Rufai Oseni calls Tinubu 'master strategist' after Danjuma endorsement, questions if it wins votes
Arise TV anchor Rufai Oseni labelled President Bola Tinubu a "master strategist" on Monday following former Defence Minister General T.Y. Danjuma's endorsement of his 2027 re-election bid, alongside other Middle Belt Christian leaders including former Speaker Yakubu Dogara.
Oseni acknowledged the endorsement as a positive development for Tinubu's campaign but pressed the critical question: will elite support translate into votes? "The thing about elite endorsement is that elite endorsement gears towards the elites," he argued, drawing a sharp line between the political class that benefits from government patronage and ordinary Nigerians struggling for basics — potable water, security, reliable electricity.
"They don't ask for too much," Oseni said of everyday voters. "They just want the basics to work for them, and those are the people that are going to vote in this election, not the elite class that has always benefited." He added that prominent endorsers often don't even show up to vote themselves.
The analysis highlights Tinubu's calculated coalition-building across religious and regional lines ahead of 2027. Danjuma's backing carries symbolic weight in the Middle Belt, a region where Tinubu's 2023 performance was mixed. But Oseni's core point stands: endorsements are noise; delivery on fundamentals is the signal voters will respond to.
As 2027 approaches, will you weigh candidate track records on basic infrastructure and security, or will high-profile endorsements shape your choice?