Desmond Elliot, Gbajabiamila, And The Unseemly Sight Of Kneeling Men By Yesufu -

 Desmond Elliot, Gbajabiamila, and the Unseemly Sight of Kneeling Men

By: Deji Yesufu

Femi Gbajabiamila is said to be the most powerful politician in Surulere, Lagos State. He was elected to the Federal House of Representatives for Surulere 1 in 2003 and was re-elected repeatedly until he left to take up the job of Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As somewhat of a political godfather in Surulere, he has influenced many people to office, including Desmond Elliot, who was elected a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly for Surulere 1 in 2015, and has since been returned to that seat in 2019 and 2023. He was seeking a fourth term in office when he fell out

politically with Gbajabiamila.

The root cause of their disagreement was Desmond Elliot’s alleged involvement in the planned removal of the Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa. Gbajabiamila claimed that Tinubu was unhappy to hear that one of his boys was involved in the matter, and he was asked to deal with it. In May 2026, Desmond Elliot failed to get the party’s ticket to run for a fourth term for that office. That was the last time we heard of the matter until images began to emerge on the internet yesterday morning of Elliot kneeling and prostrating before Gbajabiamila, asking for his forgiveness. Those images have elicited a lot of reactions around the world, and this article is only one of them.

Sometimes I wish I had never read Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s books. They have given me such an elevated view of what politics should be. I cannot for a moment imagine one of Awolowo’s men kneeling or prostrating before him, seeking some favour. Let us make it very clear: in every system, organization, institution, or association, there would always be individuals in the leadership, and they will have subordinates. A functional system works with laws, order, and hierarchy. It is always a blessing to have men come together to fulfil a purpose, and to find an individual among them that is chosen to lead the pack.

In such organizations, leaders deserve respect, loyalty, and obedience. But there is something unseemly, dysfunctional, and primitive when you see grown men fawn, grovel, and beg to have a place given to them in the system. It is disturbing, to say the least, to see grown men kneel and prostrate on the floor for another man all so that they may be given some political position. It tells a lot about the people involved in the whole scenario. The beggar obviously does not have any self-worth; their very livelihood is connected to the position they are begging for. The “beggee”, if there is any such word in the dictionary, obviously has an overinflated view of themselves. They do not know that one can be in a position of influence today, and tomorrow have lost it all. One can have life today, and tomorrow be dead.

Besides these, the main issue with all these men who kneel around is that most people in positions of authority or wealth today in Nigeria did not reach those places via merit but mainly because they know one person or the other. So, the moment that person becomes vexed with them, they lose that position. Nigeria has succeeded in building most of its institutions on oligarchs and not on the inherent worth of individuals. And no country can thrive this way. The wealth of a nation is its people and the inherent qualities they possess, and not necessarily the natural resources in the soil of their land.

The moment we can succeed at ending the rent system that controls almost every aspect of our national life, then the natural giftings of people can emerge, and these people can prosper in whatever field of life they find themselves. They would not need to beg anyone to eat; the value they bring to the system will naturally provide for them. Another reason why these men also hold on to the aprons of their godfathers is that they have never learnt the art of contentment and how to use money wisely. They have built a system all around them that is sustained by money, and when the free flow of cash ceases, they begin to lose their worth.

The greatest problem with Desmond Elliot kneeling for Femi Gbajabiamila is the kind of politics that Bola Tinubu has succeeded at imposing on Nigerians. Some have called it “godfatherism”, but I think it is worse than that. It is a politics of money; a politics where the worst of the lot lead the pack; it is a politics of rent-seeking; it is a politics that is not built on human worth but personal preferences.

It is important to note that this kneeling fiasco is coming on the heels of yet another general election in Nigeria. I am aware that the politics that these men play has also succeeded in capturing a lot of the institutions that would oversee the elections. But it is not impossible to remove these people from power and to replace them with a new breed without greed. Nigerians can bring an end to this kneeling fiasco by replacing these men at the polls. It would be difficult, but it is not impossible.

Deji Yesufu is a Christian Public Affairs Analyst. He is the author of HUMANITY. He can be reached at [email protected]