Senator Kabiru Marafa once asked: “Is politics slavery?” Under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the answer is plain: politics has become slavery to one man’s ambition.
Tinubu does not build men. He breaks them. He does not raise leaders. He raises pawns. Betrayal is not his accident. It is his creed.
The story of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is littered with wreckage of loyalty:
Ganiyu Solomon supported Tinubu in 1999, offering all vehicles at his disposal. Today, Tinubu does not want to associate with him.
In 1998, Gbenga Daniel gave Tinubu his building as campaign office. By 2003, Tinubu betrayed him, denying him the Ogun State governorship ticket he promised. Daniel had to turn to Obasanjo and the PDP to survive politically.
Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele, his deputy and loyal defender in early battles, was rewarded with humiliation and forced resignation.
Musiliu Obanikoro, once trusted, was abandoned the moment he sought independence.
Wunmi Bewaji, an early defender of his cause, was discarded when he questioned Tinubu’s authoritarian grip.
Rauf Aregbesola, his battle-tested general, was left humiliated and politically strangled in Osun.
Olorunnimbe Mamora, a loyalist, was discarded and forced out of the Senate to make way for Tinubu’s wife.
Senator Kaka was useful in the trenches but discarded when no longer “strategic.”
Akinwunmi Ambode, a sitting governor, was denied a second term — an unprecedented humiliation.
Kayode Fayemi, used to strengthen APC, was sidelined once his influence grew.
Babatunde Fashola, paraded as his political “son,” had his wings clipped when his popularity threatened the master.
Yemi Osinbajo, handpicked and loyal, was politically buried for daring to dream of the presidency.
Nasir El-Rufai, who risked his political capital to deliver Tinubu in 2023, was betrayed in the Senate, humiliated at Tinubu’s whisper.
Abdullahi Ganduje, once embraced, was dumped without hesitation.
This is not coincidence. This is Tinubu’s doctrine: use them, discard them, move on to the next victim.
But his greatest betrayal is not of individuals. It is of the Nigerian people.
He campaigned on democracy, progressivism, and restructuring. Once in power, he betrayed every word.
He promised Renewed Hope but delivered renewed hunger.
He called for sacrifice while living in convoys of luxury.
He vowed reforms, yet Nigerians are buried deeper in poverty and despair.
As Abraham Lincoln said: “You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.”
The mask has slipped. Nigerians now see the godfather for what he is: a master of betrayal.
History is brutal with betrayers. Empires built on trust endure; empires built on treachery collapse. Tinubu’s name may echo in power today, but tomorrow, it will be remembered not for building but for breaking. Not for loyalty, but for betrayal.
As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded: “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
By that measure, Tinubu stands exposed and naked to the judgment of history
Prince Anozie Ugenyi
Writes from the United States.
