This week last year, two things were enthroned in the Nigerian political space. One was the man, Bola Tinubu, who was sworn in as the president. The other was the myth of the man as a headhunter endowed with a unique instinct for sourcing the right talent and an astute administrator. So much was this idea of Tinubu as administrative capacity believed that his supporters were sure he would—to use the language of former Abia state governor Orji Kalu—forward Nigeria to all forwardness. Well, it is one year now, and we might as well start asking how that myth has fared.

Let me digress here to point out that two kinds of people propagated the myth of Tinubu’s governing capacity. In one category are those you might call the Know-No-Betters. These are those who have never seen—let alone lived in—a properly functioning city and therefore have no frame of comparison when they were told Tinubu would build Nigeria as he built Lagos. They could be beguiled by the travesty of Lagos, a city where property value costs a fortune but cannot even boast of something as basic as potable water because that is the height of their experience. Even when they see the seedy sides of Lagos, their desperation for an idol to worship pushes them to willingly blind themselves to reality by eagerly gorging on glossy photoshopped images of Eko Atlantic. When you can self-soothe with the visuals of utopia, dystopia becomes livable.

Then there are the Dishonest-Know-Betters—the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on peddling lies, distortions, sentiments, and blatantly voiced falsehoods. They have experienced functional societies so they know what we have is subpar but they still tell you it is sufficient. Nigeria’s future does not concern them because they have built a safe house elsewhere where they and their children will forever be untainted by the rottenness of the country.

So, how has the myth of Tinubu as a savvy administrator held up? Well, two separate policies might best illustrate how they have conducted themselves in office so far. On May 29, 2023, Tinubu pronounced the three words that immediately unleashed hardship on Nigerians who had already endured hell under the Muhammadu Buhari administration: subsidy is gone. Now, the issue is not that he removed the subsidy—that was already expected—but he was haphazard about such a significant step.



Here is why: about a month after that pronouncement, he announced that he could announce the decision because he was under the influence of some “spirits.” Please think about that for a moment. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made a decision that would affect the lives and livelihood of millions of people, not because he had sat down and worked out a policy agenda with an economic team, but because he was pushed by some voices in his head? Wow!

If it was some “spirits” that took possession of him and forced the words out of his mouth, it means there was no thorough planning to see how the fuel subsidy removal would work, how to mitigate the resultant suffering, and how to assess if their programme was working. Even worse, it means he cannot fully take responsibility for the fallouts of such a programme since it originated from some forces. Whatever pain and hardship you will experience due to his policy decision is not for him to bear. After all, he only acted under some supernatural influence when he pronounced the policy into effect. That too is worth ruminating over: the man some people convinced themselves would turn Nigeria into a Dubai does not plan.


Then came this year when the same administration that told us that the fuel subsidy that helped to attenuate the economic reality was a waste also approved a whopping N90bn to subsidise the hajj pilgrimage. Again, this is worth a reflection: the man saw Nigerians groan in pain from his fuel subsidy removal and grovelled for help, but looked away. They insisted on delivering the hard shocks because the subsidies were supposedly a waste of resources. They offered “palliatives” instead. Their efforts in this direction were so poorly thought-out and poorly organised that they reversed the plan. So, while they had no answer for the pain of the generality of Nigerians and resolutely watched people suffer, they had no qualms catering to a tiny segment of the population embarking on something as privileged as a religious pilgrimage.


What is worse than Tinubu paying N90bn on the hajj this year is that he has to pay it next year, and the year after, and continue like that, especially as his second term election approaches. If he fails to sustain it, the Muslim population whose vote he is targeting through the humongous expense will not forgive him. Worse still, they would have forgotten what he paid in 2024. He has to keep up the spending. Given the Nigerian penchant to turn virtually any initiative into an avenue to siphon public funds, do not be any surprised if that N90bn starts ballooning yearly. You assess the situation he got himself and long-suffering Nigerians into, and wonder how a man who was so mythicized could unravel that quickly. When it came to administering pain and shock, Tinubu was possessed with the spirits of “courage” and “freedom” as he gayly put it. When it came to standing up to religious and ethnic sentiments, his pandering revealed those spirits as “cowardice” and “economic bondage.”

