Tinubu’s attacks on Buhari: An Electoral Distraction Nigerians Must Watch Against

The internet has been invaded with attacks from Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress, on the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. 

Tinubu has moved from criticising the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) naira redesign policy and the current fuel scarcity in major cities across the country to the management of Nigeria’s foreign exchange market which has led to the depreciation of the naira. 

The Flagbearer of the ruling party seems to be serving the current administration some hot jabs.

What does Tinubu intend to achieve through his attack?

His attacks could be directed at distracting the Nigerian Populace from the elections

If Tinubu keeps up with his attack on the current administration, Nigerians could shift their attention from the election and focus on the debacle between both politicians. Rather than sharing insightful tips that will encourage Nigerians to vote.

They could begin to study the relationship between Buhari and Tinubu. Also, instead of asking the right questions about the credibility of the candidates contesting for the presidential elections, social media could keep buzzing with the fracas between the duo. If Tinubu keeps up with his jabs, the Obidients who have peached their tents against him because of the wickedness perpetrated by the APC-led administration could begin to rethink their stance. 

Tinubu could make Nigerians perceive a disagreement between him and the sitting government

The sitting government has been largely condemned for accentuating the hardship of Nigerians with their harsh economic policies. Isolating himself from the activities of the government of the day could be seeking to present him as a saint, who possesses the capacity to do better. Recall that in his address at Abeokuta, Tinubu said, “We will use our PVCs to take over government from them. If they like let them create a fuel crisis, even if they say there is no fuel, we will trek to vote. They are full of mischief; they could say there is no fuel.” From that statement, Tinubu attempts to paint a picture of a possible disagreement between him and the sitting government. 

He could be making the electorate see that he is sensitive to their pain

The Endsars movement and the Lagos state government’s reaction to the incident made many Nigerians see Tinubu as evil. The Flagbearer of the ruling party seems to be trying really hard to redeem his image. By slamming the Buhari administration, he is demonstrating sympathy towards Nigerians. In his recent attack, The former Lagos State Governor said, “To change and the torture, they moved the exchange rate from doing N200 to N800.” From the above statement, Tinubu could be trying to make Nigerians perceive that he has also felt the brunt of the government’s inability to manage Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

He could be trying to make Nigerians see that the political party doesn’t matter but the personality.

Also, from his recent outburst on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market, Tinubu said “If they had repaired it, if they had arrested this, we won’t be where we are today, we would be greater.  “They don’t know the way, they don’t know how to think, they don’t know how to do.’’ This could be presenting the Presidential candidate as a man who knows how to think and act better than Buhari. Tinubu could also be dragging the attention of Nigerians back to the work he did as a sitting governor of Lagos state. His attacks could also be intended at making Nigerians see that he can perform better, despite the bad name the current administration has earned the party.

Tinubu’s clarification that his remarks were not targeted at President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration also goes a long way to show that the row could be an electoral distraction as Nigeria heads to the poll, (25th February) 24 days from now.

NEXT:3 Events That Show Buhari Doesn’t Support Tinubu’s Candidacy