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The Inside Story
The President’s son, Seyi Tinubu has been in the eye of the storm for a few days now, for travelling to Qatar with his dad on a Business Summit. While some disagree with his having been part of the delegation to Qatar, others frowned at Seyi & his brother, Yinka being part of those who lined up to get a warm handshake from the leader of Qatar.
A few days ago, on Arise TV, the presenters took on Seyi Tinubu, wondering what business he had being on the trip. Dr. Reuben Abati suggested that perhaps its because he is jobless. That led to a big debate. Reno Omokri says he sees nothing wrong in Seyi Tinubu, a businessman travelling to Qatar which was a business trip.
Reno Omokri said Abati asking what Seyi Tinubu does for a living puts a question mark on his status as a Journalist.
What Abati said was that, may we begin to ask what the President’s children do for a living? I mean, by the time I was their age I was doing something concrete. I got a Phd at 24. I was not depending on any father. People must get to a stage in their lives when they hold themselves together…”
Reacting to Abati’s comment, Omokri said if he were the President of Nigeria at a time like this when the country is bitterly divided as a result of the 2023 Nigerian elections and the removal of fuel subsidy, as well as the flotation of the Naira, he would not take his children on an official business trip overseas.
“The only reason I would not do that is because the optics would look bad and I would be playing into the hands of my political opponents and hostile media, which have taken a business decision to oppose my administration to appease their base in preparation for the next election,” he said.
Omokri added that having said that, legally, there is nothing wrong with it. Please fact-check me. As Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher took her son, Mark Thatcher to oversees UK Business Summits. Sir Mark Thatcher is a businesswoman, as is Seyi Tinubu. Also fact-checkme. President Obasanjo similarly took his son Gbenga, on a business summit, while he was President. Gbenga is also a legitimate businessman.”
Omokri added that the current U.S President, Joe Biden, took his son, Hunter Biden, on a business summit in China, while he was Vice-President and that former President Trump even made his daughter and her husband his advisers, who frequently travelled with him to Business & Political Summits.
“The trip to Qatar was publicly billed as a Business Summit, for which Nigerian businesses were meant to collaborate with Qatari companies. Infact, some critics even mocked the Tinubu administration when a letter leaked that the Business Summit aspect of the trip had been cancelled, which turned out to be a lie.”
“I was surprised that one journalist today asked on Live TV what Seyi Tinubu does for a living. I may or may not like Seyi Tinubu. But to ask what Seyi Tinubu does puts a question mark on your status as a journalist. This is a young man who is involved in multiple known businesses.”
“And to the President’s credit, he very publicly kicked Seyi Tinubu out of a Federal Executive Council meeting and warned him never to attend again, because that was not a business summit. That was a government meeting.”
“Other than the fact that Nigeria is currently very divided, the President should have avoided fire, being that he is covered in petrol. What he did is not wrong at all. You may now insult me, since you cannot fault me on the facts”, Omokri added. That won’t be the first time, Seyi would be criticised. After Seyi Tinubu in a post via his social media page, appealed to Nigerians amidst the current hardship being faced in the country he was heavily criticised.
Seyi shared a photo of himself appearing to be deep in thought and accompanied it with a caption where he echoed a quote from his father, Pres. Bola Tinubu, who preached endurance and patience to Nigerians. Shortly after Seyi’s endurance message, some netizens started criticising him over a photo of him rocking a very expensive wristwatch. Some Nigeirans frowned at how hypocritical it was for Seyi to calm their feelings, while walking around with such an expensive watch.
Reno Omokri says there is nothing wrong, “afterall Buhari appointed his nephew, Hadi Sirika, as a Minister. The media did not foam in the mouth. Buhari nominated his own niece as an INEC Commissioner,. News Channels did not vituperate. Buhari’s daughter rode on Nigeria’s Presidential jet for private events. Activists did not threaten to shut down Nigeria. He appointed his nephew, Tunde Sabiu Yusuf, as his aide, and Tunde ran the cabal that almost destroyed Nigeria, News anchors were quiet. Buhari’s nephew, Mamman Daura, was virtually running the government as a shadow President. Some media did chop and clean mouth.
“And now you want to instigate the public because Tinubu’s sons, who are well known businessmen, travelled for a business summit in Qatar with their father? Were you deaf, blind or unable to speak when, on August 27, 2000, President Clinton visited Nigeria on an official state visit with his adult daughter, Chelsea, who was the FIRST person he introduced to then-President Obasanjo?
“In 2027, I will join my party to try to unseat President Bola Tinubu democratically. Until then, I will promote and project Nigeria positively.”
There is a close associate of Seyi Tinubu who recently revealed a lot about him. The writer explained that though he hasn’t had any contact with Seyi Tinubu as he used to call Seyi since late 2021, early 2022 the President’s son has not changed one bit. Prior to that, I had the opportunity to work with Seyi Tinubu once in a while. And I had seen him work and play in very close quarters. By that, I mean in close proximity. As of 2020, I knew for a fact that if Seyi didn’t have people in his paid employ, he had at least close to 100 people, if not far more.”
“Some of these young people employed in the various division of his companies then, were some of the brightest & youngest people anyone can have in his/her employ & they were very well paid too.”
What does Seyi do? According to the insider, Seyi Tinubu owns a company that is probably the top 3 biggest outdoor media advertising brand in Lagos. That’s Loatsad Promomedia.” “By virtue of this brand alone, they were raking in (at least) a billion naira annually. That is just one brand. Loatsad Promomedia.
