The Kingmaker’s Crown – Tinubu’s Transition from Strategy to Statecraft
From Strategist to Sovereign:
Bola Ahmed Tinubu didn’t seize power by force—he engineered it. Over two decades, he built Nigeria’s most formidable political machinery: cultivating protégés, influencing appointments, merging oppositions, and scripting victories from the shadows.
He was the builder of bridges no one saw. The “Jagaban” of Borgu was the kingmaker who rarely sat on the throne until now.
A New Era, An Old Playbook?
With his inauguration as Nigeria’s president, Tinubu stepped into a role that demands more than influence—it requires direction, diplomacy, and daily delivery. Nigeria is not Lagos, and Aso Rock is not Bourdillon.
Yet, his presidency began with the same decisiveness that defined his governorship: “Subsidy is gone.” Four words, infinite consequences. In the first 100 days, we saw FX unification, subsidy removal, ministerial appointments packed with loyalists and technocrats, and assertive regional diplomacy. To some, this is proof of vision. To others, it’s a gamble on fragile ground.
The Cost of Brilliance
Tinubu’s mind is often described as “12 moves ahead.” But that brilliance now meets resistance—not from opponents, but from reality. Inflation soars. Fuel prices burn. The streets murmur.
The man who outmaneuvered PDP, wrangled APC into existence, and survived countless political fires must now face the unyielding expectations of the common Nigerian.
Governance or Grand Design?
Is this the flowering of his long-nurtured dream of a restructured, prosperous Nigeria—or a carefully choreographed regime for consolidating legacy and silencing dissent?
As we examine the anatomy of this administration, we’ll also ask: Who truly governs Nigeria today? Tinubu the visionary—or Tinubu the tactician?
Watching the Crown
The Jagaban Lens isn’t here to flatter or to flame. It is here to expose patterns, decode silences, analyze decisions, and trace power.
Because to study Tinubu is to study the machine behind the man—and perhaps the fate of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic itself.
This is not a moment of admiration. This is a moment of interrogation.
See you in the next Edition of THE JAGABAN LENS
