In response to what many may have thought to be a stinker to derail the presidential movement of the leading candidate in the 2023 general election, a political analyst and member of All Progressives Congress, APC, Temitope Ajayi, may have pulled the wind out of David Hundeyin’s sail.
Recall that the self-acclaimed investigative journalist, Hundeyin, yesterday, July 13, 2022, released an article on his website, accusing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of APC of being a former drug baron.
In a strongly worded response, Ajayi revealed that despite knowing the report lacked originality being a reharsh of an old accusation by political jobbers, the ‘deranged’ journalist still went ahead to present it to his ‘unthinking audience’ as resulting from his own personal effort.
“The only set of people who think there is any kind of smoking gun with which to nail Tinubu in the reharsh of old wives’ tale David Hundeyin concocted are the same people who never see anything good in Tinubu.
“It needs to be asked how anyone could think FBI and DEA will allow a drug dealer or a man running a drug cartel go Scot-free without conviction as well as leave him to go and live a lush life on the proceeds of crime. We are talking about the same man who goes in and out of US and Europe since 1992. He actually resided in the US all through the exilic period induced by the late dictator, Sani Abacha,” Ajayi asked.
The APC stalwart wondered why the presidential candidate was not arrested during his several visits abroad, especially when the international criminal agencies are known to be very reliable at apprehending and prosecuting wanted criminals.
“Asiwaju Tinubu had gone to deliver lectures at top Policy Think-tank institutes like Chatham House, Woodrow Centre, Council on Foreign Relations etc in US, UK and around Europe. He just returned from a two-week official visit to France. Yet, he was not a subject of interest for the FBI, Interpol and DEA all through.
“We know the kind of efforts FBI invests to get extradition of those on their wanted list for crimes. They spared no effort to get late Senator Buruji Kashamu for drug crime purportedly committed in the 90s. Former Vice President Atiku that was indicted in corruption case in US could not visit the country until a special arrangement was brokered for him before the 2019 general elections. And since then, Atiku has not gone to US again,” he said.
It is a known fact that Tinubu has been traveling in and out of the United States, United Kingdom and Europe unhindered, Ajayi wondered how someone could expect Nigerians to accept that retailing same old stories is a product of investigative reporting.
He, however, pricked Nigerians by raising some pertinent observations.
“Here are three key issues of commonsense and rational thinking. One, US will not settle any case of drug and other narcotics dealings with money where prima facie case is established against a drug baron. Two, the US government will never allow a drug dealer go with any amount from proceeds of crime and finally, a man that has not been convicted of any crime in any country and jurisdiction of the world cannot be convicted by a disgruntled and deranged ‘investigative journalist’.
“If the US allowed Tinubu to go free without conviction of any drug crime and other crimes it means the FBI and DEA and, indeed, all law enforcement agencies including IRS had no evidence upon which Tinubu can be found guilty,” Ajayi submitted.
It is worth noting that the US government, through its embassy in Nigeria in 2003, was emphatic that Tinubu was not a subject of any criminal investigation and gave him clean bill of health.
“Hundeyin knows his audience and how excitable and unquestioning they can be. With his misdirected crap on Tinubu, the ‘investigative journalist’ has again served his unthinking audience their regular opium,” he concluded.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
