Tinubu Turns Abuja Into Lagos: Bulldozers, Land Grabs, and Patronage

President Bola Tinubu’s leadership is increasingly drawing scrutiny as familiar patterns from his tenure as Lagos State governor (1999–2007) appear to be repeating themselves at the national level. Allegations of land grabbing, questionable asset transfers, and political patronage, long associated with his Lagos legacy, are now surfacing across the country, most notably in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

In Lagos, Tinubu’s administration was linked to the controversial operations of Alpha Beta Consulting, a private firm involved in tax collection for the state. Investigative reports alleged that the company, reportedly connected to Tinubu, was awarded lucrative contracts without due process and was used to funnel state revenue into private hands.

Despite public outcry, no legal action was successfully brought against those involved. A June 2025 report by Sahara Reporters revealed that Alpha Beta, after years of tax handling, paid a retiring staff member a mere ₦400,000 gratuity, reigniting questions about how public revenue was managed under Tinubu’s political machine. ThisDay reported that Tinubu’s family took possession of a land with 50 Houses in Surulere. In another report, 10 communities in Lagos State accused the state government of forcefully acquiring their lands for the Lekki Free Trade Zone project.

Today, many Nigerians believe that the capital city is becoming a reflection of the Lagos governance model. Since his appointment in 2023, FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has overseen widespread demolitions across Abuja. These demolitions, carried out apparently to restore the ‘Abuja master plan’, have sparked outrage among residents, human rights organisations, and legal experts.

SERAP has condemned the demolitions as unlawful, citing a lack of due notice, destruction of legally held property, and reallocation of reclaimed land to private developers (Vanguard). In November 2024, the Nigerian Senate intervened, ordering Wike to stop further demolitions until a comprehensive legal and policy review could be undertaken.

Amid these tensions, land owned by the University of Abuja has also been targeted. According to Wike, the university’s allocated land has been drastically reduced, from approximately 11,800 hectares to just 4,000. He accused the institution of encroaching on federal land and vowed to reclaim it for alternative development, including training centres for EFCC and other federal institutions. Many describe the move as another instance of resource redistribution benefiting political or institutional elites at the expense of public education and community needs.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of growing economic hardship. Inflation hit 33.2 per cent in May 2025, with food inflation nearing 40 per cent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The impact has been felt most severely by the urban poor, many of whom now face homelessness due to forced evictions while new construction projects rise on reclaimed land. The optics of high-level property reallocations during a cost-of-living crisis have further fueled distrust in the administration’s intentions.

Tinubu’s leadership is exporting the model of centralised, opaque, and elite-focused governance that defined his years in Lagos. From the capital city’s demolitions to the quiet reallocation of educational land, many fear that national institutions are being reshaped to benefit a narrow circle of insiders. As public discontent grows, Nigerians say the administration’s actions in the FCT may come to symbolise the broader trajectory of Tinubu’s presidency.

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