Olusegun Obasanjo and Bola Ahmed Tinubu
This has been an age-long question that has often seen two close friends engaging each other in seriously hot arguments. If not George Washington Bush and Osama Bin Laden; it would be between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump; Joe Biden of the United States of America, Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, Isaac Herzog of Israel, Ebrahim Raisi of Iran or Xi Jinping of China. In Nigeria, many people have been locked in serious arguments trying to settle matters on who is more powerful between the incumbent President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the three times former President of the country, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Actually, it may be very tough to decide who is more powerful between these two great men, as everyone will agree they are both exceptional and elegant and almost leave no room for weaknesses so far in their lifestyle. However, there are about fifteen yardsticks that may be put into serious consideration before determining who is more powerful between Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.
Chief Obasanjo is a former military boss, a retired military General, a former Head of State, and a two-term democratically elected President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria while Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a former member of the country's National Assembly (Senate), two-term former Executive Governor of Lagos State and incumbent President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
As we can see, the two men are great and have gotten to the peak of their domains of operation. However, there is no how one would not be rated above others considering how effective they are in power acquisition and use of power after its acquisition looking at the fifteen yardsticks.
Authority and Position
This has to do with the official roles, responsibilities, and scope of influence of both Chief Obasanjo and Bola Tinubu when they occupy positions.
Take it or leave it, Chief Obasanjo and Bola Tinubu leave no opportunity untouched when given authority and position. They both have the characters to go all length in the course of accomplishing their desires using the resources (authority and position) available to them.
The only difference between how both Chief Obasanjo and Bola Tinubu use their authority and position to acquire their desire is considerably contextual, knowing fully well that Chief Obasanjo is an ex-military man so he is considerably brutal while Tinubu could be regarded as more civilized in the course of deploring their authorities and positions to achieve their desire.
Decision-making power
Who has the final say in key decisions? This is a key factor to be considered when dealing with deciding who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
Chief Obasanjo once boldly told one of his political aides as a sitting President that no Special Adviser should see their advice as mandatory for him to heed. He clarified that the power to decide what to do or not is solely vested in him. Being a former military boss who has led boys to war fronts, Chief Obasanjo's Decision-making power could not be underestimated.
Likewise, Tinubu's Decision-making power has been so superb and famous that it could be hard to find a match among his peers in the country.
Tinubu, so far, has participated in four keenly contested elections which he won all, noticeable among these was his reelection as Lagos State Governor in 2003 where it could be said that he defeated Chief Obasanjo who was then President of the country, and on the run to win all the governorship seats in his Southwest from where the two great men hail.
Tinubu was the only Southwest Governor who survived the raid on opposition parties during the 2003 election under the administration of former President Obasanjo.
Resources and Budget
Control over financial, human, and material resources is another very important factor that determines who is more powerful between two great men.
Chief Obasanjo and Tinubu are both talented in financial, human, and material resources management but Tinubu could be rated higher in human management.
Tinubu has more people, who are successful today, to lay claim to as the beneficiaries of his human resource management skills.
Arguably, if Tinubu and Obasanjo take two separate lines asking people to queue behind them regarding supremacy in human resource management, it is clear Tinubu will easily defeat Obasanjo, hands down.
Influence and Network
The extent of their professional and personal networks could not be underrated if we are to holistically settle the question asking who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
When Obasanjo was in the military, he was known for his intelligence cleverness, his firmness. Besides, as a sitting democratically elected president, Chief Obasanjo survived an attempt to get him impeached and, later, almost led Nigeria to a one-party State. However, there is no gainsay in recalling that Bola Tinubu challenged Obasanjo's influence by building considerably, a more sophisticated network of people with influences.
Tinubu not only defeated Obasanjo's influence and network, but he led the country out of Obasanjo's one-party state, defeating Obasanjo's People's Democratic Party (PDP) before he later built on the success to achieve what he called his lifelong ambition, becoming the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Popularity and Support
The level of public support, approval ratings, and loyalty of both Tinubu and Obasanjo cannot be settled without raising dust.
Obasanjo might be popular to an extent but he became President of Nigeria not actually banking on his personal popularity. Obasanjo's presidential slot was used to settle Southwest following the demise of late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale (MKO) Abiola whose presidential victory in the 1993 General election in Nigeria was illegally upturned.
Obasanjo hails from the same Ogun State in Southwestern Nigeria with late Chief MKO Abiola. Even though the majority of people in the southwest cast their votes against Obasanjo during the 1999 election due to unpopularity, the North gave their support to him to win the election because of the bad omen the military head of state who hailed from the North meted at late Chief MKO Abiola.
It was also on record that Obasanjo's second term election was adjudged the most brutal in the history of Nigerian politics.
On the contrary, Tinubu built a network of personalities and influences across bridges, extending his popularity beyond the Southwest, helping him to have his name becoming a common word in the households of both his allies and opponents across the country.
For his political doggedness and intellectual diligence, Tinubu seems to be the most talked-about living Nigerian, anywhere across the world, today.
