Nigerian leader Bola Tinubu has been accused of nepotism since taking office in May 2023. Recent social media posts have accused him of favoring his own ethnic group in southwestern Nigeria when he took top positions at two of the country’s intelligence agencies. However, this is misleading: officials say only one of the two appointees is Yoruba, the same ethnic group to which Tinubu belongs.
“NIA Yoruba. DSS Yoruba. In just one day,” reads one X-message shared more than 400 times since August 26, 2024.
The NIA is an abbreviation for National Intelligence Service in Nigeria, while DSS refers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ServicesBoth are part of the Nigerian security management and intelligence gathering structures and report to the Office of the National Security Adviser.
Tinubu, a Yoruba, one of Nigeria’s largest ethnic groups from the country’s southwest, appointed new heads of both agencies on August 26, 2024.
In a statement, Tinubu’s office said announced Career diplomat Mohammed Mohammed as new Director General of NIA NIA and Tosin Ajayi as his counterpart at the DSS (archived here).
The same claim was also shared on X here And hereand on Facebook here And here.
However, the messages are misleading.
Nupe and Yoruba
Contrary to claims, Muhammad is Neep and not Yoruba.
Speaking to AFP Fact Check, Tinubu’s spokesperson Tope Ajayi said: “The new NIA DG is Nupe from Kwara State while the DSS DG is Yoruba.”
The government of Kwara State in the North Central part of Nigeria Congratulations the two men on her website and said the choice of Mohammed — an “indigenous of Lafiagi” in Edu, Kwara stands — “to lead the NIA opens a new beautiful page in the history of the agency” (archived here).
Neep people live in the northern part of Nigeria. Lafiagi is a Nupe settlement ruled by an emir — a term used for traditional rulers in Northern Nigeria (archived here, here And here).
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Government also celebrated the appointment of Tosin Ajayi (no relation to Tinubu’s spokesperson) as the new head of the DSS.
“On behalf of the government and good people of Ogun State, we heartily congratulate one of our illustrious sons… Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, on his appointment as the new Director General of the State Security Service (DSS) by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” the statement reads (archived here).
Ogun State Government congratulates new @OfficiëleDSSNG DG
The @OGSG_Officieel has congratulated the new Director General of the State Security Service (DSS), Mr Adeola Oluwatosin Ajayi, on his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, describing him as a round peg in a round hole.
The… photo.twitter.com/5ry8iH7Jbv
— Ogun State Government – OGSG (@OGSG_Official) August 27, 2024
Ogun State is located in southwestern Nigeria and most of the inhabitants are Yoruba.
Accusations of nepotism
Tinubu was accused of nepotism after he appointed his son-in-law to head the Federal Housing Authority (archived here).
His approval of the takeover deal The affair between the Nigerian energy company Oando and the Italian oil companies Agip and ENI also raised eyebrows.
Oando’s general manager is Wale Tinubu, the president’s nephew. The deal was completed in eight months, compared to similar deals that took three years to be approved (archived here).
There have also been calls from various parties, including a former legislator – Tinubu cautioned against repeating the decisions of his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, to favour a section of the population during appointments (archived here).