to force a duly elected president in his first term, who had the highest votes and spread as required by the constitution, to step down if he wants to run for a constitutionally-backed second term unless he thinks we’re still in the military era. It was an outlandish statement. But then, we knew that Mr. Lawal had made outlandish statements in the past. So, we’re not surprised.
More revealingly, Mr. Lawal’s statement, as asinine as it were, is a covert but bitter admittance that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would win the 2027 presidential election hands down because his accomplishments would have been obvious even to the blind then unless a way was found to take him out of the race.
It is a pity that despite his longevity in the political space, Mr. Lawal still does not have the presence of mind to correctly read the tea leaves that President Tinubu would do a second term by winning big this time around, just as he did in his Muslim-Muslim ticket misadventure.
A word is enough for the wise!
This article was written by FEMI ODERE,
Director, Media and Publicity, Renewed Hope Consolidation Mandate 2027
