Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Sunday said President Bola Tinubu has made Nigeria far better in just two years in office with his remarkable policies and Renewed Hope agenda.
The governor, in an opinion article titled ‘Two Years After, The Indicators Are Positive’ commended the president for the bold and audacious move he made in announcing the removal of subsidy on his inauguration in May 2025, saying, the president has clearly demonstrated that he meant business as far as tending to the seemingly intractable problems of Nigeria was concerned.
“With requisite but rare confidence and the willpower to make crucial but difficult choices, he gave a clear inkling of what serious leadership means right from his inauguration at the Eagle Square”.
“That one-liner – subsidy is gone and gone for good – was to later set the stage for several other revolutionary game-changing decisions that are fast altering the narrative of our dear nation, dipped in a truly genuine Renewed Hope Agenda.
“Critics are quick to remind the nation, nay the world, that the President once opposed fuel subsidy removal. Truth is, such individuals are too short-sighted to understand the place of time in decision-making. Only a leader in the cast of Asiwaju does” .
“Subsidy removal was an idea whose time had not come, when it was first mooted. That was why to even muster the political will at the time was in itself herculean. Besides, it was all obscured by other environmental elements.
“When the time eventually came, Tinubu who, as a realist, would not miss such an opportunity, embraced the idea, not just as a Nigerian, but now as the President. Of course, the consequences of this tough choice have hit the masses so hard. It was so because subsidy removal was sudden – and shocking. Understandably so!
“But with compassion and magnanimity of leadership, the President has so far managed the fallout very well, with the otherwise scathing effects now gradually thawing, giving meaning and clarity to the decision”.
Sanwo-Olu said President Tinubu not only invested in Compressed Natural Gas buses to cushion the pains of subsidy removal but also “provided palliatives for us, the subnationals, as development partners, just so we could collectively attack the consequences from all sides and give reprieve to our people”.
The governor also lauded the president for initiating other bold reforms such as the Tax Reform Bill, Student loan scheme, floatation of the naira and executing “major projects, such as bridges, railways, power, oil and gas developments, as well as crucial road construction, notably the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Sokoto-Badagry Highway”. These, according to him are the “the real positive indicators for investment purposes”.
Other achievements listed by the governor include the Digital and Creative Enterprises designed for the empowerment of young people and creating millions of IT and technical jobs, The Skill-Up Artisans Programme, which introduced the Nigerian Youth Academy and the National Youth Talent Export Programme and the signing into law of the new National Minimum Wage.
“To those who may say why celebrate two years of the President Bola Tinubu administration? I say take a look around and get your facts right before diving into this conversation. After all, “comment is free; facts are sacred”.
“Needless to say, it is not yet uhuru as there are still some challenges – there will always be; that is the nature of life. For example, in security, the remnants of the heavily decimated anti-social elements have been battling to create anarchy and divide us, but the capacity of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces and the resolve of his security team to get a hang of this, are quite evident. It is a matter of time. The last of these criminals will be cleared off the surface of the earth”.
“It is on the strength of these and more that true patriots and progressive elements alike cannot but congratulate our dear President Bola Ahmed Akanbi Tinubu GCFR, and also urge him not to drop the ball on account of fleeting distractions”.
While urging the President not to drop the ball despite distractions from naysayers, Sanwo-Olu concluded by saying that voluntary defection by key leaders of the opposition parties the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is a testament to the fact that they acknowledged that President Tinubu and his team means well for the country and they have chosen to identify with him.
“What is more – we have begun to see results in the gale of defections of key personalities from pivotal states into the APC. These are not defections coerced by anyone but out of the freewill of the individuals who have chosen to identify with a team that is determined and means well for the ultimate good of the country”.
“Overall, the truth of the matter is that with these positive indicators capped with the “Nigerian First” policy, the ship of state is definitely berthing safe, with a decorated captain and political war general – Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu – who has been tested and trusted in times of crises and challenges”.
