Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has said that Nigeria needs visionary leaders like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to overcome its development challenges and realise its true potential.
Speaking at the 2025 Distinguished Personality Lecture held at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Wike delivered a thought-provoking address titled “The Nigeria of Our Dreams.” In the lecture, he blamed Nigeria’s slow development on a longstanding crisis of leadership, both in the military and democratic dispensations.
“Our leaders have, in the main, emerged through self-serving conspiracies that have little or nothing to do with national interests and development,” Wike said, echoing Chinua Achebe’s famous assertion that the problem with Nigeria is squarely one of leadership.
However, Wike argued that Tinubu represents a break from this tradition. According to him, the President has shown the courage to take difficult but necessary decisions, such as the removal of fuel subsidies, which many before him had avoided.
“Tinubu did it. He is grappling with the consequences of that bold move. Today, states have more resources to work with, national debts are no longer rising uncontrollably, and fuel prices are beginning to reflect market forces,” Wike stated.
He also credited Tinubu for promoting decentralisation by establishing zonal commissions and deploying forest guards to combat banditry and terrorism. “Put simply, the era of banditry and terrorism would soon come to an end,” he declared.
Wike listed the qualities of a leader capable of transforming Nigeria: strong character, bold vision, belief in the country’s potential, and a results-driven approach that values excellence over mediocrity.
Also speaking at the event, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, represented by his deputy Kola Adewusi, commended Wike’s leadership style and infrastructural strides in the FCT. The Vice-Chancellor of OAU, Prof. Adebayo Bamire, described the lecture as timely and crucial to Nigeria’s development discourse. The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, hailed Wike as a fearless politician who speaks truth to power.
