In the beginning was a political family, and the family was led by a strategist, and the strategist was a kingmaker. His word was obeyed with delight. His plan was endorsed heartily. It was a close knit political family, an impregnable bloc. But with time, men vouched that the centre could not hold again in this family. In fact, not a few beat their chests that things had indeed fallen apart and that the evidence that it was no longer at ease between key members such as Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Ekiti State Governor Dr. Kayode Fayemi and their leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would be out soon. Fingers point at the race for the 2023 presidential election as the cause of the schism. Tinubu, Osinbajo and Fayemi are said to be interested in the race and unwilling to bury their ambition for one another.
Then Fatima, the daughter of Minister of Education Adamu Adamu, got married in Azare, Bauchi State on Saturday and COVID-19 compliant Osinbajo and Tinubu met, held hands, and had a tête-à-tête— smiling and malice not detectable in their gestures.
For months, they had not met. At least in public. As they did, Fayemi stood with them after respectfully greeting Tinubu, the man he fondly calls oga for his role in his political trajectory.
Were these men just acting? Have they truly started undercutting one another to have the upper hand in the quest to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari? Will we still see the signs that things have fallen apart among them, that the centre is truly not holding again and that we will yet behold the evidence despite the Bauchi show? Will this family survive 2023 still standing as one?
The next few months will tell.
The Nation
