President Bola Tinubu's journey to the presidency is believed by many to have been calculated and orchestrated since he left the position as Lagos State governor.

That dream, however, wasn't the easiest to achieve as he had to overcome numerous allegations, political opposition, biases, and regional cohorts who were not keen on him as president due to corruption accusations.

A prime example of this was an allegation President Goodluck Jonathan made against him before the 2015 presidential elections.

Tinubu, then the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), accused Jonathan of trying to prevent him from becoming the vice presidential candidate alongside President Muhammad Buhari in the elections.

Tinubu believed that Jonathan and his party feared the potential success of their partnership in the February 15, 2015 elections. He wanted to run on the same ticket as Buhari, but some party leaders were hesitant due to both candidates being Muslim.

The Tinubu Media Office stated in a 2015 release that the "smear campaign" against the former governor was not surprising.

“The successful merger and birth of the APC posed the most potent threat to the PDP and Tinubu, an architect of the merger, has become a marked man,” the statement said.

“The thought of a Buhari-Tinubu ticket confounds the PDP hierarchy and their crisis-battered president. That Tinubu might be nominated as General Buhari’s running mate also incenses the small element within the APC who joined the party not for its progressive vision but to exploit its platform to press forward their vision of themselves.

“Having failed at halting General Buhari’s bid, the PDP disinformation machine has thrown itself into overdrive trying to stymie the selection of Tinubu. Sadly, some elements within the APC – elevating their personal ambition over party and national interests — have lent themselves to this endeavour.”

The statement recalled that during the Nazi takeover of Germany, “madman” Adolf Hitler became jealous of those within his own party who showed independent thought and who would not allow themselves to be bent just so he could satisfy his megalomania.