Why Tinubu moves against Aregbesola
It is stale news that the relationship between Tinubu and his former number one loyalist has gone south, however most Nigerians don’t know the real power complexities that played out before the once envied friendship crashed like a pack of badly arranged cards. On the 9th of June 2020 Aregbesola was unceremoniously removed from his position as a member of the Governor’s Advisory Council of Lagos state. This is the highest decision making body within the APC Lagos state. To achieve that, Asiwaju Tinubu and his foot soldiers devised a means to deflate Rauf Aregbesola and neutralize his power building schemes in Lagos. All the political groups within the APC was dissolved with immediate effect and any type of political groupings outlawed in the state. This had to be initiated with speed to stop Rauf Aregbesola from building an army of opposition to Tinubu’s hold on Lagos. Unknown to many Rauf Aregbesola had started using his new position as the Minister for Interior to viciously mobilize against his erstwhile mentor Jagaban. He was holding all sorts of nocturnal meetings in the wee hours of the morning in his Abuja home with so many disgruntled politicians from Lagos. People who were so already frustrated with Tinubu’s imposition style of leadership. So the information had reached Tinubu of their impending political coup on him and he moved immediately to douse the raging fire.
Truth is, so many of Tinubu’s protégés are very much fed up with him. From Fashola to Ambode, Ashafa, Muiz Banire and many others. Take for instance Kemi Nelson who was sacked by Ngige from her job as the Executive Director if Operations NSITF. She confided in close confidants that she is just a victim in the “operation bury Tinubu’s political empire”. That she wasn’t the actual target of the FG but they only needed to sack her to get to Bola Tinubu. This position can be justified by the fireworks that flew between Minister for Labour Chris Ngige and Bola Tinubu’s diehard loyalists. So many politicians in APC Lagos state can wait to see Tinubu’s grip on the state broken. His fight with Rauf Aregbesola stems from the fact that he handed over to Governor Oyetola in Osun state who happens to be Tinubu’s cousin and the same Oyetola has completely discarded every of Aregbesholas legacy. Tinubu’s silence in all this and his refusing to mediate between the two of them led Aregbesola to seek his own political destiny by aligning with other forces to bring Asiwaju down in Lagos. The anti Tinubu movement amongst lagos state political icons is very strong and is progressing with each political failure that hits Tinubu.
Aregbesola had long been sabotaging Asiwaju with his secret but very close friendship with Tinubu’s known political foe, Ibikunle Amosun. Amosun has never hidden his disdain for Jagaban who supported Dapo Abiodun to succeed him in Ogun state. In retaliation Amosun allegedly gave very tactical and crucial support to Seyi Makinde in Oyo to trounce the APC. Ajimobi has always been a very close confidant of Jagaban and so he participated in enthroning Dapo Abiodun in Ogun state. Unfortunately for him his closeness to Tinubu cost him Oyo state as he failed to install his boy as Governor in 2019. With Aregbesola as the Minister for Interior, he has at his disposal a massive pool of financial resources to derail the Tinubu for 2023 movement and that is what is going on as we speak. Who would have thought that the same men Tinubu brought into politics would craft his political burial.
