Tinubu: Lessons learned from victory

The emergence of Bola Tinubu as the President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was riddled with many twists and turns and in order to ensure the sustainability of the country’s democracy, lessons has to be learned.

INEC Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu who declared the results, said Tinubu polled 8,794,726 votes to defeat his closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored 6,984,520 votes. While Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) got 6,101,533 voted, Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) trailed with 1,496,687 votes.

Here are some lessons to be learned therein;

The Youth Factor

Tinubu has pledged to work with the youth in order to resolve their disenchantment with the country. The youth factor was a major reason behind the slim margins, with many choosing Peter Obi of the Labour Party.

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“Now, to you, the young people of this country, I hear you loud and clear. I understand your pains, your yearnings for good governance, a functional economy and a safe nation that protects you and your future.

“I am aware that for many of you, Nigeria has become a place of abiding challenges, limiting your ability to see a bright future for yourselves.

“Remodelling our precious national home requires the harmonious efforts of all of us, especially the youth. Working together, we shall move this nation as never before,” Tinubu said.

Ethnicity

Going to the polls, ethnicity was a major yardstick that brightened the chances of the former Lagos State governor. Tinubu rode on his famous ‘emilokan’ – it is my turn – slogan to rally support from Yoruba, majority of who believe that a Tinubu presidency is a collective ethnic cause.

As such, Tinubu got overwhelming votes from his region in the South West dominated by Yoruba. Although he lost in Osun and his home state in Lagos, he was able to secure a large number of votes in the two states, resulting in a narrow defeat to Atiku and Obi respectively.

The Centre for Democracy and Development alluded to this factor in its post-election report released on Tuesday.

“Early voting patterns suggest that ethnic identity may have been a key determinant in voters’ choices in this election. However, the result from Lagos, where Obi was able edge Tinubu offers some optimism for a generational change independent of the ethnic cleavages that have historically dominated Nigerian politics,” CDD said.

G5 factor

Many political analysts have argued that the crisis between the PDP leadership and five governors from the party led by Nyesom Wike of Rivers State constituted a major distraction for the party and its candidate. The governors – Wike, Samuel Ortom of Benue State, Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and Okezie Ipeazu of Abia State – were at daggers drawn with the party, demanding the resignation of its national chairman, Dr Iyorchia Ayu. They anchored their grievance on perceived injustice in the party, claiming that Atiku and Ayu are from the North.

Although Atiku and PDP later put the crisis behind them, its effect was somewhat telling in the results of the poll as Tinubu won in Rivers and Oyo states. Benue was also won by Obi after Ortom openly declared support for the LP presidential candidate. Ultimately, Atiku did not win in any of the states governed by the G5.