Since his inauguration as Nigeria's president on May 29, 2023, Bola Tinubu's tenure has marked a period of intense economic hardship for Nigerians.
His immediate removal of the controversial fuel subsidy expectedly led to skyrocketing fuel prices and took the prices of everything along with it as inflation keeps driving up to record levels.
The administration's unification of the naira's exchange rate has also caused a ripple in the economy. The value of foreign currencies in comparison to the naira has skyrocketed and it now costs an arm, a leg, and possibly your unborn first child, to convert to naira.
Nine months into his occupancy of the seat he's most coveted for decades, Tinubu's administration is drowning in the tears of a strained population struggling to hold onto dreams and livelihoods.
In mounting his defence, the president's message to the Nigerian people has remained the same: endure the heat until the rain comes. The problem is many Nigerians can't see skies cloudy enough to suggest an impending rain. All they can see is a government not much different from the same one that just handed over after eight years of less-than-stellar economic management.
However, what the Muhammadu Buhari administration did not have that Tinubu has in abundance is children in the public eye, and they're working as hard as anyone in his administration to convince Nigerians of some imminent rainfall that washes away the current economic drought.
In the most recent episode of We Must Come To Our Father's Defence, Seyi Tinubu, he who had to be so publicly banned from attending Federal Executive Council (FEC) meetings, made an Instagram post on Monday, February 19, 2024.
He posted a black-and-white image of himself, staring into the distance — with expectant eyes as though he was begging for rain — and captioned it with an aspire-to-perspire quote from his father, the president.
""There is no joy in seeing the people of this nation shoulder burdens that should have been shed years ago. I wish today's difficulties did not exist. But we must endure if we are to reach the good side of our future," - President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Bola A Tinubu."
He further plastered the caption with hashtags claiming Nigeria is in great hands and asking Nigerians to have faith in his father, the bringer of rain. The comment section of the post was filled with many unprintable comments and showed just how well Nigerians were willing to receive his message of hope.
How can he speak about enduring difficulties when he's wearing a shirt inscribed with his initials, and been spotted wearing watches that cost hundreds of millions of naira?
The negative reaction did not stop another more prominent Tinubu offspring, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, from similarly passing a public vote of confidence on the president the same day. The Iyaloja General of Lagos State hit the same notes as her brother, appealing for patience while her father works with rainmakers to deliver on his famous mandate.
"Everything will be alright. It's just a matter of time. We need to keep our hope alive," she said, noting that economic troubles aren't currently unique to Nigeria and are happening everywhere; which is true, but governments everywhere are under the same public pressure to turn things around.
Her pleas have also fallen on deaf ears. How can she understand the hardship of Nigerians? Didn't the president just appoint her husband, Oyetunde Oladimeji Ojo, as the head of the Federal Housing Authority?
The rejected pleas came on the same day Nigerians were on the streets in Oyo State protesting against economic hardship, following similar protests in a few other states across the country.
What's clear about the average reaction to the messages of hope from the Tinubu family is that Nigerians don't consider words of affirmation as a love language. What Nigerians want is acts of service that make their lives easier and more meaningful.
Just about the only thing that would make Nigerians listen to the Tinubu family is not the promise of rain — the president just needs to make it rain as he promised, and he needs to do it soon.
Take that to the family WhatsApp group.
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Pulse Editor's Opinion is the viewpoint of an editor at Pulse. It does not represent the opinion of the organisation Pulse.