When will Lagos State be free of one man’s messianic mentality?

 Who will liberate the state from Bola Tinubu’s suffocating grip? Who will free Lagos, our dear Lagos, and its people from this modern-day slavery by one individual who is playing God? Is there no man courageous enough to fight the fight of his life to free Lagos from this imprisonment? Is every Lagosian a frightened coward, or just an impotent enabler of Tinubu’s overreach? Is there no one man enough to tell Tinubu that enough is enough? Why are Lagosians sheepishly following this man whose moral standing and character have been called to question several times? Why must he continually be the one to decide who governs Lagos, or who holds any political office in the state? Who will free Lagosians and indeed Nigerians from Tinubu’s pomposity, insufferable arrogance, and self-enthralled breathtaking hypocrisy? These questions are a clarion call to virtuous people of good conscience in Lagos to come together to save the state from Tinubu.

I have stated it repeatedly for all who have ears and a discerning mind that those parading the political landscape as progressives are actually tyrants, merchants of vices, moneychangers, buccaneers, primitive wealth accumulators, pretenders to transparency, pretender-democrats, heretics of good governance and smooth propagandists, extraordinary liars, agents of mischief and political malpractice.

Their antecedents are riddled with character flaws, pervasive vices and amorality. What they call a progressive ideology is actually a predatory ideology and what they call good governance is in fact kleptocracy. What is their purpose in politics? I have asked myself repeatedly what cause they believe in strongly enough that they are willing to lose for it. Is it about improving the welfare of the people or building empires of personal wealth? The evidence is there before our very eyes that these so-called progressives are mostly corrupt and are in fact worse than those they accuse of corruption.

 They deride selfless service in the mode of Mahatma Gandhi or Nelson Mandela and live ostentatious lifestyles while the poor masses live in penury and want. They have no core values, and their vision is limited to only the stretch of their arms. These guys have tried many times to present themselves as philosophers but have failed repeatedly because they cannot be what they are not. They can never be heroes because they lack the discipline, the character and the broad vision of a new society of fairness, equity and justice associated with heroes and statesmen. At best, they represent the symbol of Nigeria’s immoral slide and degenerate social values. This is what they are and this is what they will remain in the minds of the few who still retain the values of our fathers.

Anytime I watch TV with my children, and they intrude our family time when they appear on air, I always tell my children never to see them as the nation’s heroes. I mention their names loudly and tell them stories of how they are looting public resources to advance their personal interests. I tell my children they are liars and propagandists and should not go near them.

Right now, no sound is louder than that of the battle between good and evil in our country. It may appear cynical but no moment is more telling than now, and nowhere are the contradictions and hypocrisies of the progressives more evident than what is currently happening
As the saying goes, “In politics it is never enough to know that something has changed.” The “why” always matters more than the “what”. The curious thing is that the “why” is stranger than fiction.Why is everybody silent in the face of this assault on our sensibilities? Is Tinubu now God? In other climes, advocates of good governance would pour into the streets in protests against these hypocrites

It is puzzling that this macabre dance of the APC cardinals which had started in hushed whispers, then transformed to improbable rumours, and were dismissed outright by many then as coming from the unhinged imagination of some comic actors is gradually becoming a reality. The show is playing out before our very eyes in a cold-blooded manner. The orchestra is in overdrive and the list reads like a who’s who of Tinubu’s loyalists; they are keen to demonstrate their loyalty to the godfather. You know the old saying in the land of my fathers that if you “find a turtle on top of a fence post, you know it didn’t get there by itself”. There is no shortage of those willing to be used to flex muscles. It was the plot of the imperial godfather all along fuelled by his burning desire to appropriate Lagos.

Ironically, many are willing to obey him whether or not he uses the name of the people or party faithful in vain in pursuit of his agenda. Whether or not he uses the state and its resources to advance his private interests, some would just follow him like zombies. It is a strange way to live. Some would even deploy violence on anyone who disagrees with the master to coerce them into line. I hardly know whether to laugh or cry for our country.

It is a crying shame that despite the sophistication Lagosians often lay claim to, Tinubu whose political trajectory cannot pass the smell test has for two decades now, entrenched himself, controlling everything and determining the destiny of every politician in Lagos: from the ward level, to the local government, to who governs the state, the members of the State Executive Council, to all legislators and to all who represent it at the federal level. He must endorse all candidates for elections and appointments and influence nearly every contract.Without a doubt Tinubu is the biggest “beneficiary” of our democracy having held Lagos hostage, politically raking in immense material rewards.

Without a doubt Tinubu is the biggest “beneficiary” of our democracy having held Lagos hostage, politically raking in immense material rewards.

Well, I know for sure that at some point, real progress cannot begin and slavery cannot end until someone has the courage to drown the damned lion. It is either we continue to pay ransom, or we go to war with those who have held us hostage. The storm is coming for Tinubu and his Mandate Movement. The day of reckoning is near and Lagos shall be free! No one should beg Tinubu anymore, he is not God. He is what he is now because we have all played a part in enabling him. He is nothing without Lagosians.
But like all men deluded by power, he can still convince himself of his invincibility; he can choose to be deaf and willfully blinded to the people’s message and pay a stiff price during next the elections.

Lagos Shall be Free