By Joe Igbokwe
I have heard that Buruji Kashamu thinks that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the greatest enemy of PDP in the South-West and even Nigeria. I am told also that Kashamu is suggesting that foot soldiers are what are needed to dislodge Asiwaju BAT in Nigeria. I wish Buruji Kashamu and his gang well but the journey is a very long one. I wish Kashamu and his gang all the luck in the world but it is not as easy as milking a cow. It may take 30 years of hard work to achieve this lofty dream.
Rome was not build in a day. Those that have changed the face of the world did not get there in easy circumstances. They got there through excruciating pains and pillowed difficulties. You just have to break eggs to make an omelette. A certain woman Diana Nyad who to tried to swim from Cuba to Florida, in the United States,a distance of 110 miles failed to do so for years until last year at the age of 64 when she conquered her dream. Sir Edmund Hillary made attempts to climb the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest but failed. He later returned to defeat Mount Everest by getting to the top through courage, drive and commitment.
Yes, it is good for anybody including Buruji Kashamu to dream big dreams. It is good for people to nurse ambitions. It is also good for people to set targets for themselves but whether there is discipline, character, and the commitment to carry out the project is another matter altogether.
Since mid 80s Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been sowing seeds,building bridges and alliaces, breeding and growing leaders, feeding the poor, the needy and the hopeless. He has successfully spread his fishing nets all over Nigeria, looking for like minds to fix Nigeria. He has sacrificed many nights working ot things for Nigeria,while people like Kashamu have been busy sleeping.If today you see great things happening in the South-West and beyond, you need to know where the foundation stemmed from. If today Asiwaju is the point man in the driver’s seat of APC in Nigeria you need to look back to see things for yourself. If today the APC Governors in the South West and beyond are showing the way forward, think of who the backbone is.
The road to success anywhere in the world is littered with thorns, mines and bombs. Success is for those who can brave it, those who dare and those ready to confront history, and take radical decisions.
Without sounding immodest, I think Asiwaju BAT remains the greatest politician in Nigeria today who knows how to deploy human beings, resources, time and energy to get things done. BAT remains the number one builder of men and women in Nigeria, the greatest risk taker, the bravest and yet humble.
Now if Buruji Kashamu wants to dislodge Asiwaju BAT in the South west, please let someone show me his history, his story, his antecedents, his achievements, his life, his works, his beliefs, his character, his carriage and his strength. If Buruji Kashamu wants to take over South-West, he should be ready to work for 30 years non stop.
When a close associate of Josef Stalin of Soviet Union asked him to do something to pacify the Pope, he looked at the man and asked quietly: “The Pope who wants to be pacified, how many battalions has he got?” Kashamu who wants the foot soldiers to help him conquer South-West from Asiwaju BAT, how many battalion has he got? For now, I think Kashamu has a lot of headache to contend with both at home and abroad. He has been rejected by PDP leaders as zonal leader in the South-West even before his roll out plans see the light of the day . The landing tyres of his aircraft had been dismantled even before landing.
Asiwaju BAT will continue to lead the South-West politically until someone who can do better than him emerges. For now, we cannot see anybody with such power, energy and strength. We cannot see anybody who can make the kind of sacrifices he makes on a daily basis. We cannot see anybody for now, who can be so strong, courageous and yet humble.
People can always follow you because you care, because you can be trusted, because you are dependable, because you know where you are going and because you can stand for something. Can PDP be trusted? Does PDP care? Is PDP dependable? Does PDP know where it is going? Can PDP stand for something? Kashamu can prove me wrong.
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Joe Igbokwe, Lagos.
