Journalist and columnist Farooq Kperogi has condemned what he describes as an “arrogant and imperious display of power” by Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Remi Tinubu, following a viral video in which she was seen directing Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke to end his speech within five minutes.
In a strongly worded statement, Kperogi recounted his earlier concerns—shared as far back as 2022—about what he now calls Remi Tinubu’s “overbearing disposition,” saying recent events had confirmed fears expressed by people who knew her closely.
Kperogi narrated that before the 2023 elections, a Nigerian acquaintance in the United States had warned him about Remi Tinubu’s personality. “After our back-and-forth dialogic contestation, she seemed to give up and resign herself to the inevitability of a Tinubu presidency,” he wrote.
But he said he was stunned when she exclaimed, “So Remi Tinubu will be Nigeria’s First Lady? God forbid!”
According to him, the acquaintance insisted that “Remi’s arrogance was already insufferable,” arguing that placing her in the position of First Lady would “catapult that arrogance into the stratosphere.”
Kperogi said he did not initially understand the gravity of her warning. “For more than two years now, I have watched and waited for signs of the unbearable arrogance she warned me about. I saw none until the now-trending video,” he stated.
In the viral footage, the First Lady is seen pacing in front of the podium while Governor Adeleke delivers his remarks, telling him to conclude in five minutes or risk losing the microphone.
Kperogi said the issue was not necessarily the instruction itself but the manner in which it was delivered. “It was how she said it. The ice-cold contempt. The imperious airs. The evil eye. The barely suppressed rage,” he wrote.
He described the moment as one that validated his acquaintance’s long-standing concerns. “If she remembers our conversation, she is likely saying, ‘Farooq is finally seeing what I told him three years ago.’”
Kperogi concluded that the First Lady’s public behaviour appears to reflect a long-standing pattern. “Perhaps Remi is only now acting out her true self in the presidency. As Michelle Obama once observed, the presidency does not change people; it reveals who they really are,” he wrote.
