The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has declared that the indicators are positive for President Bola Tinubu as he his administration marks its second anniversary in office.
The Lagos State helmsman made the declaration on the administration in an article he wrote, titled: “Two years after, the indicators are positive.”
Sanwo-Olu said despite the insinuations by some that there is nothing to celebrate in the two years of the administration, the indicators are looking better day after day.
He recalled that that the inaugural speech of President Tinubu laid the foundation for what has put Nigeria on a sound footing.
He said: “It was just a harmless one-liner, but it became the most memorable part of that historic speech. ‘Subsidy is gone and gone for good.’ That was President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on his inauguration at the iconic Eagle Square, Abuja on May 29, 2023.
“Besides being the most memorable part of the speech, the phrase became a vivid metaphor for all the bold reforms that followed. President Tinubu was merely sending a signal about his strong conviction and resolve to make hard choices.
“From the get-go, President Tinubu left no one in doubt that he meant business as far as tending to the seemingly intractable problems of Nigeria was concerned. He came on board with all the gravitas needed to change the Nigerian story and fix her concerns for our collective good.
“With requisite but rare confidence and the willpower to make crucial but difficult choices, he gave a clear inkling of what serious leadership means right from his inauguration at the Eagle Square.
“That one-liner – subsidy is gone and gone for good – was to later set the stage for several other revolutionary game-changing decisions that are fast altering the narrative of our dear nation, dipped in a truly genuine Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Critics are quick to remind the nation, nay the world, that the President once opposed fuel subsidy removal. Truth is, such individuals are too short-sighted to understand the place of time in decision-making. Only a leader in the cast of Asiwaju does.”
Providing clarity on the opposition of President Tinubu to the removal of subsidy in the first place, Sanwo-Olu said: “Subsidy removal was an idea whose time had not come, when it was first mooted. That was why to even muster the political will at the time was in itself herculean. Besides, it was all obscured by other environmental elements.
“When the time eventually came, Tinubu who, as a realist, would not miss such an opportunity, embraced the idea, not just as a Nigerian, but now as the President. Of course, the consequences of this tough choice have hit the masses so hard. It was so because subsidy removal was sudden – and shocking. Understandably so!”
Sanwo-Olu commended Tinubu for the way in which he has managed the removal of the fuel subsidy.
He listed several initiatives of the administration, which he noted had cushioned the effects of the subsidy removal.
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He added that the initiatives were also needed for future developments as other countries had adopted them.
He said one of them was the introduction of compressed natural gas to the transportation sector.
He said: “He has not only invested in Compressed Natural Gas buses to cushion the effect of subsidy removal, Asiwaju Tnubu has also provided palliatives for us, the subnationals, as development partners, just so we could collectively attack the consequences from all sides and give reprieve to our people.
“The CNG initiative, launched to power the transportation sector and reduce costs, has saved the nation over N1 trillion a month, hitherto used to import PMS and AGO. Added to this is the fact that while oil production has increased, agreements for Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) of well over $500 million have been signed. These indicators are positive.”
On the floating of the naira against other currencies, the Lagos State governor said: “By terminating multiple foreign exchange systems, which, like the President once noted, had ‘constituted a noose around the economic jugular of our nation and impeded our economic development and progress’, there was a projected relief, albeit not in the region of what the President ultimately wanted. He kept the pace still.
“For a nation surviving largely on consumption, the naira had seen the worst of days but had marched on regardless, with the hope that something would give, and indeed, it did. Thanks to our foresighted President.
“While the naira is evidently not there yet, the spiral slide has been halted, and it is definitely going to come around with a rebound, more so that the dollar has also maintained reasonable stability. The indicators are positive. No doubt.”
Sanwo-Olu said the overall economic overview is also encouraging.
He said: “The massive and bold infrastructure renewal is too evident for even the President’s worst enemy to ignore or downplay. From the South to the East, West and North, the balance is not omitted, and work has continued, in spite of deliberate sabotage by some enemies of progress.
“For instance, some of the ongoing major projects, such as bridges, railways, power, oil and gas developments, as well as crucial road construction, notably the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway, are the real positive indicators for investment purposes.
“Launched exactly a year ago, the first phase of the coastal highway, for example, has totally shocked the naysayers, who saw nothing good in the project other than their insinuation that it was going to end up a white elephant. How wrong they have been proven!”
To those who are saying that the administration has not done well, Governor Sanwo-Olu said indeed there are still challenges, as there will always be, but that the facts and figures available show that progress had been made in huge leaps.
He said: “Needless to say, it is not yet uhuru as there are still some challenges – there will always be; that is the nature of life. For example, in security, the remnants of the heavily decimated anti-social elements have been battling to create anarchy and divide us, but the capacity of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the resolve of his security team to get a hang of this, are quite evident. It is a matter of time. The last of these criminals will be cleared off the surface of the earth.
“It is on the strength of these and more that true patriots and progressive elements alike cannot but congratulate our dear President Bola Ahmed Akanbi Tinubu GCFR, and also urge him not to drop the ball on account of fleeting distractions.
“What is more – we have begun to see results in the gale of defections of key personalities from pivotal states into the APC. These are not defections coerced by anyone but out of the freewill of the individuals who have chosen to identify with a team that is determined and means well for the ultimate good of the country.
“Overall, the truth of the matter is that with these positive indicators capped with the ‘Nigerian First’ policy, the ship of state is definitely berthing safe, with a decorated captain and political war general – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu – who has been tested and trusted in times of crises and challenges.”
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