24/09/2026
Across Faiths, Communities and Generations: How Seyi Tinubu () is building bridges.
By Arabinrin Aderonke, MNIPR () .
In Nigerian politics, some contributions are made from the podium, while others happen quietly, through conversations, relationships and the painstaking work of bringing people together. For Seyi Tinubu, Patron of the City Boy Movement, the emerging story is increasingly one of building bridges, expanding conversations and helping to connect his father’s political project with a new generation of Nigerians.
The significance of that role lies not merely in political mobilisation, but in the breadth of constituencies being reached. Under Seyi Tinubu’s patronage, the City Boy Movement has continued to expand its engagement with young people, community leaders, professional groups, religious organisations and ethnic constituencies, creating a wider network around youth participation and political engagement.
One of the most striking examples came recently when the Youth Wing of the Christian Association of Nigeria (YOWICAN) and the National Council of Muslim Youth Organisations (NACOMYO) signed a Peace Accord ahead of the 2027 general elections. The accord commits both groups to religious tolerance, peaceful coexistence and responsible youth participation while rejecting political violence.
It is difficult to dismiss the importance of such an initiative in a country where religion can easily become entangled with politics. The message from that engagement is simple but powerful: political differences should never become religious warfare, and young Nigerians should have the courage to choose dialogue over violence.
The engagement with the Ohanaeze Ndigbo FCT Chapter, led by its President, Chief Hon. Andrew Okonkwo Ugwu, represents another dimension of this bridge-building. The conversation provided an avenue for engagement with the Igbo community in the Federal Capital Territory, coming against the background of broader efforts by the City Boy Movement to deepen relationships with Igbo stakeholders. Earlier, Ndigbo for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu 2027 Forum entered into a partnership with the movement to deepen political engagement, economic empowerment and national integration.
Then came the engagement with the Association of Nigerian Artisans and Technicians (ASNAT). Again, the significance goes beyond the meeting itself. Artisans and technicians represent a vast and economically important constituency whose voices are often heard most loudly during elections but whose concerns require engagement long before voting day.
This appears to be the philosophy behind the City Boy Movement's expanding outreach: go to the people, listen to the people and build relationships with the people. It is a strategy that recognises that modern political mobilisation cannot be sustained by social media excitement alone.
Seyi Tinubu has been particularly clear about this direction. At the movement's maiden National Retreat in Abuja, he described City Boy as having evolved beyond its original role as a campaign platform into a national movement committed to youth participation, democratic engagement and service. He urged members to become communicators, educators, mobilisers and ambassadors of hope, while engaging citizens with facts, empathy and responsibility.
That message is important because it gives political mobilisation a more human face. Rather than simply telling Nigerians what to believe, the movement is being encouraged to reconnect citizens with government and explain policies in communities, wards, markets and campuses. In fact, Seyi Tinubu specifically charged members to make the movement a bridge between government and the people.
The organisational work behind this ambition has also been substantial. The July 2026 National Retreat brought together the movement's Governing Board, National Working Committee, national directors, state directors and stakeholders from the 36 states and the FCT. The retreat was used to strengthen structures, inaugurate leadership and prepare for intensified grassroots mobilisation.
The movement has also announced an ambitious target of mobilising 10 million youth votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027. Its leadership has stressed that such a target cannot be achieved through slogans or social media alone, but through real people, membership expansion, ward structures and sustained community engagement.
There have also been broader efforts to bring young people into the political process. In June, The Bridge for Renewed Hope, a youth mobilisation platform, formally aligned with the City Boy Movement after its national inauguration in Abuja. The group said its objective included deepening youth participation in governance and mobilising support for President Tinubu.
Seen together, these engagements paint a picture of a political movement attempting to build a coalition that cuts across the traditional boundaries of Nigerian politics. Christians and Muslims. Igbo and non-Igbo communities. Artisans and professionals. Young people and community leaders. Established political actors and a new generation of politically active Nigerians.
For Seyi Tinubu, this is also a deeply personal political assignment. As the son of the President, his visibility naturally attracts attention, but his work with City Boy places him in a different arena: helping to build the relationships, structures and youth networks that can carry his father's political message beyond the familiar political establishment.
The real test, however, is not how many meetings are held or how many photographs are taken. It is whether those conversations produce lasting relationships, responsible political participation and stronger connections between citizens and institutions. That is ultimately where mobilisation acquires meaning.
For now, what is unmistakable is the energy behind the project. Seyi Tinubu is helping to open doors, build relationships and bring different constituencies to the table. And in a country as diverse as Nigeria, where political mobilisation can easily become a contest of identities, there is something refreshing about an approach that puts conversation, inclusion and connection at the centre.
The road to 2027 will undoubtedly be politically intense. But long before the votes are counted, there is another contest taking place: the contest to earn trust, build relationships and create a movement capable of speaking to people beyond the traditional political circles.
That is the space in which Seyi Tinubu and the City Boy Movement are increasingly making their mark. Not simply by building a campaign structure, but by building bridges.
_Arabinrin Aderonke MNIPR is a 2016 Finalist, CNN Africa Journalist Award, 2014 Laureate, Wole Soyinka investigative journalism Award. She is a media Technical Advisor to the Executive Chairman, Nigeria Revenue Service, Coordinating Secretary, Media and Strategic Communication Directorate, 2027 Presidential Campaign Council and a Deputy National Press Secretary, City Boy Movement. She writes from Abuja_
