Bola Tinubu


By Ike Okonta


It is routinely said that Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the APC, did a spectacular job in Lagos as governor and that the city is the most developed in Nigeria. 


This achievement, the praise singers insist, is the main reason Tinubu should be elected President in 2023 so that he will repeat the Lagos "magic" in the wider Nigeria.


However, what is not often said is the fact that Bola Tinubu, since he took over control of Lagos in 1999, has done absolutely nothing to tackle the economic and social problems facing the poor citizens of the state in their millions. 


It is widely known by policy makers that the best way to aid the poor is to provide them with free healthcare, free and qualitative education and subsidized housing. The first governor in Lagos State to acknowledge this fact was the late Lateef Kayode Jakande.


In four short years as governor (1979-1983) Governor Jakande built new schools, abolished school fees, made healthcare free at the point of use, and embarked on a massive public housing programme for the poor.


Today Lagosians of my generation remember Lateef Jakande as the best governor Lagos ever had. But what will Bola Tinubu be remembered for? Certainly not for policies and programmes designed to wipe the tears from the faces of the Lagos poor.


Indeed, the Lagos poor associate Tinubu's name with high taxes. And they also link him with Alpha Beta, the company that collects taxes on behalf of the state government and which is alleged to be secretly owned by Bola Tinubu.


The Lagos Poor do not have affection for Tinubu because he has done absolutely nothing to address their plight through these years unlike Lateef Jakande of blessed memory.


If Tinubu was unable to help poor people in his immediate constituency, then he will do nothing for the estimated 100 million Nigerians living below the poverty line. The poor of Nigeria should therefore not waste their precious votes on Bola Tinubu in 2023.