A nation is great not by its size alone. It is the will, the cohesion, the stamina, the discipline of its people and the quality of their leaders which ensure it an honourable place in history.”- Mr. Lee Kuan Yew – the First Prime Minister of Singapore.
Your Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu , with profound respect, I once again congratulate you as you take over the mantle of leadership as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, at a critical time in the history of this country when it is most polarised along ethnic, tribal, religion, regional and other parochial lines; At a time when the country is facing the vagaries of insecurity and strong socio-economic headwinds.
Mr. President, as you face the task of healing, uniting and developing Nigeria, please permit me to speak on the following key points as my initial thoughts, while I lean on the quote by Mr. Lee Kwan Yew (stated above), which to my mind remain relevant to our case of nation building:
So far so good
Today is the 18 th day since the commencement of your administration. You have hit the ground running, and the trajectory has been good and highly impactful. Accordingly, you have sent a clear message to Nigerians and the international community; that you will be a bold, front-facing, result-oriented and empathetic President. Despite the multidimensional challenges to surmount, I believe that, as you variously asserted, surmounting the challenges are achievable under your leadership.
Sir, your execution quotient with regards to the promise you made to Nigerians in the Renewed Hope Manifesto and the mandate you accepted when you took the oath of office, is commendable, given what you have achieved within such a short time.
Constructive disruption
During your inaugural address you took your first critical strategic step by making a
constructively disruptive and audacious policy statement which sent shockwaves across the country – that “fuel subsidy is gone”. The removal of fuel subsidy is one of the most important decisions you will take during your administration as I believe that it will be a critical success factor to resetting the deteriorating economy you inherited, and consequently re-building a nation that is almost broken. You have decided to rid Nigeria of a malaise that has bedeviled Nigerians economy for decades. This is the type of leadership that will move Nigeria forward.
Building critical momentum
Your Excellency, there were immediate reactions and pushbacks from the organised labour unions, organised private sector, and other critical stakeholders including the citizens of Nigeria. This is understandably so, because for about 50 years, most Nigerians felt that the fuel subsidy was one of the few benefits they were getting from the Federal Government.
Within the first week of your administration, you were able to contain the pushback by applying the strategy of sensing and influencing; using assertiveness, constructive engagements with critical stakeholders and citizens, and by applying emotional intelligence.
By those actions you have been able to “influence” a buy-in of the removal of the fuel subsidy by the entire citizenry, that the removal of the subsidy is the way to go in so far as social and economic interventions are put in place to cushion the impact of the subsidy removal.
Within your first 10 days in office as president you have achieved a feat that has defied former Presidents for decades. Mr. President you are building critical momentum which is a key success strategy for your administration.
Furthermore, within the first 18 days of your administration, you have additionally achieved the following milestones:
•You signed three critical Bills into Laws, awaiting your accent, i.e.; The Electricity Act,
2023, the Law that harmonizes the retirement age of High Court Judges with those of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, to 70 years for 65 years, and the Students Loan
Bill. The expeditious signing of the aforementioned Laws are in line with some of the promises you made in the Renewed Hope Agenda – Mr. President you have started keeping your words.
•You have taken initial steps to streamline the foreign exchange market which is resulting to a more unified foreign exchange rate, as a trigger that will lead to a unified, stable and available FOREX and stronger Naira. I am sure that this tactic will key into an over- arching economic recovery strategy moving forward.
•By appointing the Secretary of Government of the Federation, a Christian from North
Central , and deftly managing the process of the emergence of leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives such that, so far, the critical topline political leaders that have emerged in this dispensation, reflect national balance and Federal character. This is another feat worth applauding. In this case, you yet again demonstrated political sagacity and dexterity. This is especially so considering that the emergence of the leaders of the parliament and inauguration of the 10th National Assembly is one of the most smooth, peaceful and respectful in the history of Nigeria. As a critical Arm of Government, the stability and competence of the Legislature is a critical success factor for this administration. I look forward to a robust, constructively engaging, productive and positively impactful Legislature that will work with the Executive Arm and the Judiciary to move Nigeria forward.
•Additionally, you have been engaging critical stakeholders including the leaders of other political parties, royal fathers, organised private sector and also the national leadership of Nigeria students Unions and Associations. You are basically settling down to the business of governance while achieving critical milestones, comforting citizens, assuring them and laying the foundation for healing and uniting the nation.
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So far so good. Mr. President, I am optimistic that our country will get better as you sustain this critical momentum while managing your success.
Managing expectations
Your Excellency, in the Foreword of your Renewed Hope manifesto, you stated that, “…Our objective is to foster a new society based on shared prosperity, tolerance, compassion and unwavering commitment to treat each citizen with equal respect and due regard”. The aforementioned excerpt, encapsulate your overall vision for a better Nigeria that form the overarching strategic thrust and objective of your administration – which in my opinion is “a better Nigeria for all Nigerians and the allies of Nigeria”. Your mandate of providing good governance and delivering the dividends of democracy are based on the following pillars: National Security, the Economy, National Unity, Critical Infrastructure, Welfare and Well-being of the Citizenry, Human Capital Development particularly youth and women empowerment, True Federalism, Foreign Policy, and importantly the Administration of Justice. The Renewed Hope Agenda has detailed the deliverables of your promise to which Nigerians will hold you to account.
Moreover, as your antecedents speak for you, you committed to upscaling your track record of performance at the national level, in areas of institutional reforms and development across critical sectors which you achieved in Lagos, as the Governor of Lagos State. We are highly expectant.
Critical success factors
•National healing and national unity, equity and Justice
•Restructuring Nigeria and, Value re-orientation
•Political Will and High Execution Quotient at the top starting with Mr. President to all leaders at all strata of governance.
•Enforcement of regulations and the respect and compliance to rule of law are a sine qua non to the progress of Nigeria.
•Review of the structure and cost of governance for an efficient public sector – Upgrading and streamlining governance framework (across all strata of the public sector). For example, execution of the Orosanye Report.
•Entrenchment of the culture of meritocracy, competence, federal character and performance.
•Entrenchment of the culture of excellence and prudence in public sector by providing quintessential leadership, i.e starting the reforms from the top and setting examples with
zero tolerance to indolence, mediocrity, nepotism and sycophancy.
•Transparency and Accountability in public service, resources allocation and utilization
•Anti-corruption Strategy and Value-Reorientation: Beyond mantra to action through realistic, practical and pragmatic plans and actions with the requisite strategy, management and execution.
Speaking truth to power
In conclusion, Mr. President, mine are the words of a son to a father, the words of a citizen to his President on behalf of a lot of other citizens; the words of those that voted for you and also those that did not vote for you. Because as Nigerians you remain our President and Commander-in-Chief, and for that you are responsible for guiding and leading this country.
What we owe you is support, commitment, loyalty and the truth.
Please note Sir, that some of us will remain committed to adding our voices to healthy progressive narratives/engagements, and also actively support you in building our nation.
We will commend you where you do well, encourage you when and where you need it, and sometimes speak truth to power when/where necessary; not out of sycophancy, malice, disrespect, or sabotage, but out of genuine love for Nigeria, and based on the believe that a single leader, alone cannot successfully lead a country. Indeed, the success of a nation is not based solely on the quality of a single leader (whom I call the focal point leader), but based largely on the collective support of some members of the society that I refer to as “the leadership value-chain”. I will share my thoughts on the concept of the leadership value-chain with you Mr. President and with my compatriots very soon in my subsequent submissions.
Your Excellency, I wish you, your team and all Nigerians, God’s Guidance and Grace. May
Almighty God Continue to bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
