LET’ deconstruct an architecture of longevity, ruthlessness, and genius in two different arenas of two GOATs and two pitches.
On December 18, 2022, Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar at age 35. Twenty years after his debut. After four World Cups of heartbreak. After being told he could never do it for Argentina the way Maradona did.
On February 25, 2023, Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared President-elect of Nigeria at age 71. Thirty years after he first entered elected office. After being told by the sitting president of his own party that he could not win. Different games. Different stadiums. One stadium is 105 meters of grass in Lusail. The other is 923,768 square kilometers of federation, 36 states, 774 LGAs, and a voter base of more than 93 million. But the story arc is eerily similar: a man told he was too small, too late, too finished — who rewrote the ending through patience, control of space, and an almost inhuman ability to see three moves ahead.
This commentary is not about football. It is not about politics. It is about the skillset of a GOAT — Greatest Of All Time — and why certain men are impossible to replicate. Messi did it with a ball at his feet. Tinubu did it with a political machine he built brick by brick for about 30 years. Both did it by understanding one thing: the game is won before kickoff.
The core similarity: Vision, control, and timing. Let’s be clinical and compare the skillsets.
SKILLSET: LIONEL MESSI vs BOLA AHMED TINUBU
Vision sees passing lanes three seconds before they open. Sees the run before the runner does. Sees political alignments three election cycles before they matter. Sees who will be governor before the party knows.
Control of space: Messi shrinks the pitch. Dribbles in tight spaces. Never loses the ball under pressure. Tinubu shrinks political space. Controls Lagos and its economy, structure, and influence as base. Never loses grip under pressure.
Dribbling/Manoeuver: Messi beats four men with one touch. Changes direction without losing speed. Tinubu beats four power blocs with one alignment. Changes coalition without losing structure.
Free Kicks/Set Pieces: Messi wins games from dead-ball situations. Precision. Tinubu wins elections from “structure” and “ground game”. Precision in delegate mathematics.
Longevity: Messi 20+ years at the top. Adapted from winger to false 9 to playmaker. Tinubu 30+ years in power. Adapted from Senator to Governor to Kingmaker to President.
Clutch Factor: World Cup Final 2022. 2 goals, 1 assist. World Cup 2026 so far 8 goals. Delivered when it mattered. 2023 Primary + General Election. Tinubu won without presidential backing. Delivered when it mattered.
Legacy Question: “Can anyone do this again for Argentina?” “Can anyone build this structure again in Nigeria?” The answer to both, for now, is: probably not. Reason: GOATs are not just talented. They are structural.
The 30-year build: How you become unbeatable: 1. Messi: The La Masia Project. Messi did not become Messi in 2022. He became Messi in 2000 when Barcelona bet on a 13-year-old with growth hormone deficiency and brought him to La Masia.
For 22 years, Barcelona built around him. Xavi and Iniesta were taught to play for him. The entire system — tiki-taka — was designed to put the ball at his feet in the final third. By 2022, Messi was not just a player. He was the system.
Tinubu: The Lagos project: Tinubu did not become President in 2023. He became inevitable in 1999 when he became Governor of Lagos and survived impeachment, AD collapse, and PDP federal pressure. For 24 years, he built. From 1999-2007: He controlled Lagos economy and appointments. From 2007-2023, he produced governors: Babatunde Fashola, Akinwunmi Ambode and Babajide Sanwo-Olu. He controlled party structure in the Southwest. He built APC. He funded it. He staffed it. By 2023, Tinubu was not just a candidate. He was the structure.
That is why the 2023 APC primary was the political equivalent of Messi vs France in the World Cup Final 2022. Everyone expected the “power of incumbency” — Buhari — to decide it. Just like everyone expected France’s Mbappe to decide it. But Messi had the ball. And Tinubu had the delegates. The deliverable: Both refused to give it up.
Assumptions, dark deals and “impossible resources” argument: Every GOAT has mythology. For Messi: “He’s only good because of Barcelona. He can’t do it for Argentina.” That was the narrative until Qatar 2022. For Tinubu: “His resources are inexplicable. His grip on Lagos is undemocratic. He only won because of money and structure.” That is the narrative now. Let’s address it directly, because this is where the comparison gets uncomfortable but necessary.
In football, genius is often accused of being “system dependent”. Take Messi out of Barcelona and what do you have? Answer: Argentina 2022: A World Cup.
In politics, power is often accused of being “money dependent”. Take Tinubu out of Lagos and what do you have? Answer: 2023 – presidency won against his own sitting president. The lesson is not about morality. It is about “resource conversion”.
Messi converted talent + Barcelona’s structure + Argentina’s desperation into a World Cup. Tinubu converted 30 years of political capital + Lagos resources + national APC structure into a presidency. You can call it “dark deals”. You can call it “La Masia investment”. The result is the same: an infrastructure no one else has time to replicate.
That is why “who can defeat him now?” is the wrong question. The right question is: “who started building in 1999?”
The 5 GOATs Traits Both Share:
Trait 1: Patience that looks like passivity
Messi walked for 90 minutes. Critics called him lazy. Then in minute 91 he received the ball and won the game. Tinubu was “missing” during Buhari’s eight years. Critics called him irrelevant as national leader. Then in 2022 he entered the APC primary and swept it. GOATs do not waste energy. They wait for the ball to come to their foot.
