President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been fondly credited for his ability to face tough challenges in the course of his political career. Such challenges brought out what can be considered as his ingenuity to provide solutions which in the initial stages might have appeared foggy but in due course were a success. Also, President Tinubu political journey has gone through a number of seasons and each season cannot be compared to the previous one.
After over two decades of being in government and out, BAT eventually achieved his major prize, when he became president of Nigeria in 2023. He says he is the most qualified person for the job and probably Nigerians decided to give him the opportunity, though there is a significant school of thought that believes that he ought not to be there.
Before President Tinubu’s election, he had gone round the country stating that there is the need to make difficult decisions and choices. Tinubu was quite abstract with his words often lacing his speech with metaphors and proverbs. Nigerians sometimes laughed and were mesmerised with the country’s most prolific political tactician after IBB. It’s rather surprising that they didn’t have a hint of what might unfold with BAT at the helm of affairs.
A historical check of the man shows that he is most comfortable with confronting what might seem like impregnable problems with the aim of winning. For instance, the city of Lagos was an urban jungle prior to 1999. Fast forward to the present day, Tinubu’s imprint of change is all over the place, with the luck of continuity that preceded him.
President Tinubu’s sermons during his campaign were translated rather rapidly with the fast raft of what he calls painful reforms, to rescue the country and restore hope. Now that Nigerians are experiencing the rigours of the reforms imposed on them, isn’t it about time to consider having some difficult conversations which have been left untouched probably because we have been living in denial or probably not appreciating the need to have such conversations.
What are these conversations? The underlying issues worth talking about revolve around us being sentimental as a society, rather than being practical or pragmatic. Nigeria isn’t an island and what occurs globally tends to have a knock on effect on the country, thus the need to make adjustments is necessary.
Apart from external factors, there are attitudinal factors that we must deal with. Some aspects of our culture places pressure on us to be what we are not. Our culture promotes stigmatisation which reinforces pressure. It’s this catch 22 scenario which also affects our daily lives, without necessarily laying the entire blame on government. Our culture reflects our values and DNA, but it should be subject to reform in a changing world.
Also, religion in contemporary Nigeria has become a political tool and a push back mechanism, which politicians have cynically exploited effectively to divide the country rather than unite the people. Faith and religion ideally should be a personal choice, however poverty has left millions of Nigerians to seek refuge in religion without the desired salvation, at least short and medium term.
The lack of empowerment through functional education and failure of governance over the years has allowed many citizens to be trapped and held under the manipulative influence of religious and political leaders.
Another elephant in the room worth mentioning is our inability to take personal responsibility most times. Taking responsibility for our actions is probably one aspect of our lives which we find difficult to wrestle with. The ability of owning up to the consequences of our decisions still eludes us. Taking responsibility requires self discipline and that is still a major issue.
The items highlighted above should ignite national and sub national conversations among political, economic, religious and social leaders on one hand and between the leadership and the public on the other hand. Such conversations must be honest and frank, highlighting the realities that society faces in the future, in the absence of dealing with the current and present challenges of nation building.
Olugbenga Adebanjo
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