By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
President Bola Tinubu had no hurdle picking the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket for the 2027 presidential election.
Unlike in 2022, when he faced fierce but ultimately weak opposition within the party, this time it is a mere coronation.
In 2022, he had to sweat it out with the sitting vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the former governor of Rivers State, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi, and others.
However, times have changed, and the president is completely in charge of the body and soul of the APC.
In fact, nobody ordinarily should have summoned the courage to challenge or engage him in any form of contest, whether spiritual or physical, for the party’s ticket.
Now that the ticket in his hand, the next question is who will become his running mate: Will he keep his deputy, Vice President Kashim Shettima, or look for someone else?
There were pockets of opposition in 2022 when Tinubu picked Shettima as his running mate. The resistance was primarily based on the country’s fragile religious composition.
Tinubu is a Muslim and so is Shettima, and religious balancing was placed on the front burner, especially amid allegations of a plot to Islamize the country.
However, as the 2027 polls draw nearer and Tinubu has secured the party’s ticket, there are indications he will run the race with Shettima. Some political analysts have described Shettima as the most loyal deputy in nearly three decades of democratic government in Nigeria.
The vice president, the analysts say, understands and interprets the policies and programmes of the Tinubu administration without animosity or confrontation.
He appears to have studied his boss to know the best way to follow him.
Another factor working in Shettima’s favour is loyalty.
In politics, loyalty must be total; any suspicious move leads to friction.
Shettima appears to have avoided missteps and thus earned Tinubu’s confidence.
The issue of a same-faith ticket (Muslim/Muslim) appears to have faded, especially with the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, being a Christian and a pastor in the Redeemed Church.
The idea of Islamization cannot hold water given Mrs. Tinubu’s influence in government.
As a master political strategist, Tinubu may have concluded that it would amount to political suicide to drop Shettima at this critical time. Politics is a game of numbers, and the vice president is one of the heavyweight politicians from the northern flank.
He has his followers who are ready to lay down their lives for him.
Observers also point to the cordial relationship between Mrs Tinubu, and the wife of the vice president, Hajia Nana Shettima.
The First Lady founded the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI), which has impacted women and girls positively.
Hajia Nana Shettima is the national vice-chairman of RHI and routinely represents the First Lady at RHI events and outreach programmes across states.
As it stands, despite intrigues and quiet political manoeuvring, it would be surprising to see Tinubu drop Shettima.
But in politics nothing is impossible.
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