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As The Political Master Strategist Of The Yr For 2025
Who deserves to be called The Master Strategist of Politics in Nigeria? Which politician has shown a remarkable evidence of being the political master strategist among the entire political class?
When the question came up for debate recently, President Bola Tinubu’s name kept popping up, as that skillful politician whose unbridled influence radiates right across the entire political terrain. He is one politician other politicans look up to. He is not only politically sagacious, he understands the game of politics and his deft moves achieves results all the time.
So, at the just concluded 2025 City People Awards For Excellence held in Lagos, President Bola Tinubu was honoured with The Political Master Strategist Of The Year Award for his exceptional mastery of national politics. It was a Welcome Development. Many say he deserves it.
The award came at a time the President was also celebrating his 2nd anniversary in office. And he has received a lot of commendation for a job well done.
Take the view of The Financial Times of London which wrote an Editorial about him:
“Halfway through the first presidential term of Bola Tinubu, who completes 2 years in office, Nigeria is in better shape than at any time in the past decade. That may come as a surprise — or even sound like a sick joke — to tens of millions of Nigerians who are suffering the worst cost of living crisis in a generation.
Yet Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos and the country’s wiliest politician in a generation, has stabilised the economy and laid the groundwork for a broader recovery. This year, the World Bank expects growth of 3.7 per cent, in what would be Nigeria’s best performance since 2014 save for a post-Covid rebound.
Most ordinary Nigerians won’t feel that yet. But it is a decent performance when oil prices are weak. The tiny green shoots have come because Tinubu’s government has tackled — albeit in often haphazard fashion — debilitating structural distortions.
On day one Tinubu removed a ruinously expensive fuel subsidy. More important still, the Central bank has restored monetary policy orthodoxy after a shambolic era in which only cronies with access to cheap dollars benefited. After a dangerous overshoot, the Naira has stabilised, with the gap between the official and black market rate shrinking to almost nothing.
The Central bank has stopped printing money to pay for government profligacy. Politicians still spend too much, often on fripperies like an extravagant presidential jet, but at least the government has begun to increase Tax receipts.
Investors do not live in constant fear of a devaluation and can readily access dollars. That may eventually help Nigeria to diversify, but shorter term it is positive that oil production has recovered from a nadir of 1mn barrels a day to nearly 1.5mn last month. Oil theft has been reduced and local companies are squeezing more out of marginal fields.
That so much has been achieved by a government stuffed with cronies — and, to be fair, one or two competent technocrats — shows how much could be achieved if Nigeria really got its act together. There are plenty of ways for Tinubu to build on a promising start.
First, his government has to tackle Inflation — still running at 24 per cent — with more urgency. Food is the biggest driver. State governments need to increase supply by providing farm inputs, security and better access to the market.
Second, it must build on Tax reform by achieving its stated aim of doubling the ratio of tax collected to 18 per cent of GDP. Some of that should be spent on woefully neglected schools and clinics — even more urgent given foreign aid cuts. That will bring benefits of its own but, just as importantly, will also help to establish a social contract, which has been dangerously lacking.
Third, and perhaps most crucial, the government must confront banditry and terrorism with the same single-mindedness as it did distorted monetary policy. The army needs cleaning up as urgently as did the Central bank.
As Nigeria’s election cycle edges towards 2027, Tinubu may be tempted to slow the pace of change. That would be a mistake. He should forge ahead, with the overriding aim of making ordinary Nigerians — not just investors — feel the benefits of shock therapy”.
Expectedly, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar does not see anything positive to say an Tinubu’s 2 year tenure. He said so. Bayo Onanuga, the SA to the President on Information & Strategy promptly replied Atiku.
“My attention has just been drawn to former Vice President Atiku Abubakar’s vitriol against the Tinubu administration and the person of President Bola Tinubu.
Atiku’s sweeping criticism is unfair and appears to be driven more by animosity than objective analysis. Unless former Vice President Atiku allowed personal grievances to cloud his judgment, he should, in good conscience, acknowledge the significant progress and positive achievements made by this administration over the past two years.”
