Why they are moving against Osinbajo

SIR: Since Vice President Yemi Osinbajo launched his presidential campaign over a week ago, an avalanche of false campaigns has been unveiled by various interest groups against him. These fabricated messages are mostly sponsored by other APC presidential aspirants who feel threatened by the entrance of the VP into the race.

These discontented crusaders are frustrated by the wide acceptability of the VP by ordinary folks across party lines in all the nooks and crannies of the country. Apparently nobody gave Osinbajo a blinking chance in this race. They are incensed that the VP’S message has resonated well with ordinary Nigerians, and his ‘’ Likeability Factor’’ is the strongest among the aspirants. They are startled that Osinbajo, whom they had earlier thought would not have the courage to run, is now a leading aspirant. Meek, soft spoken and gentle in manners, the VP does not cut a picture of a typical Nigerian politician who talks bombastically, throws his weight around and splashes stolen money at everybody and every occasion.

Those touting the betrayal theory have reduced the Nigerian presidency to a kind of heirloom - an object that has belonged to a family for several generations, to which nobody else dares contest for. It is a poor sense of judgement. Nobody wins a major presidential ticket by elevating his sense of entitlement as a key achievement.

In conclusion, let me repeat that in modern democracies across the globe, the Vice Presidents are usually the first in line to, or the favoured ones to succeed their bosses. Osinbajo has the right to run and present his case to Nigerians. Only the voters will determine his fate.