In a scintillating oration delivered on Thursday, 29 May 2025, at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, His Excellency the Honourable Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, cast a fervent vote of confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Titled “The Nigeria of Our Dreams,” the Distinguished Personality Lecture crystallised Wike’s conviction that the greatest impediment to Nigeria’s advancement remains the pervasive scourge of bad leadership.
In a lecture hall packed with intelligentsia, students and dignitaries, Wike aligned himself with Chinua Achebe’s stinging critique—“The trouble with Nigeria is fairly and squarely the absence of proper leadership”—and declared that President Tinubu embodies the calibre of leader capable of steering the nation towards prosperity and democratic consolidation.
The Legacy of Leadership Deficit in Nigeria
Chinua Achebe’s seminal 1983 essay The Trouble with Nigeria remains a clarion call regarding Nigeria’s chronic governance challenges.
Achebe unflinchingly argued that Nigeria’s malaise was not lacking natural resources or industrious people, but rather a failure of leadership to harness those resources for the common good.
Wike, echoing Achebe’s sentiment, observed:
“This statement, damaging as it may appear, is extremely difficult to controvert. Our leaders have, in the main, emerged through self-serving conspiracies that have little or nothing to do with national interests and development. This has been the case in both military and civilian contexts.”
By invoking Achebe, Wike placed the present administration within a historical continuum that has witnessed successive governments stymied by corruption, cronyism and ethno-regional machinations.
From the military juntas of the 1970s-’90s to the Second Republic’s aborted promise of civilian rule, Nigeria’s polity has grappled with leaders prioritising personal enrichment over institutional strengthening.
The lecture underscored that nothing short of transformational leadership—characterised by integrity, resilience and policy coherence—can break this persistent cycle.
Why Tinubu Stands Out
Proven Track Record in Lagos State (1999–2007). As Governor of Lagos State from May 1999 to May 2007, Bola Tinubu’s administration implemented wide-ranging reforms that catapulted Lagos into a model of urban governance.
During his tenure, Lagos experienced:
Dramatic Increase in Internally Generated Revenue (IGR): Lagos’ IGR soared from ₦14.64 billion in 1999 to ₦60.31 billion by 2006, a testament to innovative revenue-collection mechanisms such as the Electronic Banking System and computerisation of the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service.
Infrastructure Modernisation: Tinubu’s budget grew from ₦14.2 billion in 1999 to ₦240.87 billion by 2007, financing roads, housing schemes and public transportation upgrades that alleviated traffic congestion and improved mobility.
Education and Health Interventions: The introduction of free primary and secondary education, funded NECO/WAEC examination fees for over 572,000 students, and the expansion of primary healthcare services led to significant improvements in literacy and public health indices.
Urban Renewal & Housing: Over 20 housing estates were delivered, including low-, middle- and high-income developments across mainland and island communities, augmenting Lagos’ stock by 5,555 units and setting the stage for Public-Private Partnerships in housing.
Wike meticulously highlighted these feats to argue that Tinubu’s record in Lagos was emblematic of what proactive, visionary governance can achieve.
It was a poignant reminder that, under Tinubu’s stewardship, Lagos transitioned from infrastructure neglect to a vibrant economic hub, thereby setting a template for national replication.
The Courage to Take Difficult Decisions: Fuel Subsidy Removal
On 29 May 2023—his very first day in office—President Tinubu abolished the long-standing fuel subsidy, declaring unequivocally, “The fuel subsidy is gone”.
While previous administrations had eschewed the political risks of touching the subsidy, Tinubu confronted the policy head-on.
The immediate aftermath was sharp: pump prices leapt from an average of ₦189 to over ₦500 per litre, precipitating inflationary pressures and social disquiet.
Critics argued that the removal exacerbated hardship, pushing inflation above 27% and compounding the naira’s depreciation. Yet, Wike contended that boldness—tempered by resilience—was indispensable.
He noted:
“Tinubu did and is fittingly grappling with the inevitable, unintended and sometimes orchestrated consequences of this removal. Today, our states have far more resources to develop, the debts are no longer piling and the price of petrol is gradually but steadily adjusting downwards in tandem with the forces of demand and supply and the strict implementation of regulatory conditionalities.”
By diverting subsidy funds to infrastructure, education and health, states are now better equipped to execute development projects without over-reliance on federal allocations.
Despite public discomfort, the FCT Minister insisted that Tinubu’s action was an act of long-term statesmanship rather than short-term populism.
Reviving Federalism: Zonal/Regional Commissions
Another fulcrum of Wike’s lecture was the re-energisation of Nigeria’s federal structure. He lamented that decades of “over-centralisation of power and resources at the national level” had eroded sub-national capacities and undermined the doctrine of federalism.
In response, President Tinubu has sanctioned the creation of zonal and regional commissions:
Zonal Development Commissions: Structured to catalyse growth across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones (North Central, North East, North West, South East, South South, South West), these agencies aim to harmonise federal and state initiatives, fostering a bottom-up approach to regional planning.
The establishment of the Nigerian Forest Security Service (NFSS), formalised in late 2024, is designed to integrate traditional hunters and community vigilantes into a cohesive paramilitary auxiliary, thereby extending state reach into erstwhile lawless zones.
However, security experts warn that forest guards alone will not extinguish the banditry business, which thrives on complex syndicates and community complicity.
They call for inter-agency collaboration—drawing personnel from the military, police, DSS and NDLEA—to ensure forest patrols are adequately armed, trained and equipped with real-time intelligence capacity.
Wike, cognisant of these caveats, affirmed that Tinubu’s security framework is not a panacea but part of a multi-faceted strategy to restore law and order by 2025.
Economic Growth Projections & Youth Empowerment
In line with President Tinubu’s “Renewed Hope Agenda,” Wike highlighted several economic initiatives:
Diversification Beyond Oil: Incentivising agriculture, solid minerals and technology sectors via tax holidays and concessional credit facilities—thereby fostering job creation among youths.
Digital Economy Drive: Expanding broadband access nationwide through partnerships with telecom operators, with the goal of increasing Nigeria’s digital economy contribution from 15% to at least 25% of GDP by 2027.
Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs): Access to low-interest loans for 1 million youth entrepreneurs within the first two years, bolstered by digitalisation of loan applications and business incubator hubs in each state.
Wike emphasised that these policies were not abstract slogans but “tangible measures that have already begun to yield results.”
Preliminary data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate that Nigeria’s GDP grew by 2.9% in Q1 2025—up from 1.8% in Q4 2024—driven largely by non-oil sectors such as agriculture (contributing 22.4% of GDP) and ICT (8.6% of GDP).
Osaigbovo Okungbowa & Taiwo Adebowale contributed to this report.
