Afrobeat musician Femi Kuti has argued that President Bola Tinubu should not be viewed as the central problem facing Nigeria, pointing instead to institutional corruption and weaknesses within the country’s justice system.
Kuti made the remarks during a recent episode of the Good News Naija podcast, where he discussed the challenges confronting Nigeria and the role of its political and judicial institutions.
The legendary musician questioned how Tinubu was able to contest the 2023 presidential election if the various allegations that had been made against him were established as true.
According to Kuti, the judiciary and other institutions responsible for enforcing accountability deserve greater scrutiny because their actions or failures can shape who eventually occupies political office.
“Do you think Tinubu is the problem? The judiciary that didn’t stop him from getting there in the first place is a problem. If all the allegations against him are true, how did he contest?” he said.
Kuti argued that Nigeria would have a different political system if people of strong character and integrity occupied key positions within its institutions.
“If we had men and women of calibre and integrity, he wouldn’t have been able to contest in the first place,” he added.
The musician said corruption had become deeply embedded in Nigeria’s political and institutional structures, arguing that people entrusted with leadership across different sectors often belong to the same elite class.
He maintained that focusing on individual politicians alone would not solve the country’s problems unless the institutions that enable corruption and weak accountability were also addressed.
Kuti further warned that the persistence of systemic corruption could discourage young Nigerians and undermine their confidence in the country’s future.