But that is not only where the legion spirits of indecisiveness have possessed the man. First, he took forever to assemble a cabinet even though he won the election in March. He had enough time to decide on a team; he just took it for granted. By the time he unfolded his team, there was initially some confusion over who had made the list. When the final list was unfolded, it was anything but inspiring. Even some of his supporters who had boasted that he knows how to look for the best people were disappointed by how many of those nominated were recycled from the garbage cans of the past administration. To think they even expanded the cabinet just to take some clowns on board.

He signed the Student Loan Act into law, but they later withdrew it with the promise to return. Till now, they are still fumbling through the launch. He recalled ambassadors from their posts, but it turned out that he had no plans in place to replace them. He also proposed the Green Tax but had to reverse it when the introduction turned out to be ill-timed. Then there were the Import Tax Adjustment Levy, Expatriate Tax, and the Cybersecurity Levy that were introduced but needed to be reversed. He will probably go down in history as the president with the most reversed policies in the history of governance at the rate he is going. Even the construction Lagos-Calabar highway, announced with fanfare, had not been fully thought through. Then the blatant and needless lies such as the UAE visa ban and the Maersk affair suggest that they lack any integrity. If they cannot be honest with even the simple things, why should you trust them on the big things?

Plot all of these together, and you come up with a solid picture of a man whose administration lacks coordination and takes decisions based on what their hormones (and some spirits, of course) dictate. Tinubu’s myth as an efficient administrator that has always been propped up with media propaganda and self-serving intellectuals has severely unravelled, revealing an unpleasant picture of the man, the myth, and the mediocrity. To think we are going through this after “16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party” and “eight years of Buhari.” Add the past one year, and you see 25 directionless years. God help somebody!


https://punchng.com/one-year-of-tinubu-the-man-the-myth-and-the-mediocrity

There are two kinds of people propagating the myth of Tinubu’s governing capacity.

-1). The Know-No-Betters. These are those who have never seen, let alone lived in a properly functioning city and therefore have no frame of comparison when they were told Tinubu would build Nigeria as he built Lagos. When you can self-soothe with the visuals of utopia, dystopia becomes livable.

-2). Dishonest-Know-Betters. The people whose lives and livelihoods depend on peddling lies, distortions, sentiments, and blatantly voiced falsehoods. They have experienced functional societies so they know what we have is subpar but they still tell you it is sufficient. Nigeria’s future does not concern them because they have built a safe house elsewhere where they and their children will forever be untainted by the rottenness of the country.

Majority of those who landed Nigeria in this messy quagmire of security, economic, developmental and political stagnation belongs to the second category - all the high grade mummified zombies of the disastrous party and government. They promotes and foist failures then make excuses for them. Posterity will never be kind to them.

Great read. Nairaland don't have clapping emoji

-Tinubu signed the Student Loan Act into law, but they later withdrew it with the promise to return. Till now, they are still fumbling through the launch.

-Tinubu recalled ambassadors from their posts, but it turned out that he had no plans in place to replace them.

-Tinubu proposed the Green Tax but had to reverse it when the introduction turned out to be ill-timed. Then there were the Import Tax Adjustment Levy, Expatriate Tax, and the Cybersecurity Levy that were introduced but needed to be reversed.

-Tinubu will probably go down in history as the president with the most reversed policies in the history of governance at the rate he is going. Even the construction Lagos-Calabar highway, announced with fanfare, had not been fully thought through.

Then the blatant and needless lies such as the UAE visa ban and the Maersk affair suggest that they lack any integrity. If they cannot be honest with even the simple things, why should you trust them on the big things? Plot all of these together, and you come up with a solid picture of a man whose administration lacks coordination and takes decisions based on what their hormones dictate

Tinubu’s myth as an efficient administrator that has always been propped up with media propaganda and self-serving intellectuals has severely unravelled, revealing an unpleasant picture of the man, the myth, and the mediocrity. To think we are going through this after “16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party” and “eight years of Buhari.” Add the past one year, and you see 25 directionless years. God help somebody!

Tinubu in the mud again and again. He has long be dismystified but only chronically irredeemable retards choose to overhyped, sugar-coat and garbed him in borrowed robes. Being twitchy under the influence of heroin is not political sagacity.

Na wa o, Tinubu just dey scatter our country with him indecisiveness and questionable policies, only God fit help us for this matter.

If not for Fashola that came on board as governor of Lagos in 2007, Lagos would have not experienced many of the rapid changes and development in recent years.

