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By Ben Duntoye
A few days ago, I was having a brainstorming session in my office with some progressive and emerging young leaders who came visiting. In our usual tradition, we discussed issues of development and politics across the world and Nigeria, appraising the one-year administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
This has become a regular event for me with the young people, a constituency I have dedicated my life to as a former Secretary General of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), two-time President of NYCN, and President of the Pan African Youth Union (PYU), AU’s umbrella youth platform.
During the discussion, we agreed that continuous support should be given to those who have made enormous contributions towards the stability and successes achieved so far by the Tinubu Administration in its one-year tenure amidst challenging times. One name topped everyone’s list with deep admiration and accolades: Seyi Tinubu, the friendly son of the president.
My youth leadership journey provided me the opportunity to interact with past presidents. It also exposed me to the dynamics of how various power centers shape inclusion and youth mainstreaming in governance.
My candid opinion is that no one has shown as much openness, sophistication, and pragmatic capacity to operationalize political inclusion of emerging young leaders in Nigerian history as Tinubu administration. This is made possible by the dynamic, humble, and unassuming Seyi Tinubu, or ST for short, as he is popularly called by friends, admirers, and foes alike.
The last time young people had close access to the Aso Villa, Nigeria’s seat of power, was during Obasanjo’s tenure, when Dr. Andy Uba was SA domestic. During that time, Sen. Tony Nwoye was NANS President, Hon. Victor Akinjo was the SA Youth to the President, and I was National Youth Council President. There was access then, like now, which really helped to create cordial government/youth relations. Seyi does not see himself as a child with a golden spoon. He is readily available, mingles easily, and is always ready to help. In fact, sometimes his advocacy for the youth went as far as picking up his phone to call governors to appeal and lobby so that young people could be accommodated into government in their state.
It was during the 2023 APC presidential campaigns that I had a rare encounter with ST. I served as a member of the Civil Society Committee and also worked closely with the Youth Committee. A couple of times, I met with him, once in the personal residence of President Tinubu in Asokoro and others at the Youth House at Wuse. I noticed ST is very detailed and intelligent, not just like any of those “Omo Butter,” as we used to describe over-pampered kids from rich homes. He is a team leader, very attentive, and allows creativity and ideas to flourish. He is quick to call people Bros, Egbon, or Aunty as a sign of respect. He is a well-groomed Omoluabi.
This hard-working enigma with an ebullient persona is extraordinary and amazing in ensuring that young people, who were previously left out of the complex, interest-driven national governance, are given a place in the administration of President Tinubu courtesy of the virtuoso, ST.
Today, as the one-year anniversary of President Tinubu is being x-rayed, Nigerian youth can count their blessings. Many young people, without any connections, who politically wouldn’t have a place at the governance table, are strategically placed and appointed to very important positions as honorable ministers, heads of departments, and agencies, courtesy of the enigmatic ST, the colossus renewing hope silently for emerging leaders. His energy is untiring, and his heart is filled with empathy. I pray that the young people appointed to serve in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will not betray the trust and confidence that Mr. President reposes in them by working hard to deliver on their assigned mandates and responsibilities to enable more young ones to come on board. Nigerian youths have really come of age.
This cerebral earth mastermind, intelligent and efficient entrepreneur, a CEO of repute, a leader in innovative marketing strategies, and operating one of the best brands in communication and advertising in Nigeria, has taken over the political terrain with so much grace and selflessness in the elevation of young people never seen in Nigeria’s first family power circle.
Maybe his philanthropic nature of tending to the masses informed his formation of the Noella Foundation, named after his adorable daughter, an umbrella body of the Seyi Tinubu Empowerment Project (STEP). The project is aimed at employment creation and technological skill acquisition for Nigerians through the support of tech start-ups with skills development and seed funding. What a vision!
As with everything that is real and breaks the status quo of exclusion at the highest echelon of political conclave, ST has come under severe negative attacks by envious purveyors of falsehood and half-truth propagators with their online collaboration, with the evil agenda of stigmatizing this good man with their preposterous fairy tales by moonlight through character assassination, accusation, and malicious schemes. But ST, like a rose flower growing among the thorns, blossomed with every dirt thrown at him, which he graciously endured and unequivocally pushed on with a stronger sense of purpose and vision, just like the mythical Phoenix that emerges from ash into a colossus.
This national treasure, Seyi Tinubu, is becoming a rallying point for many in political mobilization and empowerment, which is bipartisan, positive, diverse, and accommodating. For the first time, emerging leaders could have a breath of fresh air through the renewing hope of the indomitable ST.
In a country seeking national cohesion and unity on many national questions, Seyi Tinubu has earned for himself the enviable status of a centripetal force that has helped reinvent and reinvigorate an emerging patriotic constituency ready to birth the Nigeria of our dreams.
As the saying goes, leadership is followership. Let us all join to support the Colossus, renewing hope with his touch, direction, and vision.
Ben Duntoye is the Executive Director, African Youth Resource Centre
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