Remi, Folashade, Seyi: Meet the Tinubus
When he emerged, what we got was not just a President but ‘presidents.’ We really don’t know the wahala we have entered o. So, for the first time in the history of our nation we will now have a core power base and other anchor power outlets led by these three. Remi today is the most accomplished First Lady ever. She has worked very hard at attaining very critical positioning in the system. A sitting third-term senator with a strong grasp of power and a clear understanding of influence. She will not be like her predecessors who were better off doing those soft things like visiting orphanages and disturbing Nigerians over rumours that their husbands wanted to marry a new wife. This our own new first lady is a first lady of timber and calibre. You can already see her seated firmly with the President and the Vice President complete with her ADC at meetings with NNPC and CBN bosses, discussing this fuel matter. She will not be pushed to the sideline and Nigerians had better wake up to the reality of a Remi Tinubu in the seat of power. It is looking like we have finally gotten a first lady that we truly deserve. A no-nonsense one, with sense and purpose. She will put mouth in everything and make sure she gets her way. The cabal will start and end with her. Now the comical one emerges. A few days after the swearing in, reports emerged everywhere of Nigeria now getting a new Iyaloja of the Federation. I laughed and nearly pee for body. This one will now come with a motorcade and siren o. Her picture will now be at the entrance of every market nationwide and every trader will have no choice than to recite the national pledge every morning, facing her official portrait before they start the business of the day. Make no fool of yourselves and be looking down at our First Daughter. She is as influential as they come. Very powerful, a grassroots mobilizer and very strategic. She will be doing her Iyaloja things very far away from Remi because any attempt to fly near there na chicken suya we go see our Iyaloja turn into. Seyi is the third in the tripod. As we were voting for papa, we were also voting for pikin, mama and sister. Seyi has over the years carefully built businesses, leveraging on his status, pushed into youth mobilisation and has kept a level head. I follow him on IG and can see that he has tried to send a signal of humility always going around with the black face cap and beard, cutting the image of a Marxist. But he remains one of the greatest capitalists in the country, controlling swaths of strategic economic sectors in Lagos. The belief is that this would be extended nationwide if not globally with the bigger mandate he now has. During the elections, he played his own role very well. Flew around, joined and organised rallies, had meetings, worked on youths leveraging on his influence over celebrities and generally was a soft power. Seyi is the first son and will be a very powerful first son too. His picture will also adorn offices and we will also be reciting the national pledge as we stare at his portrait. Nigeria, welcome the new Royal Family. Na God hand we dey now.
NLC, SUBSIDY AND OTHER SMALL STORIES
Fuel subsidy is gone. That was the newly manufactured President in his inaugural speech. He didn’t even get home to bathe and order his favourite amala after the ceremonies that Nigerians did their usual thing. Immediately marketers entered their hoarding mode and queues started pulling up. By Monday, President Tinubu had entered the dubious record books of being the very first President to start his first working day with a major crisis in his hands. Queues for fuel, 600% jump in transport fares and its concomitant negative effect on transportation and foodstuff costs. Funnily, all the three major contestants for the Presidency had at some point or the other stated very clearly that they will take out the ‘evil’ subsidy. Even me, as I sit down here, I support the thing sha. So, the noise that is coming out of the whole matter is one kind in my eye. As we resume our national pastime of analysing and discussing and fighting over fuel subsidy, NLC jump in with their usual mumu talk. Ohhhh this is a blow against the Nigerian people — they screamed. How can you disrespect the NLC like this, they continued? Why were we not consulted, why do this without
palliatives? They whined like a baby that had just had a nipple yanked off their mouth. For me, these NLC people will continue to be an irritating distraction on this matter. We do not need a horde of people who have passed their sellby dates to be pulling us over the place as we attempt to look very critically at this matter. The subsidy is a huge drain. We can no longer afford it and it must go. But in going, can we afford a free float in petroleum pricing? I have been told by industry insiders that the true landing cost of PMS is above N500. By the time you add other associated costs including distribution we may be retailing at over N600. So, the effect on the man on the street, small business and the general economy will be devastating. But then again at about 60 million daily usage but a subsidy regiment of about 100 million with the excess being smuggled out, we have to calm down and critically look at this thing without the irritation of an emotional NLC. Furthermore, we have not talked about the issue of deregulation. Are we removing subsidy and deregulating or are we still going to cap pricing? Are we going to open the space and democratise the operations? Are we going to take in more players and then strengthen regulation? Should NNPC
or whatever government body still be a sole player? These and many more questions need to be answered. Then very importantly, are we going to look at reforms? Blocking the leakages within the system so that the money we are saving from this removal will not disappear somewhere else and create a new set of billionaires. We need less government; we need full deregulation. We must allow for demand and supply to find its equilibrium without the bottlenecks that government inefficiency brings to the table. But much more importantly, we need a government that will take a robust over the top look at all of the ramifications of this matter in reaching a consensus that will attempt to benefit all sides. This is where NLC in its configuration or membership cannot play. How many Nigerian workers do they really represent? Let’s be truthful. Majority of workers do not even earn a living on platforms under their torn umbrella. Do they even understand the issues, if not that the fuel thing is biting even me, I would have laughed at that their statement? Going to quote Tinubu of yesteryears on the issue is what na? I don’t understand, so someone cannot look at a matter and make a strategic U-turn if he now sees better facts or has a better outlook?
Mbok NLC should ‘geraway’, like we say it in Shomolu. Thank you.
DAUDA LAWAL: A TRILLIONAIRE IN POWER
Ok, I have looked for this news item in ‘serious’ media outlets but I no see. The news however is everywhere that this ‘bobo’ has declared about N9 trillion in assets and cash. This is the new Governor of Zamfara State. Someone screamed that he is richer than Dangote. That is a pipe dream because what I have seen is that in dollars that is only $2 billion which is chicken change where me and Dangote are sitting. So immediately I saw the report, I did a quick background check on him and saw that up until recently he was a staff of First Bank of Nigeria and only just got elevated into the Board from where he left to set up an asset management firm where he was said to be managing assets for people with his partners. If this news report is fact, then Zamfara State is in for a very powerful ride. Kai! All baba needs to do is cede just 10% of his huge wealth to the state and stop wailing that his predecessor left an empty treasury. Who will leave full treasury with this kind money that you are commanding?