Razaq Abubakre, an emeritus Professor and former federal Commissioner, says the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi couldn’t have beaten President-elect Sen. Bola Tinubu at the last presidential election.
Abubakre, also a former Vice Chancellor of Al-Hikmah University Ilorin, spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday.
The technocrat claimed that Obi’s lacklustre performance as former Governor of Anambra State worked against him.
Abubakre said that Obi’s inability to build leaders, unlike Tinubu, who has inspired several leaders nationally and internationally, was part of his undoing.
He further stated that the allegation against Obi in some sections of the media, where he was accused of practising tribal jingoism during his governorship tenure against non-Igbo speaking people, was part of his albatross.
“Some of his activities, performance and attitude in synchrony to those of some of his followers, the ‘Obidients’, reveal their latent parts.
“His use of religion in contradistinction to Asiwaju’s Muslim-Muslim ticket gave him a transient false national spread.
“His alleged impropriety with state funds, as confirmed during an interview with Kadria Ahmed that he invested state funds in his family business, is also part of his undoing,” Abubakre alleged.
He recalled the simile employed by Rabiu Kwankwaso, NNPP, presidential candidate, during his speech at the Chatham House, London, that Obi’s electoral fortune was like the foam of Andrews Liver Salt that comes with power and disappears almost immediately.
“This is quite apposite to describe his eventual performance, especially during the elections of state governors and House of Assemblies. Unfortunately, desperation is not a good manner,” Abubakre said.
He said he could not endorse the permutation that if all the other contestants whose origin was PDP, such as Atiku, Obi and Kwankwaso, joined forces, PDP would have probably won the presidency.
“This is underlying the divine intervention favouring Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ab initio.
“The pattern of voting could have changed. For example, the bulk of votes that Obi received from the South-East, parts of South-South and pockets of North-Central could not have gone to Atiku.
“Some of it would have also been cast for Tinubu on his merit and record of performance,” Abubakre asserted.
He said the internal evidence of this claim is the undiminishing successes and superiority of the APC in all the elections, such as National Assembly, gubernatorial elections and state assemblies, despite the global economic challenges.
“In sum, Peter Obi just came as a spoiler with his mountainous social media following,” Abubakre alleged.
He said Tinubu’s superiority lies in his excellent performance record as governor of Lagos State; his cosmopolitan outlook spread nationally and with global ramifications.
“It is instructive to note that Tinubu’s emergence is divine and critical when the nation needs a true unifier, a performer par excellence and a strategic leader focused on nation-building for sustainable and inclusive growth,” Abubakre said.