Renowned historian and academic, Professor Toyin Falola, has shared his views on the state of governance in Nigeria, especially regarding recent advice given to President Bola Tinubu, during an interview with Nigerian Tribune.
Falola, who holds a prestigious position at the University of Texas at Austin and has written over 200 books.
He responded to a statement by retired Colonel Abubakar Umar, who recently criticized the Federal Government after receiving a national honour.
Umar had warned President Tinubu against surrounding himself with sycophants.
Falola did not focus on whether the President deserved such criticism.
Instead, he said the important question is whether Tinubu will act on the advice.
According to him, every leader will always attract people with selfish interests.
Many of them, he said, are only after benefits and not the progress of the nation.
He explained that the presidency is a powerful seat and often draws people who are more interested in money and influence than in service.
Falola described Tinubu as a transactional politician.
He believes this kind of leadership style naturally attracts individuals who seek personal gain.
He further stressed that these types of people can be called many names, including sycophants or loyalists.
However, their true motivation is usually to increase their own wealth, not to improve Nigeria.
Falola noted that the country’s political system is often driven by profit.
He said those who surround the president usually come with offers or support, but not necessarily for the good of the country.
He advised that the president must be wise and should place national interest above personal loyalty.
Leadership, he said, should be based on values, not favours.
“The right question is not whether the President deserves that kind of advice or not, the right question is, ‘should he act on such advice?’ To answer your question anyway, I must state that every administrator always attracts a group of people with different intentions, most of whom seek incentives and profits for whatever it is they bring to the table. And for this reason, they always come with ‘things’ to the table, even if it is sycophancy. This is underscored by the fact that the position of a president is guided by norms and values. Tinubu is a transactional politician, and the characters he will attract are profit-seekers. You can give them whatever name, but the underlying desire is not to uplift Nigeria but to enlarge bank accounts,” ha said.
