Segun Sowunmi, the Convener of The Alternative, has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) coalition that defeated the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 presidential election succeeded because President Bola Tinubu was able to suppress his personal ambition for the broader interest of the alliance.
He stated this during an interview with Enitan Bello while reflecting on the formation of the APC and the political calculations that preceded the 2015 election.
According to Sowunmi, the coalition could have collapsed if Tinubu had insisted on making himself the centre of the alliance.
“Do you know that one of the reasons why that APC coalition worked is because for whatever reason, Bola was able to manage his own hurt,” he said.
Sowunmi recalled that after the coalition agreed to present Muhammadu Buhari as its presidential candidate, Tinubu reportedly could not become his running mate because the parties rejected a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
He said Tinubu’s response to the setback was crucial to preserving the alliance.
“He wanted to be vice. They said after they had achieved the coalition, and they had achieved that Muhammadu Buhari was going to be the candidate. Now let us put his name, they came and said they cannot do Muslim-Muslim ticket,” Sowunmi said.
He questioned whether it would have been easy for Tinubu to accept the decision without allowing the disappointment to undermine the coalition.
“Do you know how excruciatingly painful that would be? Did you ever see him start getting angry, destroying the party? Do you know what it takes for him to just press it down for the greater good?” he asked.
Sowunmi also recalled Tinubu’s role in bringing former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo into the political arrangement, describing it as another sacrifice made to sustain the coalition.
“Do you know what it takes for him to go and bring Osinbajo who’s just busy somewhere doing his only Jesus can save and suddenly you are vice president?” he said.
He described such compromises as part of the “price of building an institution that can last.”
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