Be ready to serve the people if you want to be like Tinubu ― Igbokwe

Bola Ahmed Tinubu

NIGERIANS who are desirous of commanding followership and respect like the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, have been enjoined to be ready to serve the people while denying themselves comfort, freedom and sleep.

Spokesperson of Lagos State chapter of APC, Mr Joe Igbokwe, gave this counsel on Wednesday in his goodwill message on the occasion of the 66th birthday of the party’s national leader, adding that those who also wanted to shape their lives after Asiwaju Tinubu should jettison bigotry, morbid hatred, primordial sentiments and ethnic preoccupation.

According to Igbokwe, many had wanted to be like Tinubu, who is also former governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007 as they wanted to command respect and the world to accept them but in actions, deeds, character, tolerance, commitment, hard work, among others cannot match, declaring that those of them, including himself who followed the APC National Leader, do so “because he works for us even when we are sleeping.”

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“We follow and honour our leader BAT because he breaks his back for us. We follow him because he cares for all of us. We follow him because he knows where he is going. We follow BAT because he has earned our trust for decades now. We follow him because he has never disappointed us. We follow Asiwaju because he is focused and dynamic. We follow Asiwaju because he has not failed us. We follow Asiwaju because he is dependable. We follow him because he fights for us. We follow him because the man is a deep thinker. We follow Asiwaju because he values us without measure,” he added.

“Now if you want to be like His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu go out and slave for the people, go out and think in terms of other people, go out and build the bridges, go out and sow the seed, go out and deny yourself comfort, freedom and sleep, go out and jettison bigotry, morbid hatred, primordial sentiments and ethnic preoccupation, go out and nurture and bring up millions of leaders the way Asiwaju has done for decades, go out and love people who are different from yourself, go out and join others to build a nation. This is the way to greatness, this is the way to acceptability and this is the way to garner the respect of the ordinary people,” Igbokwe stated.

“You cannot make an Omelette without breaking eggs. You cannot be a hero overnight. You cannot raise the level of the Mediterranean Sea by making it possible for all the planetary rains to fall on it and even when you succeed in doing this water will always find its own level. Reputation, greatness, and being famous are not achieved overnight,” the APC chieftain admonished.