There is a popular maxim that says preparation is the mother of manifestation. Whether it is in context or reality, it is upon this time-tested philosophy that every outcome or result hinges. When we reflect on the history of our country and the kind of leaders, especially at the presidential level, that we have been having, a critical question usually pops up: Do our leaders prepare for leadership responsibility? The answer to this question is as good or bad as the governance system we have had over time.
In the light of the above, one can confidently say that in our history as a country, a critical introspection has shown that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands out as a man who was truly prepared to consciously take the responsibility of leadership, especially in this democratic dispensation that started since 1999.
For instance, President Olusegun Obasanjo was brought to power by the military to appease the Yoruba race over the historical missteps of June 12. The Yorubas never rejected his presidency as a representation of their regional interest. President Umaru Musa Yar’adua was single-handedly foisted on the nation as a northern candidate, but like Obasanjo, Yar’adua was rejected by the North, which argued that he was representing the interest of Obasanjo instead. President Goodluck Jonathan was a product of fate. President Muhammadu Buhari came to power on the crest of ambition and desire, and that government was run by proxies. Then Tinubu entered.
Evidentially, only Tinubu had been preparing, planning and strategising all his life to become Nigeria’s president. This is because, as the Holy Bible says, by their fruits, you shall know them! One of the best ways to know a leader who is prepared for responsibility of public service is his sense of purpose, vision, political direction and outline of his strategy for achieving the same goal. He is such that will explain to the citizens his goals and targets so that the citizens, having seen where the leader is leading them to, can follow him so that together, they can get there. This is exactly what Tinubu is demonstrating.
President Tinubu leaves no one in doubt that he came to power with vision, purpose and determination; he came armed with what is needed to govern a modern nation. He came to power with a burden of history of the most populous black nation on earth. He witnessed the struggles of the pan-Africanists and how they fought politically and intellectually to correct obvious Western misconceptions and put Africa on the right side of history and deliver her people from post-colonial slavery. He took that baton, and he is running with it.
The fact of Tinubu’s preparedness for the presidency is an open history, a journey that he began from his youth as an Awoist, an ardent follower of MKO Abiola, consistent political activism, participation in politics, up to his eventual elections into the Senate as a senator in the aborted Third Republic, governor and now as the president. How many of his peers have such a consistent track record?
In party politics, he has no historical match among his contemporaries. This is a politician who has never defected from one party to another because of desperation for bread and butter or power. This is the most focused politician who has never, for once, taken his eyes away from the balls. This is one man who does not give up on his dreams. I think the Nigerian youths and those who want to succeed in poliitics and in life have a lot to learn from Tinubu’s political story.
As a result of his unrelenting appetite for knowledge-based solutions, he surrounds himself with intellectuals and sound minds who are masters in their own fields. The only living Nigerian who can be compared with him in this regard is the legendary General IBB.
Tinubu is a builder of men and raw talents, and he prepares them for leadership responsibilities and the future, and he nurtures and watches them as they grow. He is also a leader who is not afraid to lift his mentees up above his (Tinubu) ówn heights. That was why he supported the elevation of his former Commissioner for Justice, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, to the position of the vice president. A greedy and selfish man will never condone such a thing.
He came into power with a sense of urgency of a man on a mission. He came with a mind-set that revolutionised the behavioural, political, economic conservatism, wastages and indolence that have enslaved the country and the people for decades. This missionary task encapsulated in the Renewed Hope Agenda, came as a decisive economic reform, and he is not pretending about it. No revolutionary grows the economy or the citizens with a feeding bottle and expects them to grow.
Nations that are developed today did so out of necessary sacrificial hardships, such as we are going through today under the Tinubu administration. Even at that, gradually, inflation is dropping; the economic recovery and growth are becoming steady. When you look at the short, medium and long terms of the economic objectives of government policies and their performances, all the macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators are positive.
The economy is being driven towards production and exportation again. Direct Foreign Investments are flowing in, the exchange rate is stable, there is an evident fiscal discipline, and massive investments in critical infrastructure such as power, railway, road network, seaport revitalisation, strategic investment in oil and gas sector, among others, are going on all over the nation. The Tinubu administration is preparing Nigeria for the future. The banking sector has received a big boost. The agriculture, manufacturing and industrial sectors are jerking back to life again. The small and medium scale enterprises are being strengthened thereby encouraging growth and attaining sustainable stability.
Our tertiary institutions today are receiving more attention than before. Parents and guardians are being relieved of the burden of paying school fees because of the implementation of the student loan scheme. Our Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under Nyesom Wike is undergoing a massive infrastructure transformation like never before. All these things have been achieved in less than two and half years!
It is equally important to do introspection and point at the fact that President Tinubu is aware that the trending age bracket of world leaders is dropping. That is why he introduced a political re-engineering by supporting the emergence of a professor of Computer and Electronic Engineering to lead the All Progressive Congress (APC) as it’s national chairman in the person of Prof. Nentawe Yilwatda, a point that will be elaborated subsequently.
After a victorious 2027 presidential election, by the special grace of God, Tinubu will introduce the next phase of economic reform called financial engineering, a strategic policy designed to bring the best out of Nigerians both at home and those in the Diaspora. Multibillion dollars investments will start flowing into the country seemlessly like never before, and create a new set of youth billionaires and prepare them for the future of the competitive global economy. Under the scheme, all our youths who left the country will run back home by themselves and Nigerian Green Passport will become the most sought after in the world. Mark this!
Mohammed Ibrahim, National Coordinator, PROJECT774 Network for Asiwaju, writes from Abuja
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