The making of a President

Nigeria will have a new President this morning. He is Asiwaju

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former state governor. He is taking over from outgoing President Muhammadu Buhari whose constitutional two-term tenure has run out. Like the latter, Tinubu is of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Tinubu won the Feb. 25 presidential election with a hefty 8+ million votes, leaving other contestants trailing far behind. His tally was two million more than the 6 million received by Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi of Labour Party. The two are in court, asking that the victory of Tinubu be overturned in their favour. The legal contest, however, will not stop Tinubu’s swearing-in today. The electoral act gives 180 days for the legal challenge to be concluded.

In a farewell broadcast to the nation Sunday, President Buhari, referring to his successor by name, said: “I congratulate you on the realisation of your dream, which was propelled by a burning passion to put Nigeria amongst the leading nations of the world. You have indeed worked for this day and God has crowned your efforts. I have no doubt that your passion for excellence, reliance on competence, fairness in relationships, commitment to equity, loyalty to the country and desire for Nigeria to be globally relevant would come through for you, under God’s guidance, as you lead our country to levels higher than I am leaving. You are the best candidate among all the contestants and Nigerians have chosen well.”

There has been a torrent of support from world leaders for the Nigerian President-elect to the discomfort of those who ran against him and lost. President Joe Biden of the United States, for one, has sent a high powered delegation to Nigeria for Tinubu’s installation. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair visited last week, pledging his full support for the incoming Tinubu presidency.

The immediate past president of