Nigeria may owe Oluremi Tinubu but it owes us more
Yesterday, President Bola Tinubu celebrated his wife, Oluremi Tinubu’s 65th birthday with glowing words. He praised the First Lady’s quiet sacrifices and, in a declaration that roused many, “Nigeria owes you more than many will ever know.”
I understand that was meant to be a heartfelt tribute from a husband to his wife, but the choice of words unsettled many Nigerians. Here is the thing: Nigeria should recognise Oluremi Tinubu’s dedication and commitment; after all, she was a senator for many years before becoming the nation’s first lady, but the idea that the nation owes her anything more than a recognition for her career is simply a stretch.
It’s not news that Nigeria owes its people. It’s a sickening reality we are confronted with from the day we are born. One minute you’re a child with hardly a care in the world, the next you’re pushing against a system that seems designed to work against your efforts.
Nigeria owes the millions of ordinary citizens who battle hunger, insecurity, unemployment, and failing infrastructure amid rising taxes.
To be a bit more direct:
Our security system owes the victims of banditry in Zamfara and the affected households in Adamawa.
Our employment system owes the jobless graduates roaming the streets with their certificates.
Our healthcare system owes the mothers who die giving birth in underfunded hospitals.
Our educational system owes children learning under trees because classrooms have collapsed.
Oluremi Tinubu, no matter how dedicated she has been as a wife or First Lady, has not carried these burdens in many years. She may never have known the weight of it. She has only enjoyed the secluded privileges of power, not the pains of poverty and displacement, and has become the daily lives and norm of ordinary Nigerians.
As expected, social media erupted after the President’s tribute:
- “Nigeria owes us stable electricity, not your wife birthday praise,” one user wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
- Another asserted, “We don’t owe her. In fact, she owes us for the luxury she enjoys at our expense.”
- A third reaction struck a sharper note: “Nigeria owes salaries, pensions, and promises. Not the First Lady.”
The frustration online only highlights the deep disconnect between those in power and the everyday struggles of citizens.
The Larger Issue
The conversation isn’t about Oluremi Tinubu’s character, far from it. She may well be supportive, hardworking, and charitable. But the framing that Nigeria, a country already battered by debt and hardship, owes its First Lady is deeply misplaced.
Leadership should be about service, not entitlement. Our leaders have, for a while, enjoyed their fair share of privileges, but heavy the say, is the head that wears the crown. And the time has come to don the crown and bear the weight of it. Public office holders and their families do not deserve additional gratitude simply for occupying positions of privilege. They should be held accountable, not celebrated for invisible sacrifices.
Final Word
Nigeria does owe a debt, but certainly not to Oluremi Tinubu. It owes a debt to its people: the farmers who feed the nation despite insecurity, the health workers fighting for better pay, the teachers who shape future generations without adequate resources, and the youth who roam the streets with nothing but a sliver of hope.
Hope for a better life. Hope for a better future. Hope for a better Nigeria. And at the end of the day, perhaps that is all that is sustainable.
When you meet the struggle and it strips you of everything you’ve ever known – your beliefs, your joy, and your strength. The only thing left to keep us alive may be hope—sheer hope.
