By Sheddy Ozoene
This is a season of political divorces, that strange separation of godsons from their godfathers and the end to political alliances between people of like interests. The events of the last two weeks were quite revealing, from the rift that blew open in the political relationship between Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu and the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu Lagos in Nigeria to collapse in the political romance between US President Donald Trump and billionaire tech entrepreneur Elon Musk in the United States.
The former is more of a godfather and godson relationship, while the later is/was a marriage of political interests.
Sanwo-Olu’s emergence as the favourite for the governorship of Lagos was spectacular, after Tinubu – the godfather of Lagos politics – fell out with Governor Akinwunmi Ambode in the run-in to the 2019 election. A relatively lesser-known figure at the time, Sanwo-Olu’s strong point which was sold as Ambode’s weakness, was his unwavering loyalty to party directives and the Tinubu political dynasty. Six years down the road, the Tinubu-Sanwo-Olu relationship, which became a model of political loyalty, is now under growing strain.
The tension first started after the 2023 presidential election in which Lagos delivered a far narrower vote margin than expected, a poor performance in Tinubu’s traditional stronghold that saw Labour Party’s Peter Obi win the state convincingly. The loss, though not blamed directly on Sanwo-Olu, raised concerns within the Tinubu camp about the governor’s effectiveness in maintaining grassroots control and party loyalty.
More revealing was the political turmoil that erupted in Lagos, involving the State House of Assembly Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa. When Obasa was abruptly impeached in early 2025, allegedly with Governor Sanwo-Olu’s tacit approval, Tinubu reportedly intervened to secure the Speaker’s swift reinstatement. Sanwo-Olu’s perceived involvement, or at least his failure to prevent the move, was seen as another red flag in his handling of affairs as they affect the godfather. Instructively, the reinstatement was done with the governor totally blind-sided.
Sanwo-Olu’s increasingly independent governance style which drew him closer to technocrats, private sector figures, and policy experts, many of whom operate outside Tinubu’s traditional political machinery, further widened the gap. To add to the matter, he was reportedly building legacies around his name rather than the godfather.
What was once a quiet, behind-the-scenes divergence has in recent weeks increasingly become more apparent to the public, as subtle tensions between the two key figures of Lagos politics began to unfold. While neither the President nor Governor Sanwo-Olu publicly acknowledged a political rift, a series of subtle but telling public displays have fueled growing speculation that tensions are rising between the two. Since then, their public appearances together have noticeably dwindled and when it happens, creates even more curiosity among the people.
If what happened at the recent inauguration of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway on May 31, 2025, during which President Tinubu was seen bypassing Governor Sanwo-Olu during a handshake session, is anything to go by, then there is indeed, a deeper crack than was ever imagined. This public snub, captured on video, quickly went viral and was widely interpreted as a sign of deep discord between the two leaders. Further evidence of the rift emerged during President Tinubu’s recent official visits to Lagos – for the ECOWAS 50th anniversary and the commissioning of Lagos deep seaport road – with Governor Sanwo-Olu noticeably absent in both occasions.
Should the President, the father of all, have engaged in such open disagreement with his political godson? Is it a good record that he has consistently quarreled with the men and women, including the 2 people that served as his deputies while he was Lagos governor, who are his well-known political proteges? These are questions begging for answers as Nigerians chew over the troubling matter.
Such political divorces in the recent past did not end in Lagos. In far away United States, billionaire Elon Musk who emerged as a pivotal supporter of Donald Trump and who forged a political alliance that significantly influenced the 2024 campaign’s trajectory in the US, also spectacularly fell out with the President. Musk touted himself as Trump’s friend and ally and became one of Trump’s most substantial financial backers, establishing America PAC that mobilized voters, particularly in swing states and contributed over $250 million to Trump’s campaign.
His eventual appointment as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), did not surprise many though it was marked by controversial measures, including the elimination of certain federal agencies and programs as he advocated for significant federal budget cuts and deregulation. However, the alliance began to fray in the past 2 weeks when Musk publicly criticized Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” for its potential to increase the national deficit and reduce electric vehicle subsidies, which directly impacted Musk’s business interests negatively.
The rift and eventual political divorce was swift, quickly breeding unprecedented bad blood and bitterness. Trump’s threat to revoke Musk’s government contracts and Musk’s threat to release damaging information about Trump’s past escapades have seen a dramatic shift from alliance to adversary between two influential figures.
The political relationship between Trump and Elon Musk has undergone a dramatic shift, evolving from mutual admiration to growing animosity, as their alliance has suffered from a clash of personal interests, political ambitions, and ideological differences.
While the exact nature of the potential revelations that Musk has threatened to reveal remains unclear, his bitterness is growing over the loss of over $150 billion in value of his businesses within days. Musk is believed to possess communications, private correspondences, knowledge of personal matters and previous associations with individuals in Trump’s orbit that could prove politically damaging. His willingness to air such information would represent a serious escalation in their feud, turning a political disagreement into a personal battle.
The consequences of the Tinubu-Sanwo-Olu disagreement and the collapse of the Trump-Musk relationship highlight the volatile intersection of politics, business, personal ambition, and ego. While it is heartening to hear that the elders in Lagos State intervened last week to resolve the Tinubu-Sanwo-Olu dispute, leading to the President ‘forgiving’ the governor’s ‘sins’, the gulf between Trump and Musk on the other hand, is widening. The clash between the world’s most powerful leader and the earth’s richest man has degenerated to name-calling, childish banters and frightening threats. It could have wide-ranging implications in US politics, with the potential for further conflict as they appear, on the surface, beyond repair.
Sheddy Ozoene, Editor-In-Chief of People & Politics, is Vice President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
