President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be entering the presidency at a time of great crisis. The question is, could Tinubu become Nigeria’s most consequential president?
Nigerian presidential system is modelled after the US system and the consequential presidents in US history were those who led through challenging times.
For example, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR)led the United States through the Great Depression and World War II. He is regarded as one of the most consequential presidents in US history. Abraham Lincoln, another very consequential president, was tested by a huge domestic crisis like none other. Lincoln guided the young union through the civil war and abolished slavery with the Emancipation Proclamation.
Bola Tinubu is bubbling with progressive ambitions which was detailed in his campaign manifesto. But he knows the task ahead is no child’s play. Nigeria’s economic problems are astronomical with an unprecedented unemployment rate of 33%. Two-thirds of the population (over 130 million) are under the poverty line and the inflation rate is an incredible 22%! This situation was recently compounded by the misguided and botched naira redesign policy. The ill-advised policy drove millions further into poverty and wrecked hundreds of thousands of small businesses.
Bola Tinubu would also have the security problem to contend with. Here, the outgoing government of Muhammadu Buhari has posted some successes – equipping the armed forces, navy and air force more than any prior government before it. There has been a significant, hopefully not temporary, reduction in the activities of terrorists, bandits, kidnappers and other criminal elements in the country. Tinubu would need to build on these successes to provide more meaningful security to Nigerians.
Without doubt the task ahead is huge. And it is certainly not a one-man job as Tinubu himself recently admitted. Nigeria needs a winning team. Putting a great team together is one of Tinubu’s strengths and this task would be his initial test. The whole country would be watching and would also be rooting for his success.