…says Tinubu has courage to make tough decisions
By Sarah NEGEDU
Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, has blamed Nigeria’s slow pace of development on years of poor leadership, insisting that President Bola Tinubu has shown the courage and political will needed to change the tide.
Speaking during the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Wike said most Nigerian leaders, in both military and civilian eras, have emerged through self-serving arrangements that paid little attention to national interest.
Quoting Chinua Achebe’s paper, ‘The Trouble with Nigeria,’ which posit that the trouble with Nigeria is fairly and squarely the absence of proper leadership,” the Minister noted that, “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,” he said.
Wike however, argued that President Tinubu represents a break from that pattern, describing him as a bold leader who is taking difficult but necessary steps to put Nigeria back on the path of progress.
He added that the leader must also be a person who believes in the infinite possibilities that the Nigerian nation exemplifies, while taking solid, proactive, logical and well-informed decisions that would maximally actualise her potential.
“Let me make bold at this juncture to state that today, in our country, we have such a leader in the person of Tinubu. He has shown in several ways and at different times, a stout commitment to the enthronement of democracy in our country, to the extent of even putting his own life on the line in the process.
“He has shown great capacity for engendering development as captured in the unprecedented rapid and exponential development of Lagos state under his watch and even beyond,” he added.
Wike also pointed to the President’s decisions to remove fuel subsidy on his first day in office, noting that while previous administrations acknowledged the need to end it, none had the courage to do so.
“Tinubu did and is fittingly grappling with the inevitable, unintended and sometimes orchestrated consequences of this removal.”
According to the minister, the removal of subsidy has freed up more resources for states, slowed the growth of national debt, and is helping to create a more transparent fuel pricing system.
He also said the administration is addressing long-standing issues of over-centralisation by setting up regional development commissions, which are aimed at devolving more power and responsibility to the zones.
On security, Wike said the recruitment of forest guards across the country would help deny terrorists and bandits access to safe havens in the forests.
“Put simply, the era of banditry and terrorism would soon come to an end.
“These and many other policies and measures are being put together by Tinubu to reposition our country on the path of progress and development,” Wike said.
On hos part, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, who was represented by his deputy, Kola Adewusi, described Wike as a straightforward politician whose work in the FCT reflects purposeful leadership.
Also, Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Adebayo Bamire, said the theme of the lecture, The Nigeria of Our Dreams, was timely, as the country grapples with governance and development challenges.
“At a critical juncture when our nation’s democratic journey, when the challenges of governance, civic trust, and equitable development are at the forefront of public discourse, this lecture offers a vital platform for reflection, engagement and forward thinking.
“It calls us to interrogate the structures that uphold democracy, the principles that guide responsible governance, citizenship and the strategies that can unlock Nigeria’s development potential,” he said.
The Royal Father of the Day, Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, also praised Wike’s courage, describing him as a politician who says things as they are. “Hate him, like him – what will be will be,” he said.
