How Buhari has changed style of campaign for Tinubu

By Adeola Omotola Last updated Feb 15, 2023

How Buhari has changed his style of campaign for Tinubu

President Muhammadu Buhari has changed his style of campaign for the candidate of the All Progressives Congress for the presidential election. There is one particular approach or development that has changed.

The president had totally withdrawn himself from campaigning for the ex Lagos state governor. Tinubu was at the forefront when Buhari was jostling for the job in 2015 and in 2019. And he now believes it’s his turn to lead the country.

But Buhari was dragging his feet due to some reasons best known to him. When criticism started, the Fulani man reluctantly started the campaign. He began to go to the rallies with the candidate of his party.

Yet Buhari wouldn’t urge the voters to cast their votes for ambitious Bola Tinubu who claims “emi lokan”. The president would rather ask the people, the crowd to vote for any candidate they want to take over the mantle.

That actually was counterproductive. It’s not in the interest of the ex Lagos state governor. And a development happened in Lafia, Nassarawa state capital. The president wasn’t only there on ground, he also appealed to the people and voters to support Bola Tinubu.

Before the Nassarawa state rally, they had gone to Yobe, Borno and Bauchi State. These are key northern states that Tinubu needs to win so as to actualize his supposed “lifelong ambition”.

Since that time till now, Buhari has been talking in favour of Bola Tinubu, his possible successor. That has been a tremendous change in the campaign style.

That’s not the only observation so far. Political analysts must have observed that Buhari has not campaigned for Tinubu in the southern region. Tinubu himself hails from the region, where All Progressives Congress isn’t that popular.

In a surprising move, the president was in Imo State today. Yes, Imo of all states should be the least Buhari should consider to visit. Yet he went there.

There have been renewed agitations for the establishment of the Biafra Republic by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). The state and four others in southeast have also come under numerous attacks of the unknown gunmen.

Buhari didn’t let this discourage him as he left his primary assignment to talk to the Igbo people in Imo to back Tinubu for the top job.