Is Seyi Tinubu a national burden?

Some palpable disgust about Mr. Oluwaseyi Tinubu is intriguing, amusing, and understandable. Is he the first child of a sitting president, or why is he attracting so much attention, exerting inexplicable influence, and is reputed as the most vilified player in that space?

The young man appears engaging and exudes a compelling aura, or is he a mere national nuisance or burden? The latter seems most unlikely.

Showing up at the swearing-in ceremony of the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, among other appearances and activities, sparked social media outrage and unbridled castigation of his attending government functions. The self-styled first son of the country dragged left, right and centre since his father took office. So, it is either the young Tinubu is outlandishly loud, or Nigerians refused to wake up from the stereotype that the children of presidents seen or heard amount to reckless harassment of our collective psyches and flagrant abuse of national privileges.

A critical interrogation and dispassionate approach to this matter will either free one from mere sentiments and emotions or provide further justifications why Mr. Seyi Tinubu, born with the full right of a Nigerian, should keep his tail between his legs, sit down in one of the rooms in the Villa, eat, drink, stay unproductive, or pause his life for the next four years until his father gets another go at the highest office.

Indeed, the President’s office demands his immediate family to be above board and a model, but should individual family members lose their identity or become recluses because of Presidents who are usually at the peak of their lives?

While not speaking for the young man, it is increasingly unacceptable that the child of a sitting president should stay at the backdrop and allegedly stop insulting our sensibilities or unnecessarily becoming an irritant even when he has something reasonable to offer- the truth is most of us are hypocritical with such submissions.

Somebody asked who knows the sons of past presidents and who stood in our faces or junket about with their fathers while in office, and the loud cry that the young man has become too forward. Again, let us reflect deeply.

When has it become a crime for a young man in his prime to engage his landscape and express his potential and possibilities because he is a child of a senior government official? It should be a shame that the child of a sitting president cannot exert influence to drive better governance in his little corner. What a colossal waste of investment. Of course, the populist argument is that he is an additional cost to governance hanging around his father. Still, some time ago, the daughters of a sitting president were cruising the presidential jets to attend parties but no misnomer is recorded yet!

If the young man is found in the web of corruption beyond mere allegations and if activities around him significantly distort governance or become a national burden, then we must collectively resist such fiefdom and godless pillaging of our national patrimony, but if seen around his father, joined him on his trips or seen at public functions, is a national discourse then how many of us with very engaging children would accept otherwise.

We are quick to draw examples from other climes, but there abound catalogues of sitting presidents whose children refused to sit behind the scenes and applied themselves to the best of their abilities to support the administration of their fathers. Two sitting American presidents had their children become presidents, and Jeb Bush was even the governor of Florida at some point, but democracy didn’t pack up. The wife of Bill Clinton almost became the US president. Such would not happen if family members were isolated, relegated or forbidden to participate actively in governance.

Trust Nigerians, if the younger Tinubu has been unreasonably lavish and foolish, the media will be aflame with such shenanigans. So, should the young man slow down or stop being in our faces? Objectively speaking, no father with sound judgements will allow his blockheaded child to flow freely amongst this calibre of politicians if that son cannot hold his own or has nothing to offer. The political space will choke him, and a year is too long before his human frailties are public knowledge.

The worries of average Nigerians about the possible misconduct of the son of Mr. President demands strict scrutiny, and that he plays above board. So, his capacities, competence and ability to engage in the political space should be judged- without necessarily being branded as a burden or nuisance just because he shows up.

While some demand a bit of emotional intelligence on the part of Mr. Seyi Tinubu in dealing with the expectations and growing concerns of some Nigerians, people of his generation and his counterparts in other climes will not do less and will not be intimidated if they have something to bring to the table.

From industry to clergy, banking to agriculture, civil society to technology, no father worth his salt would put his children in hiding if they can make a reasonable impact and drive changes. To what extent Mr. Seyi Tinubu seeks to contribute to nation-building at this critical juncture of his life is his, provided he plays by the rules and galvanise his intellectual and physical capacities to support Mr. President because that is the least of our problems right now and there are weightier matters. QED!