This man Tinubu is overhyped and his yansh is out in the open to all and sundry that he is indeed a terrible administrator with no plans.

Ask them about the Lagos master plan and what it entails, they will give no concrete answer. Is agberoism part of the grand master plan from the Agba planner?

The number of agberos in Lagos has quadrupled over the last decade. Most if not all of these agberos pay obeisance to Tinubu; they see him as their godfather.

This same Lagos I have lived in since the 90s (born and bred) is what some people that just came to Lagos few years ago will tell me that it was one man that built Lagos.

When God wants to expose someone, he puts you in a position where you have criticized everyone that held it before you that they cannot handle it.

So much for some that said he has been preparing to be President all his life to finally become the president, and has no directions and plans.

Headhunter indeed.

Philipponzaghi:
Na wa o, Tinubu just dey scatter our country with him indecisiveness and questionable policies, only God fit help us for this matter.

Guess you remember your mention below some days back? God does not support or help hypocrites who supports evil because it suits their warped prismatic worldview or feather their political nest. As you make your bed so shall you lie on it. You can't eat your cake and still have it. Abeg enjoy!

Philipponzaghi:
......They cant accept that APC is doing great things for Nigeria, typical losers!

....The oppressed man loves and respects only one man, his oppressor, and he has only one dream in life, which is to join the class of oppressors, in order to fulfil his own fantasies.("Pedagogy of the Oppressed"- Paulo Freire, Brazilian Author).

"Sometimes, people dont want to hear the truth because they dont want their illusions destroyed." -Friedrich Nietzsche.

Ah, Tinubu don spoil finish o. All those wey dey praise am before, wetin dem go say now? God help us for this country.

Th

treesun:
This week last year, two things were enthroned in the Nigerian political space. One was the man, Bola Tinubu, who was sworn in as the president. The other was the myth of the man as a headhunter endowed with a unique instinct for sourcing the right talent and an astute administrator. So much was this idea of Tinubu as administrative capacity believed that his supporters were sure he would—to use the language of former Abia state governor Orji Kalu—forward Nigeria to all forwardness. Well, it is one year now, and we might as well start asking how that myth has fared.

Let me digress here to point out that two kinds of people propagated the myth of Tinubu’s governing capacity. In one category are those you might call the Know-No-Betters. These are those who have never seen—let alone lived in—a properly functioning city and therefore have no frame of comparison when they were told Tinubu would build Nigeria as he built Lagos. They could be beguiled by the travesty of Lagos, a city where property value costs a fortune but cannot even boast of something as basic as potable water because that is the height of their experience. Even when they see the seedy sides of Lagos, their desperation for an idol to worship pushes them to willingly blind themselves to reality by eagerly gorging on glossy photoshopped images of Eko Atlantic. When you can self-soothe with the visuals of utopia, dystopia becomes livable.

Then there are the Dishonest-Know-Betters—the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on peddling lies, distortions, sentiments, and blatantly voiced falsehoods. They have experienced functional societies so they know what we have is subpar but they still tell you it is sufficient. Nigeria’s future does not concern them because they have built a safe house elsewhere where they and their children will forever be untainted by the rottenness of the country.

So, how has the myth of Tinubu as a savvy administrator held up? Well, two separate policies might best illustrate how they have conducted themselves in office so far. On May 29, 2023, Tinubu pronounced the three words that immediately unleashed hardship on Nigerians who had already endured hell under the Muhammadu Buhari administration: subsidy is gone. Now, the issue is not that he removed the subsidy—that was already expected—but he was haphazard about such a significant step.



Here is why: about a month after that pronouncement, he announced that he could announce the decision because he was under the influence of some “spirits.” Please think about that for a moment. The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria made a decision that would affect the lives and livelihood of millions of people, not because he had sat down and worked out a policy agenda with an economic team, but because he was pushed by some voices in his head? Wow!

If it was some “spirits” that took possession of him and forced the words out of his mouth, it means there was no thorough planning to see how the fuel subsidy removal would work, how to mitigate the resultant suffering, and how to assess if their programme was working. Even worse, it means he cannot fully take responsibility for the fallouts of such a programme since it originated from some forces. Whatever pain and hardship you will experience due to his policy decision is not for him to bear. After all, he only acted under some supernatural influence when he pronounced the policy into effect. That too is worth ruminating over: the man some people convinced themselves would turn Nigeria into a Dubai does not plan.


