A recent post by acclaimed investigative journalist Fisayo Soyombo has ignited debate over President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s apparent penchant for naming public edifices and institutions after himself within his first two years in office.
Soyombo, in a widely shared X post, cataloged at least six instances where the President has either named or renamed significant public facilities in his honour. These include:
- Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks, Abuja
- Bola Ahmed Tinubu Technology Innovation Complex (BATTIC), Abuja
- Bola Tinubu Polytechnic, Abuja
- Bola Ahmed Tinubu Way, Abuja
- The National Assembly Library, now designated the Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu Building
- The erstwhile International Conference Centre (ICC), recently renamed the Bola Tinubu International Conference Centre
Expressing a satirical concern, Soyombo remarked, “I won’t be shocked if APC gets renamed Bola Tinubu Progressives Congress (BTPC) sometime soon!” He further extrapolated that at the current rate, the President could name “at least 24 public facilities after himself should he complete a second term in office.”
However, Soyombo critically noted that such acts of “self-immortalisation” are inherently tied to the President’s performance and legacy. “Tinubu’s obsession with self-immortalisation will only last as long as his legacy of service,” he wrote. “If his final two or six years in office are as woeful as the first two, the public will willynilly forget him in a flash.”
The journalist concluded by asserting the transient nature of such namings, stating that “his successor needs no more than a few weeks in office to erase his name from all these institutions, anyway. It’s all just a matter of time…”
The X post has prompted discussions among citizens regarding the appropriateness of such frequent self-naming and the true determinants of a leader’s enduring legacy.
