Former Osun State Governor, Bisi Akande says President Bola Tinubu was hesitant about contesting the 2023 presidential elections but he convinced the political juggernaut to join the race.

During an interview, Akande revealed Tinubu was hesitant about pursuing the position, citing financial constraints and personal doubts.

“When I met him, he said, Baba, do you have money? If I had the kind of money that people have to be president, I would rank with Dangote,'” Akande recounted that Tinubu said he had no money to be president.

According to Akande, Tinubu was reluctant to heed advice about running for president, often quarrelling with those who suggested the idea.

“People called me and said, ‘Come, there is trouble. Anybody that talks to him about the presidency, he was quarrelling with them.’ So, I went to Lagos and met him,” he said.

Akande said he approached Tinubu with a compelling argument based on Yoruba tradition.

“I told him, ‘We don’t want you to be president because of you. You are unimportant in this matter. But in Yoruba tradition, when you want to worship the deity, you take the fattest animal or the biggest yam to worship. Yoruba wants to be president, and you are the one we have now. It is to sacrifice you so that we can have a president, not for you to be anything,'” he said.

This unconventional appeal appeared to leave Tinubu momentarily speechless he said.

“He was looking at me as if I was sick or something,” Akande said, adding that Tinubu later asked him, “Baba, you now say I should run. What about this, my leg?” referring to his health challenges. Akande assured him, “Go and do it. There is still time. You will heal in six months.”