Vision and Strategy
The ability to shape and implement visions is another important key point in determining who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
Brutally or peacefully, Obasanjo got his second-term ambition delivered. We talked about his second-term ambition because that was the only slot he fought for. As said earlier, on a mission to correct the past error, Obasanjo got his first term presidential slot with not much push and pull over it.
However, his second term was met with a show of force and conflict of ambitions, even from his vice president, Atiku Abubakar but he won even though the election was nothing to write home about.
Tinubu, on the other hand, said the presidential seat of Nigeria has been a long-time vision for him, and he strategized until he has himself in the seat of Nigerian President.
I think the duo are good at scoring pass marks on vision and strategy, regardless of the severity of the strategies. After all, in some context, the result matters.
Leadership Style
This has to do with the effectiveness of motivating, inspiring, and directing others.
How do we score a military general, Chief Obasanjo, low in leadership style, or a civilian, Tinubu, who led a team to dislodge the tactics of a military general?
Yes, Obasanjo's leadership style could be adjudged dictatorial while Tinubu is more delegatory in his leadership style. None is bad, thus, the result matters. So, they are both versatile people with great leadership styles, even different.
Crisis Management
The ability to handle challenges, adapt, and recover is crucial in settling who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
Well, Chief Obasanjo had achieved all he might have wanted before the crisis that led him out of his party, the PDP. However, it is noticeable that, regardless of the brutality, he successfully handled the major crises rocking his party when he was the President of Nigeria.
Communal, political, and socioeconomic crises were also dealt with during the administration of Obasanjo, even though, we have to close our eyes on the brutal side of his fire brigade ways of crisis management, after all, results matter.
Tinubu has been superb in his ways of managing crises. Except for what money cannot buy, I don't think Tinubu has a problem in managing crises.
Arguably, money seems to have lost value before his reasoning and he can throw whatever amount to get any crisis resolved.
I suggest he builds his belief of the financial influence of crisis management on the fact that poverty is the spirit that fuels crisis at all levels.
International Recognition
Global influence, respect, and collaboration are not what anyone can take away from anybody who has become President of the most populous black country in the world, Nigeria.
Arguably, Nigeria is Africa and anyone who occupies the Office of the President of Nigeria has global recognition, influence, respect, and collaboration on his palm.
I mean both Obasanjo and Tinubu are great individuals with international recognition.
Long-term Impact
Legacy, sustainability, and lasting effects of leadership styles are crucial for consideration to determine who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
It could be simply put that the dictatorial leadership style doesn't really have a long-term impact, and it arguably lasts until the leadership tenure of the dictator lasts, or a little beyond the length of the tenure.
However, the delegatory leadership style seems to be a way of building generational companions who attribute their accomplishments to the legacy of the delegator.
Arguably, Tinubu seems to have adopted a leadership style with long-term memory than Obasanjo's.
Soft Power
The ability to attract, persuade, and co-opt rather than coerce is a versatile factor that must be tested in the course of determining who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
Maybe due to the nature of their professional fields, this factor is straightforward and begs no further in its resolution.
Obasanjo was trained as a military man and a general should always be expected to speak force unlike Tinubu, a civilian, who would always prefer to attract, persuade, and co-opt rather than coercion.
It is simple, Tinubu has more power than Obasanjo.
Expertise and Knowledge
The depth of understanding in their professional field is deep, and no one will dare mark anyone of them low.
Obasanjo rose through file and ranks to become Army General. He is more than distinct in his expertise and knowledge of the military.
Also, Tinubu's expertise in accounting could not be underrated for he worked as an accountant for the American companies Arthur Andersen, Deloitte, and GTE Services Corporation. After returning to Nigeria in 1983, he joined Mobil Oil Nigeria and later became a company executive. These companies are surely not for average performers.
Communication Skills
Both Chief Obasanjo and Tinubu have a very high level of effectiveness in articulating their vision and ideas.
Their articulating prowess may often be rated as "if you don't want to do their bidding, never allow them to have a seat for discussion with you."
Adaptability and Flexibility
The ability to pivot and adjust to changing circumstances is another critical factor that determines how powerful a person might be.
As an ex-military person, Obasanjo has a very high degree of adaptability, however, flexibility might not be for a military general because they must always represent force.
Tinubu's level of adaptability may be related to his background and vision for greater height. He is adaptable and never felt deterred even as he maintained flexibility when the necessity arose.
If not for Tinubu's adaptability, he might have dumped his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the first term tenure of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, because of the forces that rose against his person. Also, his flexibility allowed him to successfully manage the conspiracy that faced his presidential ambition ahead of the 2023 presidential election that produced him as Nigerian President.
Integrity and Trust
Perception of their honesty, transparency, and reliability must be different from one individual to another, and this is where it will be left to everyone to have their conclusion on who is more powerful between Obasanjo and Tinubu.
Even though, power is complex and context-dependent. One may need to decide between Chief Obasanjo and Tinubu, who can tell me Good morning while I am indoors and I will not have to open my window to check whether we are really in the morning.
Category: World-News
Tag: Who Is More Powerful Between Tinubu and Obasanjo
Written by Author (author)
Published 8/11/2024 2:27:42 AM