Bola Tinubu is a household name in Nigeria, not only because he is the president-elect, but because of his years of nationalistic approach to issues of justice and fairness across ethnic, religion and party lines.

Interestingly, it seems when Ronald Reagan said, ‘Democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honourable form of government ever devised by man’ he was indeed referring to the Jagaban of Borgu.

Tinubu who had risked his life when he joined forces with compatriots in the National Democratic Coalition to chase out the military and restore democracy is a man who would do everything legally possible to make sure democracy does not in anyway suffer.

Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola recently made a shocking revelation of how Tinubu helped former Oyo State Governor Rasheed Ladoja win in court after Ladoja was illegally impeached from office in January 2006.

In an Instagram session with media personality , Morayo Afolabi – Brown, the former Lagos State governor who was then chief of staff to Tinubu explained that Ladoja ran to Lagos to seek Tinubu’s help after his removal.

Fashola further revealed that Tinubu instructed him to immediately assemble a team of lawyers who prepared court documents that was filed in court and used to secure victory for Ladoja despite being an opposition governor at that time.

He said, “When Governor Ladoja was removed as governor in Ibadan by an apparently illegal impeachment process, it was to Lagos that he came”.
“On Sundays, I used to play football and Sundays were like my day off when Tinubu would not call me.

I remember my phone rang after playing on Sunday, and it was the ADC and he said, ‘the boss wants to speak with you’. When he came on, he said, ‘Tunde, I’m sorry, I know this is your day off, but I need you. Yemi (the current vice president) was in the RCCG camp’. He said, ‘Just bring your constitution, bring your law books, I need you to research something for me.’

“When I got there, what he said to me was, ‘Are we just going to fold our hands and let a governor in Nigeria be impeached and nothing would happen?’ And I said but he was in opposition, and he said ‘it doesn’t matter, what can we do, call your colleagues?’

And it was in his house in that Bourdillon street that a group of us, lawyers, sat down, and prepared the court documents. I keep the name of the lawyer who went to file it with security; we gave him at 4am to go to Ibadan from 11 in the morning. And it was that case that went all the way to the Supreme Court and Ladoja was returned back to office before he finally lost in the reelection.”

Tinubu who was lagos state governor between 1999 – 2007 under the Alliance for democracy that later metamorphosed to Action Congress went ahead to help an illegal removal of Oyo state governor Rasheed Ladoja who was under Peoples Democratic Party for the love of democracy.

Interestingly, many have now come to understand that Tinubu’s long walk to the presidency was as a result of how long he has stood in the face of fierce political wranglings to champion liberty for the oppressed people irrespective of tribe, religion, political affilations or status. He’s a man who has helped built individuals, industries and political movement worth emulating across boards.