Seyi Tinubu, the son of Nigeria’s President, faced a backlash on social media after he urged Nigerians to endure the economic hardship caused by his father’s policies.
Nigeria is going through a tough time. The cost of living is skyrocketing, the Naira is losing value, and food prices are soaring. Many Nigerians are fed up with the situation and have taken to the streets to protest.
But Seyi Tinubu, the eldest son of President Bola Tinubu, has a different message. He wants Nigerians to be patient and have faith in his father’s administration. He believes that the current generation will reap the benefits of the economic reforms in the future.
In an Instagram post, Seyi quoted his father’s words from a national broadcast last October, where he said, “There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today’s difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future.”
Seyi declared that he stands with his father and used hashtags such as #HaveFaithinHim, #NigeriaisinGreatHands, #OurGenerationwillYieldthefruitsofthishardship, #IStandwithOurPresident, #RenewedHope and #NigeriaismyHome to show his support.
But not everyone was impressed by Seyi’s plea. Some Nigerians accused him of being insensitive and out of touch with the reality of the masses. They pointed out that Seyi lives a lavish lifestyle while asking others to sacrifice.
A user named @King_ando1 commented, “The most painful part is that this n*gga got a Richard Mille on his wrist while typing hardship.” A Richard Mille watch can cost anywhere from $48,000 to $750,000. Another user named @Empresstok said, “How far are you enduring? You can say that to the masses cos you are not in their shoes.”
@ada_la_pinky simply said, “It’s hard for the masses,” while @akorede_dk quipped, “I believe you. May Allah make it easy for us.”
Seyi’s post came hours after a former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the 2023 polls, Atiku Abubakar, slammed President Tinubu’s economic policies, especially the unification of the exchange rate.
Atiku said that the Tinubu administration had shown “poverty of ideas” and caused “untold pain and distress” on the economy and the people. He argued that adopting a floating exchange rate system was an overkill and suggested a managed-floating system instead.
He said that the Central Bank of Nigeria should intervene to control and stabilise the value of the Naira and curb speculative activities.
But the Presidency dismissed Atiku’s criticism, saying that his alternative of a controlled floatation of the Naira was similar to the policy of Godwin Emefiele, the former CBN governor, who spent $1.5bn monthly to shore up the Naira, while allowing arbitrage or round-tripping to go on unhindered. The Presidency said that this policy was exploited by people close to the corridors of power.
