Tinubu Is Nigeria’s Problem: A Mastermind of the Rot, Not Just Its Symptom

By George Omagbemi Sylvester

When Femi Oyewale argues that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not Nigeria’s problem but merely a symptom of a rotting system, he severely underestimates the decades-long influence Tinubu has wielded in entrenching the very rot he now appears to embody. Tinubu is not a passive outcome of systemic failure, he is an active architect of it. From the 1970s to the present day, his strategic political maneuvers, shadowy alliances and godfather-style control have played a central role in shaping Nigeria’s broken political landscape. To excuse him as merely a byproduct is to erase history and absolve responsibility.

1. Tinubu’s Political Genesis Dates Back to the 1980s

Tinubu’s political journey didn’t start in 1999. By the late 1980s, he was already networking among Nigeria’s elite and leveraging his connections within the finance sector. By 1992, he became a Senator representing Lagos West under the Social Democratic Party (SDP). His time in the Senate may have been short-lived due to the Abacha coup, but it placed him firmly within the corridors of power. Following Abacha’s death, Tinubu emerged as one of the most influential members of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO). While this earned him some democratic credibility, it also provided the perfect springboard for his political dominance.

2. The Lagos Empire: A Laboratory for Corruption and Control

Tinubu became Lagos State Governor in 1999 and quickly turned Nigeria’s commercial capital into his personal fiefdom. For eight years, he entrenched a political machinery so strong that Lagos politics became synonymous with Tinubu. Upon leaving office in 2007, he didn’t relinquish power, he merely changed seats. His handpicked successors, Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode, and Babajide Sanwo-Olu, all served at his pleasure. When Ambode dared show some independence, Tinubu crushed his re-election bid with swift vengeance.

Through Alpha Beta Consulting (a tax collection firm with opaque ownership linked to him) Tinubu reportedly controlled massive revenues flowing from Lagos State. According to a 2020 court filing by Dapo Apara, a whistleblower and former Managing Director of Alpha Beta, the firm was allegedly used for money laundering and tax fraud, enriching the Tinubu empire under the guise of “consultancy.” These accusations have never been credibly denied, only buried under political influence.

3. The Architect of Political Godfatherism
If godfatherism is one of Nigeria’s greatest political ills, Tinubu is its grandmaster. He didn’t just play politics, he industrialized it. By controlling party primaries, deciding who runs for office, and weaponizing loyalty, he ensured that no one could ascend in the political hierarchy without paying homage to him. This system of fealty over merit has undermined Nigerian governance, especially in the southwest.

His role in building the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2013, through a merger of several opposition parties, was not motivated by altruism or reform but by raw ambition. He handed Buhari the 2015 presidential ticket not because Buhari had a new vision for Nigeria, but because he saw a route to national influence. Nigeria got the short end of the stick — an inept presidency and a growing Tinubu empire.

4. Tinubu Enabled and Benefited from Buhari’s Failures
Tinubu didn’t just support Buhari in 2015 and 2019 — he marketed him as the savior of Nigeria. He dismissed warnings about Buhari’s incompetence and dictatorial past. When fuel prices surged, the economy tanked, and insecurity skyrocketed under Buhari, Tinubu remained silent. He was not just complicit; he was a stakeholder in the disaster. He protected the system that allowed Buhari to rule with impunity because he wanted to inherit it.

When the #EndSARS protests erupted in 2020, implicating state-backed repression and calling out Tinubu’s political network in Lagos, he downplayed the movement, branding it anarchic. Rather than stand for justice, he chose self-preservation. Can someone who actively shields tyranny and corruption be called merely a “symptom”?

5. 2023 Elections: Rigging, Violence, and Ethnic Division
The 2023 elections were among the most controversial in Nigeria’s recent democratic history. Tinubu’s emergence as President was mired in widespread reports of vote suppression, intimidation and electoral fraud — particularly in Lagos and Rivers states. Despite glaring irregularities, Tinubu and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) bulldozed through public outrage. His infamous “emi lokan” (“it’s my turn”) declaration in Ogun was not a rallying cry for reform but an arrogant assertion of entitlement. This entitlement is not symptomatic, it is pathological.

He ran on a platform devoid of coherent policy and has since offered Nigerians nothing but hardship. Under his leadership, fuel subsidy removal was carried out with zero planning, leading to astronomical transportation and food prices. The naira was floated into chaos, sparking inflation and economic suffering across the board. Rather than act swiftly, Tinubu flew overseas (often) while Nigerians were told to “tighten their belts.”

6. Unresolved Drug Trafficking Allegations
Tinubu’s defenders routinely downplay or deflect the long-standing allegations of drug trafficking from his past. However, U.S. court records from the 1990s show that the U.S. government confiscated $460,000 from Tinubu’s account due to suspicious narcotics-related activities linked to a Chicago heroin ring. While he was never criminally convicted, the forfeiture is a stain that no amount of political spin can wash away. For someone who would later become President of Africa’s largest democracy, this kind of baggage is not symptomatic, it is toxic.

7. Tinubu Is the System
To say Tinubu is not the problem is to misunderstand the scale of his political footprint. Nigeria’s systemic rot — corruption, cronyism, ethno-regional division and elite capture, has not just enabled Tinubu; Tinubu has, in turn, enabled and fortified that rot. He is not a passive result of the system. He has redesigned, monopolize and weaponized that system for personal gain.

He didn’t find Nigeria broken, he helped break it. He didn’t inherit dysfunction, he orchestrated it. He didn’t stumble into power, he built the path with manipulation, deception and ruthless calculation.

8. A New Narrative Must Begin with Accountability
If Nigeria is to be rescued from its current nightmare, we must reject the narrative that those who have led us into the abyss are mere victims of circumstance. Leadership is responsibility. History demands accountability. Tinubu is not a victim of the system. He is a prime beneficiary and chief engineer of its worst aspects.

To absolve Tinubu is to excuse the decades of deceit, exploitation, and anti-democratic tendencies he has propagated. It is to silence the voices of millions of Nigerians whose lives have been destroyed by decisions made in his boardrooms and war rooms.

Final note
Let’s be clear: Tinubu is not just the face of Nigeria’s political decay; he is one of its principal architects. Unlike many who stumbled into power or inherited broken structures, Tinubu actively built his political empire through transactional politics, godfatherism, suppression of dissent, and the manipulation of public institutions. He is not a mere symptom, he is both the disease and the enabler.

Blaming “the system” without naming and confronting its engineers only ensures that Nigeria remains a nation circling the drain. Until Nigeria confronts Tinubu and all he represents, no true progress can be made.