Remi Tinubu And The Culture Of Impunity -By Hajia Hadiza Mohammed

It was with great concern that I received the news a week ago about the altercation between the Nigerian first lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu and the Osun State governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke on the occasion of the 10th coronation anniversary of Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi where Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu was also installed as the Yeye Asiwaju, the event that took place on Sunday the 7th day of December, 2025

The video footage showed Mrs Tinubu walking up to the governor at the podium and asked the governor who was singing praises preparatory for his speech stop singing while giving him five minutes for is speech. The governor temporized a bit and continued his singing. And Mrs. Tinubu returned while the governor was still singing praises and warned him to stop with a threat to switch off the microphone if he fails to heed her directives.

The conduct of the first lady in this circumstance is condemnable and has drawn viral comments from many people who generally see her conduct as inappropriate. And ordinarily, I would not have bothered to comment on this matter given that Nigerians especially social media users have dealt with it as expected but for the fact it is a misrepresentation of the Nigerian women known for respect for our cultural heritage.

In her reaction to the backlash that trailed her uncouth behavior, Mrs. Tinubu showed no remorse describing the public reactions and comments from critics as needless controversy. In her statement as quoted in the news media, she said among other things that: “critics often magnify minor issues and create distractions around leadership…more often, it is the followers and critics who scrutinize every step and amplify missteps and turn them into needless controversy”. Obviously, it appears that the first lady did not know that behaviors of public figures and those related to them are mirrored by the society. That is why public officers don’t act on impulse. Their actions and utterances are directed and purposeful.

Clearly, her reaction shows that she does not care a hoot about her conduct in public and what the people say. She has the mentality of I am always right. The behavior is inappropriate and questionable. It was a display of arrogance and entitlement mentality. To her, power confers ownership and not service. She is right in whatever she does because her husband is the president. Here again is the crass display of ignorance. Mrs. Tinubu is the wife of the president. She is not an elected representative of the people. Her position is neither constitutionally nor legally recognized. And so, she has no right to bully an elected governor who is the chief host of an event that is held in his state. It shows lack of etiquette and decorum on the part of Mrs. Tinubu who had false sense of importance being the wife of the president.

Without doubt, Mrs. Tinubu’s behavior is an exemplification of the culture of impunity that has become the order of the day since the emergence of the All Progressives Congress (APC) regime. Under this regime, bullying, intimidation, thuggery and hooliganism have been elevated and institutionalized as instrument of governance. While government officials and security operatives harass the hapless citizens, the street urchins and touts are put in overdrive to harass passengers and innocent road users. A friend of mine once joked that Nigeria under Tinubu is an “agbero and area-boy” regime and it is playing out everywhere.

It is not out of place to state here that Mrs. Oluremi Tinubu is an embarrassment and a disgrace to the Nigerian women. As the first lady, she is supposed to be a role model to the women and upcoming mothers. But unfortunately, she has never been. Right from her days in the Senate, she has always carried herself as a cantankerous person bickering and fighting on the floors of the Red Chambers of the National Assembly. It is therefore not a surprise to me that trainee nurses at the school nursing in Delta State rejected her when a song describing her as their mother was raised when she visited the school earlier in the year.

I expect Mrs Tinubu to apologize publicly not just to Governor Ademola Adeleke and the good people of Osun State but to Nigerians for her conduct and show of disrespect to the governor.

Hajia Hadiza Mohammed 

hajiahadizamohammed@gmail.com

An actress, social activist, politician

London, UK