On Saturday, March 29, 2025, Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, celebrated his 73rd official birthday. It was his second birthday anniversary in office as Nigeria’s leader.
Beyond the euphoria of celebration and effusive outpouring of real or pretentious goodwill which is normal for a person of his high status, we hope he took out time to reflect on the uncommon good turn that life has done him in spite of all the odds. Being the president of a country is the ultimate ambition of virtually every citizen, but only the tiniest of the few are able to achieve it.
The road to the presidency in any country is usually strewn with thorns, poisonous serpents, booby traps and mines. In Tinubu’s case, there were several obstacles such as his controversial past, contentious academic records, suspected health problems, Muslim-Muslim ticket, hostile social media and initial obstacles within his political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and President Muhammadu Buhari’s inner circle.
Tinubu himself has confessed that he nearly pulled out of the race at a point. But his perseverance, tenacity, focus and determination finally saw him across the finish line to fulfill his life ambition.
The main factors of Tinubu’s success were foresight, meticulous planning and strategy, understanding and manipulation of the system to his advantage, “deep pockets” and willingness to make sacrifices for his own future gain.
Tinubu has proved to be the most successful product of the late Major General Shehu Yar’Adua’s political school which thrived on the Machiavellian mantra: the end justifies the means. Within 34 years, he was able to get elected to the Senate, became a two-term Governor of Lagos State and emerged as its longest reigning political overlord. Tinubu is the only leader in Nigeria’s history who produced two presidents – Buhari and himself.
However, his undeniable political sagacity is one thing. Displaying the same in solving the problems he inherited, especially a battered economy and widespread insecurity, is yet another. In his almost two years in power, Tinubu has recorded a few scores. Insecurity in the North-West is gradually easing, but in other parts of the country the killings by armed groups continue.
Also, in the economy, the numbers are improving. Inflation is coming down; the foreign exchange crunch is easing and fuel prices have reduced following the recovery of our domestic refining capacity. But the suffering that his harsh IMF/World Bank-dictated economic agenda imposed on the people remain unabated.
The intensification of extreme nepotism which he inherited from Buhari gives his government a particular ethnic face. It is an assault on our Constitution, which must stop.
As we congratulate the President on his new age, we urge him to remember he emerged from the grass-roots. He should be more pro-people, more detribalised.
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