I had always had a fixation on doing an academic work on this man. No matter the side of the fence you find yourself, you will agree that this is the most intriguing political journey ever.
It needs to be studied and archived for future generations. His vision, strong play on loyalty, negotiating skills, and a never say die approach to politics, as could be gleaned from the’emilokan’ war cry, is a compelling force.
In this pursuit, my then-partner Segun Akande and I reached out to Wale Edun in 2015 and sold the idea to him.
He liked it and set up a meeting with the then Asiwaju for us in his Bourdilon House in Ikoyi.
We walked in and met the Asiwaju. I also saw Tunji Bello and Seyi Tinubu, whom I had met previously thru my brother Uwem Whyte.
My other brother, Demola Oshodi, was present, and my region Tunde Rahman was a fixture.
I met with the Asiwaju, and Wale Edun introduced us, and he gave us 5 minutes to talk.
I told Asiwaju why I wanted to do the book and that I wanted to start from the day APC was formed and end it on the day Jonathan accepted defeat.
He smiled, and I think he liked the idea and handed me over to Tunde Rahman to work with.
But somehow, somehow, I guess the pressure of their engagements killed that move
But the idea was still running in my head, and then I had a sit down with Dapo Adelegan.
Dapo is a former gubernatorial candidate in Ondo state, and he was the one that said I shd do an unauthorized biography of President Tinubu
At first, I didn’t buy the idea, but as he spoke of it, I began to align it with my previous thoughts, and it began to make sense
I have been a very strong critique of Mr. President, his politics, and some of the coloration that he has brought to bear on our national psyche
The weakening of institutions, including the judiciary- although cannot be totally put at his doorstep only- his Marchavalian approach to leadership and his cavalier style of building very tight close-knit associates and more add up to my derision of his tactics and what he stands for
But what we all can not deny is his frontal role in our politics since he emerged as a Senator and even as far back as fighting for June 12.
I believe very strongly that this book must be written. It must have a dispassionate look at the man, his politics, and his approach to leadership with its effect on the modern-day Nigerian state
This would be a purely academic book that would serve as strong research material for future scholars and for those who would want to better understand the dialectics of Nigerian leadership, with Tinubu as a strong personification
It is for this reason that I have assembled a team of brilliant scholars – a UK based Professor that has done extensive work on the subject since 2015 and who we can say is a world authority on Tinubu, another Professor from the US who is also an authority on the matter and these two will be complemented by three doctoral students from the University of Ibadan who will do all the ground research for the book.
I have, in my sights, another PhD. holder who works in the presidency and is extremely close to the subject and who would provide a counterbalance in the arguments and positions on the team
This brilliant technical team would be coordinated by a young and extremely brilliant political scientist who is well respected in the field and who has coordinated international conferences and papers on various political science platforms and issues.
He presently works in an international institute that engages global intellects in politics, leadership, and foreign affairs.
I will head the team and tie together all the research material thrown up in beautiful prose that will allow for sweet, easy reading while keeping all the strong intellectual material sacrosanct.
This book will be one of the most important books ever written on a political figure because of its balanced approach towards dissecting what can be described as the single most evocative political whirlwinds in the land and presenting him in an unbiased way.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu – the Unauthorized biography by Joseph Edgar – the Duke of Shomolu
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