Says Tinubu is Master of the Game, Always Ahead of Competitor
- Safiu Kehinde
The former Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Lagos Governorship candidate, Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro, has reiterated his agreement with those who believed he won the 2007 Gubernatorial Election in the state.
Obanikoro stated this while speaking on Mic On Podcast show hosted by Channels TV journalist, Seun Okinbaloye.
Reflecting on the election, the former lawmaker who represented Lagos Central Senatorial District from 2003 to 2007 said he gave all he could at the election won by then Action Congress (AC) candidate, Babatunde Raji Fashola.
He however admitted to the prowess of President Bola Tinubu who was then the national leader of the AC and also outgoing Lagos governor.
Obanikoro described Tinubu as the master of Nigerian politics who always think ahead of his oppositions.
“Politics can be very interesting. 2007 was an election where I gave it all. Asiwaju is a master of the game, and he is always ahead of his competitors.
“There was something probably I didn’t that I forgot among the things that I learnt from.
“I didn’t roll that dice as at that time and at the end of the day, I had to suffer by either not remembering or just completely overwhelmed with the issues that we had to content with at that time.
“But it is all for good. Like they say, the rest is now history.
“I also believed that we won that election, but you know Nigeria, it is what it is.” He said.
Asked whether he regretted contesting against the Tinubu-led party which defected from before joining PDP, Obanikoro held that he had no regret running against the structure that built him.
The former lawmaker said his governorship ambition was borne out of youthful exuberance and zeal to contribute to the betterment of Lagosians’ lives.
“I didn’t regret running against the structure. As a young man, you want to conquer the world. I was 47 and at that moment, all I wanted to do was achieve what I set my mind to achieve.
“I was not even thinking about whether I was fighting against my own family in terms of the Bola Tinubu political structure.
“I just felt that I wanted to be governor of Lagos State because at that time, I was full of so many things on my mind. that I felt were possible and will make the lives of average Lagosians better.
“That was more a focus for me than thinking about a structure that I was running against.
“Sometimes the kind of depth that goes into your thinking today wasn’t there then. As a young man, you believe you make mistakes and will still have many years ahead of you to correct it.
‘I didn’t see it as a mistake I saw it as someone who wanted to offer something to the public.
“To be honest with you, I was not running against my boss. I, as an individual, set a goal for myself and I went out of my way to put in everything to achieve it.” He said.
Speaking on his contest with Fashola and old claims that the former governor was a stooge to Tinubu, Obanikoro refuted any bad blood against the eventual winner of the 2007 poll.
He claimed that his campaign against Fashola’s candidacy was borne out of the fact that he perceived himself to be more experienced than the ex-governor.
“Babatunde Raji Fashola is my brother. Anyhow you want to scale it, he is my brother and we are both from Isale Eko. He was never a politician until that moment when it was thrusted on him.
“He was never a politician. I felt that having served as a local government chairman; served Oga as commissioner; served in the Senate, I felt that I have more political maturity, exposure, and experience to govern at that time.
“Don’t forget that was the first time he was going to come out to run anything as far as government is concerned. He was Chief of Staff to Oga.
“I felt that having worked under Asiwaju for four years, I have learnt all that I needed to learn when it comes to running the state. That is why I dived into it.” Obanikoro said.