By Ogochukwu Isioma
The Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to President Muhammadu Buhari on Special Duties, Mallam Ya’u Darazo, has risen in defence of a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, over statements credited to the latter that was perceived as insulting to the president.
Tinubu, national leader of the APC, was seen in a viral video Tuesday detailing how he helped Buhari and other leaders of the party become who they are today particularly in winning elective positions. Although, the former Lagos governor later issued a statement to apologise to the president, the ruling party, however, vowed to sanction Tinubu over his outbursts.
But Darazo, who was present in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, where Tinubu addressed party faithful alongside the Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun said the statement was taken out of context to embarrass Tinubu and create disaffection between him and President Buhari.
The President’s aide who said he wrote the statement in his personal capacity and as a member of the Tinubu Campaign Organization, said he was convinced that President Buhari can see through the mischief having been a victim of misresprentation and character assassination himself in the past. He noted that the motive of those promoting the narrative that Tinubu insulted Buhari was to destroy the warm relationship between them.
According to him, “In the last 48 hours or so, the media space has been polluted by the odious breath of mischief makers – nay ingrates who mispresented Asiwaju’s speech with the sole aim of planting discord between him and President Muhammadu Buhari. In their mischievous minds, that would earn them added advantage in the primaries for the Ticket of the APC.
“I have a message for them. They have failed woefully. They should not take Nigerians for granted; Nigerians are wise enough. Let the mischief makers note that good and purposeful leadership is not on the same page with mischief. It is good that Nigerians know them early enough. It is very clear that their purpose of seeking leadership is not service driven.
“I was with Asiwaju in Abeokuta among other good people of Ogun State when he delivered the speech in question. It was in Yoruba Language. It was later translated to me—which I found quite acceptable and politically relevant to the audience and even beyond. Truth is sacred. If the mischief makers think that by mispresenting Asiwaju’s statement they will get the sympathy of the President; they have failed again—and failed woefully.
“President Buhari is not a stranger to the bashing of media mischief. He is a veteran. He passed through it. He suffered from it like no other leader in this country. When he sees media mischief, he would know it; certainly, like this one against Asiwaju.”
Going down memory lane, Darazo recalled previous attempts to unfairly misrepresent Buhari and damage him politically.
He advised President Buhari who had been a victim not to be swayed by antics of mischief makers bent on undermining Tinubu’s ambition.
“They are very active members of the PDP and are opposing all what President Buhari stood for.
“These powerful elements are said to have recruited agents within the APC to do two projects for them. Ensure that APC produces a weak candidate that will give PDP a walkover. Secondly, to ensure APC produces a Northern candidate so that they will turn round and accuse the President as a Northern irredentist who denied shift of power to the South”, he explained.
