WHEN WORK BECOMES THE CAMPAIGN: WHAT AKURE TAUGHT US ABOUT BTO AND THE TINUBU AGENDA
Political rallies in Nigeria usually follow a familiar script. Leaders mount the podium, promises are made, and the crowd responds to music, colour and the energy of the moment. The presidential rally in Akure followed much of that script, but something different happened in between. One of the loudest messages of the day came from a man who barely spoke.
Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, the Minister of Interior, kept a low profile on the podium. Yet each time his name was mentioned, the crowd answered with a roar. Young and old chanted “BTO” with the kind of warmth that cannot be bought with souvenirs or rehearsed for cameras. Many in that crowd had a personal reason to cheer: a business supported, a job secured, a community project delivered, or simply a passport obtained without the old stress and extortion.
That reaction says a lot about where Nigerian politics may be heading. Voters are increasingly measuring leaders by what they can see and feel, not by what they are told. In that sense, BTO’s record at the Ministry of Interior has become more than an individual achievement. It has become campaign capital for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It is worth remembering how low expectations were when he took over the ministry in 2023. Interior was widely seen as a slow, bureaucratic office, better known for declaring public holidays than solving problems. Nigerians at home and abroad had grown used to long passport queues, endless backlogs and unofficial “facilitation” fees. Few people imagined that the ministry could become a source of good news.
I was one of the sceptics. When he took up the job, I told him honestly that I did not see much room for impact. His answer was simple: “Abire, if it’s about performance and the passion to serve the people of Nigeria, there’s nothing to worry about.” More than three years later, the results have answered for him. The passport backlog was cleared, processing times shortened sharply, contactless renewal opened up for Nigerians in the diaspora, and digital reforms brought order and transparency to visa and immigration services.
What made Akure remarkable was how other leaders used that record. Speaker after speaker made the case for the President by pointing to the work of the Minister from Okeagbe Akoko. The music icon King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, the Olori Omooba Akile of Ijebu, also added his voice in open praise. When a minister’s performance becomes one of the strongest arguments for re electing his principal, it reflects well on both the appointee and the man who appointed him. It shows that the President’s choice was not a reward for loyalty alone, but a bet on competence that has paid off.
There is a wider lesson here for public office holders across the country. Performance is the most durable form of political communication. Slogans fade, posters tear and jingles are forgotten, but a service that works stays in people’s memories. The “green” message of this campaign season will mean the most where it is rooted in that kind of tangible service, the kind BTO has been planting steadily, in season and out of season.
Some will say this is simply praise from an ally. That is a fair question to raise in any democracy. But the strongest witnesses to the Interior story are not political friends. They are the ordinary Nigerians who now renew passports in days rather than months, and the stakeholders who have publicly acknowledged the turnaround, including the President himself.
Akure showed that when the work is done well, the leader does not need to shout. The people will do it for him.
For a bright Friday, TY Bello’s “The Land is Green” makes a fitting soundtrack. The land is green, and the evidence is there for anyone willing to look.
