The last few days have been especially very hectic for the Nigerian President, working at almost break-spine speed to meet targets, get Nigeria sorted in all the ways necessary. You will recall he was out of the country the week before the last one, attending the G20 Leaders Summit in Brazil. He returned very late on Saturday of the upper week to Nigeria and continued with the mission of getting the country sorted right from Sunday, the first day of the week.
You might not have heard much from him directly during the week because he was not seen or heard from in the media, in person, however, he did not fail to achieve what he set out to achieve. As is normal practice, echoes of his actions and directives were heard through his spokesmen and other lieutenants, indicating that even when he was not speaking to the camera for us to see, he was doing things that must be conveyed by those who have the duties of carrying out tasks.
However, in the course of the week, a significant event occurred, which conveyed to Nigerians the import of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s view to leadership; that he is not one for just the accolades, but primarily for results and how the results impact on the people he leads. The old Port Harcourt Refinery, which has been dormant for years (I heard the last time it produced anything was 2018), came back alive on Tuesday, November 26, after a number of failed targeted resumption dates. It was actually becoming a sore point on Nigeria’s governance, especially with the coming on stream of a couple of privately-owned refineries, including Dangote Refinery.
Long story short, one of the four nationally owned refineries, the old Port Harcourt Refinery, one of the two situated in Eleme, Rivers State, came alive, ready to serve the country. The project, which I learned was fitted with cutting-edge technology and, to use the words of the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, installed with entirely new parts, will now load two hundred trucks of assorted products daily.
Now it became interesting and concerning Tinubu because of the role he played. Of course he is President and the buck stops at his table, that could have just been and nothing would still happen; the facility would still be there, decaying further from lack of use activity, past leaders have come and left without anything changing about the refinery. However, the difference with Tinubu was his single-mindedness on seeing that products start getting trucked out of the place. Mind you, all these years that the place has been prostrate, it was servicing only salaries to redundant employees. That was not the President’s vision for any public facility, every man and machine must give back the value for its maintenance.
He was focused on bringing results from this particular facility and the entire sector. When public scrutiny was becoming a distraction, scrutiny about when the refineries on which government, right from former President Muhammadu Buhari, had been spending money, signing agreements, would start production. The NNPCL gave dates a couple of times, which for some reasons never materialised. This was becoming both embarrassing and distracting and there was where the President had to step in to save the day.
“Mr President told me to stop projecting dates, but just focus on ensuring we deliver the project because people are only interested in results”, Kyari revealed to some journalists before the event commenced on Tuesday, rather privately though. With this background in mind, you will understand why he was so profusely thanking and appreciating the President when he was speaking on camera at the ceremony that marked the commencement of production and loading of products last Tuesday.
“We are convinced beyond all doubt that without the support, perseverance, and patience of Mr. President, we would not have achieved this fate and all of us must congratulate him because it is his massive pressure that made us to come to this level”, he said. Tinubu’s intervention and commitment to the success that was celebrated last Tuesday was show of leadership, which he did not fail to relish. He was also not selfish about the sparkles of the glory, he would not take the spotlight alone, he ensured to give credit to his predecessor for his part, not forgetting “the pivotal role of former President Muhammadu Buhari in initiating the comprehensive rehabilitation of all our refineries”.
The week saw the President honouring an invitation by President Emmanuel Macron of France to a state visit, along with his wife, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu. Most of his visible activities of the week were the ones he undertook in France. Right from Thursday, President Tinubu had been engaged in series of engagements, including signing of agreements on behalf of Nigeria and participating in an economic forum, which had Nigerian and French businesses.
The state visit was the first by a Nigerian leader after over two decades and it provided an opportunity for Nigeria to extend its foreign connections, especially for the Tinubu-led administration, which has identified foreign affairs as an avenue to achieve some of its economic goals for the country. However, beyond whatever might be in the visit for Nigeria, France seemed to have a more strategic reason than Nigeria to seek the visit of the largest African democracy, which is a turf it is rather less familiar with. From all indications, France aimed to explore a new connect with the English-speaking spheres of the black continent and where better to start from?
On a lighter note, I think it makes sense to highlight the fact that President Tinubu is contagiously transmitting Nigerianness to those we will all agree are the real Super Powers of the contemporary milieu. Yes, he has made it a very key and deliberate part of his administration’s focus and recovery strategy to ensure we are not isolated, as such kept strengthening diplomatic outreaches and shopping for foreign direct investments.
In the process of achieving these foreign-focused targets, Mr President has also been quietly pushing the ‘Identity Nigeria’ in the way we used to see it only with our culture merchants and young showbiz exports. For example, ‘Afrojams’, which is primarily denominated with songs by Nigerian artistes, has pushed Nigeria out to the world, taking some cultural codes and expressions along as it permeates the wider-world.
It should no longer be strange to us hearing either Ed Sheeran, a British singer/songwriter, sing “Omoge nor be so” in ‘Peru’ with Fireboy DML, or hearing Chris Brown, an American star, sing “the boy nor dey take nonsense” in ‘Hmmm’, a track he did with Burna Boy and featured Davido. Something like Nigeria seizing the world by storm, imprinting its very vivid and colourful cultural identity on the world’s conscience. This has been going on for a while.
In that same trajectory, President Tinubu has in the last few days affected two major world leaders to deviate from their own to adopt our own. It was first the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, during his one-day state visit, just before the G20 Summit. Prime Minister Modi, while making his speech at the tete-a-tete, adopted the Yoruba word of affection; ‘oree mi’, meaning ‘my friend’, to refer to his brother-leader, President Tinubu. That, to many Nigerians, especially those who understand or speak Yoruba, was a really profound moment, when a man with a very strong cultural background honoured us as a nation by choosing to speak our tongue.
Then this week, on Thursday evening, to express his value for President Tinubu’s visist, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, switched from his traditional and very widely spoken French tongue to our own pigin on his verified X handle, @EmmanuelMacron, to describe his excitement. Mr Macron said “Na big honor for France, dear President Bola Tinubu @officialABAT, to welcome you for dis State visit as one big partner and friend of today and tomorrow. E still dey sweet me well well as I remember say I be young intern for French Embassy for Nigeria that time”.
Without meaning it, Mr President is fast becoming another cultural export, drawing those who matter to pay attention and learn about our lives as Nigerians. I will not be surprised if President-elect Donald Trump soon starts hustling to be invited to Aso Villa to come try our amala and gbegiri or ofe nssala with pounded yam out, that is because we are cool like that and the world cannot wait to feel us.
In this new week he continues with being busy because he is expected to be heading out for another foreign engagement in South Africa. Let us keep praying for our President to success. His success is our collective ease.
