From Opposition To Devotion: Tinubu’s Sworn Enemies Turn Apostles

As politicians continue defecting from their political parties to join those they have criticised and called unprintable names before, JAMES KWEN, in this piece, recalls those who have, on different occasions, called President Bola Tinubu names but are today his campaigners as the 2027 election approaches.

The Christian season of Easter is by the corner when the people who shout, “Hosanna!” on Palm Sunday would shout, “Crucify Him!” five days later (on Good Friday) and later confess that: “truly, He was the Son of God.”

While this took place around Jerusalem in AD 30–33, the same scenario has been playing out in Nigeria’s political environment by some foes turned friends of President Bola Tinubu.

However, in a reverse order from the biblical account, it is those who shouted Crucify him! Crucify him! Those who are now singing Hosanna to Tinubu.

Some of these former traducers and current trumpeters of the good news of the Asiwaju of Lagos include: Festus Keyamo, Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development; Bosun Tijani, Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Communications; Feno Omokiri and Femi Fani-Kayode, Ambassadors designate.

Others are: Sunday Igboho, a Yoruba nation agitator, Senator Dayo Adeyeye, former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP), Senator and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC); Adeseye Ogunlewe, former Minister of Works; Femi Pedro, former Deputy Governor of Lagos state and Musiliu Obanikoro, a former minister.

Where They Were and Where They Are Now

 

Festus Keyamo

Keyamo, a lawyer, stated in a 2000 interview with Time Magazine that Tinubu, as governor, destroyed education in Lagos State, bought media houses, bribed the State Assembly through “weird” allowances (“Chicago” allowance), and rendered thousands of workers useless.

In the build-up to the 2023 presidential election, the then Spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organisation, Daniel Bwala, raised the issue that Keyamo had once sued Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, for alleged certificate forgery.

Bwala, in an interview on Channels TV, noted that Keyamo had sued the Lagos Assembly in 2002 over Tinubu’s candidacy as the governor of Lagos state.

Citing a law report titled Keyamo V. House Of Assembly, Lagos State (2002), Bwala said, “this is the Supreme Court decision in the case I have cited and I will just read a line: The appellant alleged amongst others as a legal practitioner that he has been confronted by some of his clients who wanted to understand certain things they consider important relating to those contesting the governorship in Lagos state.

However, Keyamo, who was the spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council, denied suing Tinubu for certificate forgery.

He said the law report cited by Bwala was instituted to “unravel the truth and the real constitutional powers” of the Lagos House of Assembly.

Keyamo said, “I never sued Tinubu. No. I sued the House of Assembly seeking an interpretation of the law.”

Since then, the former Minister of State for Labour and spokesperson for the APC presidential campaign council has continued to defend and project Tinubu’s candidature and later government, in which he now serves as a minister.

He had cleared the air on various accusations levelled against Tinubu, the ruling APC’s presidential candidate.

On allegations that Tinubu’s family is unknown, Keyamo said, “We can’t stay in our houses and manufacture cock and bull stories about families. If the families you say he claims to be part of have not come out to deny their illustrious son, then what is your headache?”

On alleged certificate falsification by the former Lagos State governor, Keyamo said, “PDP seriously wanted Lagos, and Asiwaju held firm if he ever presented a false certificate back in 1999, and now, PDP and INEC will have feasted on it and used it in disqualifying him from contesting.”

He continued defending his principal’s policies and already predicted a second-term victory for President Tinubu in 2027.

Keyamo was the one who moved. the motion of confidence vote and endorsement of Tinubu for a second term by the Delta state APC, when he lauded the president’s “bold reforms and transformative leadership,” citing the removal of fuel subsidy as a responsible policy decision that helped in redirecting billions of naira into critical national infrastructure.

