The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s governance, saying he has an A1 in politics but an F9 in governance.
He made the assertion in an interview with Vanguard on Thursday.
According to him, Tinubu’s strength lies in his understanding of the political class and what motivates them, but he fails to deliver on basic services, stability, and security for the Nigerian people.
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“You have to give President Tinubu an A1 in politics. The only problem he has with the A1 is that he (Tinubu) tends to have F9 in governance.
“So how is he going to graduate into any substantive legacy? That is a problem because the A1 politics is that he knows the political class very well, he knows what moves and motivates them, and he knows how to recruit them, sometimes retrench them, retire them, and reengage them because he knows what they want,” Adebayo opined.
Adebayo expressed concern that Tinubu’s focus on political fortunes overshadows his responsibility to provide accountability to Nigerians.
“The politicians who are now waxing albums for the president featuring the Senate President as the solo singer, and they are singing the choruses, that music is only for their ears because the rumbling in the stomach of Nigerians will not let them hear the music of the National Assembly,” he said.
The SDP leader emphasised the need for politicians to prioritise the welfare of the people.
“What we want to do differently is focus the entire politics on the welfare of the people. There will be less controversy if we address the issue of whether people are hungry or not, how many of them have good housing, are we investing in education as we should? Are we investing in healthcare as we should?”
Adebayo also questioned Tinubu’s economic management skills, accusing him of “economisation of truth” rather than managing the economy effectively.
“The only skill you have in the management of the economy is the economisation of truth which is basically what they do, rather than manage the economy,” he said.
In Adebayo’s view, good governance is key to preventing politicians from jumping ship.
“If he cannot save lives in Benue, Plateau and many parts of the country, then he has failed,” he said.
He, however, advised Tinubu to prioritise the welfare of the people, rather than “political fortunes”.
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