I think the president was playing to the gallery by telling us that he saw his son’s picture amongst those who sneaked to attend the federal executive council meeting.
If you ask me, I think the president tried to win some brownie points with that revelation. There was no need to tell us, as we didn’t really need to hear that his nosey parker son has decided to be part of state taking decision.
The main reason why his statement didn’t catch fire with me and many right-thinking people is that this same boy has flown our presidential jet on personal tours is running around with more security than the chief of army staff and state governors, has a free reign around the villa and generally has been carrying himself like a self-imposed emperor, so why won’t he feel that it is his inalienable right to attend FEC meetings where his input as a very influential member of the regime will be needed.
Anybody who appears surprised at this or jubilates at the president’s ‘courageous’ statement must be a very poor student of his political trajectory.
In his journey from an ambitious Chicago returnee, through the senate to his emergence as the most influential and powerful person in modern-day Nigeria, up to the presidency, a respect for due process and institutions has always been very challenging.
We have seen a journey that has bent or in some cases broken very critical rules of engagement in a never before seen very aggressive engagement with power to the point that we now feel like a captured people and not free citizens of the largest democracy in the black world.
For the first time in our history, we are now saddled with a mercurial family with strategic members carving out stupendous power and privilege for themselves leaving us at their regal mercy.
From a daughter who makes a national broadcast under the coat of arms and after the national anthem(?), to a very powerful first lady and deservedly so being a senator to a son who simply feels that he can be the Scarface of our time, roller scatting with the very best of our security architecture running behind him while kidnappers and terrorists run amok in the land.
Seyi Tinubu is not a teenager, from the pictures I have gleaned, having never met him but seen him from a distance is that of a man very far from his teenage years and as such should have imbued some level of responsibility that would see him being an asset to his father’s regime, rather than being a liability and adding more problems than Atiku could ever be capable of doing.
He should understand and be made to understand that this mandate does not include him and as such, his services especially at the highest level of executive decision making are really not needed. He could limit his advisory role to a father-and-son fireside chat instead of an embarrassing appearance at the FEC.
If this was even a young man with any delineable value he was bringing, one would have pushed for an SA position but a cursory look at his background throws up nothing really firm in terms of capacity in any known sector that one could say, “let’s take advantage and get his services for free” — except we would like to leverage on his social media and Tiktok expertise to strengthen the image and communication capacity of the regime, then just maybe we can possibly give him an opportunity to make a presentation at the FEC and not carry a stool and sit at the back listening to discussions over a bottle of beer.
I am even surprised that he has not convened a meeting of children of political office holders making himself life-president with a charter and constitution that will have the supreme court endorse such that he will brook no challenge on his authority.
He should do that after all his sister is the Iya Oloja of the Federation, his stepmother is the first lady of the federation and his father is the president of the country, it will only just be fair that he too as the first son of the federation must be given his well-deserved respect and honour.
Make him the second vice president of Nigeria abeg make we hear word.
Thank you.
•Written By Joseph Edgar
