We all know Bola Ahmed Tinubu (BAT) loves to put on a show — doesn’t matter if he’s riding a gym bike in London or taking fire jpegs to prove he’s not sick.
Now, barely two weeks after he released his manifesto, the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate arranged a glossy town hall meeting with the moneybags of the private sector to press home his proposed economic policies. We’re talking about billionaires like Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia, Tony Elumelu, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, and Herbert Wigwe. If the Avengers were a Nigerian billionaire group, they all showed up for the BAT.
And since there’s nothing like a Lagos party, we recapped the most interesting things from Tinubu’s business summit.
[Image source: Channels Television]
Tinubu makes a lot of promises, as usual
As always, Tinubu made the usual promises concerning some of his plans for Nigerians including:
- Double-digit GDP growth.
- The resurrection of industrial policy.
- Promotion of the
agbadoagricultural industry. - The evergreen promise of 24/7 power supply.
- CBN giving affordable rates for credit.
- Another evergreen promise of better roads and public facilities.
- Enlisting more Nigerians into the armed forces.
Tinubu won’t stop talking about his master plan
Tinubu reminded everyone about his background as a former Lagos State governor and how he made the state what it is today with his masterplan. He said, “My team and I developed a blueprint, a masterplan, for Lagos. I can say that plan has been largely successful. We turned this state into a safer, more prosperous place where people can go about any legitimate vocation or venture regardless of their ethnicity, religion, region, or prior social station.”
Don’t forget this is the same person accused of extorting market women in Lagos for his presidential rally in October 2022.
Shettima isn’t a man of peace
Some lighthearted violence also got the spotlight at the business summit when Tinubu’s running mate, Kashim Shettima, took the mic. He targeted two of his party’s biggest opponents.
Remember him?
Atiku Abubakar
Shettima first went after the academic qualification of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar. He mocked the former vice-president for getting a “wole wole (sanitary inspector)” certificate from the Kano School of Hygiene where he graduated with a diploma in 1967.
For his final shot at Atiku, Shettima said, “The ability to sell bottled water does not make one an expert on the economy. Atiku Abubakar is not Abraham Lincoln, he’s more of a Raila Odinga. Next year, we are going to permanently retire the political tourist back to Dubai.”
Shettima signed the peace accord with other presidential candidates in September, but he didn’t show up to the business summit to preach peace.
Peter Obi
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, was also in Shettima’s firing line. Shettima rated his tenure as Anambra State governor a “mediocre performance” and cast doubts on his leadership skills.
“Leadership goes beyond glamourising poverty. We don’t glamourise poverty, we fight poverty. I won’t tell you that I have two pairs of shoes or I have a single watch. Leadership goes beyond dubious statistics or basking in a mediocre performance as the governor of Anambra State,” he said.
Sanwo-Olu won’t stop kissing Tinubu’s feet
The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, owes his position to Tinubu, so it’s not a surprise that he’s been all over his presidential campaign. In his tribute to Tinubu at the summit, the governor reminded everyone about his godfather’s achievements from ancient days.
Sanwo-Olu promised everyone that Tinubu will use his business acumen to help the private sector and everyone make more money. But we all know he’s just watching out for his own interests.
[Image source: Nigeria Info]
Everyone is shocked Iyin Aboyeji is a BAT man
It was surprising for many Nigerians on Twitter to see the founder of Future Africa, Iyin Aboyeji, making a case for Tinubu’s tech policy at the summit, especially since he criticised the APC in 2021.
Here’s what some Nigerians had to say of his presentation:
