Controversy Surrounding President Tinubu’s Sons Amid National Hardship in Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu’s sons, Seyi and Yinka, are among the delegation traveling with him on a state visit to Doha, Qatar. The trip comes amid a nationwide protest against hardship, hunger, and high cost of living in Nigeria. Tinubu has promised to cut the cost of governance but many Nigerians have accused the government of only paying lip service and not fully committed to going ahead with it.

SaharaReporters learned that Seyi and his brother, Yinka, have accompanied Tinubu on virtually every foreign trip. In October 2023, some Nigerians condemned the use of a jet in the presidential fleet by the President’s son, Seyi, to go on a private trip to Kano State to watch a polo tournament. Polo is a traditional field sport played on horseback, one of the world’s oldest known team sports, but is the exclusive reserve of the rich and members of the ruling class in Nigeria.

Seyi Tinubu’s reckless private trip using taxpayers’ money amid hardship in Nigeria mirrored what happened in January 2020 when then-President Muhammadu Buhari’s daughter, Hanan, took a private photography trip to Bauchi State in a presidential jet. This trend did not start today, as it began when Buhari allowed his daughter Hanan to travel in a presidential jet for a mere photo tour in Bauchi.

Human rights activist and #RevolutionNow convener Omoyele Sowore recently berated the Nigerian government over the report by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, that only 5% of Nigerians had more than N500,000 in their bank accounts. Edun added that the Nigerian government’s reforms were to rectify the economic imbalances that disproportionately favoured a small group of elites in the last eight years over the majority of citizens.

Sowore responded to the minister’s report by saying that while only about 5% of Nigerians had over N500,000 in their bank accounts, President Bola Tinubu’s son, Seyi, was using a wristwatch worth N346 million. He said that “justice for all just ain’t specific enough” for Nigerians who are facing an astronomical rise in the cost of living and hardship in the country.

In conclusion, President Bola Tinubu’s sons, Seyi and Yinka, are among the delegation traveling with the President on a state visit to Doha, Qatar. The trip comes amid a nationwide protest against hardship, hunger, and high cost of living in Nigeria.