Seyi Tinubu: Beyond The Surname

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Even the most fervent traducers of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu know that he is, without exception, one of the greatest politicians to ever come out of Nigeria. His recent emergence as the 16th President of the country and the Grand Commander of the Federal Republic (GCFR) is enough proof.

He has achieved the kind of success that places him in a class of his own, the likes of which an observer would be hard put to find his equal. To emerge as president, he coordinated such an intense and dizzying political orchestra that it takes no prophet, either of Ba’al or of profit, to tell that his political machinations will be studied for decades to come.

His chronicles and travails, in fact, bestow lasting privilege on his scions and relatives; the privilege of a powerful last name.

It’s no different to the Bill Gates and Barack Obamas of this world. This privilege, however, is not without pressure and drawbacks. Some may even regard it as a burden, because he has left an extremely powerful name for his relatives and followers to live up to. For anyone wielding the Tinubu name, whether as a relative or as a beneficiary of a reference letter from the legend himself, much is expected.

Sasha Obama, the older daughter of Barack, is one such example. To close friends and relatives, she has expressed her frustration with the excessive media coverage and public scrutiny that routinely catapults otherwise mundane events and developments in her life to the Frontpage of newspapers and blogs.

Her life, she bemoans, is no longer as private and normal as she would have loved even despite her father’s tenure as president ending almost a decade ago. Her situation and complex relationship with the public illustrates the fact that a powerful and famous surname often comes with a permanent and unrelenting spotlight. It is a huge shadow that can consume, suffocate and obscure.

You are considered no more than an appendage of your famous parent(s), and your life is constantly probed and assessed with a script and set of expectations manufactured and imposed by the public. Your failures are amplified and made the fodder of harsh criticism and mockery. Your success is undermined, understated, belittled and virtually invalidated as the natural outcome of your privilege. Just as you inherit an influential and supportive social circle, you also become the target of powerful enemies whose view of you is no more than a vulnerability of their opponent.

To truly impress as a ‘rich kid’ — as some people describe scions of accomplished men and families — you must go and over beyond by achieving feats few even dare to pursue. Most don’t meet the bar. They argue, reasonably, that it is an unfair demand. But Oluwaseyi Tinubu, the oldest son of the political titan, excels here, distinguishing himself as an outstanding exception.

Hated by some for just being born, slanderers and suborners have always fancied having a go at him. If Bola Tinubu so much as breathed, influencers on the social media would be mobilised to bring down anything Tinubu, and Seyi Tinubu was always a victim of unfair and untrue accusations. Hatchet journos, penmen for hire, and other mischief alchemists would conjure up stories and make the most bizzare extrapolations against the junior Tinubu. They say he has nothing else to him, besides his surname.

Yet, in the just concluded election, the otherwise taciturn strategist offered a glimpse of the traits that earned him global renown and financial success in the media and marketing world.

Convinced of his father’s superior competence to preside over the nation’s affairs, he applied himself to getting him elected and in the process succeeded in persuading millions of young Nigerians to hope again.

The difficulty of the task is manifest in the fact that Bola Tinubu’s opponents either hid their children during the elections or their children were not convinced of their parents’ capacities enough to enter into the fray. But Seyi Tinubu did just that. Quiet as a ninja, he stayed in his father’s corner and directed things as his right hand man.

It was not an easy task. Years of general government failure and disappointments have hardened young Nigerians and made them cynical. Anxiety over their future in light of major global disruptions – once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, war in Europe, disorienting reshuffle of the international order – made them vulnerable to the fear-mongering of charlatans who are well versed in the problems but offer no solutions. Political opportunists capitalised on this angst to feed them wrong facts and mobilise them into one large mob against Bola Tinubu.

Yet Seyi found a path to their hearts. This he achieved through arduous direct engagements and other strategic overtures. He was in every state, interfaced with every community leader worth meeting, informed and drove beneficial media narratives, united the party’s youth wing, and nudged all to rise above pettiness and self-glorification capable of distracting from the main goal.

The youth campaign he led had a structure in the sense that there was an overarching strategy. But it lacked rigidity and had few certainties. When a task availed itself, it must be tackled. That was the mantra and Seyi atypically led by example. He could wake up in Lagos, eat lunch in Kogi and spend the night in Kebbi State. Such was the nature of the campaign. Time was of little consequence. Not to Seyi, at least. He was an early bird and he pulled all-nighters.

He spoke to investors and impressed young advocates and talents, contributing to the broadening of his father’s appeal in critical sectors and areas. In the end, the effective combination of talent and hardwork delivered victory. And Seyi was at the forefront of that, showing yet again that beyond the surname lies a committed, dutiful, brilliant, and visionary young man with exceptional managerial skills.

He has followed that up with a concert that united young Nigerians and impressed on them the reason to get behind the incoming administration, no matter their partisan leaning in the electoral season. Elections have come and gone; it is time to come together and build.

The temptation to liken Seyi to his father or be considered a mere extension is admittedly high and obvious. They, after all, share a number of similar attributes. Calmness in the face of pressure, long-term thinking, strategic pursuit of defined ambitions, and unconditional generosity.

However, similarity shouldn’t be mistaken for sameness nor proof of a parasitic relationship. Seyi is like the servant who was given five talents and traded with it, making five more. Let no one begrudge his success; it did not come on a platter of gold.

There was as much chance that he would be a complete failure as there was the chance that he would be the rousing success that he is. Just ask politicians who hide their children about the truth of that fact. Seyi continues to prove himself and add to the Tinubu mystique. The last has not been heard of the brilliant mystique.

‘Shina Peter is a media professional. He writes from Abuja, Nigeria.