“While I respect Atiku’s right to voice his opinions in our vibrant democracy, I need to set the record straight and address the fallacies in his commentary.”
“Unless he still lives in Dubai, he ought to admit that in just two years, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has embarked on the most ambitious and audacious economic and institutional reforms ever seen in decades. During the campaign, Tinubu never promised that the reforms would be painless. But he was clear they were necessary to rescue the country from the brink of fiscal collapse to reverse years of unsustainable spending and lay a solid foundation for long-term inclusive growth.”
“The removal of the fuel subsidy and unification of the foreign exchange system were steps successive administrations, including that of Obasanjo-Atiku Abubakar, acknowledged as necessary but failed to implement. Atiku promised the reforms in his manifesto. Indeed, all 3 major candidates in the election agreed they must be done, except that the responsibility to implement the reforms fell on President Bola Tinubu as the winner of the 2023 election.
Unlike Atiku and some critics, everyone agrees that the reforms have stabilised government finances, curbed systemic corruption, and enabled direct investments into social programmes and infrastructure. Foreign investors now see Nigeria as an irresistible destination. Since 2023, the Nigerian Exchange has seen its ASI jump from 50,000 to over 110,000, and market capitalisation has increased to N69.4 trillion, from about N30 trillion before Tinubu’s ascension.
Contrary to Atiku’s claim that government policies are “anti-people,” the Tinubu administration, fully acknowledging that its policies affect the vulnerable, has increased investments in social safety nets, introduced targeted interventions for low-income households, and more than doubled the minimum wage, from N30k to N70k. Some states even pay up to N85k to their workers, a feat made possible by increased federal allocations.
Atiku’s claim that Education was out of reach for poor Nigerians was entirely off the mark. Everyone knows the claim is false; it’s just an attempt to throw any muck at Bola Tinubu.
Since last year, the Government has introduced the Student Loan Scheme to ensure that underprivileged children are not denied education because of poverty. As of the last count, over 600,000 Nigerian students have benefitted from the loans. The loans cover the students’ school fees and living allowances. The loans do not yet cover Nigerians in expensive schools like Atiku’s American University in Yola. What is undeniable is that under Bola Tinubu, higher education is now more accessible to deserving youths.
This administration has also made considerable investments in health, including revitalising primary health centres and expanding health insurance. The government is also working hard to reduce the cost of medicines.
Atiku again ignorantly accused the Tinubu administration of borrowing fresh money to support the 2025 budget. He relied on social media gossip that the fresh loan request to the National Assembly was for that purpose. The Finance Minister has debunked this as untrue and said that even this year, the government only wants to borrow about $1.2 billion.
Because Atiku does not like Bola Tinubu’s guts, he forgets to credit his administration with some of the fiscal achievements in the last 2 years. Revenue has increased phenomenally. The debt service ratio to Revenue has declined from 93 per cent to 60 per cent. This government has paid off the $3.4 billion IMF loan obtained in the Covid years. The current administration has discontinued Ways & Means deficit financing for the first time in decades. State revenue has risen, and subnational governments now have greater resources for local development and to pay their debts. This is the only positive Atiku admitted, forgetting to praise the Tinubu government that made this possible.
This government has admitted honestly that the reforms come with attendant challenges and has worked vigorously to lessen the pain.
But as President Tinubu said in his statement, marking his second anniversary, “we have made progress. Inflation is easing, food production is rising, investments are returning, and the foundation for a more prosperous, just, and inclusive Nigeria is being laid. These gains are in plain sight for everyone. Only those who play blind will not see them.”
“Atiku and his co-travellers in the Coalition party he is cobbling together need not worry about their democratic rights. As an acknowledged democrat, President Tinubu will not curtail their rights or silence them.”
“Finally, criticism must be elevated and constructive. When Atiku opposes government policies, he should also offer a solution. Otherwise, his opposition statements will be dismissed as mere partisan rhetoric and cheap talk.”
“Nigerians deserve opposition leaders who offer solutions, not just criticism. We invite all Nigerians to judge this administration by its actions, not by the rhetoric of those who have had their opportunities to lead and who bungled the chance in years past, sold national assets for pittance, and shortchanged their compatriots.”