“Mr. President, when will you become our Ibrahim Traore and radically change Nigeria? If you cannot be a Traore, then do not contemplate returning in 2027. You have fulfilled your prized ambition to be president, “eyin lo kan”, and that in itself is an icing on your cake.”
Letter To President Of The Federal Republic
His Excellency
President and Commander-in-Chief
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Dear Sir,
President Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, when will you become our own Ibrahim Traore? We need a dynamic, courageous, selfless, and visionary leader like Traore. Someone who can look European leaders in the face and say, “Go to hell” and stay with Nigerian resources and not seek help or medical refuge in France or the United Kingdom. We are long overdue for good governance and a kind, transformative leader, who can make this happen. Don’t you think, Sir?
Alhaji, how do you feel that a small boy in your backyard is pulling more weight sub-regionally and globally, and has taken little Burkina Faso much ahead of yours, looking more like the true “Giant of Africa” in the process? He has stolen your spotlight by his acts of genius and courage.
Remember, Mr. President, that it was your poor leadership in ECOWAS that forced that boy and his cronies in Niger and Mali to quit the sub-regional body in the first place. You remember? Your inability to handle the Nigerien crisis properly in 2023. The way you are running Nigeria aground from May 29, 2023, is the exact same way you brought ECOWAS to its knees. A body your predecessor, Gowon worked hard with Togo’s Eyadema to create in 1975, you destroyed with pride in 2025. Under your watch, ECOWAS, birthed when you were still that Chicago boy, is broken today even as “Asiwaju”, and three important nations are now out.
Leadership is not by force or by bulldozing or buying one’s way to it. It is by popular acceptance, and handled with skills, creativity, and a healthy state of mind. Empathy and compassion are the hallmarks of good leadership. Nigerians are suffering under your mis-leadership and you need to act fast and prioritize the people’s happiness right away ahead of plotting to return to power in 2027.
Seyi Tinubu, your son and preferred candidate for the Lagos gubernatorial elections in 2027, says you’re the best president ever, when right under you, Naira has plummeted, cost of life has become prohibitive, crime has soared, kidnapping and banditry have worsened, and Boko Haram/ISWAP are actively back in business. Compelling thieves to decamp to your political party shouldn’t be the priority. Banning songs or arresting people that criticise you shouldn’t be your goal. Taking Nigeria out of the shithole you and Buhari made it should top your list of worries.
Mr. President, when will you become our Ibrahim Traore and radically change Nigeria? If you cannot be a Traore, then do not contemplate returning in 2027. You have fulfilled your prized ambition to be president, “eyin lo kan”, and that in itself is an icing on your cake. It suffices. You will forever be referenced as a former president. If you love Nigeria, let someone better mount the saddle and see if he or she can redeem Nigeria from the abyss your demonic polices have created. Let’s see if by the end of your tenure, the poor would have truly been able to breathe!
Thank you for your time out of the busy schedules of scheming to remain after 2027.
Respectfully,
Sheriff Folarin, PhD.
Professor and a patriotic Nigerian.
•Folarin is a US-based Nigerian professor.
