When in 2015, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the current Senate President, who then was contesting the Senate Presidency against an All Progressives Congress (APC) anointed candidate, was told that he was summoned by Professor Yemi Osibanjo to appear before him iron to out the issue, Saraki angrily retorted: “How can I be summoned by an ordinary Commissioner?”
For Saraki, perhaps, not appreciating the new status of Yemi Osibanjo as Vice President, it was demeaning for him to be summoned by Yemi Osibanjo who he knew was the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, when he (Saraki) was the Governor of Kwara State.
That was therefore unthinkable, and he refused to honour that invitation. The rest is now history.
Even though some people had considered Saraki’s position as extreme or over statement since Yemi Osibanjo was no longer “ordinary Commissioner” but Vice President, yet, the difference between a governor and a commissioner clearly showed itself during last Friday’s debate organized for Vice Presidential Candidates of five political parties in the country.
Any unbiased observer who watched the debate will readily agree that Mr. Peter Obi, the vice Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was the man of the day. Obi, who was former Governor of Anambra State, trounced all the other Vice Presidential Candidates who featured on the debate, including the incumbent Vice President, President, Professor Yemi Osibanjo.
He had no doubt demonstrated the fact that he knows Nigeria’s problems inside out and how to solve these problems.
While Peter Obi was reeling out facts and figures to back his points, Prof. Osibanjo merely relied on second hand information to argue his own case. This shows that there is a big difference between someone elected to run an office and an appointee, between a governor and a commissioner.
Thus, while Peter Obi relied on concrete facts based on practical experience to illustrate his points, Yemi Osibanjo employed his expertise as a lawyer to postulate or argue his case.
Mr. Peter Obi is not only a theorist, he is also a practical man. His eight years governorship of Anambra State which was without blemish, is a practical demonstration of this assertion. Furthermore, that Peter Obi had succeeded in turning around Anambra State which many people considered was ungovernable, with massive infrastructure, is a no mean feat.
Perhaps, not many people knew that Prof. Yemi Osibanjo is a stammerer until that his encounter with Peter Obi during the debate. And the professor of law almost lost his composure!
In spite of the fact that Yemi Osibanjo has been in office as Vice President for three and half years and had on several occasions acted as President yet, he still could not come to terms with the country’s socio-economic and political problems. That’s not very good.