Trait 2: Low centre of gravity
Messi is 5’7”. Hard to knock off the ball. Tinubu survived EFCC cases, political exile, party collapse, and public criticism. But still hard to knock off balance. Both absorb pressure and keep moving forward.
Trait 3: Making others better
Messi made Alvarez, Mac Allister, and Fernandez look like world beaters in 2022.
Tinubu facilitated Fashola as a minister (because Fashola was a good governor), Professor Yemi Osinbajo a vice president, and Sanwo-Olu a governor. Then beat them all in 2023 with the help of those he had made too even in the North and presidential household. GOATs do not hoard glory. They create lieutenants. Then they outlast them.
Trait 4: Winning ugly
Messi’s 2022 World Cup was not all tiki-taka. It was penalties vs Netherlands. It was grinding vs Australia. Tinubu’s 2023 was not all popularity. It was Naira redesign, fuel scarcity, and a third-party wave. He still won. GOATs win even when the pitch is bad.
Trait 5: The “it’s over” when I say “it’s over” mentality
Down 2-0 to Saudi Arabia, Argentina did not panic. Messi said: we will come back.
Down in the polls, with no sitting president’s support, Tinubu said: “Emi lokan”, we will win. That presumption is not arrogance. It is data. It is 30 years of knowing you have another move.
Why it will be difficult to see ‘another one’
This is the hard part. In football, to get another Messi, Argentina needs:
1. A generational talent at age 13
2. A club willing to invest 20 years in him
3. A national team willing to rebuild around him for 16 years
4. A World Cup window at age 35
The odds are astronomical. That is why Maradona 1986 to Messi 2022 took 36 years.
In politics, to get another Tinubu, Nigeria needs:
1. A man who becomes governor at 47 and leaves at 55
2. Who then controls a state with $2bn+ IGR for 20 years
3. Who builds a party from opposition to ruling party
4. Who then runs and wins the presidency at 71 against his own party’s president
The odds are also astronomical. Nigerian politics does not allow 30-year apprenticeships anymore. The money, the attention span, the institutions have all changed.
Tinubu is the product of a specific era: 1999-2023. The era of godfathers, state capture, and long-game politics. That era may be ending. Just like the era of one-club legends in football is ending.
The critique: Is this comparison dangerous?
Yes, because it risks romanticising power. Messi’s genius hurts no one. Tinubu’s genius has real consequences: policy, economy, livelihood. But to understand power, you must first describe it accurately. To call Tinubu “ruthless and resourceful” is not endorsement. It is diagnosis. To call Messi “the GOAT” is not worship. It is record.
The point of this rumination is not to say “Tinubu is good because he’s like Messi”.
The point is: “The reason Tinubu is hard to beat is the same reason Messi has been hard to beat: he built a system, he mastered timing, and he peaked when everyone said he was finished.” You can hate the player. But you must study the game.
The 2026 Word Cup Final: Can Spain deny Messi? The answer won’t blow in the wind after Sunday July 19, 2026. The 2027 question: Can anyone take the ball from Tinubu? This is what everyone in Nigeria is asking now. In 2022, France had Mbappe. 22 years old. Faster. Younger. Scored a hat trick in the final. And still lost. Because Messi had the experience, the team, and the moment.
In 2027, who is Nigeria’s Mbappe? A younger former governor? A former vice president? A military figure? A technocrat? The problem is structural. To beat Tinubu, you don’t just need votes. You need:
1. Structure: 36 state party structures
2. More money: To match 30 years of Lagos economic muscle and federal incumbency
3. Time: To build trust with the same delegates over three cycles
4. Luck: For the economy, security, and public mood to break against him
Messi lost three Copa America finals before he won. Tinubu lost two presidential attempts before he won. GOATs lose. Then they learn. Then they return with a better team. So the answer is: Yes, someone can defeat Tinubu in 2027 but not by accident. Only by building for 30 years. Yes Spain can defeat Messi tomorrow (Sunday July 19 final). But it won’t be that easy.
The legacy parallel
When Messi retires, Argentina will spend 10 years looking for “the next “No.10”.
When Tinubu leaves office, Nigeria will spend 10 years looking for “the next Jagaban”. Both will fail at first. Because GOATs are not replaced. They are responded to. After Maradona, Argentina tried 15 number 10s. None worked until Messi. After Tinubu, Nigeria will try 15 “political strategists”, just like Argentina looking for No.10. None will work until someone builds their own Lagos.
The Tinubu in Messi
So what is “the Tinubu in Messi”? It is the refusal to accept the timeline other people gave you. It is the willingness to build in obscurity for decades. It is the ability to take criticism, walk, and still deliver in minute 120. It is understanding that the game is not about highlights. It is about control. Messi controlled a ball.
Tinubu controlled a state, then a party, then a country. Both were called too small. Both were called finished. Both lifted the trophy. Will we see another one? In football: maybe in 2050. In politics: maybe in 2050. Until then, we study them. Not to copy. But to understand how GOATs are made. Because the truth is simple: You don’t beat a GOAT on match day. You beat him 20 years before match day. By starting your own build. And right now, in Nigeria in 2026, very few people have started.
- Oloja is former editor of The Guardian newspaper and his column, Inside Stuff, runs on the back page of the newspaper on Sunday. The column appears on News Point Nigeria newspaper on Monday.