Etim Etim
FCT Minister Nyesome Wike spent a whopping N39 billion to renovate the International Conference Centre in Abuja and renamed it Bola Tinubu International Conference Center in continuation of the administration’s craze to name everything after the president.
The facility was built in 1991 by the Babangida military régime at only N240 million, but after three decades, the cost of renovating it has gone up to N39 billion. Even with all the inflation and devaluation of the past 30 years, this is a humungous amount of money to spend on only a renovation. If this is how he managed the finances of Rivers State for eight years, I can understand why he owns a Rolls Royce and a private jet. Not even a UK Prime Minister would dare!
Join our WhatsApp ChannelIn only two years in office, President Tinubu has had several institutions and monuments named after him, sparking controversies and debates about his motivations. There’s Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Airport, Minna, Niger State, formerly known as Abubakar Imam International Airport; Bola Ahmed Tinubu Barracks, a newly army barracks in Asokoro, Abuja; Bola Ahmed Tinubu Polytechnic, located in Gwarimpa, Abuja; Bola Ahmed Tinubu National Assembly Library and Resource Center, inaugurated in May 2024 and Bola Ahmed Tinubu Immigration Service Technology Complex at the agency’s Abuja headquarters.
In addition to these, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Reps, Mr. Ben Kalu, has sponsored a bill for the establishment of Bola Ahmed Tinubu University in Abia State. The university aims to promote the learning of Nigerian languages. I am sure more are coming.
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But why is President Tinubu so obsessed with having everything in the country named after him? What does it say about his motivations, morality, personality and priorities? As governor of Lagos for eight years, Tinubu did not name a single facility or infrastructure after himself. He even exhibited an admirable magnanimity in 2006 when he renamed Western Avenue after Funsho Williams, a PDP governorship aspirant, soon after he was murdered in his Dolphin Estate home.
There are many reasons for Tinubu’s new fascination – some obvious and others requiring further studies and research by psychologists and psychoanalysts. By seeking to have buildings named after him, the president is exhibiting a strong desire for recognition and commemoration, which clearly suggests a strong sense of self-importance or ego. Tinubu was widely advertised as a man of supernatural abilities in politics, governance and human resource management. But his performance in the last two years has not elicited the widely anticipated applause. Rather, the reviews have been a mix of condemnation and subdued acceptance. Many in the Northern part of the country are very critical of him and have vowed to vote for another person in 2027. Facing such widespread disapproval, the president is resorting to self-praise by stamping his name on buildings. It’s a kind of narcissism!
Renaming long-established landmarks after oneself reflects a lack of humility and portrays a tendency to authoritarianism. In a way, Tinubu is seeking to establish a sense of omnipresence and a strong desire for control and excessive arrogance – the very idea of “I am who I am.’’
Some critics blame his ministers and National Assembly leaders for indulging in excessive sycophancy and dragging the president into this self-praise just to curry his favours. Some go to the ridiculous extent of converting Christian songs to political anthems, replacing God with Tinubu in the lyrics.
The Senate President recently led such a chorus in an Abuja event where the president was present. Tinubu may not be familiar with these songs since he is not a Christian, but he has become a participant in a distasteful situation in which he’s being compared with God! Not only does it convey serious psychological weaknesses, it also implies a sense of omnipotence, omniscience or divine authority which smacks of arrogance and delusion.
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But Nigerians are bemused. Citizens facing worsening insecurity, deepening economic challenges, and cost of living crisis are too cynical of the president’s fixation with vainglory. Our former leaders, some of whom built these facilities that are being renamed, are embarrassed. Take Gen. Babangida, for example. He built the International Conference Center. In his memoire, A journey in Service, IBB explains how his régime worked round the clock to build the facility in a very short period of time to host the 27th OAU summit which had earlier been scheduled for June 1991 in Addis Ababa, but had to be suddenly moved to Abuja because of insecurity in Addis.
Three decades later, the retired general, and indeed our former leaders, would be wondering why another man who had nothing to do with the iconic facility is now appropriating it to his name. It’s the height of vainglory.
I urge the president to respect his reputation, legacy and the dignity of the office and order the ICC to revert to its original name.
Etim Etim
ETIM ETIM is a journalist, banker and author. He has been a member of the Editorial Board of The Guardian, a Regional Manager in Access Bank and is currently a Columnist in Prime Business Africa, The Cable and Businessday newspapers.
He is also the Chief Executive of Stein Meyer Communications, a major media consultancy and the author of the best-selling book, "Akwa Ibom Heroes: Inside Story of the Fight for Abrogation of Onshore-Offshore Oil Dichotomy" and co-author of another book, "Osinbajo Strides: Defining Moments of an Innovative Leader".
