Former Jigawa State governor and founding member of the Peoples Democratic Occasion (PDP), Sule Lamido, has declared that President Bola Tinubu has change into an “emperor” in Nigeria’s political panorama, making him a formidable pressure to problem within the 2027 elections.
The PDP additional added that ex-President Muhammadu Buhari by no means needed Tinubu to succeed him as Nigeria’s president, favouring a former Senate President, Ahmed Lawan for the presidency. Lamido additional claimed that Buhari didn’t belief his vice-president, Yemi Osinbajo, as his successor.
Lamido, nonetheless, described Buhari’s political technique as “naive and absurd,” asserting that the previous president desired a northern successor after his eight-year tenure.
The ex-governor revealed this in an interview with Nigerian Tribune on Saturday, saying: “Previous to the conference, [Tinubu] was in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the place he boasted that it was his flip to rule Nigeria. And Buhari, very naive, was watching.
“He by no means favored Tinubu. There was any individual he needed. He didn’t even belief his personal vp, Professor Osinbajo; he needed Ahmed Lawan, however his calculation was absurd.”
Lamido, who famous the challenges of altering sure political dynamics in Nigeria at the moment, criticised Buhari’s want for one more northerner to succeed him after his eight years in workplace. He instructed that Buhari lacked the braveness to push his most well-liked candidate on the occasion’s conference, the place Tinubu emerged because the victor regardless of Buhari’s lack of assist.
“Previous to the conference, he was in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the place he boasted that it was his flip to rule Nigeria. And Buhari, very naive, was watching. He by no means favored Tinubu. There was any individual he needed. He didn’t even belief his personal vp, Professor (Yemi) Osinbajo; he needed Ahmed Lawan, however his calculation was absurd. You will have performed eight years for the North and also you needed one other Northerner for one more eight years?! No. Perhaps later however there are some dynamics which you’ll’t alter, not in Nigeria of at the moment,” Lamido mentioned within the Nigerian Tribune interview.
“The president of Nigeria, after being in workplace for eight years, lacked the braveness to push by means of his anointed alternative. He was there on the conference and Tinubu that he by no means favored, he by no means believed in emerged. Tinubu is aware of that his victory wasn’t from Buhari, due to this fact, he owes him nothing. He wasn’t the selection of Afenifere, Obasanjo by no means favored him, however he grew to become president. All the opposite teams, together with the governors, had been there however he received. He was decided to demolish all obstacles and he crushed them.”
Lamido additionally expressed his issues concerning the difficulties dealing with the PDP in its efforts to reclaim energy from Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
He described Tinubu as a self-made chief who has overcome quite a few political obstacles to succeed in the presidency.
“Tinubu is an emperor,” Lamido said. “Along with his maintain on the nation and the economic system, will probably be troublesome to dislodge him in 2027.”
Reflecting on the political panorama, Lamido argued that the disaster inside the PDP mirrors broader issues throughout Nigeria’s establishments.
“The PDP is only a reflection of the perspective of Nigerians,” he asserted. “Ask your self: Are the Nigerian individuals prepared and able to salvage the nation? It isn’t about PDP or APC; it’s about our nationwide character, our self-discipline, and our values.”
On the controversy surrounding Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lamido dismissed options that Wike had been planted by Tinubu to weaken the PDP.
“Wike is our creation, we made him,” Lamido harassed. “He’s there at the moment as a result of the surroundings permits him to govern and exploit it. However destroying the PDP additionally means destroying Tinubu. In the end, each of them are going to lose as a result of the association is unholy; it’s immoral; it’s un-Nigerian.”
Looking forward to the 2027 elections, Lamido acknowledged the challenges however maintained that the PDP would proceed working to determine allies who share a typical concern for Nigeria’s future.
“We’re working arduous, however it’s a big process,” he admitted. “It will be troublesome with Tinubu, together with his audacity to say that is the place I stand, even in opposition to Nigeria’s curiosity.”
Regardless of his crucial evaluation of the political local weather, Lamido remained looking forward to change, drawing a historic analogy to counsel that even probably the most highly effective empires finally collapse.
“Tinubu at the moment is like Pharaoh; regardless of how daring you’re, it finally received’t finish nicely,” he cautioned.“Have a look at how Tinubu crushed all obstacles to change into president. However even Pharaoh’s empire collapsed, and so will Tinubu’s. Regardless of how a lot he believes he’s untouchable, historical past reveals that energy is at all times non permanent.”
Lamido additionally criticised the strategy of some PDP members who he feels have undermined the occasion’s unity. “Individuals like Ortom saying, ‘our chief, Wike, has mentioned we’ll vote Tinubu in 2027’ — it’s stunning,” he mentioned. “Think about somebody within the PDP brazenly declaring loyalty to Tinubu. It reveals that some individuals within the PDP are usually not on the identical frequency with us.”
He additionally remarked on Tinubu’s political manoeuvres and power, stating, “Don’t underestimate a person like Tinubu. He paid the governors on the conference. He doesn’t care; he has demolished each established political association and establishment to get to the place he’s at the moment. Now, he isn’t going to be straightforward to cope with. With Tinubu, Nigeria is a fiefdom, and he’s the emperor.”
