The 2023 presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Prince Adewole Adebayo, has blamed the hardship currently faced by Nigerians on President Bola Tinubu’s failure to prioritize governance.
Adebayo criticized the president’s leadership style, particularly his reluctance to engage with Nigerians or consult widely before implementing major policy decisions.
He argued that this approach has contributed to the appointment of ministers who add little or no value to the administration.
Adebayo said, “The only thing many of the ministers know is the route to their offices; engaging on their mandates is difficult. Apart from attending the weekly executive council meeting where someone is asked to address the media, try to track decisions they make in the federal executive council, and you will see that most of them are mere approvals, not policies. They are like a tender’s board. They have turned themselves into a tender’s board, where contracts are taken to them.”
He pointedly stated that the government has failed to secure the lives and property of Nigerians, making life difficult for the populace.
Insisting that there is no governance in Nigeria at present, he said: “When life and property are safe, governance is taking place, even if the president doesn’t speak. If civil servants are delivering services and meeting their targets; if people have better electricity and healthcare; if the rule of law is working through the judiciary; if the industry is functioning—by industry, I mean both professional sectors like lawyers and nurses, and productive industries like manufacturing, agriculture, and the extractive industries—if these are working, whether people like your face or not, the evidence will be clear that governance is taking place. But these things are not present at the moment.”
On the recent comments by former President Olusegun Obasanjo about the current government, Adebayo noted that, although Obasanjo did not get everything right during his time, he was not afraid to bring talented Nigerians into his government.
“The difference is that Obasanjo had efficiency, but he knew how to govern even when he had bad policies. He had the presence of mind to govern, compared to those in power now who lack the presence of mind to govern. Obasanjo had the time to consult, he had the ability to explain; he was not too afraid of bringing talent into his government.
“That doesn’t mean you will agree with him on all his policies. After all, if he was successful, many of the problems the subsequent administrations met would not have existed. But that doesn’t disqualify him from pointing out what is wrong. Moreover, he has been in that office several times. Even if you are doing what he did before, that is not an excuse,” he submitted.