PBAT: A Good Start Towards Pulling The Country From Precipice By Kola Odepeju

For a start, to state that president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has started well in steering the ship of the Nigerian nation is to simply state the obvious. Like many people have said, no president in the annals of our country had started impressively by hitting the ground running immediately on assuming office as Asiwaju Tinubu has done. From day one; even before leaving the inauguration ground on May 29th he has started taking actions; positive steps towards rescuing the economy and bettering the lives of the people. Prominent amongst these was the immediate removal of the fuel subsidy, a drain pipe through which an infinitesimal number of people feed fat at the expense of the majority. What a decisive step to take at the appropriate time?

Within just two weeks of getting to power, certain critical steps aimed at pulling the country away from doldrums and improving the living conditions of Nigerians have been taken – apart from fuel subsidy removal. For instance electricity bill, which will enable each and every state of the federation to generate her own light, has been signed into law. Ditto for Students’ Loan Bill that will make it possible for students to access interest-free loans that will assist them in furthering their education. Other positive steps have been taken that tell us that a serious and determined leader who is prepared to restore the lost glory of the country that was once the giant of Africa, is around. We can only pray to God to continue guiding and guarding him as he shoulders on in running the affairs of the nation country.

The steps taken so far by the president has shown that he came into office well prepared. He had the vision of what to do to turn the situation of the country around and that’s why he wasted no time in taking positive and courageous decisions necessary towards changing the situation of the country for better as soon as he was sworn in as the president. To the extent that even his detractors – both old and young – have started uelogizing him for the positive and progressive steps he has taken so far president Tinubu has given the signal that he’s focused on leaving the country far better than he met it. But to many that are witnesses to his track record as the governor of Lagos state, it’s no surprise that he took off with a fast, determined gait. This is usual self. He did the same thing on assuming office as the governor then such that within a year or two the state had witnessed concrete, unprecedented development.

Tinubu is courageous. He’s charismatic, hardworking and full of passion for performance. Of course the courage to take the right decisions is the hallmark of focused and determined leaders. There can be no progress without summoning the courage to take the right decisions. The decisions Tinubu has taken within these few days that he assumed power show that he’s focused and determined to take this country out of the pit into which it has fallen due to years of feckless leaderships. As a leader who knows where the shoes pinch the legs of the ordinary people of this country and how to relieve them, president Tinubu has wasted no time in making the right decisions. This is because he knows that as individuals, we are all going to write our legacies by ourselves; no one will write them for us and for this, he has started to take decisions that will lead him to leaving positive, lasting legacies.

lrrespective of whose ox is gored the Tinubu that many people know will not hesitate to take though decisions as long as such decisions will affect the lives of the ordinary people positively. For him, it’s *”waste no time as time waits for nobody; do your best and leave the rest”.* Any leader or anyone at all who imbibes this principle will always be quick in doing the right at the right time. Whereas criticisms have started welcoming some of the courageous decisions he has made so far; especially the removal of fuel subsidy and signing into law of Students’ Loan Bill; as some believe that subsidy removal is too early in the life of the administration while critics of the Students’ Loan Bill are of the view that it isn’t workable, for me these two critical decisions are well thought out and Nigerians will benefit substantially from them in the long run. Tough time never last as the saying goes. Perseverance is what we need to sail through this soon-to-end hard period as the leader we have now means well for the country.

What’s more? Action, they say, speaks louder than voice. Even though the president was a bit silent about fighting corruption or he didn’t stress it much during his electioneering campaigns, one or two bold steps he has taken so far have indicated that he’s poised to waging war against the evil of corruption which has been the bane of our country since. It’s difficult to eradicate corruption totally from our system though, president Tinubu would aid the development of our country fast, if he could succeed in bringing corruption down to the barest minimum. For that’s the cankerworm, the parasite, the obstruction on the road to development for our dear county.

Having started on a good note it’s expected that president Tinubu will continue on this progressive trajectory. Of course given his antecedent of impressive performance in public office in the past there’s no doubt that he will move on in this progressive direction. *As the skipper of our national team presently he must continue to have his eye on the ball with the aim of scoring more goals. He cannot afford to disappoint millions of his supporters and Nigerians generally*. Based on his antecedent as an intrepid fighter for democracy, Nigerians, nay, the black world in general are expecting him to do things differently by providing good governance that will serve as a template for performance for other African leaders. May God help him to succeed in his vision and determination to take our country to a higher level-Amen. Nigeria shall be great.

Odepeju, newspaper columnist and social commentator writes via kolaodepeju@gmail.com .