Then came this year when the same administration that told us that the fuel subsidy that helped to attenuate the economic reality was a waste also approved a whopping N90bn to subsidise the hajj pilgrimage. Again, this is worth a reflection: the man saw Nigerians groan in pain from his fuel subsidy removal and grovelled for help, but looked away. They insisted on delivering the hard shocks because the subsidies were supposedly a waste of resources. They offered “palliatives” instead. Their efforts in this direction were so poorly thought-out and poorly organised that they reversed the plan. So, while they had no answer for the pain of the generality of Nigerians and resolutely watched people suffer, they had no qualms catering to a tiny segment of the population embarking on something as privileged as a religious pilgrimage.


What is worse than Tinubu paying N90bn on the hajj this year is that he has to pay it next year, and the year after, and continue like that, especially as his second term election approaches. If he fails to sustain it, the Muslim population whose vote he is targeting through the humongous expense will not forgive him. Worse still, they would have forgotten what he paid in 2024. He has to keep up the spending. Given the Nigerian penchant to turn virtually any initiative into an avenue to siphon public funds, do not be any surprised if that N90bn starts ballooning yearly. You assess the situation he got himself and long-suffering Nigerians into, and wonder how a man who was so mythicized could unravel that quickly. When it came to administering pain and shock, Tinubu was possessed with the spirits of “courage” and “freedom” as he gayly put it. When it came to standing up to religious and ethnic sentiments, his pandering revealed those spirits as “cowardice” and “economic bondage.”

But that is not only where the legion spirits of indecisiveness have possessed the man. First, he took forever to assemble a cabinet even though he won the election in March. He had enough time to decide on a team; he just took it for granted. By the time he unfolded his team, there was initially some confusion over who had made the list. When the final list was unfolded, it was anything but inspiring. Even some of his supporters who had boasted that he knows how to look for the best people were disappointed by how many of those nominated were recycled from the garbage cans of the past administration. To think they even expanded the cabinet just to take some clowns on board.

He signed the Student Loan Act into law, but they later withdrew it with the promise to return. Till now, they are still fumbling through the launch. He recalled ambassadors from their posts, but it turned out that he had no plans in place to replace them. He also proposed the Green Tax but had to reverse it when the introduction turned out to be ill-timed. Then there were the Import Tax Adjustment Levy, Expatriate Tax, and the Cybersecurity Levy that were introduced but needed to be reversed. He will probably go down in history as the president with the most reversed policies in the history of governance at the rate he is going. Even the construction Lagos-Calabar highway, announced with fanfare, had not been fully thought through. Then the blatant and needless lies such as the UAE visa ban and the Maersk affair suggest that they lack any integrity. If they cannot be honest with even the simple things, why should you trust them on the big things?

Plot all of these together, and you come up with a solid picture of a man whose administration lacks coordination and takes decisions based on what their hormones (and some spirits, of course) dictate. Tinubu’s myth as an efficient administrator that has always been propped up with media propaganda and self-serving intellectuals has severely unravelled, revealing an unpleasant picture of the man, the myth, and the mediocrity. To think we are going through this after “16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party” and “eight years of Buhari.” Add the past one year, and you see 25 directionless years. God help somebody!


https://punchng.com/one-year-of-tinubu-the-man-the-myth-and-the-mediocrity

Nigerians will survive as always

Hehehe! See as them they dodge the thread. nlfpmod

This writer is excellent. The man, the myth and his mediocrity. The level of mediocrity been display by this administration has no rivalry.

The architect of a new Lagos no see pencil use draw for Nigeria. So much mediocrity is celebrated with reckless abandon in Lagos.

So many nice buildings in lekki but small rain, everything don cast.

Getting good water is a donkey task.

Hmm...

A man with a dodgy history, an arrogant demeanour, has a penchant for lies and propaganda, has no qualms dining with the devil and is more interested in one-upping than in doing the right thing, can never have anything good to offer.

Bat is someone who takes 10 good things from you and gives you 1 medicore thing back and continuously brags about it.

ivandragon:
Hmm...

E shock you that the architect of the new Lagos is actually a big mediocre?

drevillway:
Great read. Nairaland don't have clapping emoji

I tell you. What a masterpiece. I didn't know we have such good writers in Nigeria.

Beautifulday:


E shock you that the architect of the new Lagos is actually a big mediocre?

