By Great Imo Jonathan
Nigeria has always struggled with nepotism, but what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has institutionalized since May 29, 2023, is not nepotism as usual. It is a systematic, deliberate, and brazen Yorubanization of the Nigerian state, the conversion of national resources, national institutions, and national opportunities into instruments for the development of Yorubaland and the empowerment of Yoruba elites. While doing this with resources from all parts of Nigeria, he is gaslighting people of other region with crumbs as if he is doing them a favour.
This is not emotion. The facts and figures are there. They are right there in 3 years national budget under Tinubu. They are reflected in the projects he is using Nigerian government borrowed money from foreign countries to implement in Yoruba land. They are there in the areas he has awarded contracts for seaports and modern railways.
Look at the appointments President Tinubu has made since he came to power, it clearly exposes the intentional capture of commanding heights only for the Yoruba people. Not even his political association with people of other regions could make him think twice.
The first proof of a president’s intention is who he trusts with power. Tinubu has made it clear he trusts only his ethnic kinsmen. He only becomes partner with people of other regions when he wants to use them to get electoral support. They are good for campaign but not to be trusted with important offices in Nigeria.
A review of the most strategic positions in the Nigerian state shows a shocking lopsidedness. In Economy and Finance: Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy was Wale Edun (Yoruba). Even when he resigned Tinubu did not see anybody from any other region of Nigeria who was qualified. Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria – Yemi Cardoso (Yoruba). Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) – Zacch Adedeji (Yoruba). In effect, the three gatekeepers of Nigeria’s money are from Yoruba ethnic zone.
In Security and Coercive Power: Chief of Army Staff – Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja (Yoruba, until his death) replaced by another officer from the South-West bloc. Inspector General of Police – Kayode Egbetokun (Yoruba). When he left another Yoruba was appointed. Police officers from other regions who were next in line were forcefully retired because Tinubu was bent on having a Yoruba man in the position. Chief of Defence Intelligence, Customs, Immigration and Fire Service, all headed by Yoruba officers at different points. The DSS is headed by Adeola Ajayi (Yoruba).
In Blue Economy and Strategic Infrastructure: Minister of Marine and Blue Economy – Adegboyega Oyetola (Yoruba). Managing Director of NPA, NIMASA, and other maritime agencies – dominated by Yoruba appointees. This is critical because this controls all ports and coastal resources.
In the Presidency Itself: Chief of Staff – Femi Gbajabiamila (Yoruba). Principal Private Secretary, State Chief of Protocol, and key media and security aides are overwhelmingly Yoruba.
Out of the first 30 most powerful appointments made outside the constitutionally mandated one-minister-per-state, over 70% went to the South-West. This is in a country with 6 geopolitical zones and over 250 ethnic groups.
Tinubu also weaponized national resources for Lagos and Yoruba land. This is where the hypocrisy becomes economic sabotage.
Take a look at the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. A N15.6 trillion project awarded without competitive bidding to Hitech Construction, a company owned by Gilbert Chagoury, with Tinubu’s son on the board. While the entire South-East has no federal motorable expressway they turned second Niger Bridge which took almost 26 years to be built into an object of gaslight and propaganda against the people of south east. When they patch 2 kilometres of road in the south east they send all their propaganda agents to the point to make noise and shout about how much Tinubu has done for Ndi Igbo. Meanwhile this is a stretch of road covering over 100 kilometres. They don’t show you the abandoned sections of the road. They stand on the patched section with fake street lights and announce the entire road as constructed. A typical 419 kind of thing.
Yet they are sucking oil from the south east as they are now pumping gas from the South East. South East has the highest proven gas deposit in Africa, this APC deceitful government built high pressure gas pipeline for other zones but left south east out of the master plan. Meanwhile the gas is coming from the south east.
While President Tinubu and APC has been scamming other regions with outlandish announcements of projects that he never implemented real execution of projects are happening in Yoruba land. The modern rail announced for south east has not been executed. Refineries in South South he claimed was coming back on stream has been abandoned.
Recently he signed Ogun Deep Seaport contract for Yoruba nation but all ports in the south south has been abandoned. Once the news came and people of south south started complaining he made another outlandish announcement about seaports in the south south to be upgraded. But no contract awarded. During his presidential campaign in 2023 he told Akwa Ibom people that he was going to build Ibom seaport for them. Now its over 3 years, it remains a promise.
In 2023 APC promised the Oguta/Orashi River dredging to open South east to Atlantic. In fact there was a flag off the Hydrographic Survey and Dredging of the proposed sea route. Chief of Defence Staff, Chief of Naval Staff, Ministers of Transportation and Trade & Investment were all there.
Exactly 3 years after that flag-off, no dredging, no ships and no seaport. The project has been abandoned and forgotten, like many promises made to the people of south east.
That is how they gaslight and deceive people in other regions. Because once they announce it, their propaganda machine will begin to spread it as an achievement. But on ground Tinubu is doing nothing in the south east. It is deliberate and deceitful of President Tinubu.
At the same time Abuja-Kano, Kano Kaduna and other roads in the north remain death traps while Tinubu is pouring over $10 billion equivalent into a road that primarily adds value to Yoruba real estate in Lagos.
Yet he destroyed Igbo businesses worth billions in Lagos to create a path, just to increase the value of Eko Atlantic, his legacy project.
Even as Tinubu removed fuel subsidy without cushion he funneled much of it into Lagos and is still borrowing on behalf Nigeria to invest in Yoruba land. He did not even consider reviving refineries in Port Harcourt or Warri, the south south region that produces most of the oil that he is selling to divert money into Yoruba land. Instead, they are being funneled into Lagos-centric projects: the coastal highway, the Lekki Deep Seaport concessions, and the Lagos-Ibadan railway that has consumed over $2 billion with little national spread.
In the 2024 budget, the Ministry of Works allocation showed that the South-West got over 40% of the capital projects for roads and bridges, while the South-East got less than 8% and the North-East, ravaged by insurgency, got less than 12%. Meanwhile the East-West Road in the south south remains abandoned.
If you hear Tinubu talking about federalism it is simple hypocrisy. Tinubu was the champion of restructuring and true federalism when he was in opposition. Even his fellow Yoruba elites condemned what they termed northernization of Nigeria under Buhari. But now in power, he has perfected what the Yorubas once condemned.
He uses oil money from the Niger Delta, which contributes over 80% of Nigeria’s foreign exchange to develop Eko Atlantic City and ban private jets from using certain airports except Lagos.
He uses tax generated from across Nigeria to fund Yoruba land. He preaches national unity while practicing ethnic consolidation. He has turned the Nigerian state into an extension of the old Lagos State Government House in Alausa.
His political associates from other regions can’t talk because the shameless characters are chasing crumbs under the economic tables controlled by Tinubu and Yoruba economic syndicates operating in Abuja. They give contracts almost only to Yorubas and residual jobs to their ass licking slaves from other regions who are foolish enough to think they are being done a favour.
But the danger I must remind Tinubu and his Yoruba ethnic warriors who now see other Nigerians as nothing is that Nigeria cannot survive if every president turns the country into a fiefdom for his ethnic group. Buhari did it with the North, and Nigerians condemned it. Tinubu is doing it with even more sophistication and economic calculation, not just giving jobs to his people, but re-engineering the physical infrastructure of Nigeria to permanently favour Yorubaland.
This is not governance. It is state capture. It is the Yorubanization of a commonwealth built with the blood and sweat of all Nigerians. Something that is dangerous even to the Yoruba nation.
Great Imo Jonathan
