Bola Tinubu:"Unseating Jonathan,An Incumbent President,My Most Difficult Battle"

The National Leader of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has said his most difficult battle ever in life is ousting an incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan in the 2015 general elections.
Tinubu revealed this in an interview with senior editors at The Sun ahead of the Sun Man of the Year Award which the astute politician will be honoured in Lagos later today.
In his words, Tinubu during the interview said,“President Jonathan’s battle was the toughest. When you are fighting the incumbent, it is tough.



You had the chal­lenge of terrorism; you had a class that is divided and a nation that was almost moving from its focus of religious tolerance and diversity to religious division.
You had a system that had been corrupted beyond anybody’s imagination. People were being bombarded with money in Lagos. But you have to forget personal temptation”.
On how he engaged former President Obasanjo on the political field, Tinubu said, “Obasanjo, during his time disobeyed court order on the disburse­ment of money for local governments in Lagos but you knew where he was coming from; you just had to be careful.
That period was also a bit challenging.

There are different situations that you had to face with different strategies. But to unseat an incumbent president in Africa was the toughest battle. It was not easy".
On his role in politics as a political godfather,
Tinubu further said “Godfather is not negative but godlords are.
They are the mafias. Godfathers exist even in the church.
If you call me a godfather, it is alright. I have many children everywhere.” Explaining his position further, Tinubu added that, “You are talking about imposition in a democracy.
If you are a strong adviser, you would get blackmailed; you have seen great quali­ties in an individual and one that has capacity to do good; you identify those you believe can deliver on the evolution of good governance.

"I have a responsibility to recommend.
My party has a right to reject the person. When I identified Babatunde Fashola, some people shouted imposition but when he started to blossom like flowers in the garden, Fashola now became their child.
The umbilical chord is buried and the baby has survived. In democracy, sometimes, you have the sprinkle of dictatorship too when you know that you are working on the overall interest of the people.
You have facts that some people do not have; so you do not get angry.”