Not surprised. From time immemorial, the man has been all smoke and mirrors.

He flatters to deceive and equates cunning with brilliance and a cutthroat attitude with courage.

ivandragon:


Not surprised. From time immemorial, the man has been all smoke and mirrors.

He flatters to deceive and equates cunning with brilliance and a cutthroat attitude with courage.

The myth was too much. He was even awarded the achievements of other governors of Lagos before him.

It was as if Lagos which was once the federal capital of Nigeria started exist when he became the governor of Lagos.

Let's forget the myth. The mediocrity is beyond comprehension. Buhari was the benchmark of mediocrity till this now. He has broken all records of mediocrity in just one year in government to the extent that Buhari is even sending pleasantries.

Gosh!

Tinubu is a useless goat. A serial criminal.

EYIBLESSN:
Tinubu is a useless goat. A serial criminal.

They told us he has talent for selecting technocrats. You see this word technocrats, e suffer for their hand.

Technocrats as a word has been on sabbatical leave since Tinubu became president. It has been trial and error government. The blueprint they told us Tinubu had, wetin happen to it?

Racoon:
Tinubu in the mud again and again. He has long be dismystified but only chronically irredeemable retards choose to overhyped, sugar-coat and garbed him in borrowed robes. Being twitchy under the influence of heroin is not political sagacity.

I love your writing. You're a word craftsmith. You know why Tinubu mediocrity is painful to me? No because the myth. But because he will never add any value to Nigeria because for him to add value to the nation, he had to take us to the level Buhari handed Nigeria to him before he can add to it.

And it is impossible to get to Buhari level.

Imagine a Chicago scholar being worst than a tissue paper holder?

Like i told someone before the election that tinubu woes will be exposed if he forced himself on Nigerians


He was not even among the top ten best governor during his time, after his tenure, no one nominated him for president, minister or any other foreign post

He went back to empowering thugs and rogues and he starts appointing leaders everywhere

Now it's his turn, baba no even know what it takes to be a president

So much for a master strategist🤔

Chinkoalhaji34:
Ah, Tinubu don spoil finish o. All those wey dey praise am before, wetin dem go say now? God help us for this country.

E be like say your wahala too much for the Governor of your state, na only President of The Republic with executive powers for Abuja get the might to remove you from your state of social misery & poverty?

ambale:
Like i told someone before the election that tinubu woes will be exposed if he forced himself on Nigerians


He was not even among the top ten best governor during his time, after his tenure, no one nominated him for president, minister or any other foreign post

He went back to empowering thugs and rogues and he starts appointing leaders everywhere

Now it's his turn, baba no even know what it takes to be a president

So much for a master strategist🤔

Lazy man go and help yourself, President Tinubu cannot help you to become anything in life.

Typical Obidient mentality, blame others for been a Failure, it is Tinubu’s fault that they are failures in their motherland.

They no get any iota of shame with their almajiric mentality.

Beautifulday:


I love your writing. You're a word craftsmith. You know why Tinubu mediocrity is painful to me? No because the myth. But because he will never add any value to Nigeria because for him to add value to the nation, he had to take us to the level Buhari handed Nigeria to him before he can add to it.

And it is impossible to get to Buhari level.

Imagine a Chicago scholar being worst than a tissue paper holder?

You no get shame, say you dey wait for Tinubu to change your life for you?

Sorry you go wait tire.

blacknp:
Lazy man go and help yourself, President Tinubu cannot help you to become anything in life.

Typical Obidient mentality, blame others for been a Failure, it is Tinubu’s fault that they are failures in their motherland.

They no get any iota of shame with their almajiric mentality.

Are you a fool or you just applying to be a fool?

Where in my post did you see all these nonsense you put up

The fact remains the man you worshipped so much is never a magician, he only enslaved you and your lots

You think I dey wait for government abi?

Your mumu is inbuilt

blacknp:
Lazy man go and help yourself, President Tinubu cannot help you to become anything in life.

Typical Obidient mentality, blame others for been a Failure, it is Tinubu’s fault that they are failures in their motherland.

They no get any iota of shame with their almajiric mentality.

And even if one depends on the government, is there anything bad there?

You guys are just foolish, you blamed Jonathan for not able to impregnate your wives, now you believe government should not be responsible for how people live

I'm I to provide security for myself?

I'm I to bring down inflation in my own house?

Don't be unfortunate in your life ooo