Former Osun State Governor, Bisi Akande, has admitted to playing a key role in persuading President Bola Tinubu to run for president.

In an interview with Edmund Obiro on State Affairs published on YouTube on Wednesday, Akande revealed that Tinubu was initially hesitant to run, citing financial constraints and personal doubts.

“When I met him, he said, ‘Baba, do you have money? If I had as much money as I needed to be president, I would be at par with Dangote.'” Akande reported that Tinubu said he did not have the money to be president.

According to Akande, Tinubu was reluctant to follow advice about running for president and often argued with those who suggested the idea.

“People were calling me and saying, ‘Hey, man, there’s trouble. He was arguing with anyone who spoke to him about the presidency, so I went to Lagos and met him,” he said.

Akande said he approached Tinubu with a compelling argument based on his Yoruba tradition.

“I told him, ‘It’s not because of you that we don’t want you to be president. You’re not important in this.’ But in Yoruba tradition, when you want to worship God, you choose the fattest animal or the biggest yam. The Yoruba wanted to be president and now you are president. “You are being sacrificed to have a president, not to become something,” he said. The unconventional appeal left Tinubu momentarily speechless, he said.

“He looked at me as if I was sick or something,” Akande said, adding that Tinubu later asked him, “Baba, are you now telling me to run?” “What’s wrong with my leg?” he asked about his health problems. Akande assured him: “There’s still time. In six months you’ll be well again.”

“#EndSARS should be the end of Tinubu,” he declared.

When asked who was behind the protests, Akande claimed: “Behind Endsar was the Obedient clan. They were organized by America and were introduced only to stop him.”

“I said Obedient, I did not say Obi. The Obedients came from America, did Endsarz, and later became a movement to form political parties but as you know they could not form political parties, they could not join any political party.”

Akande also touched on Tinubu’s relationship with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. He revealed that he played a key role in Osinbajo’s nomination as vice president.

In 2011, Tinubu and Buhari were debating who would take Bakare’s place. I promised Tinubu that I would suggest Osinbajo, and I did.

Nevertheless, despite efforts to prevent animosity among Yoruba candidates, Akande pointed out that Osinbajo did not resign for Tinubu during the presidential primary.

Akande refuted the question of whether former President Muhammadu Buhari was against Tinubu’s candidacy.

He said, “He didn’t tell me so.” Among the many questions I posed to him was if he encouraged Osinbajo to run against Tinubu. He declined, explaining that in his culture, you don’t challenge your mentor when he expresses interest in a job.

In closing, Akande praised Tinubu’s development as a political strategist. He may have been well-versed in American and Lagos politics, but he knew virtually little about Nigerian politics. I’m not sure how much he has learned since becoming president.