Unknown to many, Seyi Tinubu’s company is a leading internationally affliated outdoor media brand that is into Media Communication, PR business, marketing & advertising, using e-digital boards, backlit signs, wall signs, rooftop advertising, LED screens etc. He has some of them located at the Lekki tollgates, Alexander roundabout area, by the bridge at Law school, to mention just a few!
According to the report, as of 2017, Promomedia was an international brand with tentacles in 14 countries and was one of the biggest in the Arab world,” “Even as of 2017 then, Seyi Tinubu also owned Fortis Projects, which was into Construction: housing, road projects, agriculture and more. I know for a fact that the company did multi-million jobs/projects across Nigeria.
According to the article written, about the President’s son, for Seyi Tinubu, the son of President Bola Tinubu, who turned 38 at that time, it was a time to reminisce the philanthropic focus of an entrepreneur who has in the last few years busied himself with the issues that bother the masses most. The Seyi I know is a textbook example of how a man can successfully pursue an onerous career and yet manage to serve society in ways that bring relief to those that need it most.
The CEO of Loatsad Promomedia, a digital outdoor advertising company in Lagos, is a leader in innovative marketing strategies. His works have had a tremendous impact on the concept of goods and services promotion.
Seyi also founded Noella Foundation, a non-profit organisation, named after his daughter, dedicated to supporting girl-child education, healthcare, youth empowerment, and poverty alleviation initiatives throughout Nigeria.
Noella Foundation is the umbrella body of the Seyi Tinubu Empowerment Project (STEP) aimed at employment creation and technological skill acquisition for Nigerians through the support of tech start-ups with skills development and seed funding.
STEP also provides business mentorship and networking opportunities for tech start-ups and gives them access to a community of pioneers in the tech space. The foundation aims to contribute to nation-building through human capital development.
With a combination of his business and philanthropic initiatives, Seyi has touched many lives far and near.
He says touching lives brings him a tremendous sense of fulfilment. “I believe every human being is created for others, that is for God to use in fulfilling His purpose on earth,” he says. “Thus, for me, the most fulfilling activity is helping people to find their feet, contributing to the happiness of others, and contributing to the good of society, generally.”
Seyi is an executive member and co-founder of TELD NGO, launched in 2005 with the aim of improving the standard of living for underprivileged youths in Nigeria through sponsorship and mentoring programmes. He has been committed to fostering a culture of excellence in his organisations through investment in talent development, extensive training programmes, and mentorship opportunities to employees. Through the various ventures, he has demonstrated versatility and rare ability to thrive in a range of industries.
A trained lawyer with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in corporate and commercial law from the University of Buckingham. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2013.
A lover of Sports, Seyi is married to Layal Jade, a Nigerian-Lebanese entrepreneur and Political Scientist, who is the founder of Tot Toys. Tot Toys is a children’s educational toyshop and learning space providing an array of education-based items, such as toys, books, and activities to help children unlock their potential.
We don’t choose what family we are born into but we get to choose what to do with what we have. In my experience of Seyi, despite being from an influential background with a powerful surname, his rise to prominence has been largely merit-based.
Seyi enjoys Polo and is, reportedly, building a horse stable outside Falomo. He is also Patron of the STL Polo Team in Lagos. He believes in the power of Sports as a uniting factor.
His work has also been widely recognised in Nigeria and beyond, with awards, such as The Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award at the Leadership Excellence Awards in 2017; Business Person of The Year (2019); Special Recognition Award by JustU Magazine at the Justival Award night (2019); Patron of Man O’ War Lagos (2019); Europe Business Assembly (EBA) Award for Best Enterprise and Manager of the Year (2019); Honouree of the Most Influential People of African Descent under 40 (2019); and the Excellence Award in Media Enterprise by the Sapio Club (2019).
In 2020, he was inducted into the Institute of Public Resources Management and Politics, Ghana. In 2019, he was crowned the ECOWAS Youth Ambassador for Entrepreneurship and Youth Development.”
“However, in the midst of his noble pursuits, Seyi has sometimes faced controversies that tend to thrust him into opposition with sections of society. There were occasions his actions were misunderstood or his intentions misinterpreted. One of such was the recent controversy over his trip to Kano on invitation to attend the Kano polo tourney, being a polo player and patron of a polo club.
The photo of Seyi arriving the Northwest state of Kano in a presidential jet had given the opposition the needed missile to launch ferocious attacks on the Presidency, by whipping up sentiments on social media. Sadly, many innocently fell for the orchestrated narratives of the opposition.
But his critics missed the fact that all over the world, children of heads of state and government are high value targets of enemies of state, and are given special protection, which covers their movements both within and outside the boundaries of their respective nations. The protection could extend to the type of means of transportation, locations they could visit, secrecy around their movements and even where they could dine. Such are determined by the security and intelligence agencies.
Also missed by the opposition, was the fact that Seyi’s invitation and presence at the tournament actually brought this beautiful game of polo to the front burner of national discourse. The spotlight his presence and those of other dignitaries beamed on the sport he loved so much was enough consolation for the barrage of attacks he received.
As a polo player and Patron on STL Polo Club of Lagos, he knows that the spotlight on the Kano Polo Tournament, in the coming weeks and months, would increase interest in the sport and attract investors.
Seyi believes in Service – service to the people, service to the nation and service to God. He also believes it’s human to err and that constructive criticisms could make a man better.
“I’m human and imperfection is all part of being human,” he says. “Only God is perfect. I humbly accept my occasional imperfections. But mistakes don’t define who we are.”
As humans, there’s a Seyi in each of us, which is why we always wish to be judged for what we mean to do – our original intentions – for who we really are, and nothing more.
