Only President Tinubu Can Deliver Nigeria Of Our Dreams — Wike Declares At OAU Lecture
•By Admin
ABUJA – The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Barr. Nyesom Wike, has declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the only leader with the vision, courage, and political will to lead Nigeria to the future its people have long desired.
Delivering the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, on Thursday, Wike described President Tinubu as the embodiment of the kind of leadership Nigeria desperately needs to overcome decades of underdevelopment, poor governance, and elite conspiracies.
“Let me make bold at this juncture to state that today, in our country, we have such a leader in the person of Tinubu,” Wike declared.
“He has shown in several ways and at different times a stout commitment to the enthronement of democracy in our country — even to the extent of putting his own life on the line in the process.”
Speaking on the theme, “The Nigeria of Our Dreams,” Wike echoed the sentiments of literary icon Chinua Achebe, who famously stated in The Trouble with Nigeria that the root of Nigeria’s failure was the absence of proper leadership.
“This statement, damaging as it may appear, is extremely difficult to controvert,” Wike said.
“Our leaders have, in the main, emerged through self-serving conspiracies that have little or nothing to do with national interest or development. This has been the case in both military and civilian contexts.”
Wike, however, asserted that Tinubu has broken that cycle.
“He believes in the infinite possibilities of Nigeria. He takes proactive, logical, and informed decisions to actualize her potential.”
Wike praised Tinubu’s political courage in scrapping fuel subsidy on his first day in office a bold move many predecessors avoided.
“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,” he noted.
“Today, our states have far more resources to develop. The debts are no longer piling up. The price of petrol is adjusting downwards with demand and supply forces.”
Wike also highlighted Tinubu’s reformist agenda, including devolution of power through regional commissions and the launch of security initiatives like the recruitment of forest guards to root out bandits and terrorists.
“The overwhelming cry of over-centralisation of power is being systematically addressed,” he said.
“With the creation of zonal commissions, power is returning to the people. Forest guards will ensure that bandits and terrorists will no longer find safe havens.”
Wike noted that Tinubu’s legacy in Lagos remains unmatched in terms of urban renewal and infrastructure a template he is now replicating at the national level.
“This leader must have the courage and audacity to act, build, innovate and expand the frontiers of development. He must value excellence over mediocrity. That is what President Tinubu represents.”
In his remarks, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, represented by Deputy Governor Kola Adewusi, described Wike as a politician of rare courage.
“His leadership style is exemplary, and his transformation of Abuja is visionary,” Adeleke noted.
Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Prof. Adebayo Bamire, said the lecture was timely, given the nation’s democratic challenges.
“At this critical juncture, this lecture offers a vital platform for reflection, engagement and forward-thinking strategies,” he said.
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, who served as Royal Father of the Day, hailed Wike as a fearless and upright statesman.
“Hate him, like him what will be will be. I respect him because he says things as they are,” the monarch declared.
As Nigeria navigates complex socio-economic terrain, Wike insists that only bold, reform-driven leadership as exemplified by Tinubu can chart a path to the Nigeria envisioned by its founding fathers.
•INDEPENDENTNG.