Tinubu mourns Lagos politician who introduced him to politics

President Bola Tinubu has mourned the passing of former Lagos politician Alhaji Ganiyu Kolapo Oseni, describing him as the man who introduced him to politics and a trusted ally, comrade and brother whose legacy will endure.

Before Bola Tinubu became the political juggernaut Nigeria knows today, there was Kola Oseni.

President Tinubu issued a deeply personal tribute on Friday following the death of elder statesman Alhaji Ganiyu Kolapo Oseni, a former Lagos politician he credited with launching his political career and shaping the man he became in public life.

“It is with a heavy heart and deep sadness that I received the news of Alhaji Kola Oseni’s passing. Though he is no longer with us, the memories of the time we shared and the legacy he left will endure,” the President said in a special tribute.

Tinubu described Oseni in terms rarely reserved for public figures — layering professional admiration with unmistakably personal affection.

“To me, however, he was much more than that. He was a leader, my ally, my comrade, a friend and a brother rolled into one,” the President said.

Beyond their personal bond, Tinubu paid tribute to Oseni’s distinguished record in public service. The late politician served as Organising Secretary of the Unity Party of Nigeria in Lagos during the Second Republic under the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo — a formative era in Nigerian democratic history. He also contributed to the establishment of the Lagos State Printing Corporation.

Tinubu described him as “a visionary administrator, an elder statesman, a progressive politician, and a trailblazer,” whose commitment to public service left a lasting imprint on Lagos State and Nigeria at large.

The Punch reported that the President also noted Oseni’s steadfastness during Nigeria’s difficult years of struggle to restore democratic governance — a period that tested the resolve of many progressives and forged lasting bonds among those who endured it together.

Oseni’s passing removes one of the quietly significant figures in the backstory of modern Lagos politics — a man whose influence helped shape Nigeria’s current president long before the spotlight found him.