"I Am A Talent Hunter. I Put Talents In Office, I Help Them," ~ Tinubu

"I am a talent hunter. I put talents in office, I help them," says the strong man of Lagos, APC and Nigeria,  former Lagos State Governor and opposition alliance leader Bola Tinubu, being quite open about his role as one of Nigeria's most powerful political godfathers.

"I use the best hand, the best brain, the best experience for the job," he told Reuters after voting this month in a governorship election in Nigeria's economic capital which, as expected, his hand picked candidate Akinwunmi Ambode won.

But it isn't only in his traditional fiefdom in the ethnic Yoruba southwest that Tinubu has sought to be a kingmaker. His support for former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari was seen as a key factor in the latter's win against President Goodluck Jonathan in the March 28 presidential election in Africa's biggest economy and oil producer.

The pro-Buhari alliance that Tinubu headed, the All Progressives Congress (APC), rallied elites around Buhari in the southwest, Nigeria's wealthiest region. That enabled Buhari to tackle a perception that his support lies only in the dust-blown, largely Muslim north. The religiously mixed southwest had voted overwhelmingly for Jonathan in the 2011 race.

So 'The Jagaban', an honorific title beloved of Tinubu's supporters, could have much say in what reform policies the new government will focus on, and who fills which cabinet posts.

"The party he led is half of the APC. He can ... lay claim to that power," said Clement Nwankwo of the Situation Room civil society group. "Buhari will feel (an) ... obligation to him."

To supporters Tinubu, a Yoruba Muslim, is a wily political operator with a passion for getting the job done and a knack for picking bright, committed technocrats to do it. To critics he is a ruthless godfather who doles out lucrative contracts to his friends' firms, insists on installing his man in office and is capable of sending in street thugs if he fails to get his way.

The APC, which came to power on anger over corruption and growing insecurity, has declined to speak publicly about policies.



Source: Reuters

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