 

Bosun Tijani

Tijani had lambasted Tinubu in 2019 in a tweet over a power-grab narrative. The controversial tweet, dated July 23, 2019, was a response to several individuals and it read, “it is becoming the norm. Tinubu fed them that rubbish narrative with his ‘serving power a la carte’ wisdom. Go invest your time and money into your business if you want to propagate such a rubbish narrative.”

However, since his nomination and appointment as minister, Tijani now praises Tinubu to the high heavens. Recently, he said Nigeria is “fortunate” to have Tinubu as president during the inauguration of a solar-powered community ICT centre in Abeokuta.

“When you come close to President Bola Tinubu, you will know that Nigeria is fortunate to have someone like him. Let’s leave politics aside and examine the development trajectory under his administration,” Tijani said.

He pointed to Tinubu’s policy decisions, such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the introduction of a student loan scheme, as proof of the president’s transformative leadership.

 

Daniel Bwala

Bwala, as a spokesperson for Atiku’s 2023 presidential campaign, took Tinubu to the cleaners.

In April 2023, Bwala had accused Tinubu of rigging the election. He said that the President would face challenges with moral legitimacy upon assuming office.

“Right now, although the presumption of law is in favour of Tinubu until the final determination of the election tribunal and appeals, he will struggle with moral legitimacy (because he rigged the election) for 240 days of his presidency,” Bwala posted on X.

In May 2023, during an interview with Arise Television, Bwala doubled down on his claims, challenging the legitimacy of Tinubu’s victory.

He described Tinubu as a “president-select” rather than a “president-elect,” accusing the Independent National Electoral Commission of manipulating the presidential election results.

“We are in court to say it was a rigged process. As long as there is no final determination of the matter, we have every right under law, equity, and justice to express our opinion that he is a president-select and not a president-elect,” Bwala declared.

He also said, “We won. If these results had been read from the result sheet, we would have won by over one million votes. Nigerian people voted PDP as the winner of this election, but history and posterity will judge.”

Bwala equally cast doubt on Tinubu’s ability to govern effectively, even if given decades.

“When people talk about being patient, you have to consider the time frame the public officer has to execute their mandate. The President has just been elected to a four-year term. He’s eight months in, which is 31.8% of his total time,” Bwala remarked.

“He has less than 70% left; when is that change supposed to happen? When Buhari took over in 2015, we were told the same thing. He finished his term, but the fundamental problems remained. If the policies are flawed, even 30 years won’t fix it.”

Prior to the 2023 polls, Bwala opposed Tinubu’s candidacy, insisting that he had forged his university degree certificate.

“Festus Keyamo, now the presidential spokesman, was the appellant in a case against Bola Ahmed Tinubu, accusing him of certificate forgery. This isn’t a slip of the tongue; he went to court not on behalf of a client but as the appellant,” he noted.

However, he recently admitted, after his appointment as a presidential aide on Arise Television, that he had criticised Tinubu’s administration in the past because he was in the opposition PDP.

“I criticised Tinubu’s election and administration in the past because I was in the opposition. The opposition’s work is to criticise the sitting government and hold it accountable. My views changed after I met the President, and he saw a need to appoint me,” Bwala. said.

As early as last month, he was all over the place, defending Tinubu’s Türkiye trip, which he said was strategic, not routine.

“This is not just another trip. It is a strategic visit, first because it is by invitation of the Turkish government. The President of Nigeria is a person of influence in Africa, and Nigeria itself plays a strong role on the continent. With the breakthroughs we are recording in the economy, security and governance, this visit carries significant weight,” he said.

 

Reno Omokiri

Before and after the 2023 general election, Omokri had given Tinubu the bashing of his life, mostly via his posts on X handle (formerly Twitter).

The excerpts include: “I commend the EFCC for confirming that the so-called National Leader of the APC (a position unknown to law), Bola Tinubu, is being probed. We hope for a genuine probe. Tinubu was caught with bullion vans coming and going from his home on Election Day. We expect justice!

