TwoCents | Èmi lòó kán - by Tari Ogbowei

Whenever I get the chance, I don't fail to point out how interesting this political season will be. Till this point, this has proven true with revelations, accusations and counter accusations are being made here and there. On June 8, Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu emerged the Presidential candidate of APC for the February 25, 2023 election at the party's presidential primaries, held at the Eagle Square, Abuja and since then, it's been a very rocky ride for Mr. Tinubu and his camp. It seems one new secret is being spilled every other day about him and although, Tinubu has always been a controversial figure, he gets even more controversial lately. From his complicity in the murder of the EndSars protesters to the Alpha Beta issue to the Bloomberg reports to missing certificates to his age and health issues, Mr. Tinubu comes off as being morally deficient for the highest office in the land. Mr. Tinubu is being accused of perjury and irregularities in the documents he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was just recently discovered that his primary and secondary school certificates are missing. It is reported that he left both columns blank in the forms he submitted to INEC. He claims to have lost them during a looting of his property while he was out of the country or as he put it, self-exile between 1994 and 1999. It is even further alleged that he didn't have these certificates when he contested as a governor in 1999. It makes one wonder what kind of politics we play, as no word on the certificate saga seems to have been mentioned until now. Tinubu's wealth is another subject of public debate. Its source seems to be shady and linked to drugs. From the Bloomberg papers, it was discovered that Mr. Tinubu's funds totalling $1.8m were seized by the U.S government and he had to agree to a plea bargain to forfeit almost $500,000 before the funds were released to him. Before his time as governor, he didn't have much but as governor, he didn't have much but as governor he entrenched himself in the nerve centre of Lagos economy by fixing his cronies in every area imaginable and years after leaving office he still seems to control Lagos state, it's economy and finances by proxy. Even then, not so covertly. Some call it mentoring and raising the next generation of politicians but how is it mentoring when the aim is quite personal and selfish. Alpha Beta is a case study among many others.

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