Wike: Tinubu will lead us to dreamland as he says Nigeria’s problem has been bad leadership
Amid Nigeria’s economic and security challenges, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Nyesom Wike has insisted that President Tinubu is the right man to lead the country to dreamland.
The immediate-past governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, says Nigeria needs more leaders like President Bola Tinubu to realise the “Nigeria of our dreams.”
The FCT minister issued this statement amid his 2025 Distinguish Personality Lecture, tagged: “The Nigeria of our Dreams” presented at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife on Thursday.
Wike noted that the greatest challenge militating against Nigeria and its development was the emergence of bad leadership.
He second Chinua’s Achebe, whose seminar titled, “The Trouble With Nigeria,” specifically pinpointed the challenge, when he said 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.
Howbeit, he claimed that Tinubu distinguishes himself as a leader whom the people dream of to move the country into progress and prosperity.
He opined that Nigeria needs a leader who leader the country with amiable character and resourcefulness when faced with challenges.
He stressed that the leader must also be a character with endless possibilities which the country requires, as he takes tangible, proactive, tactical and well-informed decisions which would enormously realise her potentials.
He noted that this leader much have the will and courage to act, build, innovate and overly expand the frontiers of development with a hands-on policy that emphasise distinction over mediocrity.
He stated that more significantly, the kind of leader Nigerians dream of must be able to create a society of free and responsible citizens who potentials flow freely which would enable free enterprise to thrive.
“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 noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has showed an uncommon courage by taking off fuel subsidy on his first day in office, after being sworn-in as the president.
In his statement, he noted that his predecessors all said about the damage fuel subsidy was causing to our economy, but none of them was able to confront the demagogue by 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.”
While speaking on security, Wike stated that the security situation has been curbed by appropriate financing and the training and retraining of the security personnel,
Minister Wike stressed that President Tinubu’s approval for the recruitment of forest guard across the country to secure the forests across the thirty-six states of the federation, in a bid to eliminate banditry and terrorism−in order to delete their incubation points and free zones to operate.
“Put simply, the era of banditry and terrorism would 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.
Prior to Wike’s speech, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, described the FCT Minister as a sincere and straightforward politician, commending him on his wide pool of exemplary political experience and leadership style.
The governor, as represented by his Deputy, Kola Adewusi, revealed that the Osun State governor said that the FCT minister’s infrastructural transformation in the FCT is a visionary one.
Additionally, the Vice-Chancellor of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife< Osun State, Professor Adebayo Bamire, said the theme of the lecture: “Nigeria of Our Dream” was impeccable and mind burgling.
“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.
Also the Royal Father of the event, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Ogunwusi, stated that he had deep regards for the FCT Minister for his honesty and fearlessness.
he described Wike as an “upright Politian” who “said things as they are. “Hate him; like him – what will be will be.”