Tinubu on rescue mission, saved country’s economy from collapse - Yilwatda - Blueprint Newspapers Limited
Spread the wordThe cerebral National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), ProfessorNentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, is an unassuming dynamic leader. Since he assumed office more than a year ago, he has. . .
Spread the wordThe cerebral National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), ProfessorNentawe Goshwe Yilwatda, is an unassuming dynamic leader. Since he assumed office more than a year ago, he has introduced a new dimension into political party administration in the country, which is that brain, not big muscle, is the rule of the game. That is exactly what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants. That was why he rode through stormy congresses and primary elections managed by inordinately ambitious political weights with a smile. Looking at his achievements for the party within a short time, he evidently wears a crown as a man who achieves tall feats without making noise. In this interview with SAMUEL ODAUDU, he throws more light into the leadership philosophy, the socio-economic vision behind the nationwide massive infrastructure projects, and the reform of the Tinubu government, as well as the evolution of his leadership as APC’s helmsman. Excerpts:You have been in the saddle as the national chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for more than a year now. Can you share what your experience has been so far?It has been an interesting journey personally and at the party’s level. It has been a great privilege and opportunity given to me by His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and the party to serve the largest political party in Africa and the most organised party in the country. The APC has moved from one phase to another since I came into office. We had a phase where we witnessed a wave of massive defection into our party. We went through congresses, consolidating at the state Houses of Assembly, governorship, National Assembly and the presidential primary elections. We have continued to build on it, even as we prepare for the campaign ahead of the 2027 elections. Different schools of thought have tried to conceptualise it, but how would you describe President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s governance and style of leadership to the nation?President Tinubu is one of Nigeria’s greatest visionary and courageous leaders, a profound statesman, and a pan-Africanist par excellence. Evidently, Tinubu runs an inclusive government, and he is focused on laying a solid foundation for greater Nigeria for our children. He has proven beyond all doubts in our recent history that he is not only a most visionary democratic leader with the clearest vision of what the future of Nigeria should look like, but he is also the workaholic driver of the vision, with the support of his hard-working economic team. It is his life-long desire to see Nigeria work like other developed countries. It is this cosmopolitan, sophisticated and democratic mind-set he brings to bear in the governance style. From all indications, destiny and history have placed this onerous task of fixing the country on his shoulders, and he has been carrying it with self-control and national pride. Tinubu represents a historic moment for our country. This should not be taken for granted. This party and the president stand for both the old and the younger generations. That is why the youths are being strategically prepared and positioned so that they can take the lead and take charge of their future. Mr, President wants to hand over a country that works to them, a country they can be proud of; a country of their dreams. This is the heart of the Renewed Hope Agenda, which is reflective in his appointments, policies and programmes, especially in the education sector, job creation, etc. Some critics of the APC government believe that in terms of policy and leadership style, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is dividing rather than uniting the country. What is your reaction to that?That is totally not true. We are familiar with such twisted and divisive narratives being promoted by the desperate opposition. President Tinubu is a passionate believer and promoter of the unity of this country, and he has been uniting the country with unprecedented infrastructure project distributions, appointments, and political strategy across the regions and states of the country. History will be kind to Mr. President as a man on a rescue mission, and for rescuing the country’s economy from collapse through painful but necessary reform. President Tinubu fought for democracy and the unity of this country, and he is determined to continue to do so. He has vowed to unite the country, keep it united, and hand over to the next generation a stronger united Nigeria. It is on this note that we advise Nigerians to be on the guard because it is risky to hand over the country to desperate politicians who parade themselves as leaders. The unity of this country is not guaranteed in their hands. By the grace of God, we will work with the good people of this country – including the traders, farmers, students, civil servants, pensioners, professionals and leaders of thoughts – to ensure that we secure and defend our unity, which is, indeed, our strength. There are loud talks in the streets about the biting effects of the economic reform, which is aimed at salvaging and rebuilding the economy from the brink for the ultimate benefit of the citizenry. How would you react to such a statement in the face of the obvious economic reality?Our current economic reality is a necessary sacrifice so that our children and we can enjoy tomorrow, and thankfully, as Mr. President himself has said recently, the economy is not only out of danger but it is bouncing back gradually. One truth the unpatriotic elements will never tell Nigerians is the fact that, if not for the vision and courage of Mr. President, the country would have been in a terrible mess. This president loves Nigeria so much. Remember that Mr. President and, indeed, our party, the APC, campaigned on the platform of the Renewed Hope Agenda, which is a comprehensive economic blueprint designed to revive and transform the Nigerian economy. Recall that the Tinubu administration inherited an economy that was almost collapsing and was in the intensive care unit. It first needed to be revived and stabilised before you can talk about stimulating growth, which is currently going on through massive investments and execution of critical infrastructure projects across the country. We are now witnessing increased investments and production in different sectors of the economy. There are increased citizen empowerment programmes, fiscal discipline, among others. The reform was introduced by the President in order to change the way we were doing things that harmed the economy and Nigerians, especially the ordinary people. We were borrowing to eat and pay salaries in the name of subsidy, and we all thought that we were enjoying it. It was a near-total collapse before Mr. President came to the rescue by taking necessary but painful policy decisions that only he could have taken. I cannot say that enough: you need a brave heart like his to take the bull by the horns. He had to remove the unsustainable regime of fuel subsidy, reform our financial