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Tinubu ran for outgoing president Buhari's party
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He won praise for improving dysfunctional Lagos
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Critics say he doles out plum jobs to loyalists
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Nigeria faces litany of security, economic woes
By Tim Cocks
LAGOS, March 1 (Reuters) - For much of his political career, Nigerian President-elect Bola Tinubu has exerted power from behind the scenes, widely regarded as a "godfather" who uses an extensive patronage network to back candidates for office.
Tinubu's support helped outgoing leader Muhammadu Buhari win two terms in office, in 2015 and 2019. And since he bowed out as Lagos governor in 2007, Tinubu has picked every subsequent winning candidate to run Africa's biggest city.
That power will now be tested as Tinubu attempts to tackle Nigeria's crises and improve on Buhari's lacklustre record.
Nigeria is beset by armed groups that have rendered swathes of the country ungovernable, while its economy is barely keeping up with population growth amid surging inflation and crippling cash shortages after a botched introduction of new bank notes.
Many of these problems worsened under Buhari, on whose party ticket Tinubu ran. But asked at a weekend news briefing why voters should elect him, he distanced himself from the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) party he helped create.
"I am not the party," he said. "My track record should speak for me. Look at Lagos: Before I came, we had dead bodies on the road, a chaotic traffic system, robbery daytime and nighttime."
"Come on: clap for me," he added in an appearance typical of the hubris that often marks leaders of Africa's top oil producer and most populous country.
While Tinubu missed several of his party's big campaign events and has appeared frail during some appearances, his speech often slow and slurred, he has repeatedly brushed aside concerns about his health.
Few doubted Tinubu's well-resourced campaign would triumph in a country in which the ruling party has a major advantage, despite strong challenges from Atiku Abubakar, of the former ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), and Peter Obi, of the insurgent Labour Party.
MIXED RECORD
Tinubu supporters portray him as an effective administrator with a track record of picking competent technocrats.
Critics say he awards lucrative contracts and plum jobs to loyalists and has in the past turned to so-called area boys, who informally control the streets of Lagos and attend his rallies en masse, to intimidate opponents if he does not get his way.
The 70-year-old does not respond to such allegations, tending instead to ignore them. A spokesman for Tinubu's campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment.