Bola Ahmed Tinubu, The Chaos President.


In the run up to the US presidential election of 2016, then candidate, Jeb Bush said this about the eventual winner, Donald Trump, "he's a chaos candidate. And he'd be a chaos president". Not only did that statement turn out to be true, the Donald Trump presidency was actually worse than predicted. It was utter chaos from day 1, by the end of the first week of Donald Trump's term in office, there was chaos home and abroad, most notable of which was his so called "travel ban". See, one consistent theme in politics is those who campaign in sound bites and slogans with no real substance are usually ill prepared and will only deliver chaos.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu was sworn in as Nigeria's president on Monday, May 29th, 2023 and in His first action as president, while giving the inauguration speech, he managed to throw the entire nation into chaos and panic with a single declaration on the abolition of fuel subsidy. On the surface of it, the policy may have been well intentioned and if properly managed, may be a much needed respite on the nation's strained resources but President Tinubu made a rookie mistake in announcing a major reform with no plan, no detail and no focal person to drive the policy. There are no appointees of his, save a few lackeys, who can manage the situation and we have on our hands, a president who probably need bed rest for a few days to function optimally. Textbook definition of chaos.

A seasoned administrator will know better than to make serious policy decisions that affect a large portion of the population from the inauguration podium. Instead of rallying the nation and calling for unity and support, the new president has brought back some of the darkest memories of the final days of the Buhari presidency. The first 24 hours of the Tinubu presidency has unraveled all the talking points that got him elected, in the first place. He has demonstrated a strange lack of understanding of policy announcement and implementation leaving very sour taste in the mouth of everyone trying to go about their daily activities. Is Nigeria about to go through another round of sudden hike in food and essential commodities prices? The last one was just a few months ago!

The honeymoon phase is over for this new administration before it even started, right now, Mr. President need to wake up and smell the tea leaves, party is over. It is time for leadership. He should, as a matter of urgency, address the nation, set in motion a practical and less painful protocol for the removal of petroleum subsidy and for the love of God, nominate appointees to lead critical ministries, departments and parastatals as soon as the new national assembly is conveyed, we all know the names will be the usual political players anyway, don't be Buhari 2.0, Mr. President.

It's funny how politics and politicking work, we could have been close to 10 years post subsidy removal if not for Bola Tinubu and friends who opposed the Jonathan administration but here we are, a decade later and Mr. Tinubu is dealing with the mess.
I wish him the best of luck.

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