and fiscal policies, balancing the ripple effects with an expanded social safety net through numerous empowerment programmes. As you are aware, gradually, the pains of the reform are being replaced by a sharp drop in inflation, especially in the agricultural sector. The sector is booming again. The exchange rate is stable now. Our children in the tertiary institutions can now go to school with less pressure of school fees on parents and guardians. The size of our economy is fast expanding after the rebase that placed us as the fourth-largest economy in Africa. We are witnessing huge impacts of emergent sectors such as the creative and entertainment sectors, solid minerals, fintechs, real estate, pension fund administration, the health sector, and so on under the Tinubu administration. These and other sectors are creating wealth and job opportunities for thousands of our energetic youths and people. In a nutshell, when you look at where the Tinubu administration stepped in and the decisive steps he has taken, especially the bold reforms that brought us to where we are today, you will notice a wide difference. This economic recovery, stability, and a growth process within three years is good news for the country. Before the next elections, Nigeria will witness more gains from the ongoing economic reform. Many Nigerians are still finding it difficult to understand why the federal government should embark on nationwide legacy roads, railways and other critical infrastructure that gulp trillions of naira. What is the relationship between the ambitious infrastructure projects and the ambitious $1trillion economy which you have been talking about recently, as well as the benefits?The dream of Mr. President is to set a clear path for Nigeria because, for us to achieve a one-trillion-dollar economy by 2031, we need infrastructure that can carry a one-trillion-dollar economy. The infrastructure we currently have cannot carry a one-trillion-dollar economy. Please, understand that the underlying philosophy of investing massively in critical infrastructure is basically for nationwide economic and social connectivity. It is so important not to miss this point. The first area is our ports for imports and exports. We do not have a single deep seaport; all our exiisting ports are shallow ports. That is why the government is building five deep seaports in Calabar, Port Harcourt, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, and one Apapa in Lagos. These are the new seaports the government is building. Because Nigeria does not have deep seaports, the costs of the materials we import into the country are too expensive for Nigerians because the big ships dock in other deep seas, and then move the items into Nigeria. This eventually transfers the cost of goods and services to the citizens. Large cargo vessels cannot berth directly in our country; instead, they dock at deep seaports in other countries, and smaller barges transport the cargo into Nigeria. The deep seaports will increase government revenue and reduce the costs of imports and exports. This will further create thousands of new jobs for our citizens. This is one of the pillars of the economic reform of Mr. President that informs the numerous legacy infrastructures all over the country. Another infrastructure we are building is to connect these five sea ports by road and by rail through the coastal highway and the coastal rail line. The coastal highway starts in Calabar and terminates in Lagos. Calabar port will be connected to Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt, Ondo and Lagos. From Calabar to the hinterlands, you have a dual carriageway that is the Trans-Sahara Super Highway that would transport goods into the hinterlands. The route runs from Calabar through Ebonyi, Enugu, Benue through Oweto and some parts of Kogi, to the Federal Capital Territory, and back to Keffi, Akwanga to Jos, to Bauchi, Gombe, Biu to Maiduguri. There is also the Lagos-Badagry-Benin Super Highway, which will serve the Lagos and Ondo ports, and connect with other major highways leading to Ibadan and beyond. Other dual carriageways will connect Minna to Abuja, Kogi to Abuja, and link the country’s major highway corridors, creating a nationwide road network. In addition, the rail network will run from Lagos to Abuja, Kaduna, Kano to Maradi in Niger Republic. The Nigerian government and the Nigerien government have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). Under the agreement, the Nigerian Customs Service will collect duties, while the Nigerian Immigration Service will check entries at Maradi port. Of course, there will be a dry port in Maradi. In other words, one of the economic benefits of this road project to Maradi is that it will enable goods to move directly from Nigerian coastal ports to Niger’s inland dry port. This means goods from Nigeria can get to the landlocked countries like Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, and the Central African Republic through the Maradi cargo port, a transit trade hub for the landlocked countries. That is the essence of the roads and the rail networks. The Sokoto-Badagry Legacy Highway, for instance, comes with over 300 dams along the route. These dams will provide water for irrigation and cultivation. So, that corridor will be the food corridor of Nigeria. That will support agriculture, support water distribution for people, even for cattle along that route. The third key infrastructure is energy infrastructure, specifically, the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, a 614-kilometer, $2. 8 billion infrastructure project being undertaken by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). The gas pipeline, which originated from Warri, will not just carry just gas alone; it will also carry fertiliser. That gas will be used for CNG buses. That same gas will go into homes. That same gas will power power plants. So, we are taking gas energy, not only to Northern Nigeria but to the whole country. Remember that Northern Nigeria is the food basket of the country. The rail and the road will enable food production, and the gas will enable us to process the produce, and then ship them (produce) back to the ports for export. These are the key economic infrastructure that this government is putting in place; the gas, the rail, the road, and energy. What is the guarantee that these lofty projects will be successfully completed for Nigerians to enjoy the benefits you have just mentioned?I want to assure Nigerians that the Tinubu-led APC government will not fail them. Mr. President and his team are working day and night to ensure that these projects, and the economy, of course, work because Mr. President is eager to see the country work for the benefit of Nigerians, especially the ordinary people. Don’t forget that one of the aspects of the reform is tax reform. It is meant to encourage those at the lower rung of the economy to breathe and be productive. For instance, entrepreneurs who earn less than 100 million in turnover are not allowed to pay tax. People who earn small salaries are exempted from paying tax. That means there is more money for those at the lower level. These are some of the measures devised by the government to cushion the effect of the reform. The tax reform is designed to enhance the productivity of small-scale industries so that everyone can meaningfully contribute to the economy. Spread the word