By Omogbolahan L.A. BABAWALE
That Nigeria is going through one of her tumultuous quagmires in history is not in doubt. It is also an irrefutable fact that ‘streets are not smiling’ if I can borrow the colloquial slangs on the streets across the country. It is indeed a challenging time for everyone – families, government, private businesses, multinationals and in fact everyone. The economy is in doldrums – it has always been, at least in the past decade. Insecurity albeit with concerted efforts by the new administration seems to be intractable, defiling all measures with increased kidnappings – many of which have political cum economic undertone, armed banditry and cattle rustling.
Today, too much money chases too few goods. Services across board have skyrocketed in all spheres. Inflation has hit the roof – the highest in history one would say. I was in a virtual meeting recently where a lecturer friend of mine in one of the higher institutions of learning in Ogun State lamented on something that many have not even taken notice of. He said household items such as toiletries, mouthwash, paste et al have reduced drastically in sizes and even when such are now sold at higher prices. It is that bad!
Truth remains Nigeria is at the crossroads. Everything appears topsy-turvy. This is not to understate the fact that many still find it easy to relish in ostentatious and flamboyant living – a case study of a recent out-of-the-world birthday celebration by a business tycoon and one of Abuja women socialites in faraway Grenada. Of course, it is a natural phenomenon that in the face of economic downturn, financial privation and social imbalance, there are still people cocooned by the prevailing system against all of these life disequilibria.
How then do we weather this exacerbating storm of socio-economic precariousness and volatility? Nigeria is overtly at a crossroad with limited options. Can the country afford to go back the way of old where our common patrimony was shared by some privileged few among their cronies and where there was practically nothing to show for their hold onto power for several years? I doubt it. What options therefore lay before the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu? There are obviously two options – to rework the entire governance architecture for more people-centric deliverables or continue on the path of the status quo. However, it is a common cliché that one cannot keep doing same thing over and over and expect a different result.
I was and still an advocate of continuity based on track records. Nigeria more than ever requires not only a thinker to rejig her entire architecture – finance, security, social equilibrium, energy, human capital development among others, but also a doer! Blessed therefore is Nigeria for having, not only a THINKER but also a DOER in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR at this critical moment of her national life. Nigeria no doubt requires a man with the guts, grits and bullheadedness, somebody who can correct the mistakes of the past administration, consolidate on the areas of several milestones (of it) and develop further models that will make life more bearable, conducive and salubrious for good living of the entire citizenry.
Nigeria does not in any way need a personality that will have to take eternity to hit the ground running. She does not need only a thinker to get things done. She needs a DOER too! She needs somebody who can think development and put machinery in motion immediately to achieve that. She needs a critical thinker who can get the country out of the blue devils in the shortest possible time. In all parameters and by all standards, the one man who ticks all the qualities to retool Nigeria and put her on the path of steady and accelerated progress is the sitting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR. That, he has proved in so short a period of his take over. He appeared determined to alter the status quo. He already started – to ensure no part of the country dominates the other.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu thinks and acts his thinking. He thinks and does his thinking by implementing templates that would ensure such positive thinking is achievable within the shortest time possible. This, he displayed while he held sway as the Lagos State Governor when the ‘almighty’ Federal Government of Baba Obasanjo seized the monthly allocation accruable to Lagos State for months. The then Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (as he were) did not cry blue murder. Instead, his government developed, almost immediately, measures that would cushion the effect of such heinous action foisted on the people of Lagos State by the Ebora owu administration. Today, that template has positioned Lagos State as the richest in the country even without oil and (now with the latest rating) the 3rd largest economy in Sub-Sahara West Africa. He conceived a Free Trade Zone that would ultimately bring about development. His government followed up that thinking by opening up the Lekki-Ajah axis. Today, Ibeju-Lekki hosts the second biggest refinery in the world among other multinationals within the same axis and with hundreds of thousands of job opportunities created. That is the power of a thinker and doer!
President Bola Tinubu as a thinker did not only envision road, rail and water transport system for the Centre of Excellence State, he put in place templates that would ensure those beautiful thinking saw the light of the day. He ‘did’ the templates and today, we speak of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). We speak of the LagFerry with many jetties coming on board to ease off transportation headache in Lagos and we see the Blue Rail already commissioned by the Sanwo-Olu-led administration while the Red Rail as is near completion. These are years after then Asiwaju Bola Tinubu laid the template which was further consolidated by the government of Tunde Fashola – his successor.
President Bola Tinubu in several of his interactions with the media has consistently said leadership is all about thinking and doing or acting your thinking. He said this repeatedly both at home and in the diaspora during his engagements with people across the divide while the 2023 campaign – the toughest and most strenuous in history lasted. It is why his leadership style is woven around human capital development – of people who are critical thinkers and can provoke beneficial arguments for the benefit of all and sundry.
In the last 6 months of his administration, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken a clear departure from the norm. First, on the security architecture, he ensured an even distribution of the headship across the geopolitical zone to reflect a rejig of what the country was used to. His approach to the country’s monetary policy may have triggered some economic discomfort, industry watchers are however of the opinion, largely, that such decision was futuristic as it would eventually help the country combat the shenanigans in the foreign exchange market. Mr. President’s recent visits to foreign countries such as the United Arab Emirate, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as well as Germany have brought into the country so much in Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs).
This is not to talk of some milestones recorded within the Ministry of Interior under the Honourable Minister, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo in government agencies such as the Nigeria Immigration Service and Nigeria Prison Service (now correctional service). The Solid Mineral Ministry, the Marine and Blue Ocean, the Trade, Industry and Investment and many others have revved up their activities in tune with Mr. President’s Renewed Hope agenda.
As if that were not enough, the ‘Crude 4 Repayment’ loan deal the country secured recently through the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Mr. President had directed that revenues from crude oil sales from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited be moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). What does that suggest? It is to ensure transparency and accountability – a clear departure from the status quo. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has shown clearly that as the numero uno in charge of the country, he is poised to introduce ‘common sense’ leadership to the entire governance architecture without necessarily being noisome about it. His moves and actions have so far been strategic, less noisy. A typical doer.
It is indeed the opinion of the undersigned that Nigeria has a destiny to fulfil with the Renewed Hope presidency as currently obtained. And hopefully too, the populace will have no second thought to return if he seeks re-election again come 2027!
Omogbolahan L.A. BABAWALE
Lead Resource Person
The Think-tank Initiative (3TI)
Omogbolahan L.A. BABAWALE writes from Abuja. He can be reached through any of these email addresses; [email protected] or [email protected].