The Minister of the Federal Capital
Territory (FCT), Mr Nyesom Wike, says the country needs leaders like President
Bola Tinubu to achieve the “Nigeria of our dreams”.
Wike said this in his 2025 Distinguish Personality
Lecture, titled, “The Nigeria of our Dreams” presented at the Obafemi Awolowo
University, Ile-Ife on Thursday.
Wike pointed out that the greatest challenge
confronting Nigeria and militating against its development was the plague of
bad leadership.
He agreed with Chinua Achebe, whose seminar, ‘The
Trouble with Nigeria’, graphically captured the challenge, when he stated that
‘the trouble with Nigeria is fairly and squarely the absence of proper
leadership’.
“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.
He, however, said that Tinubu had stood out as the
leader the people needed to drive Nigeria to progress and prosperity.
He explained that Nigeria needs a leader that was
prepared to lead with sound character and resilience in the face of challenges.
He added that the leader must also be a person who
believed in the infinite possibilities that the Nigerian nation exemplifies,
while taking solid, proactive, logical and well-informed decisions that would
maximally actualise her potential.
This leader, he said, must have the courage and
audacity to act, build, innovate and generally expand the frontiers of
development with a hands-on approach that would emphasise excellence over
mediocrity.
He added that more importantly, the leader of
Nigerians’ dream must create a society of free and responsible citizens whose
potentials flowed freely and free enterprise thrived.
“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.
He also said that Tinubu had demonstrated a rare
courage by removing fuel subsidy on his first day, upon being sworn in as
President.
According to him, leaders before him all spoke about
the evil of fuel subsidy, but none had the courage to dare the blackmail of
removing it.
“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.
“Also, the overwhelming cry of over-centralisation of
power and resources at the national level and the attendant abuse of the
doctrine of federalism is being systematically addressed.
“This is being addressed through the creation of
zonal/regional commissions empowered to devolve developmental impetus to the
respective zones and regions, so that power can truly return to the people.”
On security, Wike said that the situation was being
addressed through proper funding and the training and retraining of security
forces.
The minister added that Tinubu’s approval for the
recruitment of forest guards across the country to take charge of the nation’s
forests, bandits and terrorists would no longer find incubation points and free
territories to operate.
“Put simply, the era of banditry and terrorism will
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.
Earlier, Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun, described Wike
as a straightforward politician, adding that his wealth of political experience
and leadership style was exemplary.
Represented by the Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, the
governor said that the minister’s infrastructural transformation in the FCT was
visionary.
Also, the Vice-Chancellor of the university Prof.
Adebayo Bamire, said that the theme of the lecture, ‘’Nigeria of our Dream” was
timely and thought-provoking.
“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, Adeyeye
Ogunwusi, said he has deep respect for Wike because of his fearlessness.
He described the minister as an “upright politician”
who “said things as they are.
“Hate him; like him – what will be will be.”
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