Tinubu, keep sycophants at bay, by Wale Adedayo

There are friends and egbon who’ll not be happy that one is writing this piece. E je ebure. E ma binu si ipata yi. We need to do such reminders at critical times like this.

It is natural, very natural, in every political ecosystem that sycophants, more than men and women of good-conscience, often get closer to rulers. In some sad cases, such sycophants have brought such rulers to ruin. And, the average person will be surprised that such sycophants survive to serve the next ruler.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has come a long way in his divine calling to become a pillar of Nigeria’s democratic journey. I doubt any other individual would have survived those turbulent years in Lagos (1999 – 2003) without paying with his/her life, not just losing political relevance. I should know because we were on the other side, firm in our belief that we were on the right side.

But thank God for spiritual discernment, some of us later got to know that, at times like these, it is the words of the Hollywood’s epic movie: ‘Chronicles of Riddick,’ that should apply: “Sometimes, you do not fight evil with good. At (such) times, you fight evil with another kind of evil.” We were lucky to avoid the path of Ahitophel, who in his righteous anger forgot to apply wisdom through the spirit of discernment. We never knew he was being prepared with all the thorns in his path. He did not only survive, he triumphed as King David did.

My concern today is about the needless naming of some Federal structures and institutions after Mr. President. It is needless! It is pointless! Tinubu does not need it now. Yes, Mr. President already has a number of Guinness World records in his kitty.. But it is not time to flaunt them because the trickling down of what he has done for Nigeria under two years in office is yet to reflect in the lives of ordinary people across the country.

What we currently have in terms of what has been achieved by Tinubu is the firm declaration before Pharaoh and his minions that God’s children WILL leave Egypt. Tinubu is Nigeria’s Moses. I’ve just read snippets from former Rivers State Governor Peter Odili’s experience in office. Tinubu had it worse than Odili. It was not just his predecessor, who did everything possible to stop Tinubu from getting the APC presidential ticket.

The ruling party did everything possible to ensure the defeat of its candidate in the 2023 presidential election. It was not just the poor policies of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) alone. All the political forces in Abuja and beyond were deployed against him. The spirituals were employed from Mali, Niger Republic and Chad, all in a vain attempt to stop a God-given mandate. Disciples of Baal did more across Southern Nigeria in the Name of Jesus Christ. They failed!

Yes, pains persist in the land. He apparently foresaw that too, thus the almost triple increase in Federal Allocations to the states and local governments. These allocations are not just meant for payment of salaries and allowances. It is from such funds that much needed infrastructures and other things that would help with welfare are sourced. We’ll be back to this in a moment.

Naming monuments and others after a leader is not bad. But doing so at this time is wrong. Very wrong! It will send the wrong signals. The work of Mr. President is just starting. We firmly believe it has not reached a fifty percent level of what we know he can deliver on behalf of Nigerians who are desirous of a country to be proud of. Sycophants derail quality leaders. Before you know it, his eyes are off the ball as he would have been wrongly made to believe that the job is as good as done. We still have many rivers to cross, Mr. President. Your initial steps are good. And you must continue. Antics like naming of places after you by these sycophants will ensure you derail. God forbid bad thing!

Similar to the work of sycophants is your relaxed attitude about the unpatriotic efforts of the Governors, who are undermining your patriotic efforts. The increase in Federal Allocations, which you activated is not showing in the lives of the people. Your Administration secured a Supreme Court judgement which stipulated that, funds meant for the country’s 774 local governments should go to them directly. Till date, it has not happened. And you are yet to ensure the enforcement of that judgement.

Today, a number of naive politicians and the not-so-naive regularly rain abuses on you for the ‘hardship’ in the country occasioned by the removal of petrol subsidy and the abolition of multiple foreign exchange windows. Given the background of Mr. President as a former Governor, one is sure that he is aware of the place of local governments in the scheme of governance. It is the closest to the grassroots. If the local governments are working, the policies Tinubu initiated would have been cushioned by their outputs. By now, the economy of the local level of government should be booming.

Sadly, this is not so. And Tinubu is being accused of bringing hardship. Meanwhile, those pocketing these funds are the Governors. And nobody is talking about them. Mr. President needs to activate the necessary machinery of Government to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court judgement. Apart from helping the masses of our people, it will also help Tinubu’s public image as the dividends of democracy would trickle down to where it should have gone.

Keep the sycophants at bay Mr. President. In fact, you’ll do well to check their activities. They do not mean well for you. And the Governors, not all of them are myopic. A few among them are visionaries and quality leaders in their own right. But many among them do not care about the people they were elected to serve. And in the spirit of June 12, it is very important that these elements who are obvious enemies of democratic governance need to be checked.

If you are able to make the 774 local governments work with their Federal Allocations getting to them directly, be assured that it will positively affect the security situation in the country, and food security too will receive much needed boost. Our prayers are with you. King David succeeded despite his flaws. You’ll succeed Insha Jesus with the full support of all the Irunmale.