One time Governor of Lagos State and the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, was astounded on Tuesday to realize that President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, and a host of other dignitaries snubbed his 70th birthday colloquium.
Tinubu was therefore forced to call off the event which was only attended by two South-West governors and Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje while other expected dignitaries shunned the colloquium, which came only days after the much controversial APC national convention in Abuja.
Top sources familiar with the drama revealed that Tinubu used the Abuja-Kaduna train bombing only as a smokescreen to save face when he realized that the dignitaries had shunned the event and it would not get the momentum he so desired.
At the Eko Hotels in Lagos, the venue of the 13th Bola Ahmed Tinubu Colloquium with the theme, “Pivoting Nigeria Into The New Order,” Tinubu, while trying to hide his displeasure had said, “Today is supposed to be a very joyful 70th birthday of mine living on earth.
I give thanks to God Almighty for being able to survive to this age. I have just been informed of a very sad incident in our country, very sad indeed, that over 60 people and many more were killed and bombed on a train between Kaduna and Abuja just last night.
That is a very serious incident about the security of lives in this country and it calls for a very serious sober reflection.
“For me to be here celebrating, dancing, and enjoying myself doesn’t show enough concern for a statesman and a senior citizen of this country. This event should not be held.
I have consulted with the people you see around me here and they’ve agreed with me and being a very highly committed democrat, I have given myself to their suggestion that they agree that this event should be canceled.”
However, sources said that Tinubu did not need to get to the venue of the event to make the announcement if he truly cared about the victims of the train bombing, which occurred on Monday evening, the previous night.
“Contrary to his claims, the real reason was poor attendance; Buhari boycotted; the Senate President boycotted; only three governors showed up; Ganduje, Oyetola Gboyega of Osun, and Lagos Governor, Babatunde Sanwo-Olu.
“Even the new chairman of APC (Abdullahi Adamu) was absent. The Kaduna incident happened the night before. It was all false that he cared about the train victims,” one of