Seyi Tinubu, The Office Of The First Son And Leadership -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Under the leadership of President Mohammadu Buhari (PMB), Nigerians witnessed hardship in a frightening dimension. Nigerians groaned, wailed and prayed for relief hoping that the succedding government would be better but it was not to be for under his successor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the nation’s woes multiplied in an unprecedented dimension. The citizens become disillusioned as hope turned to hopelessness. The economy become comatose, the nation’s nascent democracy becomes threatened by impunity and official highhandedness and insecurity metastasized to every nook and cranny of the nation. Life in Nigeria becomes a nightmare. It is as if Buhari chastised Nigerians with whip but Tinubu is beating Nigerians with scorpions and serpent unrestrained with no relief in sight.

During Buhari’s era, his wife Aisha Buhari moved around seeking peace and making apologies for her husband’s failures and inadequacies. But not so with Tinubu and his family. Remi Tinubu has been aggressive and defensive. When she is not attacking Ndigbo in Lagos, she is blaming imaginary political enemies for her husband’s failures and woeful performance.

But the worst here is Tinubu’s son, Seyi who is moving about flexing his muscles exercising powers that he has not. But many believed that it is not the fault of the young man but that of his father who refused to call him to other. It is insinuated that Seyi does everything he does with the full knowledge of his father.  His father takes him everywhere he goes on official assignment and ranks him ahead of cabinet minister. They said that he is grooming him for future leadership responsibilities. It is also insinuated that he is being positioned to take over Lagos as the next governor. It is being said albeit sarcastically that he is the country’s de facto vice-president as Senator Kashim Shettima who is the number two citizen has been relegated to the background.

I heard read, heard and seen video clips of Seyi Tinubu’s behavior in public since his father assumed the leadership of the country. Seyi Tinubu’s behavior leaves so much to be desired. He moves around in a convoy of many vehicles with full complement of security officers like a serving governor. It was reported in the media recently that he ordered the arrest and detention of NANS president for not refusing to work with him. We have watched him insult people publicly for criticizing his father’s wrong policies.

And clearly, this should not be the conduct of one undergoing training for leadership position. I wonder the kind of leadership grooming that he is receiving that makes act the way he does. One undergoing such orientation should be emotionally intelligent and should be organized, focused and articulate. He should be reticent and circumspect. He should exhibit good sense of maturity, responsibility and humility. Seyi in his conduct, utterances and body language has not exhibited any leadership traits or skills rather he is flippant, insensitive and reckless.

Seyi is not the first person whose father has been Nigeria’s president. Before Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the country has heard 13 heads-of-state. But, among them there is none that had his children interfering in state matters or insulting the others for criticizing government policies. We knew of Obasanjo children Iyabo and others rather than attack their father’s critics attack their father for his excesses.

Without sounding sarcastic, Seyi Tinubu is manifesting signs of one that of an awkwardly brought up child like an area-boy. His father, Bola Ahmed Tinubu once told the nation that is an area-boy and so by extension, Seyi his son is an area-child. And his behavior fitly conforms to that:  uncouth, rash, reckless and insensitive to the feelings of others. Yes, Seyi is uncouth and insouciant and that is why he is insensitive to the hardship in the country currently occasioned by his father’s ill-advised policies.

Rather than being humble and circumspect, he boastful, flippant and aggressive. He is worried that the people are complaining about his father’s cluelessness despite what he thought was his father’s accomplishments without finding out the reason as an intelligent person and a future leader should. He is boasting about what he thought his father has achieved since seizing power two years ago because he obviously lacks knowledge of what governance and leadership are all about.

We know the story of Solomon and his reckless son Rehoboam, read in the holy books, who refused wise counsel and accepted the advice of scoundrels and ended up dividing the kingdom bequeathed to him. Seyi is very much like the Rehoboam who has exhibited serious signs of recklessness and irresponsibility in his public conduct. I wonder the kind of autocrat that Seyi will be if put in a leadership position tomorrow. He should be reminded that by his actions and aggression, he is hurting the masses and further alienating them from his already estranged father. And this will ultimately lead to failure as in the case of the careless Rehoboam son of Solomon already cited above.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK