Barely two weeks into the New Year, the quick-fire responses and actions taken by the president, Bola Tinubu, on some burning national issues have gotten the year rolling on an impressive note, analysts have said.
And even in the estimation of those on the other side of the political divide, Tinubu has so far exceeded expectations whilst under pressure in the New Year.
The president has also been earning the admiration of Nigerians who called him ne’er-do-well and become a “source of motivation” to many others who, ordinarily, do not bask in his moments of achievement.
Though there is still a pocketful of criticisms coming his way, Tinubu has been receiving plaudits for differentiating himself from his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, whom critics and even the former president’s loyalists agree justified his appellation “Baba go slow” used to describe him when he held sway over Nigeria because of his penchant for addressing issues late in the day.
And so by the time the presidential election held on February 25, with the subsequent transition from one government to another on May 29, 2023, Nigerians had invested a lot of time, energy and money in their quests to produce a viable leader and it seems their efforts are yielding fruits courtesy of the current president.
Having said this, 2023 was a mixed bag and 2024, to the chagrin of many disconsolate Nigerians, is already rife with nerve-racking situations that have tested Tinubu’s mettle and compelled the former governor of Lagos State to bring all his fabled administrative acumen and experience to bear in extricating a sinking country from the mud of opportunism.
Perhaps, the most mind-boggling episode in the catalogue of incidents shaping 2024 is the suspension of the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu, by Tinubu last week Monday over alleged financial fraud to the tune of N585,198,500.00 to be “disbursed” into a personal account belonging to one Oniyelu Bridget.
Edu incurred the president’s displeasure and became a guest last Tuesday in the office of anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, who were mandated by the president to investigate her following calls for her resignation.
Though the embattled minister was granted bail, her colleague in the Ministry of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who tried to exonerate himself from any wrongdoing, was summoned last week Tuesday by Tinubu in connection with an alleged N438m contract scandal also involving the Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Minister, Edu.
In his own defense, Tunji-Ojo washed his hands of the directorship of the company he co-founded and which received “consultancy fees” from Edu’s ministry, saying he is only a shareholder there, a circumstance permitted by law for government officials.
While the ministers implicated in the alleged scandals were running helter-skelter to and fro the president’s office, a post by a former presidential campaign spokesperson for the People’s Democratic Party, Daniel Bwala, praised Tinubu for suspending the 37-year-old Edu.
Bwala’s 180 degree turn on being in the opposition was perplexing for politicians he shared camaraderie with. They had received the unsettling news about his jumping ship and it made them raise their eyebrows at the discourtesy.
“The opposition should pray that the president will not sustain this momentum. Because if he did, then the opposition parties can forget 2027, their possible merger notwithstanding”
“Again, Tinubu is showing that when there is credible substance in an allegation, he will act in public interests,” Bwala told his followers on the microblogging platform, X, after Edu was suspended.
“He has suspended the beauty pageant minister. Give it to him,” the seamlessly articulate Bwala added.
An Anambra State-based political analyst, Damion Ugorji, however lambasted Bwala for fraternising with Tinubu. He said he feared that the existence of principled politicians in Nigeria was a mirage.
Ugorji also argued that the recent giant strides made by Tinubu were just a flash in the pan.
“I was scandalously shocked when Tinubu was hosted by Bwala. I can’t believe he fraternised with Tinubu. I used to admire him (Bwala) because I thought he was intelligent.
“Obviously, the existence of principled politicians in Nigeria is a mirage. They don’t exist in this country.
“And as for what the president is doing, I am not impressed. Why would I be? It is just a flash in the pan…wait and see,” he said.
Though many other observers like Ugorji had been dazed because of Bwala’s “betrayal”, they eventually gained clarity after the man in the eye of the storm was a visitor to Tinubu’s office, from where he told journalists that he had no apologies for supporting the president and that he would go back to the All Progressives Congress if it were a condition to support him.
On January 2, Tinubu flexed his presidential muscles once again after he suspended the evaluation and accreditation of degree certificates from Benin Republic and Togo.
A covert operation carried out by an undercover journalist had earlier revealed how in eight weeks or under, degree certificates from the aforementioned countries were nefariously and unconscionably obtained by Nigerians.
The degree-for-cash programme was swiftly blacklisted by Tinubu who also called for a thorough investigation into the racketeering.
Last Monday, the Executive vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, Tunde Irukera, and the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Bureau of Public Enterprise, Alexander Okoh, were given the boot.
Though reasons adduced by the presidency for the sackings were primarily hinged on the need to “restructure and reposition” the agencies to serve Nigerians better, many observers have suggested that Irukera might have been a victim of “wrong” association.
The embattled FCCPC CEO is known to have some links with former Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who fell out with Tinubu after he (Osinbajo) and the Lion Bourdillon contested the presidential primary election of the APC for the right to be the party’s flagbearer.
On January 8, Tinubu, against all odds, launched the automated passports portal last week across the globe.
Before now, passport application was a cumbersome and time-consuming process and the acceptance of the new portal by Nigerians to ease its hassles as well as its success were credited to Tinubu by the Interior Minister, Tunji-Ojo.
President Tinubu, last week Tuesday, also slashed the number of officials that can accompany him and other top government officials on any foreign trip to 60 percent.
Though some Nigerians have insisted that the president can further trim the number of his entourage down, presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, said the measure was tailored to drastically cut costs of governance.
At the start of the New Year, Tinubu announced plans with a Chinese firm, Luan Steel Holding Group, to build new steel plants in Nigeria and commence the construction of military hardware at the Ajaokuta Steel Plant so as to make Nigeria an industrial powerhouse.
True to his word, last week, Tinubu approved the setting up of an inter-ministerial committee on the construction of 3 steel development projects, including the resuscitation of the Ajaokuta steel plant.
The President, as disclosed by the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, last week Thursday disbursed N105.5 billion out of the N217 billion set aside for emergency repairs of a staggering 260 roads in Nigeria, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The sports-loving president did not rest on his oars. This is true because the players and coaches of Nigeria’s senior football team, the Super Eagles now have cause to smile and churn out 5 star performances at the biennial African Cup of Nations competition which kicked off in Cote D’Ivoire on Saturday.
In a show of support for the football teams and those of other sports in the country, Tinubu approved the payment of N12 billion outstanding backlogs for Nigeria’s national teams and their coaches.
Federal civil servants were also grateful recipients of Tinubu’s largesse. During the first week of January, they received banking alerts for their October 2023 wage awards (N35, 000) promised them by the president for cushioning the effects of petrol subsidy removal.
A current affairs analyst, Ben Njoku, said it was amazing how Tinubu who seemingly looked frail prior to becoming president had been “dishing out the goodies”.
He said if the president could “sustain this momentum”, the merger of the other political parties would not stop him in 2027.
“Maybe my eyes played tricks on me, but didn’t it seem like Tinubu looked frail during the campaigns? Where is this zest coming from that is enabling him to dish out the goodies?
“The opposition should pray that the president will not sustain this momentum. Because if he did, then the opposition parties can forget 2027, their possible merger notwithstanding,” Njoku said.