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Power, by its very nature, is meant to serve — not to subjugate. And when it is entrusted to a leader in a democratic republic, it must be wielded within the bounds of law, decorum, and public trust. Sadly, under the current dispensation, Nigeria is witnessing a disturbing erosion of these boundaries. It is coming not just from those who hold office, but from individuals who hold no public mandate — members of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s immediate family.

From the corridors of Aso Rock to the markets of Benin, the overreach of the president’s son and daughter is becoming impossible to ignore. It is improper. It is unsettling. And it is deeply un-Nigerian.

Take, for instance, Mr. Seyi Tinubu — the president’s son — whose recurring presence at Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings raises questions that go beyond optics. The FEC is the nerve centre of governance, a constitutionally defined space where elected leaders and appointed ministers deliberate on matters of state. Seyi holds no such mandate. Yet, he has been seen moving in and out of these critical sessions, enjoying the trappings of state power, complete with official convoys and security details reserved for those in public service.

This is not just bad form — it is a dangerous breach of the invisible firewall that separates private life from public office. It fuels perceptions that state authority is being privatised, that Nigeria is sliding towards a de facto family oligarchy where surnames, not institutions, define access and influence.

If Seyi’s conduct is troubling, his sister’s behaviour is even more brazen. Mrs. Folashade Tinubu-Ojo has been styling herself Iyaloja-General — a self-appointed national leader of market women — and has attempted to extend that authority across states and cultures. Her recent encounter with the revered Oba of Benin, Oba Ewuare II, laid bare the absurdity and cultural arrogance of such a move. The monarch, speaking with the authority of centuries-old tradition, reminded her that the title of Iyaloja has no place in Benin culture. The proper title, he explained, is Iyeki — a sacred role tied to the palace and specific to each market. The idea of a “general” market leader is alien, not just to Benin, but to Nigeria’s diverse socio-cultural landscape.

What the Oba did not say — but which must be said — is that Mrs. Tinubu-Ojo’s campaign to dominate market leadership is an abuse of proximity to power. It is a naked attempt to leverage her father’s office for personal influence, bypassing traditional authority and imposing a centralised structure where none has ever existed. In a country already struggling with the concentration of power, such behaviour is not only offensive, it is obscene.

This creeping familial overreach corrodes public confidence in the presidency and sends a troubling message to Nigerians: that the levers of state can be commandeered not just by those elected to serve, but by those born into privilege. It also sets a precedent that future leaders may feel emboldened to follow — reducing the presidency from a national institution into a private estate.

President Tinubu must understand that the legitimacy of his government does not rest solely on policies or political alliances. It rests also on perception — the perception that the institutions of state are impartial, that public power is not a family heirloom, and that the Nigerian presidency belongs to the people, not to a dynasty.

It is time, therefore, for the president to act decisively. He must call his children to order — firmly and publicly. They must be reminded that the presidency is not a family business, that state power cannot be used to lubricate personal ambition, and that influence without mandate is a corruption of democracy itself.

Nigeria is a republic, not a monarchy. Its markets, its governance, and its destiny cannot — and must not — be dictated by bloodline. The president’s children must step back from the limelight, and the presidency must once again be seen to serve the nation, not the name.