“Bola @officialABAT Tinubu got his Chief Press Secretary to attack me for exposing him as a KNOWN DRUG LORD. Instead of attacking me in the media, Bola, take me to court. You are a drug baron. I have the evidence, and I will bury you in court!

“Tinubu has no tangible achievement or legacy to boast of; that is why he lists things like ECONET and ENRON as achievements. ECONET was a PRIVATE company that came to Nigeria because of Obasanjo. ENRON is a criminal company that was shut down in America.

“Emilokan, show us your certificates. How can you not have attended primary and secondary schools? What qualifications did you use to get admitted to university? Using the same excuse Buhari used? Nigerians don’t want Buhari’s echo. We reject Buhari’s shadow!”

There has been a paradigm shift in Omokiri’s outings, even before his nomination as an ambassador. For instance, he had endorsed Tinubu for a second term in office and charged all Nigerians to support him, noting that in two years, he reduced the country’s national debt by $14 billion, from $108.2 billion inherited from the Buhari administration to $94.2 billion.

“On behalf of #RenosNuggeteers locally and globally, on this day of our Lord, Friday, 23 May 2025, I wholeheartedly endorse the President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for a second term in office, God sparing his life,” he wrote on X.

 

Fani-Kayode

Fani-Kayode had tackled Tinubu before their present mutual relationship. While serving as the Director of Media and Publicity of the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation for the 2015 polls, he

alleged that Yemi Osinbajo, the APC vice presidential candidate, had sworn an oath to vacate his seat should the party win the election.

According to Fani-Kayode, Tinubu had nominated the vice presidential candidate as part of “plans to come to power through the back door”.

“Tinubu, according to our information, has compelled Osinbajo to swear to an oath that after six months in office, he would resign as the vice president, in the unlikely event that their party wins.

“The wicked plot, as laid out by them, is to force Osinbajo to resign for Tinubu to be nominated by Buhari as his replacement,” he said.

In the wake of the 2019 general election, the former aviation minister had claimed that Tinubu collapsed shortly after he was appointed Co-Chairman of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2019 Campaign Council.

He dared Tinubu to disclose his whereabouts during the Lagos APC campaign flag-off at the Skypower Grounds, Government Reservation Area (GRA), Ikeja, on Tuesday.

“I stand by my story on Bola Tinubu. He left the hospital on 9th January. I am happy he is out of the trauma, but before anyone says I was lying, they should tell us where he was on the day of the flagging off of the Lagos state campaign.

“That was the first time he missed it in 20 years! Nobody wishes him ill-health, and what I said was out of good faith,” he said.

Fani-Kayode was also linked to insinuations that Tinubu killed  Funso Williams in 2003, which he denied recently.

“This is false. I never said that President Tinubu killed Funso Williams. What I said was “I am not Funso Williams: I cannot be killed like a chicken”. Those were my EXACT words: nothing more and nothing less.

“I said them 11 years ago, and I have long since retracted them and accepted the fact that they were not only inappropriate but that they may have also been misconstrued,” he stated.

From this denial to other public comments, Fani-Kayode, who was one of the spokespersons for Tinubu’s election, had been in the forefront of defending the Asiwaju of Lagos.

 

Sunday Igboho

Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho, had described Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife; Tinubu, then APC national leader; and Seyi Makinde, Oyo state governor, as Fulani slaves.

“…Tinubu and other Yoruba politicians are Fulani slaves. We need not be afraid. I have not collected any money from anyone. I am a full Yoruba man, and I will not allow Fulani people to enslave me; we do not look or behave alike in any way,” Igboho said.

Even after Tinubu’s election, Igboho insisted that his movement would continue its agitation for an independent Yoruba nation, despite the emergence of a Yoruba president.

“We haven’t dropped the agitation for the Yoruba nation despite the emergence of President Bola Tinubu. We have been on this agitation long before Tinubu clinched the presidential ticket of his political party, the All Progressives Congress,” he had said in an interview.

