By Musa Bakare.
In the unpredictable theatre of Nigerian politics, where giants have stumbled and alliances crumble overnight, one man has remained astute, focused, and unyielding, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the master strategist who turns adversity into advantage and politics into an art of purpose.
From the trenches of the pro democracy struggle to the pinnacle of the presidency, Asiwaju Tinubu’s journey has never been a sprint; it has been a marathon of vision, courage, and strategic calculation.
He understood early that politics is not sustained by noise but by structure and he built structures strong enough to outlive emotions, propaganda, betrayals and individuals.
As Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, Asiwaju Tinubu did not merely govern; he institutionalized governance.
He turned Lagos into a self reliant model of fiscal discipline and innovation, assembling one of the finest teams of public administrators in modern Nigeria.
From Babatunde Fashola to Yemi Osinbajo, Rauf Aregbesola, Lai Mohammed, James Abiodun Faleke and Ben Akabueze his protégés became national figures and state builders. Many now lead ministries, parastatals, and states, a clear testament that Asiwaju Tinubu’s leadership reproduces leaders.
Asiwaju’s political resilience is legendary. In 2003, when the ruling PDP swept through the Southwest, he alone stood tall in Lagos, the last man standing of the Alliance for Democracy (AD).
While others were consumed by the political tide, Jagaban Tinubu rebuilt from the ashes, forming the Action Congress (AC), which soon captured the hearts of progressives across the country.
By 2007, he had guided Babatunde Fashola to victory in Lagos and expanded his influence to the South South and North Central. In 2011, his Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) became the dominant opposition force, controlling key states and setting the stage for a national merger.
Then came the masterstroke,the merger that birthed the All Progressives Congress (APC). President Tinubu united northern strength with southern strategy, creating a national platform that defeated a sitting government in 2015, an unprecedented feat in Nigeria’s democratic history.
It was not luck; it was the culmination of years of coalition building, discipline, and political foresight.
In 2023, the strategist became the sovereign. Against a backdrop of propaganda, factional betrayals, and economic frustration, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu won the presidential election with an audacious, nationwide campaign anchored on his mantra: Renewed Hope Agenda.
He defied the odds, triumphed across regions, and proved again that organization and consistency always defeat emotion and noise.
Now as President, Asiwaju Tinubu faces his toughest test yet, rebuilding a nation crippled by decades of corruption, deceit, and dependency.
His reforms, fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, industrial revival, and fiscal restructuring are painful but necessary.
He knows that true leadership is not about pleasing the moment, but preparing the future.
As he often reminds Nigerians, No pain, no gain, only truth can heal a nation.
History will not remember Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu merely as a politician who won elections, but as the rare statesman who mastered the science of power, the discipline of planning, and the courage to act when it is least popular.
He is not infallible, but he is indomitable, a leader whose political footprints will shape Nigeria’s democratic evolution for decades.
That is the making of an astute and unbeatable politician, a man who does not just play politics, but defines it.
– Musa Asiru Bakare, Member, All Progressives Congress (APC) and Political Analyst, writes from Lokoja, Kogi State.
