We are in interesting times when some strange individuals chose to put Nigeria in their pocket. These same political jobbers are in deep blue funk as Seyi Tinubu’s body movement comes at a time his father needs a Liberator.
It does appear President Bola Tinubu is being shielded from the truth. I guess, some of those around him, claiming to be associates, are selfishly enjoying the suffering of the masses. At the end, the former Lagos State governor will receive all the punches.
Seyi’s intent is good for his father and country. He is the only one who can enter Daddy’s inner chamber and tell him the gospel truth. People are hungry, the young man moves about and mingles with compatriots of all shades. And he is not lazy.
Pretty soon, that Aso Rock cabal will be demolished. The kitchen cabinet will give way. I am therefore not surprised that those who will fight Seyi’s ambition are those closest to his father. They will become History as from 2025.
Let us begin from Lagos. Things have changed negatively since 2019. Some people in power believe the best way to show capability is to sing Yoruba, eat Yoruba, think Yoruba and play the Yoruba card. These people do not represent the Yoruba mind.
Of all Oduduwa States, ethnic politics is only played in Lagos. This partly explains the shock that greeted 2023 Presidential elections in Lagos where the repackaged Labour Party (LP) performed better than the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The coming of Tinubu’s son will restore Lagos. He has seen the world and associates with people based on character, not ethnic background. It is no surprise that he is married to a woman who can claim both Africa and Asia, particularly, the Middle East, as home. Mr and Mrs Tinubu are also home in Europe where they studied, up to post graduate level.
Those who will stand against the younger Tinubu have prepared their usual propaganda. We cannot serve father and son, they will chant. This argument cannot stand. There is no rule anywhere that a son cannot aspire to his father’s position.
In the United States, John and John Quincy Adams, father and son, were elected president. And George and George Bush. Seyi has not even told anyone about eyeing Aso Villa. I just pointed out that father and son are not prohibited from nursing ambitions.
In Sri Lanka, there is a family that has produced father, mother and daughter, as Prime Ministers and Presidents. Solomon Bandranaike was Prime Minister, his wife, Sirimavo, became the world’s first female Prime Minister. Their daughter, Chandrika, joined them. She also served as President just like her mother.
A closer look at Seyi will show that he is not idle. He runs a Promomedia outfit and has not used that position to bamboozle anyone. We have had a president whose son was idle and enjoyed zooming past citizens in his power bike.
There was a military leader whose son joined police and military intelligence to torture suspected opponents of his father. We also had a president whose daughters went about marrying state governors. I am yet to hear that Tinubu’s son is collecting money to influence appointments.
For a man whose father has been in political power since 1999 to show interest now, he deserves respect. Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s son was in the Lagos House of Assembly in the Second Republic, when the father controlled the South-West. Dr. Sola Saraki, the kingmaker, helped his son become governor of Kwara State.
In or out of office, dead or alive, leaders continue to wield power. Gen. Abdusalam Abubakar’s son – in – law, was governor of Niger State. Dr. Olusegun Obasanjo’s daughter was a Senator. Gen. Emeka Ojukwu’s wife was an Ambassador and is one of Tinubu’s ministers.
They will soon start blaming Seyi for globetrotting with the President. In 1977, US President Jimmy Carter was here with us. Those Lagos politicians opposing Tinubu’s son must be reminded that the American was in Badagry with his daughter, Amy. In 2000, Bill Clinton toured Abuja villages with his daughter, Chelsea.
Many of those who have benefitted so much from President Tinubu and have not told him the truth about hunger and poverty in the land, do not want the real change. Now that his son is warming up, they will be exposed for what they are.
Justin Trudeau looked up to his dad, Pierre, as Prime Minister of Canada. That is his position today. Benazir Bhutto and her father, Zulfikar, served at various times, as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Uhuru Kenyatta became President of Kenya long after his Baba, Mzee Jomo.
Lagos must be taken back from those who destroyed it. Seyi has been on the sidelines watching. His background tells me that this man will come to help his father get rid of jobbers and hangers on. He knows them all and will serve them goodnight dinner.
I stumbled on the fact that Mr. Tinubu chose Aburi, Ghana, of all places, to propose to his wife. Seyi is indeed a man of History. In early 1967, Nigeria’s problems were solved at Peduase Lodge, Aburi, before some Super Perm. Secs. misled the young Lt. Col. Yakubu Gowon.
If for once, Tinubu has not thought of encouraging his son to join politics, now is the time. What does it take to buy Gubernatorial forms in Lagos? I do not need to go to the Central Bank.
We are going to convince Mr. President, to bless his son. He has made so many people, some from rags to riches. Charity begins at home.
