When Governor Nyesom Wike last September alleged that a powerful element in the Presidential Villa was supporting opposition presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, it helped to fuel suspicions on the intentions of the Muhammadu Buhari presidency in 2023.
Wike’s hypothesis was that the support from the powerful element in the Presidential Villa was responsible for the apparent decision of Atiku and Senator Iyrocha Ayu to relegate what he claimed as an earlier agreement for the latter to step down as national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP after the national convention.
Now, Wike did not mention the name of the person supposedly supporting Atiku in the Villa. He only asserted that the person only turned to the PDP presidential candidate after his alleged failure to secure the All Progressives Congress, APC presidential ticket for someone else different from Asiwaju Bola Tinubu failed.
Now, we leave it to conjecture who this powerful person in the Presidential Villa is.
Of course, it was widely reported in the national dailies and news websites that the national chairman of the APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu in the period between June 6 and 7 had announced Senator Ahmad Lawan, the President of the Senate as the consensus candidate arising from discussions with the Presidential Villa.
That was an announcement that, however, was not allowed to fly. For the first time the APC’s National Working Committee, NWC found its balls. Governors of the party also revolted jolting the scales that led to the momentum for Tinubu.
It was as such not surprising that in his victory speech at the convention ground that Tinubu with bravado, could to the hearing of the powerful man in the villa who backed the Senate President, tell Lawan to go and lick his wounds.
The triumph of the Jagaban or City Boy as we now know him against the powerful forces of the Presidential Villa was a lesson that Wike seemed to advance in his caution to Atiku last September.
His warning was that if the powerful man could not deliver his person for the APC ticket, that he may well fail in making him president.
However, following the convention, the powerful man in the Villa that was against Tinubu apparently regained confidence and was more clinical in stopping the APC presidential candidate from returning his alleged nephew as governor of Osun State.
Indeed, Gboyega Oyetola is widely celebrated in the camp of first term APC governors to be among the best performing, perhaps only trailing Babagana Zulum in Borno State.
The same Oyetola who overturned a nearly impossible disadvantage four years ago with the alleged connivance of the system, last July lost by a significant margin despite the advantage of incumbency.
He lost despite the fact that Osun State is reportedly the home base of Tinubu. He lost despite the fact that the pioneer chairman of the APC, Chief Bisi Akande is from the state.
So, those in the Tinubu camp who write off the important man in the villa can only do so to their peril.
However, your correspondent is aware that the Muhammadu Buhari presidency has more often than not seen its top actors playing against one another in the political arena. It is something that some allege even goes to the first family.
The contradictions were seen in the Osun election where key actors in the Rauf Aregbesola camp were alleged to have played anti-party. After the 2020 Edo State governorship election TVC panelists openly came on air to allege that there was jubilation in the Ekiti State Government House after the party’s candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu was defeated. Even in matters of routine governance Isa Pantami did not close his eyes in throwing Abike Dabiri-Erewa from her office location.
Currently ongoing is the macabre dance in Enugu State where a powerful governor is said to be funding the disorder in the state chapter of the party.
So, if the children are politically naughty it is very likely that they would have learnt mischief from their parents at the top of the power loop.
Now, your correspondent can boldly affirm that Aisha Buhari is certainly not the powerful person who is supporting Atiku as some may think, given that they come from the same Adamawa State.
Whatever are the predilections of other members of her family, Aisha Buhari you correspondent can confidently assert may be the number one supporter of Bola Tinubu in the Villa.
According to one source in the inner reaches of Team Tinubu, Aisha Buhari is the secret weapon that has helped to steer the ambition of the candidate towards near resolution.
History will one day open up on the secret role one beautiful influential lady played in the other room on that APC convention day that distabilised the powerful permutations that were arranged against Tinubu and his aspiration.
Lawan, Kayode Fayemi and Yemi Osinbajo all of whom had looked as possible prospects were all brought down by the sparkle and soft speech of a beautiful lady towards her powerful husband that day.
It is remarkable that Aisha Buhari has been appointed to lead the women team campaigning for Tinubu. It couldn’t have been otherwise. It is payback time from a woman who had never failed to express thanks for the role Tinubu played in helping her husband win the presidency after several failed efforts.
That victory in 2015 also helped her as she confessed this week in managing the PTSD that her husband suffered from after several disappointments in life.
(Courtesy: Saturday Vanguard)
