“You can buy politicians. You can buy praise singers. You can buy defections. You can build a political machine. But you cannot assume that you have purchased the human being inside every uniform. Does Tinubu seriously believe that every Nigerian police officer will willingly put his life on the line to preserve one politician’s presidency?”
I do not care whether Bola Tinubu contests in 2027.
Let him contest.
Because something much more important has already happened: Nigerians are asking questions about who this man really is, where he came from, the history he has presented to the country, his education, employment, identity, wealth and the extraordinary controversies that have followed him into Aso Rock.
And Tinubu should study what has happened elsewhere in Asia.
Look at Sri Lanka.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa had a government, security forces, political allies and an enormously powerful family. When economic misery and public anger finally exploded in 2022, thousands of Sri Lankans stormed his presidential residence. Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned.
Look at Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina had ruled for fifteen years. Her government had the machinery of the state behind it. Yet student protests grew into a national uprising. Hundreds died during the unrest and crackdown. In August 2024, Hasina resigned and fled as protesters descended upon her official residence.
Then look at Nepal.
In September 2025, young people furious about corruption, nepotism and restrictions on social media poured onto the streets. At least 19 people were killed in the initial crackdown. Yet the violence did not save the government. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned.
There is a lesson here that every arrogant political establishment eventually learns:
There comes a point when patronage stops working.
You can buy politicians.
You can buy praise singers.
You can buy defections.
You can build a political machine.
But you cannot assume that you have purchased the human being inside every uniform.
Does Tinubu seriously believe that every Nigerian police officer will willingly put his life on the line to preserve one politician’s presidency?
Does he believe every DSS officer — including officers from northern Nigeria and every other part of this federation — regards the political survival of Bola Tinubu as something worth dying for?
Does he believe Nigerian soldiers enlisted to defend the Federal Republic so that they could become the personal praetorian guard of one politician?
I don’t.
Security personnel have families too. They buy food. They pay school fees. They experience inflation. They see corruption. They know what their relatives are going through.
And history repeatedly demonstrates that when governments lose sufficient legitimacy, the loyalty purchased by political power can become remarkably fragile.
That is why Tinubu’s money may ultimately prove useless.
There are already serious questions surrounding the President’s past. There was a documented American civil-forfeiture proceeding in which $460,000 was forfeited after a US investigation involving alleged narcotics proceeds. That was a civil forfeiture, not a criminal conviction — but pretending the episode never existed will not make Nigerians stop asking questions about it.
His educational and employment history has also been subjected to extraordinary public scrutiny. Chicago State University was compelled through US litigation to release records relating to him. Questions have also been raised about employment claims associated with major international firms.
These matters should be answered with documents, evidence and transparency — not insults against the people asking the questions.
And then Nigerians can look at the man governing them today and make their own judgment about his performance.
I see an administration struggling with an enormous cost-of-living crisis and a President whose public communication too often fails to inspire confidence.
Around him is an increasingly powerful political family and a network of enormously wealthy business interests. Nigerians are entitled to ask who benefits from government contracts, who has access to the Presidency, and whether public policy serves 230 million Nigerians or a tiny circle surrounding political power.
I will not diagnose Tinubu from a television screen. But Nigerians are perfectly entitled to observe his public appearances and ask whether their President possesses the health, energy and mental sharpness necessary for one of the hardest jobs on earth.
And this is where 2027 becomes dangerous.
If Tinubu wins a transparent election whose result Nigerians broadly accept, that is democracy.
But if millions of Nigerians become convinced that their votes have been stolen, manipulated or simply manufactured, nobody should assume that Nigeria will quietly accept another disputed result.
Nepal tells you that.
Bangladesh tells you that.
Sri Lanka tells you that.
History tells you that.
I am not calling for violence. Quite the opposite. I am warning Nigeria’s political establishment that the only safe road through 2027 is a credible election, transparent counting, independent institutions and respect for the will of the Nigerian people.
Because there are more than 230 million Nigerians.
There is only one Bola Tinubu.
Nigeria does not belong to him.
The police do not belong to him.
The DSS does not belong to him.
The Armed Forces do not belong to him.
INEC does not belong to him.
And Aso Rock certainly does not belong to him.
These institutions belong to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
So spend the money.
Recruit the politicians.
Gather the praise singers.
Build the biggest political machine Africa has ever seen.
But remember Nepal.
Remember Bangladesh.
Remember Sri Lanka.
There is one thing no politician has ever accumulated enough money to purchase permanently: the consent of an entire people.