Just at the end of this last month, Igboho sang praises of Tinubu for his freedom and return to Nigeria after nearly five years in exile. He was declared wanted during the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari over allegations of stockpiling arms and ammunition.

“I deeply appreciate the mercy and magnanimity of our revered President Bola Tinubu, who graciously granted me freedom to return to Nigeria after intervention by stakeholders in the traditional institution.

“While I would not take this opportunity and freedom for granted, I am ready to collaborate with the Federal Government in tackling the ravaging insecurity and support measures aimed at enhancing peace and socioeconomic growth in the country, especially in the South West,” he said in a statement.

 

Senator Dayo Adeyeye

Adeyeye, now a foremost Tinubu promoter, had in the past thrown jabs as the Jagaban of Borgu. For instance, he had described opposition to the National Conference by Tinubu as selfish

Adeyeye had said: “It is only a selfish person, whose only interest is to seize power for his own benefits, that will oppose any opportunity to dialogue on the ways forward for Nigeria.”

“Rather than a blanket condemnation of the proposed National Conference, what right-thinking Nigerians should be interested in is how to ensure that the conference is used to strengthen our democracy, foster greater unity among Nigerians and provide the foundation for peace and development in the country,” he had said in a statement.

But, Adeyeye, now chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), has been washing Tinubu as white as snow from his days as a leader of the Southwest Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) campaign group in the wake of the 2023 polls to the present Renewed Hope Ambassadors ahead of the 2027 general election.

As recently as this week, the former Senator who is the South-West Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, expressed confidence that Nigerians will reward President Bola Tinubu with overwhelming votes in the 2027 general elections in recognition of his contributions to national development.

Adeyeye spoke in Osogbo at the inauguration of the Local Government Renewed Hope Ambassadors set up to mobilise support for the President across Osun State.

He said the Tinubu-led administration’s achievements in education, agriculture, the economy, and other key sectors had positioned the President for victory in 2027, calling him the best President the country has ever produced.

Adeyeye said, “I am happy we campaigned for the President in 2020—nobody believed us then—but now he is the President, and he is performing beyond expectations.”

 

Adeseye Ogunlewe

A former Minister of Works and Housing, Ogunlewe, had led a campaign against Tinubu then, with many cartoons, saying Tinubu’s real name was Sangodele and that he was from Osun state.

However, when the going got good, he said, “Times have changed. That was my perception at that time, but the man has outsmarted everybody. He’s an extremely clever person, and you have to study him, either to criticise him or to love him. If you are not discerning and cannot see the facts, you will have the same thoughts you had of him ten years ago.

“Honestly, I am so perplexed about the way he has been able to perform this magic. I didn’t believe it, but he has done so. Who in the entire country can install the President, the Vice-President, the Senate President and the Speaker? For eight years? One person!

“Don’t you think there is something in that person we have to admire? He would determine who would be governor of Imo State, Yobe State, Ogun State, and Osun State, and he would be correct. He would determine who would be ministers, and those people would be appointed. He would determine who would be appointed ambassador, and such persons would get the appointment.

“Whether you like him or you hate him, just focus on his person. How has he got to this level? That is what amazes me. You see people groping in the dark: he is this, he is that, but the man has moved on. Are you going to sit down with your frustration?” he said in a recent interview.

 

Femi Pedro

Pedro, who served as Tinubu’s deputy during his tenure as governor, was impeached on 10 May 2007, days before the end of the administration, for alleged gross misconduct. Observers said his relationship with his boss grew sour, culminating in his defection from the defunct Action Congress (AC)—the party led by Tinubu—to the Labour Party (LP), citing betrayal and manipulation.

Pedro believed he was the rightful candidate to succeed Tinubu in the 2007 gubernatorial election. He felt betrayed when he was not chosen, accusing Tinubu of manipulating the process to favour a relative.

