Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has said she has forgiven those who betrayed her husband, President Bola Tinubu, during the turbulent 2023 general elections.
She made the revelation in her newly published memoir titled The Journey of Grace: Giving Thanks in All Things, released to commemorate her 65th birthday.
“I do not have anything against anyone… the question is how I did not feel the betrayal anymore? I knew the Grace factor was evident, and the Holy Spirit continually comforted me,” she wrote in the 52-page book, stating her decision to embrace peace rather than hold on to resentment.
Structured in five chapters covering events from 2021 to 2025, the memoir chronicles her spiritual reflections, her husband’s presidential ambition, and the emotional and political challenges that accompanied the 2023 elections. The foreword was written by Dr. Folashade Olukoya of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries.
Nearly three years after what was one of Nigeria’s most polarising elections, the First Lady shared that several longtime associates of the President were notably absent when he declared his intention to run for office. She described the period as one marked by extensive consultations, adding that reactions from political allies varied widely.
President Bola Tinubu, who contested under the All Progressives Congress (APC), won the February 2023 presidential election with 8.79 million votes, defeating Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peter Obi of the Labour Party. The outcome was challenged at both the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal and the Supreme Court, but the results were upheld in Tinubu’s favour.
Reflecting on these experiences, Mrs Tinubu said she drew strength from her faith and biblical teachings. “Never to avenge myself, assuring me that it is God’s prerogative. Mine is to thank Him for fighting for us,” she wrote.
She also likened her decision to forgive to the example set by Jesus Christ, citing Acts 10:38: “Letting go is what I did; doing good is what matters most. Like my Saviour Jesus Christ… who… went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.”
The memoir, now available online, provides a rare personal insight into the First Lady’s convictions and perspective during one of the most politically charged periods in Nigeria’s recent history.
