One of the grouse some of us have with Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the fact that he built men instead of systems. Tinubu had the chance to turn Lagos around but chose to invest heavily in building political followers.
Don’t get me wrong. I never said he did bad. But you will agree with me that today, before you remember Baba (Lateef) Jakande’s commissioner for works or education, you would have made mention of Jakande schools, Jakande estate, to mention a few. That is a system!
One of the reasons Tinubu decided to empower these men is because of his lifelong ambition of ruling this nation. That hour is here now but where are the men he toiled hard to build at the detriment of systems that will serve the whole generality of the people?
The men are now acting like men — denying Tinubu left, right and centre.
We are not saying all of them will be ingrates. We are not saying some of them don’t have genuine reasons to part ways with their benefactor. What we are saying is that investing in men is good but not with the sole intention of paying you back or watching your back.
When you build a system that favours everyone, your name will be on the lips of everyone even as you choose some people who will be in your circle and nurture them to greatness.
Every time we talk about Tinubu, the first his canvassers will tell you is “Do you know how many men Tinubu made?” Is that enough a yardstick to hand a nation over to him? How was the electricity issue solved by his control over Lagos state? How was erosion, traffic congestion, ease of doing business, security resolved in his domain? These are the issues we need to discuss, not his prowess in making a pure water seller become commissioner for works, a governor and then a minister.
We dare ask. After all these, what happened? The bearded eastern Yoruba man acted like the typical man he is. Build men, but prioritise systems and people. When men act like men, the majority of people you serve through good systems won’t betray you!
The following was written by Rasheed Rasheed
