An All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, Comrade Isaac Balami, has reacted to the concerns raised by former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar over the use of military-like guard in honor of the son of the president, Seyi Tinubu.
Recall that, Atiku Abubakar had called for an investigation to ascertain the actual reason behind the honour accorded Seyi Tinubu.
But reacting while addressing the media on Monday, Balami a former National Deputy Campaign Manager for Obi/Datti said the dust raised over the matter was unnecessary, saying it is a normal practice across the world.
He said that the media handler of Atiku Abubakar may not have consulted him or failed to do due diligence before rushing to the media, insisting that the former Vice President was known for picking up petty issues.
He further clarified that the group that paid homage to Seyi Tinubu were Cadet Network comprising individuals who have volunteered to be mentored as future leaders.
Establishing the relationship between Seyi Tinubu and the group, the former Spokesman of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, said Seyi Tinubu is a young Nigerian leader who has inspired many youths by his good and philanthropic deeds.
He said, “ The dust raised as a result of the homage paid to Seyi Tinubu by the cadet group is completely a misplaced priority. We should be engaged in a more robust national discourse as against dwelling on things that pose no threat to our growth as a nation. Issues of Boko Hadam, kidnapping and other insecurity challenges bedeviling us as a nation should be the focal point of our discourse as against taking on individuals with good intention for the country. The group are clearly nationalistic and nothing more.
“My take is simply that these group of young men called the Cadet Network are young individuals being mentored as future leaders who believe they share a similar philosophy or ideology with Mr Seyi Tinubu. These are patriotic Nigerians who have continued to place the country above all forms of tribal and political sentiments. This is what Mr Seyi Tinubu represents. This detribalized young man has done a lot of patriotic and selfless work across the country regardless of tribe, religion and political affiliation.
“Like Man O’ War, Boys Scout or Brigade, these young people wouldn’t ignore Seyi Tinubu who had in his personal capacity done a lot of humanitarian jobs without tribal or political sentiments when they met him. They took their time to pay homage in order to establish their relationship with Seyi Tinubu as aspiring nationalists and leaders. This to me is an uncommon display of genuine love for an individual who has done quite a lot in his personal capacity and not as the son of the
president.
“The missing link is when people begin to look at Seyi Tinubu as just the son of President Tinubu. Seyi, prior to the emergence of his father as the president had done a lot for people of different tribes and religions. What is wrong if some young people with a similar national ideology decided to show their solidarity? These young people trained as security experts couldn’t have shown this in a more perfect way than to use their paraphernalia to appreciate Mr Tinubu. I see nothing wrong here that requires any form of investigation. What are we going to investigate?
“I have seen policeman and even military officers showing solidarity for individuals they feel align with their ideology. We are talking about ordinary citizens here. This is in no way a violation of the nation’s constitution but a normal practice. Politicizing every act of patriotism or solidarity will amount to retrogression as a country. We need to encourage individuals making effort to unite us a country. I believe that is what Seyi Tinubu represents and that is what the group communicated via their display, or are we saying that Seyi as their mentor does not deserve this parade of honour?
“These individuals from my investigation have never been involved in any act of violence or attack on individuals or groups. Like vigilante groups, they have continued to show support for patriotic Nigerians. Recently, a friend of mine was inducted into the Man-O-War movement as a patron simply because of his acts of patriotism.
“Considering that the group is non-partisan, another reason for supporting Seyi Tinubu is basically going to be because of his direct link to the youths with regard to modern ideology, youth-oriented and selflessness.
Seyi Tinubu has helped and supported more youths of other political parties than any other young person in Nigeria. Most recently, he had supported individuals of other political parties despite knowing that these persons worked against his father in the last election. He deserves commendation by any group, be it military, para-military or vigilante.
“Seyi has so far showed leadership and capacity despite the general belief that young people lack leadership experience.
“His intervention during the Maiduguri flood was an eye-opener and a testament to the fact that he is not just the son of the president but a nationalist to the core.
Seyi and his wife’s foundations have revived the hope of the hopeless and have supported young people across Nigeria. He has undoubted created a bridge linking the old and the young generation of Nigeria. The solidarity displayed by the cadet network cannot be faulted. It’s practically wrong to use the sentiment that his father is the president to discredit him. It’s completely wrong.
The former Aircraft Pilots and Engineer president concluded that Mr Tinubu should rather be seen by what he has achieved as an individual and not the sentiment that his father is the nation’s president.
“It’s retrogressive to judge an individual using such a sentiment,” Balami said.