All Progressives Congress national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has rejected the praises showered on him by Ogun-East senator-elect, Buruji Kashamu. Kashamu, who is the Chairman of the Organization and Mobilisation Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party in the South-West, had last week, described Tinubu as his role model and the architect of modern Nigeria. However, Tinubu, in a statement by his media adviser, Mr. Sunday Dare, described Kashamu as a pretender. Bola Tinubu stated there was no basis for comparison between himself and Kashamu, adding that he felt insulted by the open letter addressed to him by Kashamu. “The days of false adulation are gone in Nigerian politics. Fake praise singers like Kashamu will find that their particular craft is no longer in vogue. During this election cycle, their practice has dramatically turned from the way things are to how things used to be. Politicians will no longer be able to change direction and loyalties as if they were changing clothes. Those in politics must know that responsibility and accountability shall now follow them. One can no longer walk both sides of the street at the same time. In case Kashamu has not noticed, the politics of principle defeated the politics of posturing,”Tinubu stated. He added that it was ironic that Kashamu could praise him after conspiring with other PDP leaders to produce and broadcast a hate documentary against him. “Kashamu may be prodigal but he is no political son of Tinubu. Kashamu’s political lineage tracks to people like Bode George and President Jonathan. He should direct his encomiums to these men who are his true role models. They need his contrived affections more than Tinubu does. This same Kashamu rained insults on former President Olusegun Obasanjo in a vicious campaign of calumny. Kashamu’s party, the PDP, sponsored defamatory documentaries full of lies and innuendos against me, General Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders of the APC,” the statement continued. “Please keep your peace until you make your trip to the United StatesA as a senator-elect. Upon your return we can then have a conversation. We can then proceed with your repudiation of the PDP with a promise that you will stop corrupting and fouling the political system. I am a patriotic, law abiding Nigerian and my achievements make me world-renowned. I am a global citizen that travels freely to the United StatesA, the United Kingdom and other nations. I associate with individuals who seek democracy and good governance for all. I do not spend time with characters whose values are at variance with societal expectations and laws governing a decent society.”
