Kole Omololu, the National Organising Secretary of Afenifere, has expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu’s time in office, though brief, is already showing signs of outpacing the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
In a statement issued on Sunday, Omololu pointed to the early successes of Tinubu’s economic reforms, emphasizing that these measures are putting the country on a promising path toward recovery, growth, and long-term development.
Omololu responded to recent criticism from Obasanjo, who, in a keynote speech at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University, Connecticut, had labeled Nigeria under Tinubu as a “failing state.” Obasanjo, in his recorded address titled “Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria,” claimed that the current administration was exacerbating issues such as corruption, incompetence, and mediocrity.
In contrast, Omololu dismissed these statements as not only inaccurate but reflective of Obasanjo’s tendency to seek attention. He firmly asserted that Tinubu’s leadership and reforms have already started addressing Nigeria’s long-standing challenges. “The claim that Nigeria is a failing state under President Tinubu is completely false and smacks of mischief. The administration’s efforts have begun to show concrete results, far from the bleak outlook painted by the former president,” Omololu stated.
Omololu also described Obasanjo’s critique as an example of “grandstanding” and pointed to the late President Shehu Shagari’s autobiography, Beckoned To Serve, where Shagari described Obasanjo as an egotistical individual who craved being the center of attention. He further argued that Obasanjo has consistently undermined his successors with unwarranted criticism. According to Omololu, Tinubu’s leadership, especially in terms of governance and anti-corruption efforts, surpasses that of the former president.
Omololu highlighted key economic reforms introduced by Tinubu, such as the removal of fuel subsidies and the unification of the foreign exchange rates—decisions that, according to him, Obasanjo never had the courage to pursue during his presidency. These reforms, Omololu noted, have already yielded positive results, including a significant improvement in Nigeria’s revenue and a reduction in the country’s debt service ratio from 97% to 65% within just 17 months.
Additionally, Omololu pointed to the remarkable achievements in Nigeria’s trade balance, with a record-setting N14.07 trillion trade surplus recorded by mid-2024. He also noted that in a single quarter, the government’s non-oil revenue surpassed the total revenue generated during Obasanjo’s entire eight-year tenure. “How can President Obasanjo speak of mismanagement when, just recently, the Nigerian Stock Exchange saw a remarkable 39.84% increase, making it the second-best performing exchange in Africa?” Omololu queried, referring to the performance of the stock market in March 2024.
Omololu also rejected Obasanjo’s negative assessment of Tinubu’s anti-corruption record. He pointed out that Transparency International, a leading global transparency watchdog, has given Nigeria a better corruption rating under Tinubu’s administration than during Obasanjo’s time in office. “According to Transparency International, Nigeria’s corruption perception has improved. This year, we moved up five places in their Corruption Perception Index, from 150th in 2023 to 145th in 2024. Under Obasanjo, Nigeria was ranked as the second most corrupt country in the world, just ahead of Bangladesh,” Omololu stated.
In a particularly scathing remark, Omololu noted the public spat between Obasanjo and his former deputy, Atiku Abubakar, which exposed their internal conflicts and questionable dealings. He argued that Obasanjo, who failed to effectively manage his own presidency and his deputy, had no moral authority to criticize Tinubu’s leadership. “If you could not manage your own presidency, what right do you have to call a leader who has managed his government with such discipline and efficiency a mediocre?” Omololu challenged.
Through this critique, Omololu reinforced the idea that Tinubu’s leadership is producing tangible benefits for Nigeria, and that the criticisms from Obasanjo, far from being constructive, are simply self-serving attempts to regain attention.