Friends Of The Throne Disguising As Friends Of The King – Tayo Ogunniran, PhD

Elevation changes many things. New money, new office, new women, new influence and often, a new crowd.

The throne room fills up. Applause grows louder. Yet in that noise, an old truth remains: there is a difference between loving the crown and loving the King.

This is not about one person. It is a pattern as old as power itself, and it leaves us with lessons worth keeping.

Old friends are witnesses to the becoming of the King. They knew the King before the title, before the alerts, before the convoy. They remember the beginnings. They are conversant with when a King was a boy, the kind of history that cannot be hired.

In seasons of lifting, old friends are often the last source of truth. New circles run on flattery because flattery is safe.

One truthful word from a long-time friend outweighs a thousand compliments from strangers. The old friends were never there for the throne; they were there for the King.

Friends of the throne are fakes. They celebrate the extravagant spending of the King.

The King becomes surrounded by crowds, by unnecessary endorsements that create the sound of support without the substance of it. Hype is adulation on demand, but adulation shifts with the wind.

Excessive hype also attracts the wrong loyalty. The louder the promotion, the more it draws people who love the throne, not the King. They are skilled at praise, absent in crisis, and quick to switch camps when the weather changes. Any rise built on hype will surely have a circle built on transaction.

The King should always remember those who were there when he was a boy, those who stood with him long before the enthronement. The King should always listen to substance, not to flattery, because a person surrounded by hype is often a person alone.

Thrones are temporary, just like friends of the throne. Platforms change hands. Money moves but character is permanent, and true friendship is rare currency.