Balami Backs Seyi Tinubu’s Military-like Honour, Says He Deserves Accolades

Mary Nnah

Comrade Isaac Balami, an All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain has shared his thoughts on the military-like honour given to Seyi Tinubu.

Balami believes Seyi deserves recognition for his efforts. His comments follow concerns former Vice President Atiku Abubakar raised over the use of a military-like guard in honour of the son of the president, Seyi Tinubu.

According to Balami, in a press release made available to THISDAY, the Cadet Network, a group of young individuals being mentored as future leaders, paid homage to Seyi Tinubu due to his alignment with their nationalistic ideology.

Balami views this as a display of genuine appreciation, rather than an attempt to exploit Seyi’s connection to the president.

Atiku Abubakar had called for an investigation to ascertain the actual reason behind the honour accorded Seyi Tinubu but reacting while addressing the media on Monday, Balami a former National Deputy Campaign Manager for Obi/Datti said the dust raised over the matter was unnecessary, saying it is a normal practice across the world.

He said that the media handler of Atiku Abubakar may not have consulted him or failed to do due diligence before rushing to the media, insisting that the former Vice President was known for picking up petty issues.

He further clarified that the group that paid homage to Seyi Tinubu were Cadet Network composed of individuals who have volunteered to be mentored as future leaders.

Establishing the relationship between Seyi Tinubu and the group, the former Spokesman of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, said Seyi Tinubu is a young Nigerian leader who has inspired many youths by his good and philanthropic deeds.

He said: “The dust raised as a result of the homage paid to Seyi Tinubu by the cadet group is completely a misplaced priority. We should be engaged in a more robust national discourse against dwelling on things that pose no threat to our growth as a nation.

“Issues of Boko Haram, kidnapping and other insecurity challenges bedevilling us as a nation should be the focal point of our discourse against taking on individuals with good intentions for the country. The group is nationalistic and nothing more.

“My take is simply that this group of young men called the Cadet Network are young individuals being mentored as future leaders who believe they share a similar philosophy or ideology with Mr. Seyi Tinubu.

“These are patriotic Nigerians who have continued to place the country above all forms of tribal and political sentiments. This is what Mr. Seyi Tinubu represents.

“This detribalised young man has done a lot of patriotic and selfless work across the country regardless of tribe, religion and political affiliation.

“Like Man O’ War, Boys Scout or Brigade, these young people wouldn’t ignore Seyi Tinubu who had in his personal capacity done a lot of humanitarian jobs without tribal or political sentiments when they met him.

“They took their time to pay homage in order to establish their relationship with Seyi Tinubu as aspiring nationalists and leaders. This to me is an uncommon display of genuine love for an individual who has done quite a lot in his personal capacity and not as the son of the president.

“The missing link is when people begin to look at Seyi Tinubu as just the son of President Tinubu. Seyi, prior to the emergence of his father as the president had done a lot for people of different tribes and religions.

“What is wrong if some young people with a similar national ideology decide to show their solidarity? These young people trained as security experts couldn’t have shown this in a more perfect way than to use their paraphernalia to appreciate Mr. Tinubu. I see nothing wrong here that requires any form of investigation. What are we going to investigate?”