By Abdu Labaran Malumfashi.
15-6-2025.
I always call the current administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a ‘REGIME’, because he is behaving more dictatorial than a Military boss, and very unlike a democratically elected leader. This therefore makes him appear not like somebody who was democratically elected to the presidency, but through the instrument of something else.
And that insatiable desire in him to acquire and accumulate money any which way, may have been behind the dictatorial tendencies that define his regime.
The contentious emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi 11, recently called the Nigerian President a LIAR, though not in as many words. SLS 11, as he is referred to, said that he totally disagreed with the Nigerian number one citizen in the claim that he has inherited a dilapidated Nigeria from the immediate former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Kano monarch gave his reasons for disagreeing with the president in a Television (Eagle Media TV) interview, arguing that, “How can a president that claimed to have inherited a dilapidated Nigeria be spending public funds extravagantly as if you inherited a rich and prosperous country? How would you justify the following extravagant spendings under your government?
“21 billion Naira to renovate the Vice President House, 70 billion Naira to the National Assembly members to buy SUVs at the cost of 160 million Naira per one, for Senators and House Of Representatives members, 4 billion Naira to renovate Dodan Barrack ,Lagos, and another 3 billion Naira to renovate Aguda House?
“5 billion Naira was given to Presidential Tax Reforms Committee of less than twenty People headed by Taiwo Oyedele with nothing to show for it, 1.5 Billion Naira to purchase cars for your Wife Senator Oluremi Tinubu despite the fact that the First Lady office is not recognised by our Constitution, 300% salary increase for the judges which was speedily passed by the insensitive and irresponsible Senators?
“5 billion Naira was budgeted for Presidential fleet of cars for President Bola Ahmad Tinubu, 5 billion equally budgeted for Presidential Yacht, 225 billion naira spent on so-called Presidential jet, 90 billion naira spent on 2024 Hajj pilgrimage?
”Billions of Naira was budgeted for your trips including The Vice President Kashim Shettima to the detriment of the citizens. Every Senator is paid 21 million Naira monthly, House Of Representatives members are earning 13.5 million monthly. All the increment was done by your government.
“15 trillion Naira Lagos Calabar Coastal Road was awarded illegally to your friend a Lebanese, Gilbert Chagoury, who was repatriated back to his country by the former President Obasanjo. You have the largest ministers ever in the history of Nigeria. Where are you sourcing the money to pay them when you went ahead to create another Ministry of Livestock Development?
“What happened to the Orasanye Report of downsizing and merging some of the agencies, parastatals and departments? Where is the subsidy money that was was removed on petroleum product and electricity? How much was saved, and what was the money used for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu? Nigerians are demanding to know?
“The cost of governance has NOT reduced, instead, it has increased massively. Fuel subsidy removed, electricity tariff hiked, education beyond the ordinary citizens, health service beyond ordinary citizens, foodstuffs beyond ordinary citizens. Insecurity and killing on the rise. Collapsed economy, unemployment on the increase. Corruption and stealing of public funds legalised.
“Nepotism top on your agenda. President, Vice President, Governor's Security Votes remained intact. All the allowances paid to our leaders remained intact. There is no single support a citizen of Nigeria deserves from government. And the government is only there for him and her. Only renewed hopelessness, destitution and deception.
“Mr President Bola Ahmad Tinubu, governor's ministers and top government officials, including the Service Chiefs, heads of agencies, departments and parastatals, your lifestyle and extravagant spending of public funds do NOT in anyway show that you inherited a dilapidated Nigeria.
“Leaders are getting richer but the citizens are getting poorer. Look at how President Bola Ahmad Tinubu has been transformed physically, mentally and financially to the detriment of Nigerians. This trend must be arrested. This is just a tip of the insensitive leadership, recklessness, to mention only a few”.
It is ALSO the take of MANY PEOPLE across the world. Many see Tinubu as not only unprepared for Nigeria’s Presidency, he is ALSO viewed as very CORRUPT, to the position of allegedly being the MOST CORRUPT LEADER in the world, at the moment.
In Kano Sokoto and, to some extent, Katsina, the EMIRS have been thrown into confusion with one of them having the emirate divided, another one has his power to appoint District Heads removed, and the emirate of the other another one the subject of imminent fractionalisation.
But NO attempt was ever made by the Tinubu regime to remove a KING or CHIEF from the SOUTHERN part of Nigeria. The Ooni of Ife, , even subtly dared the regime to remove him. He recently urged universities to “STUDY how Nyson Wike became a Minister” in the Tinubu cabinet. Wike, a serial betrayer, is the Minister of the Federal Capital.
He, along with President Tinubu and the Senate President (who allegedly never contested the 2013 Senate election) is one of the THREE people holding undue power under the present regime, which is why the country knows NO progress but retrogression under the leadership of the trio.
That is President Tinubu for you, the man egotistical enough to want every Federal Government institution named after him, greedy enough to want all the money in the world, corrupt enough to want to steal all the money in the country’s copper, and vain enough to want to want the best of everything for himself.
Some people think I am persistently against President Tinubu, an allegation that is far from the truth. To such people, I would like to advise them to read my article, ‘Tinubu Bashing Not A Hobby, Just A Necessity’ on 19-1-2025. My real position on the president would be better understood.
I also think that such people do not read far and wide enough for them to know that some of the president’s tribespeople are even more negatively critical of him than yours sincerely. A number of them have never ever wanted him to be the nation’s number one citizen. Those who knew him when he was governor of Lagos state, believed he was going to be a total failure because he is a not a politician, but a rentier-businessman of the obscene type. He would therefore be a leader who would see everything in ‘GAIN and LOSS’ for himself, not in the light of what the country really needs and what it does not really need.
Even some of the council members of his campaign council, such as Mr. Onopasa, then convinced by Tinubu’s campaign pitch, have become his violent critics NOW when they found out, in the most painful manner, that only poverty, hunger and hardship trail his regime, not the prosperity that most good citizens of Nigeria had hoped for.
The organisations and individuals who later abandon the Nigerian nightmare of a president also include the main socio cultural group of the Yoruba people, AFENIFERE, and Gani Adams, the Are Ona Kakanfo of the whole Yoruba nation, an influential Chieftaincy title given to him by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Adeyemi 111, in 2017.
For that reason, and other allegations against him, the Southern voters rejected him from the beginning and refused to vote for him in the 2013 presidential election. This led to his woeful performance in the South, particularly his home state of Lagos.
Of course, those who accuse me of constantly taking on the president have the right to CAMPAIGN for him, but let them live those who disagree with his retrogressive policies to also do their own. Live and let live. But they want everyone to believe that this IS NOT the most CORRUPT, INCOMPETENT and BUMBLING regime in the history of Nigeria. And Nigeria is supposed to be operating a representative democracy.
They also want everyone to live and believe in their propaganda and not by their achievements, which is why media is a thriving business under the Tinubu regime. It is NOT their ‘achievements’, but the media that is extensively used for the 2027 presidential election CAMPAIGN.
May God ensure that Nigeria and her citizens see out the TINUBU regime in 2027 in ONE PIECE, not in pieces, ALIVE, not dead, and SANE, not madly.
Nigerians have NEVER HAD IT SO BAD, as they are presently going through.
Malumfashi wrote from Katsina.