Upon his defection on 13 December 2006, Pedro indicated that his departure was due to a lack of internal democracy within the AC.  During the 2007 election campaign as LP governorship candidate, Pedro reportedly made uncomplimentary remarks about the Lagos state government, and in one instance, alleged that Tinubu was planning to “assassinate him.”

According to some reports, it was after his defection and public attacks on the administration that the Lagos State House of Assembly initiated impeachment proceedings against him for “gross misconduct” and insubordination, and he was impeached on May 10, 2007.

But then, the drum’s sound has since changed with Pedro, who is now an ambassador designate, chorusing the goodness of his former principal. The love lost between him and Tinubu, which was restored a decade ago when he left the PDP for the APC, continued to blossom.

In the drama-packed campaign for the 2023 polls, the former deputy governor came out in defence of his principal when he described Tinubu’s gaffes as mere slips of the tongue, which were occasioned by pressure from campaigns.

He insisted that Tinubu was fit, both mentally and physically, to lead Nigeria, saying mistakes are common and not unusual, as anyone can commit such blunders.

 

Musiliu Obanikoro

Obanikoro, a former Minister and the Peoples Democratic Party’s gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos state, had accused Tinubu of turning Lagos state into his personal ATM (Automated Teller Machine).

He accused the ex-Lagos governor of drawing state funds for his personal needs while speaking to members of his K’oro Nation group.

“For almost 16 years, one man has turned all Lagosians to his ATM. How long can we continue to accept that?” Obanikoro had said.

In a reversal, the former defence minister now sees Tinubu as a reformer of the entire country, not just a withdrawer who turned Lagos into his ATM.

This is as Obanikoro recently commended President Tinubu for what he called “bold reforms and unwavering commitment” to repositioning the economy, restoring global confidence and renewing hope

“While the path of renewal is never easy, I am confident that under his leadership, Nigeria is poised to reclaim her rightful place as the giant of Africa and a beacon of black excellence in the world,” he said.

Political analysts have said the reality, though a sad one, is gradually creeping into Nigerian political culture: former foes who turned friends immediately hold offices that give them the yam and the knife.

A lecturer in the department of political science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state, Dr Christian Okeke, asserted that

political praise-singing has sadly become a culture in Nigeria.

According to the scholar, beneficiaries of political patronage do it as a reward for such consideration and as evidence of their loyalty.

“Once one is called to the table where the national cake is shared, praise-singing starts automatically and shamelessly. The worrisome thing about it is how it clouds reasoning and turns rational people into simps.

“These are people who never see evil, and don’t say something when evil is going on. They are those who clap for their principles even when their actions cause unimaginable national embarrassment.

“They sing songs of victory in the next election for their boss, even when it is still years ahead and in the face of glaring incompetence and consequential national retrogression.

“These are people who will not be bold to condemn the killing of over 100 people in Kwara state, nor tell their boss to resign for superintending over the heinous massacre of such magnitude.

What has turned critics into praise singers, first of all, is an entrenched syndrome: a requirement for loyalty and a prerequisite for continuing to be connected to the source of political benefits.

“It is a stark display of lack of morality, conscience and principle. That is why you see some of the names that have sold their birthrights in the name of praise-singing, and you marvel at what must have happened to their character, principles, contentment and cherished sense of reasoning.

“By extension, these are sets of people who have kept the country the way it is; so long as their daily bread continues flowing from the government purse, they don’t care if the country is burning.

A political analyst, Aster Vambeh, said those personalities are only appreciating the value that former Ekiti governor, Peter Fayose, tagged “stomach infrastructure.”

According to him, those politicians turning around to praise Tinubu, whom they hitherto lampooned, did so not out of genuine conviction but because their bread is buttered by the president and their perceived sins would be forgiven once they lead “praises and worship” for the man who calls the shots in the country.

Dwelling particularly on a former aviation minister, Vambeh recalled that Ex-President had said it all when he stated that: “He is my boy. Provide him with food, and he will eat and then sing for you. He’s a smart boy.”

These are people classified as shameless,” he added.